[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

[Graphic News] Korea No. 5 carmaker for 9th year

Korea produced roughly 4.52 million cars last year. The number is 0.9 percent less than the previous year’s production, but still places the country fifth highest in the world for the ninth consecutive year.

IndustryFeb. 19, 2014

[Graphic News] Al-Qaida’s growing influence in Africa, Middle East

An explosion tore through a bus in the Red Sea resort town of Taba, killing three people and injuring 14 on Feb. 16.The blast, which occurred near the Taba border crossing between Egypt and Israel, ripped through the bus, believed to be carrying mostly South Korean tourists who had visited the ancient monastery of St. Catherine’s in central Sinai, Egyptian officials said.Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, an al-Qaida-inspired Islamist militant group based in Sinai, may have been responsible for the attack, a

World NewsFeb. 18, 2014

[Graphic News] Participants in reunions of separated families

The issue of separated families is becoming ever more pressing due to the old age and waning health of the candidates for the upcoming reunions. One has recently died, while some others have passed up their chance. As of the end of 2013, only 71,480 of the 129,264 South Korean members of separated families registered since 1988 are still alive, according to the Unification Ministry. Of the survivors, more than 11 percent are in their 90s, 42 percent in their 80s and 29 percent in their 70s.Since

North KoreaFeb. 17, 2014

[Graphic News] Public debt in South Korea

South Korea’s public sector debt, an index that includes both government liabilities and those of state-run enterprises, amounted to more than 800 trillion won ($770 billion) in 2012, government data showed.National liabilities, money borrowed by central and regional governments, stood at 443.1 trillion won ($417.5 billion) as of late 2012. The general government debt, the sum of national debt combined with liabilities of nonprofit public organizations, stood at 504.6 trillion won ($475.4 billio

Feb. 16, 2014

[Graphic News] Korea ranks the least vulnerable emerging economy

Korea was reported to have the lowest vulnerability index among 15 emerging market economies, according to the semiannual monetary policy report released by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday.

Feb. 13, 2014

[Graphic News] Employment surges at Korea’s top 100 firms

The average job growth rate at the country’s 100 largest companies over the past five years stood at 17.6 percent, according to CEO Score, a website dedicated to analyzing and assessing the management and company strategies of local conglomerates.The raw data was from Statistics Korea, which had conducted a survey on more than 270,000 local companies employing 10 people or more. Among the firms on the list, LG Innotek, an affiliate of LG Group, saw its jobs grow by the largest clip. Samsung, Hyu

Feb. 12, 2014

[Graphic News] South Korea strong in short track, Germany in luge

A handful of countries have dominated the gold medal tally in varying sports in the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. South Korea is far ahead in short track speed skating, claiming 19 of 40 gold medals before the 2014 Games. Both Canada and China are at a distant second with seven each. Germany dominates in luge, sweeping 28 gold medals since it was adopted as an Olympic program in 1964. The number is more than half of the 41 gold up for grabs in the event thus far. Overall, Germany has taken 71 of 1

SportsFeb. 11, 2014

[Graphic News] Korea’s brand value ranks 16th globally

Korea’s brand value ranked 16th in 2013 to rise a notch higher than the previous year, according to an annual report by Brand Finance, an asset valuation consultancy based in London.Valued at $775 billion, which reflects a 7 percent increase from the year before, Korea reclaimed its place as the 16th-most valuable brand in the world. It had held the post for 2010 and 2011 before falling to 17th place in 2012.The United States, China and Germany have been ranked as the top three in brand value si

Feb. 10, 2014

[Graphic News] Public satisfaction in education on decline

Public satisfaction in school education is declining while concerns over students’ weakening ethics are on the rise, a survey showed Sunday. On the Korean Educational Development Institute’s survey of 2,000 citizens, public education received 2.49 out of a possible 5 points in overall satisfaction, a 0.41-point drop from 2012. The rate has been on the decline since 2010, when it was 3.09. About 13 percent of the surveyed answered that education was underperforming, double from 2012. Respondents

