Author: Seoul Reporter

The Seoul Reporter is an independent news platform uncovering untold stories from the heart of Korea. Our team of journalists and contributors expose corruption, highlight innovation, and bring unfiltered truth to readers worldwide from Seoul’s power corridors to its underground culture.

[ad_1] President Donald Trump of the US offers a briefing on the White Home press room on Jan. 20, 2026, marking the primary anniversary of his second inauguration. (UPI/Yonhap) Claiming that South Korea’s Nationwide Meeting was not holding up its finish of the commerce discount, US President Donald Trump stated he could be elevating the tariffs on numerous Korean items getting into the US to 25%. Some recommend that Trump’s reversal on tariff charges that have been already lowered for Korean corporations is an expression of frustration concerning the delays in legislative approval of Korea’s investments within the US in return…

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[ad_1] Clients store at a reduction chain retailer in Seoul, Jan. 18. Yonhap Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol mentioned Tuesday the federal government will increase low cost assist for on a regular basis objects for the Lunar New Yr vacation and provide greater than 39 trillion gained ($26.94 billion) in funds for the self-employed and small companies.Koo made the remarks at a Cupboard assembly presided over by President Lee Jae Myung as a part of measures geared toward stabilizing the individuals’s livelihoods through the upcoming vacation season, based on the Ministry of Financial system and Finance.”We are going to newly provide…

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[ad_1] The primary constructing of Cheong Wa Dae / Joint Press Corps Korea’s prime business and commerce officers will go to Washington for talks with their U.S. counterparts, as Seoul scrambles to include the fallout from President Donald Trump’s choice to lift tariffs on Korean items from 15 % to 25 %.In a social media publish, Trump mentioned the rise is as a result of the Nationwide Meeting has not but authorized the settlement reached final 12 months between the 2 nations.Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan, now in Canada on an industrial cooperation mission, plans to move to america to satisfy…

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[ad_1] A lady browses sanitary pad merchandise at a big grocery store in Seoul. Korea Instances picture by Hong In-gi“State-produced sanitary pads” have emerged as a subject of debate in Korean politics after President Lee Jae Myung repeatedly criticized the excessive value of menstrual merchandise and ordered officers to discover insurance policies to supply them freed from cost.As the federal government evaluations the feasibility of such a plan, some observers have already begun referring to it as a “fundamental sanitary pad” coverage — a nod to Lee’s earlier push for “fundamental earnings” throughout his time as a neighborhood authorities head.…

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[ad_1] Microsoft’s Maia 200 synthetic intelligence chip / Courtesy of MicrosoftSK hynix has been named the unique provider of high-bandwidth reminiscence (HBM) for U.S. tech big Microsoft’s newest synthetic intelligence (AI) chip, sources stated Tuesday.In accordance with the sources, the Korean chipmaker was tapped as the only real provider of HBM3Es, the fifth-generation of HBM, for Microsoft’s Maia 200 accelerator designed for the U.S. firm’s AI information facilities.Microsoft, which didn’t make clear its HBM provider in its launch, described Maia 200 as “essentially the most environment friendly inference system” the corporate has ever deployed, noting it’s already put in at…

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[ad_1] An illustration emphasizing the significance of cybersecurity in work environments (Reuters) Regardless of the federal government’s proclamation of strengthening private data security measures whereas advocating for a digital platform authorities, it has been revealed that they’re totally helpless in opposition to exterior hacking. When the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) performed simulated hacking assaults on main public methods utilizing white hackers, safety vulnerabilities that might enable entry to the resident registration numbers of fifty million individuals, equal to the whole inhabitants, had been found, confirming that the safety system is in a state of complete…

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[ad_1] A 3D-printed miniature mannequin of U.S. President Donald Trump, the South Korea flag and the phrase “Tariffs” are seen on this illustration taken July 23, 2025. REUTERS The ruling Democratic Social gathering of Korea introduced that it could go the payments on Korea’s strategic funding within the U.S. inside February in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that he would increase tariffs on Korean merchandise from 15% to 25% citing delays in Nationwide Meeting laws associated to tariff negotiations. Rep. Jeong Tae-ho, the ruling celebration whip of the Nationwide Meeting Technique and Finance Committee,…

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[ad_1] As Korea continues down the trail of a super-aged society and grapples with rising labor shortages in elder care, one migration coverage professional is urging the federal government to maneuver past short-term fixes and construct a system like Japan’s — one which treats overseas caregivers as expert professionals moderately than low-wage, disposable staff.By 2028, Korea is projected to face a shortfall of roughly 116,000 elder care staff, in response to authorities and trade knowledge. With older adults already accounting for greater than one-fifth of the inhabitants — 10.84 million folks, or 21.2 % as of 2025 — the nation…

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[ad_1] Export-bound automobiles are parked at Pyeongtaek port in Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Yonhap Regardless of U.S. President Donald Trump’s risk Monday (native time) to impose recent tariffs, including uncertainty for Korean industries, the nation’s industrial sector and inventory market confirmed indicators of rising resilience to commerce stress from Washington.Analysts and business officers mentioned Tuesday the newest risk is more likely to be resolved within the brief time period, noting that Trump took challenge with the sluggish progress in implementing the Korea-U.S. commerce settlement, which is determined by the home Korean political course of. Business sources mentioned firms more and more…

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[ad_1] Gold bars are displayed on the Korea Gold Trade headquarters in central Seoul, Monday. Yonhap The Financial institution of Korea (BOK) ranked thirty ninth worldwide when it comes to gold reserves, because the central financial institution has shunned further gold purchases since 2013 regardless of energetic shopping for by its international friends, knowledge confirmed Tuesday.In response to a report by the World Gold Council, the BOK held 104.4 metric tons of gold on the finish of 2025, rating thirty ninth amongst central banks worldwide, down one notch from a 12 months earlier.When holdings by the Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF)…

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