Most Popular
-
1
[AtoZ into Korean mind] Humor in Korea: Navigating the line between what's funny and not
-
2
[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
-
3
Yoon seeks rebound, taps 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff
-
4
Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
-
5
Medical standoff deepens as doctors reject new med school plan, talks
-
6
[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
-
7
N. Korea sends economic delegation to Iran amid suspected military cooperation
-
8
[Herald Interview] Why Toss invited hackers to penetrate its system
-
9
S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
-
10
S. Korean envoys convene to navigate strategy amid Middle East tensions
-
[Graphic News] Freak weather grips world
Several parts of the world have been hit by unusual weather patterns this week, causing deaths and damage on a massive scale.The U.S. and Canada fought with the frigid cold sparked by what is called a “polar vortex,” which claimed about a dozen lives across the country. U.S. authorities in chilly regions such as Milwaukee, Wisconsin, urged residents to stay indoors.Southeast Asia was also struck by a cold snap. Vegetable gardens were hit by frost, forcing the Manila government to prepare alterna
NationalJan. 8, 2014
-
[Graphic News] Economic burden of suicide, depression surging in Korea
The socioeconomic costs of suicides and depression jumped more than 40 percent between 2007 and 2011, a report showed on Tuesday.According to the state-run National Health Insurance Service, Korea saw 10.38 trillion won ($9.71 billion) in economic losses as an effect of people committing suicide or suffering from depression in 2011, a 41.5 percent increase from the 7.33 trillion won recorded in 2007.The report studied medical costs spent by people diagnosed with depression as well as financial a
Social AffairsJan. 7, 2014
-
[Graphic News] More debt for self-employed
Debt held by the self-employed grew about 9 percent last year as their income declined amid the economic slowdown, spawning concerns about their capacity to service debt, according to bank data on Monday.Bank loans extended to the self-employed amounted to 105.6 trillion won ($100 billion) as of end 2012, up 8.5 percent from the previous year, according to data provided by four major local banks.
Jan. 6, 2014
-
[Graphic News] Time spent on Internet portals
A survey by KT’s economic research center DIGIECO showed that Web portal use was highest by wired Internet, with 1.9 hours, followed by smartphones with 1.5 hours and tablet PCs with 0.8 hour.Lifestyle, family and culture-oriented use is highest on wired Internet with 1.9 hours. For smartphones, social network and fashion-oriented use is the highest because of the ability to use social media regardless of time and place.
TechnologyJan. 5, 2014
-
[Graphic News] 2014 budget by sector
After much delay, the National Assembly on Wednesday approved the government budget and a host of tightly contested bills including the revised Foreign Investment Promotion Act and the National Intelligence Service Act.
Jan. 2, 2014
-
[Graphic News] Projections for Seoul mayoral race
Current Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon commands a solid lead over potential contenders for his post as the political parties gear up for the June 4 provincial elections, surveys show.According to surveys conducted by local media outlets, Park outpaces Rep. Chung Mong-joon of the ruling Saenuri Party by as much as 10.2 percentage points. When pitted against former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, another figure the ruling party may call on to dislodge the progressive Seoul mayor, Park’s lead was extended
PoliticsJan. 1, 2014
-
[Graphic News] Korean middle class shrinking: report
Korea’s middle class has steadily decreased from 74.47 percent of the population in 1990 to 67.33 percent in 2010, while the percentages of high-income and low-income earners have increased 2.23 and 4.9 percentage points, respectively, to 20.43 percent and 12.24 percent over the last 20 years, according to a report released by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs Monday.
Social AffairsDec. 30, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Fines imposed on telecom operators
The fine imposed on the nation’s major telecom operators for their illegal subsidies to customers soared this year, an indication that they were waging heated competition to increase new subscribers. The three ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― were fined a record-setting 106.4 billion won together last week.
