Articles by Kim Yon-se
Kim Yon-se
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[News Focus] Gyeonggi, Sejong see unemployment-payouts surge
SEJONG -- More than 3 million of the working-age population, aged 15-64, in South Korea have been de facto out of work, while the government highlighted that the nation’s jobless people stayed under 1 million (864,000) last month with official unemployment rate falling to 3 percent.According to the Supplementary Index for Employment III, a database held by Statistics Korea, the extended (or sentiment-reflected) jobless rate posted 10.6 percent as of October 2019.The figure is generated fro
Economy Dec. 2, 2019
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[News Focus] Outlook for Korean economy remains grim
SEJONG -- South Korea has yet to see any positive signals of an economic revival although the government predicted it would bounce back in the second half of the year.The financial woes of companies are continuing while the stock market is lackluster. In addition, another round of the US dollar’s strong position is aggravating the situation.Korea saw its exports fall by 10.3 percent during the Jan. 1-Nov. 20 period, on year, according to the Korea Customs Service. The nation’s outbou
Economy Dec. 1, 2019
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[News Focus] Real estate, education policies lower Moon’s approval ratings among housewives, students
SEJONG -- President Moon Jae-in started the latter part of his term this month amid discontent with his administration’s policies on real estate and education.Alongside sagging economic indices, a number of other factors have led citizens to express frustration or anger with Moon. Among these are skyrocketing apartment prices in Seoul and alleged irregularities by former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and his family.Though President Moon’s approval ratings remain above the psychologically
Politics Nov. 28, 2019
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[News Focus] Of 36 OECD countries, Korea stands at No. 28 in employment
SEJONG -- For South Koreans who say they do not support the incumbent administration, jobs are one of the main reasons cited in polls. President Moon Jae-in’s detractors say the government’s labor policies consist largely of pouring taxpayers’ money into the creation of temporary jobs in the public sector.Critics point to figures showing improved employment rates for senior citizens, who gained temporary jobs at public institutions, but bleaker outcomes for those in their 40s i
Economy Nov. 27, 2019
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[News Focus] OECD’s debt data suggests Korea’s inherent risks
SEJONG -- A large proportion of middle-aged South Koreans have become hugely indebted to financial firms over the past few years due to their apartment purchases.The previous Park Geun-hye administration provided them with relaxed loan terms in a bid to induce as many households as possible to purchase apartments, a policy aimed at boosting the economy.More recently, younger people in their 20s and 30s have joined the move, a lawmaker has reported.Those, who have bought homes in Seoul in the two
Economy Nov. 21, 2019
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[News Focus] Women increasingly outnumber men in Korea
SEJONG -- The number of women was found to have overtaken that of men in South Korea more than four years ago, a demographic database held by the government showed.According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the changeover took place on June 2015, when the number of men per 100 women fell to 99.9 -- or by 25.7153 million male Koreans to 25.7157 million female Koreans.It was the first time the gender ratio had dropped below 100 since the nation began compiling the relevant figures.The ratio
Social Affairs Nov. 19, 2019
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[News Focus] People question policy on Seoul apartments
SEJONG -- An online commenter, who identified himself as a salaried worker in charge of a household, wrote earlier this month that he bought an apartment in Seoul during the latter part of the Park Geun-hye administration (2013-2017).The price of the apartment has climbed 300 million won ($257,000) during President Moon Jae-in’s term, which began in May 2017, according to the commenter’s post.“But I don’t feel so happy when I think about (negative) effects of this kind of
Economy Nov. 17, 2019
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[News Focus] Meager birthrate expected to undermine Korea’s GDP
SEJONG -- The number of South Koreans aged 14 or under accounted for only 12.5 percent of the total population as of October 2019, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety.The demographic database held by the ministry includes classification into three groups -- those aged up to 14, those aged 15-64 (called the working-age population) and those aged 65 or over (the senior population).The data showed that the percentage of the youngest generation has continued to fall over the past decade
Social Affairs Nov. 14, 2019
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[News Focus] Investment banks not upbeat about Korea’s 2020 economy
SEJONG -- South Korea’s economic growth is projected to fall behind that of the US this year, according to outlooks from global investment banks and international organizations.Most of them have predicted that Korea’s 2019 gross domestic product growth will stay at about 2 percent or under on-year, and some researchers at home and abroad are further expecting the gloomy situation to continue in 2020.Fitch Ratings, J.P. Morgan and Barclays have forecast 2.3 percent growth for South Ko
Economy Nov. 12, 2019
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[News Focus] Year of soccer, Olympics, elections coming up
SEJONG -- The 2010s will terminate in about 50 days, and South Korean politics will face a turbulent time from the beginning of the 2020s as the nation has already entered the election mode for the 21st Assembly.In 2020, the general election for the National Assembly is slated for April 15, while there will be a presidential election in the US on Nov. 3.Meanwhile, next year will also feature big international sports events.People in Europe and across the globe are waiting for opening of the
Social Affairs Nov. 10, 2019
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[News Focus] Right-wing party strong on home turf, losing ground elsewhere: survey
SEJONG -- Advocates of President Moon Jae-in and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea appear to be mostly supportive of their efforts to root out corruption from the nation’s public institutions, including their initiative to reform the prosecution.But their opponents continue to accuse the incumbent administration of underperforming on the economy, especially in areas such as real estate, employment, the minimum wage and GDP growth.In about 150 days, voters will assess the performance of
Politics Nov. 7, 2019
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[News Focus] 1 in 5 young Koreans de facto out of work
SEJONG -- The Moon administration has claimed that the number of jobless Koreans aged between 15 and 29 was 313,000 as of September, meaning youth unemployment rate fell from above 10 percent to 7.3 percent.This might suggest to some that at least 9 out of 10 Koreans in that age group are employed despite the tough hiring conditions in the job market.But most employment researchers say the figure doesn’t reflect the reality facing jobseekers, raising the necessity of putting more focus on
Social Affairs Nov. 5, 2019
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[News Focus] Population of 7 major cities falls 117,000 in a year
SEJONG -- South Korea’s major cities are undergoing a demographic change, an apparent shift from the steady expansion they saw between the 1960s and the early 2000s.Statistics showed that the combined population of seven major cities, including Seoul, has continued to fall in recent years and months. This net decline in the number of residents may be due to the outflow of people to new residential towns.According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the total population came to 51.85 mi
Social Affairs Nov. 3, 2019
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[News Focus] Unemployment benefits snowball in food, lodging, tourism
SEJONG -- The volume of unemployment benefit payments to the jobless has nearly doubled over the past four years.Though there were some people who exploited the state-led payout system via shady securing of beneficiary eligibility, data indicated that a growing number of people have been forced to leave their workplaces in the wake of an economic slowdown in recent years.South Korea saw the monthly payouts of unemployment benefits reach 691.6 billion won ($592.8 million) in September 2019, compa
Social Affairs Oct. 31, 2019
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[News Focus] Koreans aged 15-64 decrease 370,000 in 3 years
SEJONG -- South Korea is projected to see the percentage of the working-age population of the total population fall below the 50 percent mark in 2056, according to Statistics Korea.Based on monthly statistics, the working-age population in the nation has remained above 70 percent for more a decade.The working-age population refers to those aged 15 to 64, according to the criteria of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the de
Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2019
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