● Updated Law: Child Welfare Act What it does: Protects abused children's access to education and strengthens government reviews of suspected child abuse deaths Took effect: Aug. 4 South Korea has strengthened protections for abused children to ensure they can continue their education even when their parents or guardians are implicated in the abuse. Under the revised law, when all of a child's parents, guardians or other legally responsible caregivers are perpetrators of abuse, the head of a loc

● Updated Law: Act on the Protection of and Support for Micro Enterprises What it does: Creates a legal basis for government support to help protect vulnerable small businesses from crime Took effect: July 1 South Korea has introduced a new legal framework to help protect single-owner and women-owned small businesses from crime. Under the revised law, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and local governments can conduct surveys to assess crime risks faced by these businesses and implement programs

● Updated Law: Act on the Promotion of and Support for Commercialization of Autonomous Vehicles What it does: Allows broader collection and use of video data for autonomous vehicle research and testing Took effect: June 18 South Korea has eased restrictions on the collection and use of video data for autonomous vehicle testing in an effort to improve the performance and safety of self-driving technologies. Under the revised law, operators of autonomous vehicles that have received temporary permi

● Updated Law: Korean Sign Language Act What it does: Requires sign language interpretation for major government announcements Took effect: May 12 South Korea has expanded sign language services to improve access to public information for Deaf people who use Korean Sign Language as their primary language. Previously, sign language interpretation was mainly provided for disaster- and safety-related announcements. But major government announcements — including presidential speeches — often did not

South Korea's financial authorities are moving to allow foreign investors to trade domestic exchange-traded funds (ETFs) directly, a measure that could help draw more overseas money into Korean assets amid a record-setting rally in the benchmark KOSPI, sources said Sunday. The KOSPI has been among the world's best-performing stock indexes this year, rising 82 percent from 4,309.63 on the first trading day of the year to close at 7,847.71 on Friday, driven largely by strong gains in Samsung Elect

● Updated Law: Customs Act What it does: Expands duty exemptions for medicines used to treat rare and intractable diseases Took effect: April 1 South Korea has expanded tariff exemptions to cover medicines used to treat rare and intractable diseases, easing the financial burden on patients. Previously, while some medicines qualified for duty exemptions, this did not apply to “self-treatment medicines” that are not distributed domestically. As a result, patients importing such medicines through t

● Updated Law: Elementary and Secondary Education Act What it does: Limits students’ use of smartphones and other smart devices in schools Took effect: March 1 South Korea has introduced new rules restricting students’ use of smartphones and other smart devices in schools, amid growing concerns about their impact on learning and emotional well-being. Under the revised law, students are generally not allowed to use smart devices during class. However, exceptions may be made for students with disa

● Updated Law: Act on the Training and Support of Regional Physicians What it does: Introduces a program to place more doctors in underserved regions Took effect: Feb. 24 South Korea is launching a regional doctor program to reduce disparities in access to medical care between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. The program has two tracks. Service-obligated regional doctors are admitted through designated university admissions programs and must work at regional medical institutions for 10 y

● Updated Law: Enforcement Rule of the Indoor Air Quality Control Act What it does: Lowers allowable indoor ultrafine dust levels in public-use facilities Took effect: Jan. 1 South Korea has strengthened indoor air quality rules for public facilities in an effort to create safer environments, particularly children and teenagers. Under the revised regulation, the maximum allowable level of ultrafine dust in certain facilities has been lowered from 50 micrograms per cubic meter to 40 micrograms pe

● Updated Law: Enforcement Decree of the Animal Protection Act What it does: Broadens ethical oversight of animal testing in national research projects Took effect: Dec. 3 South Korea has expanded ethical requirements for animal testing conducted as part of national research and development projects, bringing a wider range of institutions under regulatory oversight. Under the revised decree, companies governed by the Commercial Act, small and medium-sized enterprises, and nonprofit organizations