SEOUL, April 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Debt among those in their 20s and 30s jumped more than 27 percent over the past three years since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, indicating they suffered financial difficulties due to rising home prices and an economic slowdown, central bank data showed Sunday. In the fourth quarter of 2022, overall [...]
SEOUL, April 29 (Korea Bizwire) — The rankings for sales of imported cars have undergone significant changes this year, with Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen no longer dominating the market. In the first quarter of this year, Volvo has overtaken Volkswagen to claim the fourth spot, while new players such as Lexus and Porsche are [...]
SEOUL, April 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s crime rate fell to the lowest level in a decade in 2021, data showed Friday, although offenses in the cyber domain shot up amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Asia’s No. 4 economy reported 1,774 cases of criminal violations per 100,000 people in 2021, down 12 percent from a [...]
SEOUL, April 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Exports of passenger cars climbed 41 percent in the first quarter of 2023 from a year earlier to set a new record, data showed Friday, due to the robust overseas demand for eco-friendly vehicles. Carmakers in South Korea shipped passenger cars worth a combined US$15.4 billion over the January-March [...]
SEOUL, April 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of babies born in South Korea dropped to yet another record low level in February, data showed Wednesday, further highlighting the population crisis facing Asia’s No. 4 economy. Only 19,939 babies were born in February this year, down 3.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the [...]
SEOUL, April 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Major South Korean firms’ spending on research and development (R&D) swelled 14 percent in 2022 from a year earlier despite sharply decreased operating income amid an economic slowdown, a market tracker said Wednesday. Combined R&D expenditures by 231 out of the country’s top 500 companies came to 68.4 trillion [...]
SEOUL, April 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Retail sales in South Korea rose 6.4 percent on-year in March as people’s growing outdoor activities boosted demand for fashion and other items, the industry ministry said Tuesday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers came to 14.5 trillion won (US$10.89 billion) last month, compared with [...]
SEOUL, April 24 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s whisky imports shot up nearly 80 percent in the first quarter of this year on the liquor’s surging popularity among young Koreans amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. The volume of imported whisky came to 8,443 tons in the January-March period, up 78.2 percent from a [...]
SEOUL, April 23 (Korea Bizwire) — About 56 percent of South Koreans support developing nuclear weapons to counter North Korea’s escalating nuclear threats, a survey showed Sunday. The survey of 1,008 adults, conducted by pollster Realmeter last week, found that 56.5 percent of respondents say they support building own nuclear weapons and the issue needs [...]
SEOUL, April 23 (Korea Bizwire) — About 60 percent of South Koreans in their 20s and 30s said unification with North Korea is not necessary, a survey showed Sunday, amid a prolonged impasse in inter-Korean relations and denuclearization talks. The survey, commissioned by a civic media group called Barun Media Citizen Action, found that 61 [...]