SEOUL, March 21 (Korea Bizwire) — Seven out of 10 South Koreans are willing to pay more for products from companies that actively pursue environmental, social and government (ESG) management, a local survey showed Friday. In the survey of 3,000 people aged 18 and older conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and Hankook [...]
SEOUL, March 20 (Korea Bizwire) — As phone-based phishing scams grow increasingly sophisticated, South Koreans are turning in droves to “Citizen Conan,” an anti-phishing app operated by the National Police Agency. According to mobile analytics firm IGAWorks Mobile Index, the number of Citizen Conan users surged by 215.9% in February, reaching 1.39 million, compared to [...]
SEOUL, March 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics have once again secured top rankings in U.S. Consumer Reports, extending their dominance from washing machines to refrigerators. According to industry sources, LG Electronics was recently ranked No. 1 in the 30-inch and 33-inch top-freezer refrigerator categories in Consumer Reports’ 2025 Best Refrigerators [...]
SEOUL, March 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans are spending nearly seven times more time watching short-form videos than traditional over-the-top (OTT) streaming content, underscoring a shift in digital consumption patterns toward quick, engaging clips. According to a report released on Thursday by WiseApp Retail, a mobile app and retail analytics firm, the average South Korean [...]
SEOUL, March 13 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government has, for the first time, publicly disclosed data on early childhood private education spending, shedding light on a rapidly expanding market that has sparked concerns over educational inequality and excessive academic pressure on young children. The Ministry of Education released findings from the 2024 Early Childhood [...]
SEOUL, March 11 (Korea Bizwire) — “Don’t suffer in silence anymore. Take revenge on those who have wronged you,” reads the product description for a straw doll on a popular South Korean e-commerce platform. These modern interpretations of traditional voodoo dolls, priced at around 10,000 won each, are being marketed as stress-relief tools for dealing with workplace [...]
SEOUL, March 10 (Korea Bizwire) — A new survey has revealed that many social media users primarily access platforms to kill time, with TikTok showing the strongest tendency toward habitual, passive consumption. According to the “2024 Social Media User Survey” conducted by the Korea Press Foundation, 48.7% of TikTok users cited “killing time or habitual use” [...]
SEOUL, March 9 (Korea Bizwire) — As the economic downturn persists, South Korea’s luxury market is witnessing a shift in consumer spending habits, with high-end cosmetics sales outpacing those of expensive fashion items like designer handbags and apparel. According to the retail industry on Sunday, luxury beauty brands such as Prada, Hermès, and Givenchy saw their [...]
SEOUL, March 7 (Korea Bizwire) — A heated debate has erupted over South Korean discount retailer Daiso’s sale of low-cost health supplements, as pharmacists oppose the move while consumer groups argue it infringes on consumer rights. The Korea Consumer Organizations Council issued a statement on March 7 condemning the pharmacist associations’ objections, stating, “Health supplements are [...]
SEOUL, March 6 (Korea Bizwire) — A majority of Seoul residents support raising the minimum age for senior citizens’ free subway rides from the current 65 years, with most favoring 70 as the new threshold, according to a survey released on March 5. The findings were presented at a public forum on elderly transportation benefits hosted [...]