Articles by Kim Yon-se
Kim Yon-se
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[News Focus] Do securities regulators offer level playing field?
SEJONG -- Some local commercial banks have been denounced for having recklessly sold high-risk equity-linked fund products to seniors without properly warning them of the potential losses.Some retirees saw their severance pay or savings from their working life disappear. Bank salesmen also targeted ordinary salaried workers whose installment savings had matured.Though investors in funds should be accountable for their own investment losses, the commercial banks have been criticized for improperl
Economy Oct. 28, 2019
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[News Focus] Construction policy risks undermining fiscal soundness
SEJONG -- Enterprises under the Moon Jae-in administration are investing less in construction and facilities, with 2018 data revealing year-on-year contraction in both areas.These are the first simultaneous drops in corporate investment in construction and facilities that South Korea has experienced in a decade. The last time was in 2008, when the nation was affected by the crisis that followed the US subprime mortgage collapse.Previously, when anti-speculation measures led the construction indu
Economy Oct. 27, 2019
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[News Focus] Korea faces symptoms of drop in men’s population
SEJONG -- Statistics Korea forecasts that the nation’s population will start declining in 2029 after peaking at 51.94 million in 2028.By sex, the timing of drop in men will likely come first, beginning from 2026 after reaching an all-time high of 25.97 million in 2025, while the number of women is projected to fall starting from 2031.But the symptom of an earlier-than-expected drop mode in the men’s population has already surfaced, according to monthly demographic figures held by the
Social Affairs Oct. 22, 2019
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[News Focus] President’s detractors cite economy as No. 1 reason
SEJONG -- Over the past year or more, South Koreans who told pollsters they did not support President Moon Jae-in most often pointed to the economy as the main reason. A large portion of those dissatisfied with the incumbent administration have said it is incapable of dealing with economic issues and improving ordinary people’s livelihoods.To some extent, their disappointment is backed up by sagging indices in areas such as employment, GDP growth, exports, labor costs, the value of the cur
Politics Oct. 20, 2019
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[News Focus] Korea to vitalize FTA talks with S. American countries
SEJONG -- South Korea has become the first Asian country to sign a free trade agreement with a Central American trade bloc, composed of five countries -- Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama.The Korea-Central America FTA took effect on Oct. 1, as the initial effectuation with Honduras and Nicaragua. The deal with the other three will be implemented after ratification by their legislatures.Korea is pinning big hopes on its 16th FTA deal with the Central American countries, and
Economy Oct. 17, 2019
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[News Focus] 60% of Korean households have 1-2 members
SEJONG -- The growing number of single-person households in South Korea came to the fore three or four years ago, along with the expanding number of industries and services designed to accommodate them. This demographic change reflects the rapid growth in the number of seniors residing alone and falling marriage rates among people in their 30s and 20s.Simultaneously, low fertility rates among newlyweds have produced a sharp increase in the number of two-member households.The number of households
Social Affairs Oct. 15, 2019
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[News Focus] Korean stocks lag behind foreign rivals
SEJONG – It’s still too early to call it confidence, but optimism is growing among some capital-market participants and analysts in South Korea over the possibility that stock prices will rebound. They cite favorable external factors involving eased concerns about the trade dispute between the US and China as the prospects of a bilateral compromise grow.The benchmark Kospi has been swayed by external factors like global financial crisis over the past few years or decades. However, li
Economy Oct. 13, 2019
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[News Focus] Monthly payouts for jobless soar 97% since 2015
SEJONG -- The number of South Koreans, who have been “de facto” out of work, has surpassed the 3 million mark.The extended unemployment figures, as specified by Statistics Korea’s Employment Supplementary Index III, includes “underemployed” workers, such as temporary employees who work fewer than 36 hours a week and want full-time employment, as well as seasonal workers who are out of work for part of the year. The standard unemployment rate stayed at 3 percent, wit
Social Affairs Oct. 10, 2019
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[News Focus] Hog-raising industry alarmed by spread of swine fever
SEJONG -- It is now close to one month since the nation’s first case of African swine fever was confirmed in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on Sept. 17.The number of outbreaks of the deadly animal virus came to 13 as of 4 p.m., Oct. 8 -- eight in Gyeonggi Province and five in Incheon. All the affected regions are close to the inter-Korean border: Paju, Gyeonggi Province, with five cases; Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, with one case; Ganghwa County, Incheon, with five cases; and Gimpo, Gyeong
Social Affairs Oct. 8, 2019
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[News Focus] Portion of optimists over economy stays at 13%: poll
SEJONG -- A variety of polls show that the public disapproval rating for President Moon Jae-in now outstrips his approval rating.According to a survey from Gallup Korea, the portion of respondents who expressed negative opinion toward the president, exceeded the supporters for him for the sixth consecutive week since August.In the pollster’s latest survey, conducted on Oct. 1-2, 51 percent of the 1,000 citizens polled expressed disapproval of Moon’s performance, while the approval ra
Economy Oct. 6, 2019
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[News Focus] 2 in 5 South Koreans aged 50 or over
SEJONG -- It is widely known to the public that South Korea’s senior population is rapidly growing, as the government and media outlets have continued to raise awareness about the aged society and demographic changes.The percentage of Koreans aged 70 or over has surpassed 10 percent. Further, the percentage of those aged 65 or over -- who are classified as seniors -- has exceeded 15 percent.The situation of fast-aging is getting more critical, given the current figure for the population of
Social Affairs Oct. 3, 2019
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[News Focus] Employment rate for Koreans in 40s falls for 19th consecutive month
SEJONG -- South Korea saw the number of employed people increase by 452,000 on-year to 27.35 million in August, the latest monthly figure from Statistics Korea.But when broken down by generation, things are looking less rosy for middle-aged people in charge of households involving young children.Those in their 60s dominated the increase in employment with 391,000, followed by those in their 50s with 133,000 and those in their 20s with 71,000.On the contrary, the number of employed dropped among
Social Affairs Oct. 1, 2019
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[News Focus] Real estate mortgages hinder economic growth
SEJONG -- Household debt in South Korea has hogged the limelight in recent decades.The nation’s collective household debt has continued to rise in the wake of active credit card issuance, mortgage loans, student loans for college tuition and loans taken by the self-employed.Apart from first-tier commercial banks, secondary lenders -- such as capital services firms, credit card issuers and savings banks -- have engaged in cutthroat competition for household lending.Registered private moneyl
Economy Sept. 29, 2019
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[News Focus] Prosecution reform stands at crucial crossroads
SEJONG -- In South Korea, the military seized control of state affairs for about three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s.Though Korea is no longer a dictatorship, if asked whether the country still has a privileged class with an abundance of unchecked power, no doubt most ordinary people would not hesitate to point the finger at prosecutors.But certain segments of society -- notably prosecutors and right-wing politicians -- would vociferously disagree. They would say the prosecution has carrie
Politics Sept. 26, 2019
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5 cases of African swine fever detected in a week
SEJONG -- Five cases of African swine fever were confirmed in South Korea in the week from Sept. 17. The incubation period is one week or more.On Tuesday, the fourth and fifth cases of the deadly virus were detected at a hog farm in Gyeonggi Province's Paju and Incheon City's Ganghwa, following the previous day’s case at a farm in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province.Since the first outbreak, Paju has recorded two ASF cases, and Yeoncheon, Gimpo and Ganghwa have seen one each. Quar
Social Affairs Sept. 24, 2019
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