Norovirus infections have increased for 10 consecutive weeks, reaching 617 cases in the third week of January.
Children aged 0–6 now account for 51.1% of cases, up 11.5 percentage points from the previous week.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency urges strict hygiene practices as there is no vaccine for norovirus.
The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) is boosting its 2024 budget for public research commercialization and academia-industry cooperation to 487.93 billion KRW, an 88.7% increase from last year.
Key programs such as support for public research commercialization and startup assistance, as well as academia-industry cooperation, will receive 93.05 billion KRW and 56.93 billion KRW respectively.
With new project announcements and diversified support, the spread of research results to the market and technology commercialization are expected to accelerate.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is creating a 731.8 billion KRW content policy fund to accelerate the K-Culture 300 trillion KRW era.
This is the largest fund ever, up 22% from last year, including 650 billion KRW for culture and 81.8 billion KRW for film across five sub-funds.
By expanding incentives for private investors and focusing on new growth areas, the initiative aims to ensure stable growth and global competitiveness for Korea’s content industry.
Teachers in Korea can no longer receive school complaints via personal contacts or SNS; only official school channels are allowed.
On June 22, 2024, the Ministry of Education announced comprehensive measures in Daejeon, including stricter penalties for malicious complaints and a unified complaint system.
These policies aim to shift complaint handling and teacher protection to the institutional level, enhancing school environments through central and regional cooperation.
The Korean government is establishing a 4.4 trillion won venture fund to boost AI and deep tech unicorns and expand regional venture investments.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and partners will invest 2.1 trillion won, focusing 1.3 trillion won on AI and deep tech and 230 billion won on the largest-ever regional growth fund.
Policies include activating the exit market, launching global funds, and supporting startups and re-challenges, with a goal to create over 3.5 trillion won in regional sub-funds by 2030.
The National Tax Service has highlighted common mistakes in year-end tax deductions for employees.
Key updates include dependent income limits, requirements for rent, housing loans, and medical expense deductions.
Over-claimed deductions may result in additional taxes and penalties, so careful review is essential.