Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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[Graphic News] Korean firms’ profitability drops sharply
South Korean companies have dropped in profitability from last three years, according to industry data released on Monday.The ratio of net income to sales at South Korean businesses from 2012-2014 fell 2.9 percentage points. It stood at 5.5 percent on average in 2014, far lower than the world’s average (7.9 percent) and emerging countries (average 5.9 percent). Meanwhile, the global average ratio from 2012 to 2014 rose by around 0.24 percentage point.Japan marked the highest rise of 1.3 percenta
Jan. 22, 2015
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[Graphic News] Smartphones outnumber PCs
The global supply of smartphones has outnumbered that of PCs for the first time.According to the “2015 Mobile Trend Prospects” report published by KT Economic Research Institute, the global supply of smartphones stood at 24.5 percent of the population, surpassing that of the PCs (20 percent) and conquering the 40-year-old market within just four years of its release.While the supply of smartphones has been rising ― from 5.2 percent in 2012 to 19.8 percent in 2013 ― PCs’ penetration rate has stal
TechnologyJan. 21, 2015
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[Graphic News] Ratio of oil consumption to GDP to hit 45-year low
The ratio of domestic oil consumption to gross domestic product is expected to fall to its lowest rate this year since 1970, data showed Tuesday. Analysts said the expected drop in the ratio would boost corporate earnings and domestic consumption.The report, compiled by Yonhap using data from the IMF, Korea Energy Economics Institute, and KB Investments and Securities, said that, excluding reexports, the ratio of oil consumption to the nation’s GDP was expected to be around 1.71 percent.The rati
Jan. 20, 2015
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[Graphic News] Fewer families have meals together
Fewer Koreans are having meals with their families, according to government data.Less than 50 percent of 7,000 Koreans surveyed last year said they had breakfast with their family members. The number has been declining since 2005, from 62.9 percent to 53.7 percent in 2010, and to 46.1 percent last year.Meanwhile, only 64.1 percent of the surveyed Koreans said they had dinner with their families. In 2005, 76 percent of Koreans were reported to be eating dinner with their families.The growing numb
Social AffairsJan. 19, 2015
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[Graphic News] Child abuse by care workers rises
Child abuse committed by workers at nursery-related institutes has recently been rampant, the state-run child rights organization said.According to the National Child Protection Agency, the number of such cases more than doubled from 260 in 2012 to 644 in 2013. It accounted for 9.5 percent of the 6,796 child abuse cases in 2013.Public anger erupted this month when a worker at a day care center in Incheon was found to have beaten a 4-year-old girl for not finishing her food. A local court issued
Social AffairsJan. 18, 2015
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[Graphic News] Foot-and-mouth spreads across Korea
The recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has spread nationwide despite efforts by South Korea’s quarantine authorities to contain it, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.As of Thursday, 50 cases of the disease occurred in 13 cities and districts, mostly in the central region of the peninsula. North Chungcheong Province ― the epicenter of the outbreak ― was the hardest hit with 25 regions being affected.Authorities have even confirmed a case of the disease at the
Social AffairsJan. 15, 2015
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[Graphic News] 1 in 5 young adults begins as short-term contract worker
About 20 percent of young adults begin employment as contract workers with positions that last less than a year, an indication that the nation’s youth labor market is worsening, according to data released by the National Statistics Office.The government agency conducted an economic activity census and found that about 761,000, or 19.5 percent of young adult workers, began working under such conditions.This indicates that since the financial crisis, regular positions are being replaced with short
Jan. 14, 2015
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[Graphic News] Seoul among most expensive cities
Seoul has some of the highest prices for goods such as Starbucks coffee, Chilean wine, carbonated water, beef and imported fruits, according to data released by Consumers Korea on Monday.The organization examined the prices of 42 agricultural, livestock and processed products in June and October across 13 major cities in the world.Out of 42 products, Seoul turned out to have the highest prices for 35 items, earning the title of one of the top five most expensive cities.
