Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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[Graphic News] Korea seen as technology winner
A fast-rising technology pioneer and the home ground of Samsung ― these are what come to mind when citizens of 17 major countries think of South Korea, according to a recent survey by Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Respondents in India, Vietnam and Turkey were the most favorable toward Asia’s fourth-largest economy, while those in Poland, Germany and Egypt had relatively negative impressions.The corresponding survey was conducted last October with an aim to devise customized regional diplom
TechnologyJuly 27, 2014
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[Graphic News] Korean firms less eager to spend on shareholders
South Korean listed firms’ rewards for shareholders are extremely low compared to rivals in the United States, Canada and Japan, according to data compiled by Samsung Securities released on Thursday. U.S. companies in the S&P 500 index spent an average of 55 percent of their net profit on stock buybacks from 2008-2013, and their dividend payout ratio - the percentage of earnings a company gives to shareholders in the form of dividends - stood at an average of 40 percent.The data indicate that th
PoliticsJuly 24, 2014
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[Graphic News] Korean workforce aging faster
South Korea’s working population aged 60 and older grew larger than that of people in their 20s for the first time since 1963, when Statistics Korea began to compile the data.The number of workers aged 60 and older stood at 3.64 million people in the second quarter, up 5.6 percent from the same period last year. The number of workers in their 20s, meanwhile, inched up 0.5 percent to 36.1 million, the data showed.The figure indicates a population shift in age groups and poor market conditions for
Social AffairsJuly 23, 2014
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[Graphic News] Korea’s venture firms with sales above $100m on the rise
South Korea’s venture firms appeared to be increasingly emerging as the new growth engine of the economy, according to figures from the Small and Medium Business Administration released Monday. Of the 69,801 venture firms in the country, 454 reported over 100 billion won ($97.6 million) in sales last year, up 9.1 percent from 2012. The number has steadily increased from 78 in 2005 to 202 in 2008 and 381 in 2011, the SMBA said. The combined sales of the venture firms were tallied at 101.2 trillio
IndustryJuly 22, 2014
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[Graphic News] Korea’s productive population on the decline
South Korea’s working-age population is likely to decline in the future, putting more pressure on the young to support senior citizens who are not in the labor force.According to a report released by the OECD, the number of individuals in the workforce per senior citizen in Korea is predicted to decline to 1.96 by the year 2036, from this year’s 5.26.This means less than two working Koreans will have to support a single dependent, elderly individual. South Korea currently ranks third after Mexic
Social AffairsJuly 21, 2014
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[Graphic News] 298 on board doomed Malaysian flight, 189 Dutch
Malaysia Airlines on Friday revised upward the number of Dutch nationals killed in the MH17 disaster to 189 as it confirmed the identities of dozens more passengers.The airline has said 298 people ― 283 passengers, including three infants of various nationalities, and 15 Malaysian crew ― were killed when the plane went down Thursday in strife-torn eastern Ukraine.The Boeing 777 came down in cornfields in the separatist-held region, with the United States claiming it was shot down in a missile at
World NewsJuly 20, 2014
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[Graphic News] In-house reserves surge
The in-house reserves accumulated at South Korea’s top 10 business groups reached 515.9 trillion won ($499.66 billion) as of the end of the first quarter this year, according to a report released by corporate tracker CEO Score on Wednesday. The figure reflected a 90.3 percent increase from the 271 trillion won recorded five years ago, CEO Score said. In-house reserves refer to a company’s capital surplus excluding tax payments and dividends, which are reserved for future investment. Samsung Grou
IndustryJuly 17, 2014
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[Graphic News] ‘BRICS’ nations create ‘mini-IMF’
The leaders of five emerging market powers said at a summit Tuesday that they gave final agreement to creating their own development bank worth $100 billion that will have its headquarters in China.The first president of the New Development Bank will be from India and the position will rotate every five years among Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa ― the so-called BRICS nations ― a joint statement from the leaders said.The capital for the bank will be split equally among the five par
World BusinessJuly 16, 2014
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[Graphic News] More than half of new temp workers are women aged 55 or above
