South Korea’s annual greenhouse gas emissions reached a record high of 709.1 million tons in 2017, a government environment agency said Monday.　The Greenhouse Gas General Information Center, under the Ministry of Environment, disclosed the emissions results after getting confirmation by a government committee in charge of controlling greenhouse gas.　The output marks growth of 2.4 percent from 2016 when the corresponding figure came to 692.6 tons, according to the center.　It is also the fi

National Oct. 10, 2019

　The number of foreigners visiting South Korea for medical treatment shot up 18 percent last year, government data showed.　In a report to the National Assembly, the Korea Health Industry Development Institute said over 378,900 foreign nationals arrived here for treatment last year, up from around 321,500 in 2017.　The institute said that of them, the number of Japanese who visted for medical purposes surged 56 percent to 42,500 in 2018 from just under 27,300 the previous year. (Yonhap)

Technology Oct. 9, 2019

　The risk of a property bubble in the eurozone surged last year as ultralow interest rates helped drive up house prices.　Munich is now the city most vulnerable to a property bubble, according to UBS Group’s annual Real Estate Bubble Index. Frankfurt and Paris are increasingly in danger of prices becoming unsustainable, even as some of the priciest cities around the world cool, the report said.　For the first time in four years, London is no longer regarded as dangerously overvalued. Prices

World Business Oct. 8, 2019

　South Korea ranked 20th out of 53 countries surveyed by German insurer Allianz Group in terms of per capita financial assets last year, according to a report from the group.　According to the recently released “Allianz Global Wealth Report,” Koreans’ financial assets stood at an average of 39 million won ($33,000) per person in 2018, slightly up from a year earlier.　Last year, the United States topped the list with per capita financial assets of 240 million won, followed by Swi

Market Oct. 7, 2019

　As the population ages, the number of South Koreans with dementia has soared in recent years and so have associated costs, data showed. In 2018, dementia-related medical spending exceeded the 2 trillion won ($1.67 billion) threshold for the first time.　According to the data provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Rep. Kim Kwang-soo, the number of people diagnosed with various forms of neurodegenerative disease rose from 416,309 in 2014 to 547,700 in 2016 and hit 712,386 last year. 　Du

Technology Oct. 6, 2019

　South Korea’s trade surplus in beauty products hit an all-time high of 5.47 trillion won ($4.56 billion) last year on the back of strong demand from China and other Asian countries, government data showed.　Outbound shipments of cosmetics stood at 6.89 trillion won last year, up 23.3 percent on-year, while imports grew 6.8 percent to 1.42 trillion won, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. (Yonhap)

Business Oct. 3, 2019

　The number of drug smuggling cases in South Korea over the past five years exceeded 2,300, data from the Korea Customs Service showed.　A total of 2,337 instances of drug smuggling were discovered here from 2015 to July this year, resulting in the seizure of illegal drugs with a total street value of 1.43 trillion won ($1.2 billion), according to the customs data released by Rep. Shim Jae-cheol of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party.　The number of drug smuggling attempts to come to the atten

Social Affairs Oct. 2, 2019

　Six in 10 South Koreans support a proposal to delay the legal retirement age to 65 from the current 60, a poll showed.　The poll of 1,539 adults aged 19 to 64 conducted by the Korea Institute of Public Administration from Sept. 2-11 found that 61.1 percent were in favor of delaying the retirement age. Only 19.6 percent opposed the proposal, while another 19.3 percent said they had no opinion.　Of those who favored a later retirement age, 61.2 percent said 65 was the most appropriate age, followed

Social Affairs Oct. 1, 2019

　The number of violations of rights cases involving soldiers has been on a steady increase over the past five years, according to government data.　A total of 253 complaints were filed by service personnel with the National Human Rights Commission last year, up from 153 in 2015 and 199 in 2016, though down from 278 in 2017, showed data compiled by the commission and released by Rep. Choi Jae-sung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.　As of end-July, 367 such cases had been reported for 2019, i

Defense Sept. 30, 2019

　The number of South Korean nationals living overseas rose slightly last year from two years earlier, largely led by increases in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, a biennial report by the Foreign Ministry showed.　The figure stood at 7.49 million at the end of 2018, up 0.85 percent, or 62,899, from the 7.43 million tallied at the end of 2016, according to the report on Koreans living in 180 countries. That compares with a 3.42 percent gain in 2016 and a 2.45 percent increase in 2014.　Of the to

Social Affairs Sept. 29, 2019

　Nearly 90 percent of the counterfeit goods found by customs authorities in the last five years were from China, with Louis Vuitton  the biggest victim among reputable brands, data showed. 　The value of imported fake goods uncovered between 2015 and August this year amounted to 1.86 trillion won ($1.55 billion), with 89 percent, or 1.65 trillion won, from China, according to data from the Korea Customs Service obtained by Rep. Hong Il-pyo.　Louis Vuitton was on top among counterfeited brands

Social Affairs Sept. 26, 2019

　South Korea confirmed its fifth case of African swine fever on Tuesday, even as 15,000 pigs have been culled since the first case was reported on Sept 17. 　The ASF epidemic has led to millions of pigs being culled since last year in Asia. 　In May, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization said pork prices had risen by up to 50 percent both in China and on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as a result of the outbreak of ASF which was first detected in Asia in August last year.　Last month, it said

World News Sept. 25, 2019

　The number of drug offenders in South Korea has been increasing gradually, data showed. 　According to data obtained from the National Police Agency by Rep. Kim Young-ho for a parliamentary inspection, 40,182 people were arrested for drug offences between 2015 and the first half of this year. 　This consisted of 7,302 arrested in 2015, 8,853 in 2016, 8,887 in 2017, 8,107 last year and 7,033 in the first half of this year. (Yonhap)

Social Affairs Sept. 24, 2019

　When people think about the inter-Korean DMZ, North Korea comes to mind first, according to a survey. 　Of the 500 South Koreans, 150 Chinese and 150 German respondents, 7.5 percent of respondents replied “North Korea” when asked what first comes to mind in relation to the 4-kilometer-wide area that separates the two Koreas. 　The “truce line” came next with 6.8 percent, followed by “inter-Korean division,” “mines” and “peace.” The surve

North Korea Sept. 23, 2019

　Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group last week attacked two plants at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry in a strike that could impact about 5 million barrels per day of crude production - close to half of the kingdom’s output, or 5 percent of global oil supply.    　The Saudis are the world‘s biggest oil exporters, sending more than 7 million barrels of crude to numerous destinations around the globe every day - equal to nearly one-third of exports by t

World Business Sept. 22, 2019