IndustryJan. 13, 2015
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[Graphic News] SUVs lead Korea’s automobile exports
Korea’s auto export volume dropped for the second consecutive year, but its value edged up 0.6 percent on-year to an all-time high of $48.9 billion last year, according to government data. The Trade Ministry said in a report that the number of exported cars amounted to 3,061,000 units, a 0.9 percent decrease from 2013, mainly due to moribund European markets and GM Chevrolet pulling out of Western Europe. But the value of exports rose slightly as shipments of high-priced recreational vehicles, o
Jan. 12, 2015
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[Graphic News] Singapore’s broadband speed fastest in world: report
Broadband speed in Singapore is now the world’s fastest, according to a Federal Communications Commission report. In the third quarter of last year, Singapore recorded an average connection speed of 105.3 Mbps. Other Asian countries that topped the global list for fastest Internet speeds are Hong Kong (95.7 Mbps), Japan (69.7 Mbps) and South Korea (34 Mbps).Globally, the average connection speed was 4.5 Mbps, remaining above the 4 Mbps “broadband” threshold but declining by 2.8 percent from the
TechnologyJan. 11, 2015
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[Graphic News] Lower oil prices would boost growth
The Korea Development Institute forecast that the decline in global oil prices would have a positive effect on the Korean economy. In its report analyzing the relevance of oil prices and its economic impact, the state-run think tank said that if oil prices hold at $49 per barrel, the Korean economic growth rate would increase by 0.2 percentage points. It also stated that if oil prices drop by 10 percent, the nation’s production costs for overall industries would decrease by 0.67 percent, the ma
Jan. 8, 2015
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[Graphic News] Comparison of two Koreas’ military strength
DefenseJan. 7, 2015
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[Graphic News] Changes after handset subsidy law took effect
Nearly one hundred days have passed since the controversial handset subsidy law took effect.The law, which prohibits telecom firms and handset makers from providing subsidies higher than 300,000 won to attract customers, has affected the pattern of subscription of mobile phones.Due to the subsidy limit that started on Oct. 1, the number of new subscribers sharply decreased in the first month. But then it started to recover, which government officials said indicates that the mobile phone market d
TechnologyJan. 6, 2015
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[Graphic News] Shadow banking sector doubles in 5 years
The size of shadow banking in Korea doubled in five years, according to data released by the Swiss-based global monitoring body Financial Stability Board on Monday.The value of the shadow banking industry, which mainly refers to nonbank financial intermediaries that provide services similar to traditional banks under less strict regulatory oversight, reached about $1.47 trillion in 2013, or 113.4 percent of the country’s GDP, the FSB said. Following the subprime meltdown in 2008 and the global f
Jan. 5, 2015
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[Graphic News] Top 10 stock billionaire celebrities
The founders of Korea’s major star management companies snagged the top four slots on the list of Korea’s stock-rich celebrities in 2014, an online business researcher’s data showed recently. As of Dec. 30, Yang Hyun-suk, the founder of YG Entertainment, topped the list with his listed stocks worth about 185.8 billion won ($168.2 million), according to Chaebol.com. Lee Soo-man, the founder of S.M. Entertainment, ranked No. 2 with 149.3 billion won. Actor and KEAST majority shareholder Bae Yong-j
IndustryJan. 4, 2015
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[Graphic News] Change in Korea since 1945 liberation
Jan. 1, 2015
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[Graphic News] Park’s rollercoaster approval ratings
PoliticsDec. 31, 2014
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[Graphic News] Superrich taxpayers increase in number
More than 3,000 people earned financial investment income of 500 million won ($455,290) or more last year, according to the National Tax Service’s annual report.The individuals earned an average 2.4 billion won, and of this amount, 1.7 billion won or 71 percent comprised interest or dividend income, the data showed.The total amount of financial income reported to the tax office last year was 28 trillion won. Though the number of superrich only took 2.4 percent of the total list, their financial
Dec. 29, 2014
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[Graphic News] Nearly 13,000 private hacking attacks reported in 2014
The number of cyberattacks reported by individuals against hackers reached almost 13,000 this year, the state-run Internet agency said Thursday. According to the Korea Internet and Safety Agency, the number of hacking attacks reported to the Cyber Bureau and supervising organizations stood at 12,847 cases over the first 10 months of this year, up by 21.2 percent from 10,600 cases in 2013.The number of reported hacking attacks peaked between February and April, with a monthly average of 1,600-1,9
Social AffairsDec. 25, 2014
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[Graphic News] Binge drinking rife among Koreans
The number of South Koreans who indulge in excessive alcohol consumption has gone up by 14 percent on-year,the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Tuesday.According to the survey conducted by the ministry on 2,000 adults across the nation in July, men consumed an average of 1.3 liters of beer per session while women consumed 940 ml.The World Health Organization recommends an average of 1.1 liters of beer on one occasion for men and 560 ml for women.By age, 86.7 percent of those in their 20s ha
Social AffairsDec. 23, 2014