Dec. 29, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Korea may see economic recovery
According to an outlook by the Korea Economic Research Institute, the nation is expected to see a slight economic recovery next year, although uncertainties still linger.KERI’s report showed that the economy is expected to grow 3.4 percent on-year and consumer inflation to stand at 2.2 percent. But the GDP growth is expected to be limited by the stronger Korean won against the U.S. dollar.
Dec. 26, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Startup companies reduced
The ratio of start-up firms to all active companies fell to 14.3 percent last year, the lowest since 2007, according to Statistics Korea. In contrast, the ratio of shuttered firms increased from 12.8 percent in 2010 to 12.9 percent in 2011. Government officials attributed the lackluster start-up business performance to the nation’s protracted economic slowdown.
World NewsDec. 25, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Stock market performance among OECD members
As of last Friday, Korea saw its stock price index fall 0.7 percent this year, coming in 30th among 34 OECD members in terms of stock index performance, according to data compiled by Yonhap News.Market analysts said the weak Japanese yen might have caused the bearish run by the Korea Composite Stock Price Index.
Dec. 24, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Korea’s gas emissions
Korea’s total greenhouse gas emissions increased 3.3 percent on average annually from 2005 to 2010, according to Statistics Korea. The nation emitted a total of 568.8 million tons of CO2 in 2005 and 668.8 tons in 2010.The nation’s per capita gas emissions amounted to 11.4 tons, higher than the OECD average of 10.1 tons.
Dec. 23, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Cancer remains top cause of Korean deaths
Cancer remained the most common cause of death in 2012 while cerebrovascular diseases replaced heart diseases as the second leading cause, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Social AffairsDec. 22, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Impact of court‘s ordinary wage ruling on companies
The Supreme Court’s decision to include regular bonuses in calculations of the “ordinary wage” for workers will result in additional employment costs for companies. The Korea Employers’ Federation expected the financial burden on companies to reach 38.5 trillion won, while the Korea Labor Institute predicted 21.9 trillion won in increased costs as a result of the ruling.The Korea Federation of SMEs, or K-Biz, estimates SMEs will have to foot an additional bill of 11.6 trillion won and the Korea
Dec. 19, 2013
-
[Graphic News] 200 million go to the movies
More than 200 million people were expected to have watched films in theaters this year as of Wednesday, setting a record in Korean cinema history. Last year, a total of 194,890,587 people hit theaters to watch films in Korea. Korean films alone attracted 118,160,000 viewers this year, exceeding last year’s record of 114,613,190. The market share of Korean movies also reached 59.1 percent this year, surpassing that of foreign films, which stood at 40.9 percent. This year saw releases of English-l
FilmDec. 18, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Park in the polls
More than half of the public considers the Park Geun-hye administration to have done a good job this year, a poll showed. According to the poll conducted by Gallup Korea ahead of the first anniversary of her election on Dec. 19, 54 percent of the 1,204 people surveyed positively assessed Park’s administration, while 35 percent said the opposite. The survey showed that diplomacy and international relations were the most commonly chosen factor for the positive assessments, while lack of communicat
PoliticsDec. 17, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Trade balance in ICT and non-ICT industries
Korea’s industries are estimated to have posted trade deficits ― except in ICT-related sectors ― for the last 14 years, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. But it said the nation’s annual trade surplus in the ICT sector has already set a new record high of $81.9 billion in the first 11 months of the year.
Dec. 16, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Prices of smartphones in global markets
The results are based on the surveys conducted at mobile shops in 15 countries from June 20-30, and from Oct. 1-10.
TechnologyDec. 15, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Average salaries of heads of public firms by sector
Major public organizations are under fire for the excessive wages and benefits received by their top executives despite their snowballing debts. According to a report from the Korea Institute of Public Finance, the chiefs of finance-related public organizations came out on top in terms of annual salary.
Dec. 12, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Korea’s free trade territory
Korea and its free trade partners make up 57.7 percent of the world’s GDP, giving Korea the third-largest FTA territory behind that of Chile and Mexico, according to officials. If South Korea concludes free trade pacts with China, Australia and Canada, the total GDP of Seoul’s free trade territory may become the largest.
Dec. 11, 2013