Nearly 6 out of 10 new temporary workers in South Korea are women aged 55 and older, according to a report released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday. The report also showed that the number of South Korean female temporary workers above the age of 55 has increased by 14.4 percent from last year. This seems to be mainly due to the growing need to accumulate retirement savings, and also because more parents are supporting children who are struggling to find a job amid the sluggish job market conditio
July 15, 2014
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[Graphic News] World Cup winners
SoccerJuly 14, 2014
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[Graphic News] Seoul’s population to fall in global ranking
Seoul’s population, which currently ranks 29th in the world, will drop by 14 notches by 2030, according to the United Nations’ Department of Economics and Social Affairs.The U.N. body predicts that Seoul’s population, which is 9.77 million this year, will edge up to 9.96 million by 2030. Despite the increase in population, Seoul is projected to drop to 43rd place in 2030. The drop in ranking would be the biggest among the top 30 cities on the list. Tokyo remains the world’s most populous city wi
Social AffairsJuly 13, 2014
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[Graphic News] China’s trade with Seoul dwarfs that with Pyongyang
Seoul-Beijing trade volume came in at $209.6 billion in 2012, making South Korea a far more important partner for China than North Korea, the Chinese online portal Wang Yi claimed Monday.Citing U.N. trade data, Wang Yi argued that the huge disparity in trade with the two Koreas shows that improving relations with Seoul would be more beneficial for Beijing. The data showed that South Korea-China trade underwent a 33-fold increase from 1992 to stand at $209.6 billion in 2012. In comparison the fig
PoliticsJuly 9, 2014
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[Graphic News] Incomes catching up with house prices
Korea’s ratio of house prices to income last year was 23.4 percent of the ratio in 1986, indicating that it has become easier for people to buy homes.But the figure for Seoul’s affluent Gangnam area did not fall by as much, reflecting the polarization in the city’s real estate market. According to the Bank of Korea and KB Kookmin Bank on Tuesday, the general price-to-income ratio last year was 23.4, with the baseline figure of 100 based on the equivalent ratio in 1986. Also, Korea’s long-term PI
July 8, 2014
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[Graphic News] Korea’s road fatality second-highest in OECD
South Korea is near the bottom in terms of traffic safety among developed countries, with its traffic fatality rate being the second-highest among surveyed countries despite improvements over the past decade, data showed on Monday.The number of South Koreans killed on the road reached 105 per 1 million people in 2011, ranking 30th among 31 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.South Korea’s fatality rate, although an improvement from 119 in 2009 and 218 in 2000,
Social AffairsJuly 7, 2014
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[Graphic News] OECD forecasts worsening income gaps
A new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows that South Korea’s income gap will be the third-largest among the 29 member countries by 2060.The report says that the income of South Korea’s richest 10 percent will be nearly 6.5 times larger than the bottom 10 percent of the income ladder over the coming 50 years. South Korea’s top earners made 4.85 times more than those in the bottom 10 percent did on average in 2010, according to the report.The OECD predicted
July 6, 2014
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[Graphic News] Number of foreign residents in Korea on the rise
The number of foreign nationals in Korea increased by 8.6 percent this year from the previous year, comprising slightly over 3 percent of the country’s population, according to government data.According to the data released by the Security Ministry, the number of foreigners here reached 1.57 million as of Jan. 1 of this year, accounting for 3.1 percent of the country’s population of 51 million. The number of foreign residents has been on the rise for the past eight years. A growing number of eth
Social AffairsJuly 3, 2014
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[Graphic News] More elementary school students addicted to smartphones
More elementary school students are becoming addicted to smartphones, according to the Ministry of Education.The number of elementary school students at risk of smartphone addiction rose by more than 20 percent this year from the previous year, according to a report released by the ministry. Some 131,000 children from grades 1-6 are at risk this year, the ministry said. Meanwhile, the number of middle and high school students who are potential smartphone addicts decreased from 229,877 last year
Social AffairsJuly 1, 2014
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[Graphic News] Korea’s cigarette prices among the world’s lowest
Cigarette prices in Korea remain some of the lowest among 41 major economies around the world, recent data revealed on Monday. According to Korea Institute of Public Finance, the average price of best-selling Korean cigarettes between 2012 and 2013 was 2,500 won ($2.20) a pack, one sixth of the price set in Norway at $14.50 per pack. The state-run institute added that the proportion of tax levied on tobacco products in Korea was also relatively low. About 1,550 won, or 62 percent of cigarette pr
Social AffairsJune 30, 2014