SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite the country’s rapidly aging population, more than half of South Koreans have never discussed death or end-of-life care with their families, reflecting deep cultural reluctance to confront mortality, a new study shows. According to a report published this year by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 54.3 [...]
Government Kicks Off “New Leap Fund” to Wipe Out Old Debts for Over 1 Million Borrowers SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government has launched a new debt relief initiative aimed at helping long-term defaulters rebuild their financial lives, but officials face a key hurdle in securing cooperation from private lenders that [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – Stalking crimes have increased in the past three years since the enactment of the anti-stalking law in 2021, a lawmaker said, citing government data. The number of such crimes stood at 13,283 last year, up 26 percent from 10,545 cases in 2022, according to the Office for Government Policy [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Incheon International Airport, South Korea’s main gateway, is bracing for heavier congestion during the upcoming Chuseok holiday as security screeners and other airport staff escalate labor actions over pay and staffing levels. Roughly 2.45 million passengers are expected to pass through the airport, about 50 kilometers west of Seoul, [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite a sharp nationwide drop in the use of coal briquettes for home heating, pockets of households in Seoul, Daegu and parts of Gyeonggi Province continue to rely on the fuel at nearly steady levels, underscoring the strain of rising utility costs and the persistence of aging housing stock. [...]
GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Oct. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Less than a month after emergency shipments of bottled water were distributed to residents during one of Gangneung’s worst droughts in decades, some of those supplies are now showing up for sale on secondhand trading platforms, sparking public criticism. The city, which declared a disaster in September [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans in their 20s have seen the weakest real income growth of any generation over the past decade, according to a new analysis, underscoring concerns over job quality and rising living costs that continue to weigh heavily on the country’s youth. The Korea Economic Association (HanKyungHyup) reported on [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — The relative poverty rate among South Korea’s retired population reached the highest level among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), data showed Monday. For those aged 65 and older, the relative poverty rate stood at 39.8 percent in 2023, up 0.1 percentage point from [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Obstruction of official duties against South Korean police officers remains alarmingly frequent, with more than 9,000 cases recorded last year — nearly 25 incidents every day — according to newly disclosed government data. Figures released by Rep. Seo Beom-soo of the People Power Party, citing the National Police Agency, [...]
SEJONG, Sept. 26 (Korea Bizwire) —South Koreans earn the most at age 45 but begin running deficits by 61, as consumption outpaces income in later life, according to new government data that underscores the economic strains of an aging society. The National Statistics Office said Wednesday in its release of the 2023 National Transfer Accounts [...]