[Graphic News] Per capita health care spending tops 1 million won

South Koreans spent an average of more than 1 million won ($930) on medical treatment last year, according to data released Tuesday. The National Health Insurance Service said that some 50 million public insurance subscribers spent about 51 trillion won for medical purposes, up 6.5 percent year-on-year. This means that each Korean paid an average of 85,000 won per month for health care.People over the age of 65 spent about 19 trillion won, accounting for 35.4 percent of the total medical spendin

Social AffairsMarch 19, 2014

[Graphic News] Separatist movements worldwide

As Crimea voted overwhelmingly in favor of splitting from Ukraine and seeks to join Russia, secession movements in other European countries are likely to be affected by the referendum result. Italians in Venice will have an Internet-based vote on Friday in a bid to boost interest in a bill calling for a referendum on whether the Veneto region should break away from Italy. Scotland and Catalonia are planning votes to secede from the United Kingdom and Spain, respectively.States that successfully

World NewsMarch 18, 2014

[Graphic News] Korea, Japan export competition reaches new high

South Korea and Japan reached a new level of competition last year in terms of exports, according to a report by the Korea International Trade Association on Monday. The export similarity index for the East Asian neighbors surpassed the 0.5 mark for the first time in 2013, reaching 0.501, meaning that more than half of their exports were rival products. Competition was highest in semiconductor equipment, at 0.766; cars, at 0.707; and industrial machinery, at 0.690. Notably, competition in car pa

World NewsMarch 17, 2014

[Graphic News] Idle money hits record high

Korea saw a record high level of short-term funds flowing into the financial system as economic uncertainty and a bearish stock market led investors to manage their money on a short-term basis, data showed Sunday.The country’s short-term floating capital, such as securities accounts and currency in circulation, amounted to a record 712.89 trillion won ($665 billion) at the end of 2013, up from 666.36 trillion won in December 2012, according to data from the Bank of Korea and the Korea Financial

March 16, 2014

[Graphic News] Lawmakers raise W38.1b in political donations in 2013

Lawmakers raised a combined 38.1 billion won ($35.9 million) in political donations last year, data showed Thursday.According to the data released by the National Election Commission, each lawmaker on average raised 120 million won from their supporters in the year, which had no major elections. The country held both general and presidential elections in 2012.Of 300 lawmakers, two were excluded from the data as they did not have supporters’ associations. Lawmakers of the ruling Saenuri Party, wh

PoliticsMarch 13, 2014

[Graphic News] Korea-Canada top-10 trade items

March 12, 2014

[Graphic News] Korea has fewest practicing doctors

The number of practicing physicians in Korea is the lowest among the member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, although the figure has increased over the past few years, according to OECD data. Korea recorded 2.1 doctors per 1,000 people in 2012, well below the OECD average of 3.2. Austria topped the list with 4.8 doctors per 1,000 people in 2011, followed by Italy, Spain and Germany.

Social AffairsMarch 11, 2014

[Graphic News] A look at world’s deadliest air disasters

A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 disappeared from air traffic control screens over waters between Malaysia and Vietnam early Saturday morning, leaving the fates of the 239 people aboard in doubt.A look at some of the world’s deadliest air disasters:1. June 3, 2012: Dana Air MD-83 jet crashes into residential area of Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, killing all 153 people aboard.2. April 20, 2012: Bhoja Air Boeing 737 crashes in wheat fields near Islamabad, Pakistan, while trying to land during thund

World NewsMarch 10, 2014

[Graphic News] Number of credit cards falls below 100 million mark

The number of credit cards in South Korea fell below the 100 million mark in February, leading to a fall in the average number of credit cards held by each economically active person, industry data showed Sunday. The decline appeared to be mostly due to the massive data leak in January and the government’s stringent countermeasures.

