Over 70% of Korean millennials, Gen Z say wealth distributed unequally

More than 70 percent of millennials and members of Generation Z in South Korea believe that wealth and income are distributed unequally throughout society, a survey showed on June 22. Millennials are people born between 1983 and 1994, and members of Generation Z were born between 1995 and 2003. The survey, released by Deloitte Anjin, showed that some 73 percent of millennials and 76 percent of Gen Zers in Korea recognized wealth and income inequality as a major concern. Of the global millennia

S. Korea to soften mortgage rules for first-time buyers from July

South Korea will ease mortgage rules for first-time homebuyers starting next month as part of a raft of real estate measures aimed at helping young people move up the property ladder, according to a real estate service provider on June 21. Applying for a mortgage will become easier for both couples and individuals seeking to purchase a home for the first time, the Zigbang report said. From July, couples with a combined annual income of less than 90 million won ($79,141) -- compared with the c

Ex-President Park Geun-hye’s house to be auctioned off

Impeached former President Park Geun-hye’s house in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul, will be put up for sale in August in a public auction, according to local real estate auction information provider GG Auction on June 22. The state-run Korea Asset Management Corp. will kick off the first round of bidding on Aug. 9. If the property does not sell during the three-day bidding period, Kamco will lower the price by 10 percent and hold a second round of bidding the following week, officials said.

Moody’s ups NH NongHyup Bank’s rating from stable to positive

Global ratings firm Moody’s on June 22 raised its rating outlook for South Korean lender NH NongHyup Bank from stable to positive, while maintaining the firm’s ratings at A1. “The upgrade reflects our expectation that the bank’s asset soundness and capital adequacy as well as improved profitability will remain solid over the next 12-18 months,” Moody’s said in a statement. Meanwhile, Moody’s revised up the ratings of NH Investment & Securities to

Cleaning startup Miso aims to be ‘Amazon of services’

How Miso became the first Korean firm to be included in the growth program of Silicon Valley startup accelerator who discovered Airbnb, Doordash and Dropbox

Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon maps out city’s future in 2030 World Expo bid

At the Busan Expo, we will be able to present a vision for the future where humans and technologies coexist at the center of global society in the midst of the period of 'great transition.'

Korean-learning app Mypool sets sights on beating rivals

After growing up in poverty, CEO believes education can change lives

South Korean researchers first to discover cause of rare hearing loss

South Korean researchers became the world’s first to discover a gene variant that causes a rare type of hearing impairment whose origins had so far remained unknown. The newly identified gene will help doctors better treat patients with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder, or ANSD, and to find out if their condition can be improved through surgery, according to Dr. Choi Byung-yoon, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital’s otorhinolaryngology professor who led the research.

1 in 4 Koreans aged 15-29, still de facto jobless

SEJONG -- The tally for unemployed or underemployed young people in South Korea remains at a serious level, despite recent improvement in the hiring market. The de facto jobless -- unemployed plus underemployed -- among those aged 15-29 was 1.011 million in December 2019, a month before COVID-19 initially hit the nation, according to the Supplementary Index III for Employment, created by Statistics Korea. At that time, the de facto jobless rate was 20.8 percent out of the economically active

Second Country: Cross Worlds offers something extra

Helped by Studio Ghibli-style graphics, new game likely to unlock users' minds, deliver new momentum to Netmarble

Korean asset managers bank on virus recovery

South Korea’s asset managers are counting on the global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic as vaccination gathers momentum. This, in turn, is adding fuel to Korean managers’ efforts to revisit industrial sectors that were hardest-hit by the virus impact. Shinhan Asset Management, an asset management arm of Korea’s banking group Shinhan, said Monday it plans to launch a second batch of its hybrid fund next week, in order to target companies reeling from the pandemic amid

Coupang bets on Olympics to grow streaming service

Coupang Play to target sports fans with latest deal to win online Olympics broadcasting rights