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.

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 illnes...

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 exa...

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 Zuckerbe...

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.

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 ac...

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. T...

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 ...

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 cont...

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.

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 ann...

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.

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,...

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 survi...