SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — As demographic decline accelerates across South Korea, a new national survey suggests that a lack of appealing jobs is the single most important reason people are leaving regional areas — and choosing not to raise children there. The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) released the findings Thursday [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The average amount South Koreans send as mobile wedding gifts has surpassed 100,000 won (US$68) for the first time this year, reflecting changing social norms and rising costs, according to new data from KakaoPay. In its annual “2025 Money Report” released Wednesday, KakaoPay said the average transfer made through its [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Household borrowing from South Korean banks grew at a slower pace in November as tighter mortgage regulations began to cool the heated property market in the Seoul metropolitan area, according to new data released Wednesday by the Bank of Korea. Outstanding household loans came to 1,175.6 trillion won ($799.6 billion) [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The government plans to devise a customized strategy to address non-tariff trade barriers faced by South Korean food exporters, while establishing a dedicated help desk for the firms to navigate shifting trade dynamics, the agriculture ministry said Tuesday. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs unveiled the plan [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Six out of ten South Korean college seniors and recent graduates who are searching for jobs say they are doing so only passively, with little expectation of being hired, according to a nationwide survey released Monday by the Korea Employers Federation. The survey, conducted between October and November among 2,492 [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Beginning early next year, foreign nationals purchasing property in designated permit zones will be required to submit detailed documentation explaining how they intend to finance their purchases, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday. The regulation, part of a revised enforcement decree taking effect on February 10, follows [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Shares of South Korea’s two largest memory chipmakers rose sharply on Monday amid mounting expectations for robust fourth-quarter earnings, reflecting renewed investor confidence in the artificial intelligence–driven semiconductor cycle. SK hynix closed 6.07 percent higher at 577,000 won on the Korea Exchange, recovering the 570,000-won level for the first time [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s economy is showing signs of a modest recovery in industrial activity, supported by improving domestic consumption, even as a prolonged construction slump continues to weigh on output, the Korea Development Institute said Monday. “Construction has remained subdued for an extended period, but consumption has strengthened as interest-rate reductions [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Chinese manufacturers have sustained a sweeping low-price export strategy for more than two years, intensifying competitive pressure on South Korean exporters across a range of sectors, a new study shows. According to a report released Sunday by Jih Man-soo, senior research fellow at the Korea Institute of Finance, Chinese export [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul’s apartment market has slipped into a sharp slowdown following the government’s October 15 real estate policy, with transaction volume dropping steeply and demand in key Han River districts all but evaporating, government data show. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s real transaction system, there were 2,372 [...]