The average number of pay TV subscribers in South Korea stood at 32.5 million last year, data from the Ministry of Science and ICT showed.　That number - which includes people who paid for satellite broadcasting and internet protocol television services - increased about 530,000 during the second half of the year, according to the data.　KT Corp. had a market share of 21.1 percent, or over 6.8 million subscribers, followed by SK Broadband Co. with 14.3 percent and CJ Hello at 12.6 percent.　LG Upl

Business May 16, 2019

　Iceland ranked No. 1 on this year’s KidsRights Index, followed by Portugal, Switzerland, Finland and Germany.　The annual list, compiled in cooperation with the Erasmus School of Economics in Rotterdam, uses UN data to measure how countries measure up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.　Afghanistan was the worst, followed by Sierra Leone, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and the Central African Republic. 　South Korea ranked 70th among the 181 countries studied. 

World May 15, 2019

　US military spending has risen for the first time in seven years, reflecting Trump administration policy, according to a new report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.　Worldwide military spending also rose by 2.6 percent to $1.8 trillion last year, the institute said.　It was the second consecutive year that the global figure has risen, bringing military spending to its highest level since 1988.　The US figure alone, $649 billion, was as much as the combined military

World May 14, 2019

　More than 1 in 10 senior citizens in South Korea suffer from dementia, data showed.　According to the data from the National Institute of Dementia, 748,945 South Koreans aged 65 and above suffered from dementia as of 2018 last year. 　That figure is expected to grow to 2.18 million by 2040, 3.03 million by 2050 and 3.32 million by 2060 as the population continues to age. 

Technology May 13, 2019

　The Moon Jae-in administration announced that it will soon initiate the procedure for providing food aid to North Korea. The South Korean government has not sent any direct humanitarian aid to the impoverished country since 2010. 　According to the Unification Ministry’s data, the total amount of assistance provided to the North by the South Korean government stands at around 2.4 trillion won ($2.03 billion) since the Kim Young-sam administration offered 150,000 metric tons of rice in 1995. The

North Korea May 12, 2019

　Filipinos spend the greatest amount of time on social media among Asians, closely followed by Indonesians, Thais and Malaysians, according to Global Digital 2019 reports from We Are Social and Hootsuite. 　In 2019, Filipinos spend an average of four hours and 12 minutes on social media daily, an increase of 15 minutes per day from last year. They topped the list for the fourth year in a row. 　On the other hand, the Japanese spend the least amount of time on social media -- 36 minutes per day. Tr

World News May 9, 2019

　The proportion of marriage immigrants and naturalized citizens who have lived in South Korea for more than 10 years rose last year from three years earlier, a survey showed.　According to the poll conducted by the Ministry of Gender and Equality, there were 306,995 multicultural households in Korea last year. Among them, 85.7 percent consisted of at least one immigrant parent and the remaining 14.3 percent had a naturalized Korean.　Those who have lived more than 10 years in Korea accounted for 6

Social Affairs May 8, 2019

　The death rate from cancer in South Korea has been on the rise every year, according to the Korea Insurance Development Institute.　The number of life insurance subscribers who died of cancer increased from 18,144 in 2008 to 19,560 in 2010, 21,179 in 2012, 23,213 in 2015 and 24,940 in 2017, data showed.　By total number of deaths, the deadliest cancers were of the lungs, liver, stomach, pancreas, colon and breast.　

Technology May 7, 2019

　South Koreans in their 50s were the most aggressive investors in digital currencies last year, a survey showed, with experts calling for a more cautious approach to the volatile investment destination. 　According to the survey by the Korea Financial Investors Protection Foundation, of 2,530 people aged from 25 to 64, 7.4 percent were investing in digital currencies as of end-2018, up 1 percentage point from a year earlier.　The average investment came to 6.93 million won ($6,100), soaring 64.2 p

Business May 6, 2019

　Air passengers had to grapple with more incidents of luggage mishaps in 2018, with those in Europe faring far worse than Asia or North America, according to data. 　For every 1,000 passengers, there were 5.69 cases of lost, damaged or severely delayed luggage worldwide in 2018, according to a report by Sita, a Brussels-based firm that specializes in air transport communications and information technology.　That is an increase from 5.57 cases per 1,000 passengers in 2017.　Travelers in Europe had t

World News May 2, 2019

The prime minister of Singapore is the highest-paid leader in the world, according to USA Today. Lee Hsien Loong receives $1,610,000 in a year. He‘s followed by the chief executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, and the president of the Swiss Confederation, Ueli Maurer.The president of the United States came in fourth place with $400,000USA today gathered the annual salaries from country’s websites, International Monetary Fund, and the CIA World Factbook.

World Business May 1, 2019

　The number of foreigners who arrived in South Korea jumped by 12.4 percent in March from a year earlier due to higher numbers of Chinese and Japanese tourists on incentive tours, the local tourism promotion agency said.　A total of 1.54 million foreigners arrived here last month, compared with 1.36 million a year ago, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.　The number of Chinese tourists shot up 20.9 percent last month from a year earlier to some 488,000, due to an increase in both independ

Travel April 30, 2019

　The number of foreigners visiting South Korea for medical reasons rose last year, said the Health Ministry. 　According to the ministry, 378,967 foreigners visited the country for medical services in 2018, up 17.8 percent from 321,574 the previous year. It was the highest annual figure since 2009, when foreigners began to be allowed to receive medical treatment here.

National April 29, 2019

　South Korean people are increasingly going cashless, relying on credit cards and digital payment, according to a triennial survey by the Bank of Korea. 　Korean households had an average of 78,000 won ($68.60) in cash in their wallets at any given time in 2018, down 33 percent from three years ago. 　People in their 20s had an average of 54,000 won, compared with 67,000 won for those in their 30s, 91,000 won for those in their 40s and 105,000 won for those in their 50s.　

Business April 28, 2019

　Nearly half of all South Koreans registered as having disabilities are over 65 years old, a government report showed.　The annual report on disabilities by the Ministry of Health and Welfare found that as of last year, 2.59 million people, or 5 percent of the 51.83 million people living in the country, suffered from a debilitating condition.  　Of those registered as disabled, 46.7 percent were over 65 years old, up from 41.4 percent in 2014 and 38 percent in 2011.

Social Affairs April 25, 2019