More than 2,200 South Koreans died in the first eight months of this year without having a chance to reunite with their family members in North Korea after being separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, government data showed. A total of 2,226 people passed away in the January-August period among around 133,700 applicants who had registered with the government for family reunion events, according to the data from the Unification Ministry. The number of surviving people came to 40,408 as of end-Augus

North Korea Oct. 24, 2023

Daily card spending in South Korea rose 8.4 percent in the first half from a year earlier on the back of the post-pandemic economic recovery, central bank data showed. Card holders spent an average 3.3 trillion won ($2.47 billion) per day in the January-June period, compared with 3 trillion won the previous year, according to data from the Bank of Korea. Credit card spending rose 8.8 percent on-year to a daily average of 2.56 trillion won, led by use on e-commerce platforms. Credit card use for

Consumer Oct. 23, 2023

South Korea’s exports of the dried seaweed gim grew 16 percent on-year during the first eight months of 2023 on solid overseas demand in line with the popularity of Korean food and culture, the Oceans Ministry said. Outbound shipments of gim came to $540.68 million in the January-August period, up from $466.1 million from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. In terms of volume, the country sold 24,862 tons of gim products during the cited period, up

Market Oct. 20, 2023

More than two-thirds of the world’s population favors solar energy, five times more than public support for fossil fuels, a global poll has found. The survey, conducted by Glocalities in collaboration with advocacy groups Global Citizen and The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, was based on interviews with more than 21,000 people in 21 countries between January and June. The countries included Australia, Brazil, China, India, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey

World News Oct. 19, 2023

More than half of South Koreans were opposed to allowing people to bring their pets to national cemeteries despite the country’s growing number of dog and cat owners, a poll showed. In the poll of 1,005 adults aged 19-69, 54 percent said they were against allowing pets at national cemeteries, while 32.9 percent said they are for such visits if the pets are in carriers. Only 12.8 percent said they approve of allowing pets at national cemeteries in the poll commissioned by the Veterans Minis

Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2023

Smartphone shipments within the domestic market declined over 13 percent on-year in the second quarter, recent data showed, as demand remained sluggish due to the economic downturn with high interest rates and inflation. The total number of smartphones shipped came to approximately 2.8 million units for the April-June period, down 13.2 percent from a year ago, as “demand for smartphones continued to slow down amid economic uncertainties,” the Korea branch of International Data Corpor

Industry Oct. 17, 2023

The number of heat-related deaths nearly quadrupled on-year in 2023 as South Korea was struck by heat wave conditions, the disease control agency said. A total of 32 people were presumed to have died of heat-related illnesses this year as of Sept. 29, versus 9 last year, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. This year’s figure is the highest since 2018, when the country reported 48 heat-related deaths. South Korea began compiling such data in 2011. The country was g

Social Affairs Oct. 10, 2023

The share of female executives at South Korea’s major firms has more than doubled over the past five years, a corporate tracker said. A total of 265 firms belonging to the country’s top 30 business groups had a combined 726 women executives as of end-March, accounting for 6.9 percent of their total 10,561 C-suite positions, according to the Leaders Index. The proportion was up 3.7 percentage points from five years earlier, with the number rising by 455. The companies cover the conglo

Social Affairs Oct. 6, 2023

Police carried out a total of 7,091 protection measures for victims of stalking last year, National Police Agency data showed. This equals to an average of 19.4 protection measures per day, according to the report submitted to Rep. Jeon Bong-min of the People Power Party. The number of protection measures carried out for stalking victims has been on the rise. A total of 1,428 protection measures were carried out in 2021, while the figure reached 3,754 in the first half of this year alone, the re

Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2023

More than half of South Koreans are of the opinion that the nation’s alliance with the United States should continue to be strengthened, a poll showed. In the poll of 1,238 people aged 18 and older conducted by Gallup Korea from Sept. 4-8, 91.6 percent said the bilateral alliance is important and the majority, 53.7 percent, responded that it should be continuously strengthened. Another 24.9 percent said the alliance should be continuously maintained, whereas only 18.1 percent said it shoul

Social Affairs Oct. 4, 2023

Eight out of 10 expats in South Korea said they were “satisfied” with their life here, but around 20 percent of foreigners here experienced discrimination, a survey showed. Around 40.8 percent of the respondents said they were “extremely satisfied” with their life in South Korea, while another batch of 39.6 percent replied they were “a little satisfied,” according to the survey carried out by Statistics Korea. The survey was carried out on 25,000 expats last y

Social Affairs Sept. 28, 2023

Korean construction companies’ overseas orders increased 20 percent in the January to August period from a year earlier to exceed $20 billion, industry data showed. Local builders obtained $21.9 billion in overseas orders between January and August, up from $18.3 billion over the same period last year, according to the International Contractors Association of Korea. It marks the first time that the builders have received overseas projects worth over $20 billion in the first eight months of

Industry Sept. 27, 2023

South Korean imports of Japanese seafood fell for the fifth consecutive month in August on concerns over Japan’s release of treated radioactive water, government data showed. Seoul imported $7.81 million worth of fishery products from the neighboring country last month, down 34.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. August posted the largest on-year decline this year, and last month’s import value was the smallest monthly figure in two ye

Market Sept. 26, 2023

The number of deaths caused by serious industrial accidents at workplaces in the first half of the year dropped nearly 10 percent from a year ago, a government report said. A total of 289 workers died from January to June, marking a drop of 9.1 percent, or 29 people, from 318 on-duty deaths of workers in the previous year, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The number of industrial accident cases also declined 5.6 percent, or 17 cases, compared to a year ago, recording 284 cases

Social Affairs Sept. 25, 2023

　South Korea has opted to send 1,140 athletes to compete in 39 of 40 events in its largest delegation ever to the Asian Games, scheduled to begin on Sept. 23 and end on Oct. 8 in Hangzhou, China. 　The first medal events will take place Sunday. 　South Korea is setting its sights to grab around 40 to 50 gold medals and finish within third place of overall medal standings, with its main rivals to be China and Japan. 　At the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, South Korea ranked third with 49 gold me

More Sports Sept. 22, 2023