SEOUL, April 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly a quarter of companies in South Korea failed to pay the interest on their debts in 2020 despite an overall rise in corporate earnings, a report said Monday. A total of 255 listed firms in Asia’s fourth-largest economy had an interest coverage ratio of less than 1 last [...]
SEOUL, April 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s exports of agriculture products reached an all-time high in the first quarter of the year on the back of strong demand for kimchi and processed foods, data showed Sunday. The record amount of US$1.98 billion represents a 13.7 percent rise from the previous year, according to data [...]
SEOUL, April 4 (Korea Bizwire) — A poll released by a state research body on Sunday showed an increase in conservatives among South Koreans for a third consecutive year. The Korea Institute of Public Administration (KIPA) also said the number of those who consider themselves liberals fell for the second straight year. KIPA polled 8,336 [...]
SEOUL, April 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Non-regular workers have been hit harder by the economic fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic than regular workers, a survey showed Saturday. In a survey on 1,000 salaried workers aged 19 or above conducted from March 17-23 by pollster Embrain Public, 18.6 percent said they experienced unemployment since COVID-19 [...]
SEOUL, April 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Over 7 out of 10 South Koreans are willing to receive coronavirus vaccine shots, a poll showed Friday. In a survey on 1,000 people aged 18 and above conducted on Wednesday and Thursday by Gallup Korea, 71 percent said they would like to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Among them, [...]
SEOUL, April 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean carmakers’ sales rose 12 percent last month from a year earlier helped by robust overseas demand for SUVs amid the COVID-19 pandemic, industry data showed Thursday. The five carmakers — Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. — [...]
SEOUL, April 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Stocks held by South Korean retail investors jumped nearly 60 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid their investment craze, data showed Thursday. Local individuals owned 662 trillion won (US$586 billion) worth of listed shares as of the end of 2020, up 58 percent from a year earlier, [...]
SEOUL, April 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s exports of test kits for the new coronavirus, protective masks and other virus-related goods sharply increased last year amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday, with the country planning to further expand outbound shipments of such goods down the road. Outbound shipments of such goods reached US$5.9 billion [...]
SEOUL, April 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s jobless rate hit a 19-year high last year amid the pandemic, and women faced tougher job market situations than men, a report showed Thursday. The country’s unemployment rate reached 4 percent last year, up from 3.8 percent the previous year and the highest since 2001, according to [...]
SEOUL, March 31 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of 5G users in South Korea hit more than 13 million last month, data showed Wednesday, on the back of releases of new phones running on the latest generation networks. The country’s total 5G subscriptions stood at 13.66 million in February, up 792,118 from the previous month, [...]