SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea plans to sell state-owned unused and idle lands and buildings over the next five years in a bid to bolster public finances, the finance ministry said Monday. The government said it plans to push to sell assets worth 16 trillion won (US$12.3 billion) and more in the [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — About one out of eight mid-aged people in South Korea has borrowed money due to economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a survey showed Sunday. According to the survey of 3,923 people by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 12.5 percent of people in their 40s [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — A civic group filed a constitutional petition against the state minimum wage system Friday, arguing that enforcing a compulsory minimum wage on employers violates their freedom of contract and business. The petition by the public labor union minimum wage response committee was filed with the Constitutional Court hours after [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — As high inflation continues, an increasing number of South Koreans are turning to simple meals at discount stores. E-Mart Inc., a discount store chain under Shinsegae Group, saw the sales of simple meals such as sandwiches, salads and gimbap (seaweed rice rolls with vegetables) jump by 25 percent in [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Banks in South Korea have offered hefty bonuses to their executives on the back of the profits they chalked up by steadily raising interest rates over the past three years, a lawmaker said Wednesday. The aggregate value of bonuses given to the executives at the nation’s top four commercial [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Insurance companies in South Korea are increasingly competing over children’s insurance plans. About 60 percent of the children’s insurance market, currently sized at 4 trillion won (US$3.05 billion), is dominated by non-life insurer Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Co., industry sources said. As of May, the company has sold [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Soaring consumer prices, a resurgence in the number of COVID-19 cases being reported, and scorching weather are prompting more young South Koreans in their 20s and 30s to postpone their summer vacation. “I saved up 10 vacation days. I’m thinking of going on a trip to Europe in the [...]
SEOUL, July 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Apartment transactions in South Korea fell more than 50 percent on-year in the first half of 2022 due mainly to the government’s tough lending curbs and rising interest rates, data showed Sunday. The number of apartments traded nationwide stood at 184,134 units in the January-June period, down 50.6 percent [...]
SEOUL, July 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Increases in the price of housing have a negative impact on the rate of marriage and childbirth, a report showed Thursday. The Korea Institute of Public Finance conducted a survey on employees at public agencies, which showed that a 100 percent rise in housing prices resulted in 0.1 to 0.3 [...]
SEOUL, July 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s financial regulator said Thursday it plans to take stern actions against illegal stock short selling and seek to confiscate profits that were made by such practices. The measures were announced as some retail investors called for a ban on short selling amid a fall in stock prices [...]