March 9, 2014

[Graphic News] Korea’s suicide rate triples in 20 years

The suicide rate in Korea in 2012 reached 28.1 for every 100,000 people, according to Statistics Korea.Although the number slightly fell from its peak at 31.7 people in 2011, it still suggests that the rate has more than tripled since 1992.Moreover, 1 in 5 suicides is due to economic and financial difficulties ― the third-most common cause after psychological distress and physiological illnesses. It has also been reported that Korea has the highest suicide rate and the fastest suicide rate growt

March 6, 2014

[Graphic News] Singapore is world’s costliest city: survey

Singapore replaced Tokyo as the world‘s most expensive city due to its soaring costs of cars and utilities as well as a strong currency, according to the 2014 Worldwide Cost of Living survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit.Despite Abenomics driving consumer confidence and price inflation, a weaker yen has pushed the Japanese capital to sixth place. Seoul ranked 17th in the survey, which examined prices across 160 products and services in 140 cities.(Source: Economist Intelligence Unit)

Foreign AffairsMarch 5, 2014

[Graphic News] Ranking of world’s richest people: Forbes list

The number of billionaires in the world has surged to a record-high 1,645 with 268 of them being newcomers, according to Forbes’ annual list.Although wealth is spreading to new parts of the world, the United States still dominates, accounting for eight of the top 10 billionaires.Bill Gates is back on top with an aggregate net worth of $76 billion after a four-year interval while Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook is the year’s biggest gainer. Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee ranks 102 with a net wort

March 4, 2014

[Graphic News] North Korean missiles

DefenseMarch 3, 2014

[Graphic News] Korea’s fertility rate continues to fall

Korea’s fertility rate, indicating the average number of children Korean women are expected to give birth to over the course of their lives, is expected to drop by 0.11 to 1.19 this year, according to Statistics Korea. This is because fewer women are deciding to have children due to a variety of social, economic and cultural factors, it said.

March 2, 2014

[Graphic News] Korea’s current account balance

South Korea posted a current account surplus for 24 consecutive months in January. The Bank of Korea reported on Thursday that the country logged a $3.61 billion current account surplus in January, extending the surplus for the 24th month.The surplus, however, narrowed to an 11-month low, down from $6.41 billion in December, due partly to seasonal factors, the central bank said.The current account balance is the broadest measure of the country’s trade with the rest of the world, including not on

Feb. 27, 2014

[Graphic News] Student obesity rate rises

The Education Ministry said Tuesday that 15.3 percent of elementary, middle and high school students were obese in 2013, showing an increase of 0.6 percent from the year before.According to the ministry, the rate of obesity in students in rural areas was higher than in cities. About 17 percent of elementary students in rural areas were obese compared to 12.8 percent of those in major cities. The obesity rate of middle school students in metropolitan areas was 14.5 percent, lower than the 16.1 pe

Social AffairsFeb. 26, 2014

[Graphic News] U.S. to slash ground troop level to lowest since 1940

The U.S. Department of Defense on Monday announced plans to curtail the number of ground troops to between 440,000 and 450,000 by 2017, the lowest level since 1940 when the number of active-duty soldiers stood at around 267,000.The sharp drawdown is part of efforts to reduce Washington’s financial woes. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that as a result of large budget cuts, U.S. forces would assume additional risks in “certain areas” including training and maintenance.Some analysts say that th

DefenseFeb. 25, 2014

[Graphic News] Local election to see increase in voters 50 and older

The upcoming local elections in June are expected to see an increase in the number of electorates aged 50 and over, the Ministry of Security and Public Administration said Monday.The provisional number by the government shows that voters in their 50s or older will account for 40.7 percent of the total voters in the election, a 0.7 percent growth from the 2012 presidential election. On the contrary, the voting rates of 20-somethings and 30-somethings are expected to fall by 0.4 percent and 0.6 pe

PoliticsFeb. 24, 2014

[Graphic News] KakaoTalk surpasses Naver in brand value

The brand value of KakaoTalk, a local messenger service with more than 130 million users worldwide, has surpassed Naver among Internet companies, according to the Brand Stock Top Index compiled by Brand Stock. In second place, Naver was close on KakaoTalk’s heels.

IndustryFeb. 23, 2014

[Graphic News] President Park Geun-hye’s approval rating ‘stable’

President Park Geun-hye’s job approval ratings remained stable throughout her first year at Cheong Wa Dae, a poll showed. According to Realmeter’s survey results, Park’s approval rating began at 54.8 percent in February and reached 67 percent in August. Although her approval rating dipped below the 50 percent mark in December, it rose again after her three-year economic innovation plans were announced in January.A recent poll of 2,500 respondents Feb. 10-14 showed that 56.4 percent said they wer

PoliticsFeb. 20, 2014