Unionized construction workers urge gov’t to solve urea water solution shortage

SEOUL– Unionized construction workers on Tuesday called upon the government to come up with measures to resolve the urea water solution crisis, claiming the shortage of the material essential to diesel vehicles threatens their livelihoods.   The Korean Construction Workers’ Union urged the government to promptly resolve the lack of urea water supply, punish hoarding … Read more

Labor ministry recognizes bullying case at Coupang, rebutting company’s internal probe: union

SEOUL– The labor ministry has recognized that a workplace bullying incident occurred within e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. early this year, refuting a finding reached by the company through an internal probe, the company’s union said Tuesday.   In response to a petition filed by a Coupang logistics center worker, the ministry’s branch office in northern … Read more

Shinsegae Q3 net soars on department store biz growth

SEOUL– South Korea’s No. 2 retailer Shinsegae Inc. said Tuesday that its third-quarter net income steeply increased as its department store business got a boost from pent-up demand amid the extended coronavirus pandemic.   Net income came to 188.9 billion won (US$160.3 million) on a consolidated basis in the July-September period, sharply up from a … Read more

Financial watchdog closely monitoring steeply rising loan rates

SEOUL– South Korea’s financial watchdog is closely monitoring the recent fast-rising interest rates banks impose on loans, its head said Tuesday, amid the government’s beefed-up efforts to tighten regulations on household borrowing.   Jeong Eun-bo, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remarks amid complaints that some top-tier banks are imposing higher interest … Read more

Nearly half of new COVID-19 cases in 2 weeks were breakthrough infections

SEOUL– Nearly half of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea over the past two weeks were breakthrough infections, health authorities said Tuesday.   There were 8,336 breakthrough cases out of 17,325 new COVID-19 patients, or 48.1 percent, between Oct. 17 and Oct. 30, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Breakthrough infections are … Read more

Gov’t to place emergency controls on urea water solution amid supply shortage

SEOUL– South Korea plans to place emergency controls on production and provision of urea water solution (UWS), the prime minister’s office said Tuesday, in a move to ease the supply crunch of the material used to reduce emissions in diesel vehicles.   A government notice that allows public authorities to command urea water solution makers’ … Read more

Moon calls for revision of laws on workplace harassment at civil service

SEOUL– President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday instructed aides to take steps to revise laws on workplace harassment in the civil service, citing a lack of legal stipulations on compensation for victims in the field of public administration.   The instruction came after a newly recruited civil servant at the city government of Daejeon, 160 kilometers … Read more