NationalFeb. 9, 2014

[Graphic News] The richer, the healthier

The higher a person’s income level is, the healthier they are, data showed Thursday, According to statistics released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 22 percent of the top income group worked out for at least 10 minutes once a week while 14.4 percent of the lowest income class spent time on exercise.The ministry divided the income level into four categories based on monthly wages of 5,500 citizens in 2012. Waist sizes also tended to grow among lower income groups. The obesity rate of the

Feb. 6, 2014

[Graphic News] China rises as formidable military spender

A recent report from Britain’s defense consulting firm IHS Jane’s estimated that China’s defense spending for 2014 would amount to around $148 billion, an increase of 6.3 percent from a year ago.In the report on the world’s defense budgets, China ranked second after the U.S. whose defense budget for this year is estimated at $574.9 billion, a decrease of 1.3 percent from last year.China’s defense budget reaches the combined budgets of the three major traditional military powers in Europe ― the U

DefenseFeb. 5, 2014

[Graphic News] Domestic tourism in need of a shot in the arm

Domestic tourism remains sluggish a decade after Korea introduced a five-day workweek system, once billed as a golden opportunity for the leisure and tourism sector. Outbound travel, meanwhile, has grown steadily, data from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports show. According to the data reported to President Park Geun-hye during a meeting on tourism policies on Monday, the aggregate days that Koreans spent on domestic travel for all of 2012 were 360 million days, little changed from 350

TravelFeb. 4, 2014

[Graphic News] Economically inactive graduates

Korea’s economically inactive population with a college degree or higher tallied 3.08 million people in 2013, up 3.2 percent from the previous year, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.As the number reached 2 million in 2004 and broke the 3 million mark last year, the data suggests that the economically inactive population grew by roughly 1 million in just nine years.The economically inactive population refers to those over age 15 who are not employed, unemployed or currently seeking

Feb. 3, 2014

[Graphic News] World’s most expensive cities

London is the most expensive city to live in, followed by Oslo, the capital of Norway, according to a survey by expatistan.com. Seoul of ranked at 37th in the survey to place fourth among Asian capital cities. The survey involved a price index for 5,190 commodities across 1,617 international cities. Three of Switzerland’s cities placed within the top 10.

Feb. 2, 2014

[Graphic News] Rice losing dominance in Korean diet

Koreans are eating less rice, consuming other energy sources to sustain their health, data showed Tuesday. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rice accounted for 31.6 percent of major energy sources for Koreans in 2012, down nearly 10 percent from 2008. The average daily calories from rice consumption dropped to 629.41 calories per person, decreasing by 24.6 percent from 2008. This is about 170 grams, suggesting that one person consumes less than two bowls of rice

Jan. 28, 2014

[Graphic News] AI spreads nationwide

Korean authorities are grappling with an increasing number of avian influenza cases, as the virus has continued to spread to chickens and migratory birds across the country since the first outbreak in Gochang, North Jeolla Province on Jan. 17. Up to six areas were confirmed to be infected with the pathogenic H5N8 strain.

Social AffairsJan. 26, 2014

[Graphic News] World-leading products per country

1. China - 1,485 products2. Germany - 703 3. U.S. - 6034. Japan - 2315. Italy - 2286. U.K. - 817. South Korea - 64

IndustryJan. 23, 2014

[Graphic News] Global market share of Korean firms in 2013

Korean firms placed within the top 10 in terms of sales revenues up to the third quarter of last year for nine of 26 industry categories, according to data compiled by CEO Score.Samsung Electronics was the industry leader in information technology and Hyundai Heavy led the shipbuilding industry, which on the list also included five other domestic companies.Meanwhile, other Korean firms ranked second in industries such as steel, semiconductors and mobile phones, the data showed.

IndustryJan. 22, 2014

[Graphic News] Al-Qaida’s growing influence in Middle East

Despite the death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, the Middle Eastern terrorist organization appears to be growing, according to data released by AFP.Al-Qaida-affiliated militant jihadists have strongholds in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, while the group has also inspired the creation of independent militant groups operating in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Sinai and parts of the Arabian Peninsula.An estimated 17,000-20,000 fighters are engaged in jihadist activity in Iraq and Syria alone.

World NewsJan. 21, 2014