SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Duty-free sales in South Korea sank nearly 15 percent to a six-month low in July due to decreased spending by foreigners, industry data showed Friday. Combined sales at duty-free shops in Asia’s fourth-largest economy stood at 1.25 trillion won (US$920 million)) in July, down 14.6 percent from a month [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — After narrowing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the wage gap between employees of large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is showing signs of expanding again due to the rapid recovery of large companies’ wage growth rate. The wage level of SMEs in proportion to that of large companies [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Retail sales in South Korea rose 9.7 percent on-year in July amid eased COVID-19 curbs and the growth in people’s outdoor activities, the industry ministry said Tuesday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers came to 14.17 trillion won (US$10.48 billion) last month, compared with 12.9 [...]
SEOUL, July 21 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledged to South Korea’s free economic zones (FEZs) more than doubled in the first half of this year to hit a three-year high amid post-pandemic economic recovery, data showed Thursday. The country’s nine FEZs received US$560 million worth of FDI commitment during the January-June period, [...]
SEOUL, July 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The debt ratio of South Korea’s leading 1,000 companies by sales has more than halved over the past 21 years, pointing to a sharp increase in their financial health, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. The average debt-to-equity ratio of those big companies stood at 160 percent in 2021, compared [...]
![[Stats] Overseas Credit Card Users and Spending](http://koreabizwire.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Analysis-of-Overseas-Credit-Card-Users-and-Amount-Used-1.jpg "[Stats] Overseas Credit Card Users and Spending")
Data show that there are over 60,000 Korean overseas travelers who spent over US$5,000 with credit cards to buy foreign goods in the first quarter of this year. It also found that there are plenty who spent over $100,000 on credit in acquiring items. Following the customs law amendment with a purpose to legalize the [...]
![[Stats] Per Capita Alcohol Consumption by Type of Liquor](http://koreabizwire.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Per-Capita-Alcohol-Consumption.jpg "[Stats] Per Capita Alcohol Consumption by Type of Liquor")
Korea’s per-capita alcoholic beverage consumption was 100 bottles of beer and 60 bottles of Korean vodka (soju) in 2012. According to the Korea Alcohol & Liquor Industry Association on June 19, the total domestic consumption of alcohol in 2012 was 3.12 million kiloliters (1 kiloliter equals 1,000 liters). The figure included unofficial consumption from alcoholic [...]
![[Stats] Change of Major Preferences in Car Purchasing Plan](http://koreabizwire.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Car-Purchasing-Plan.png "[Stats] Change of Major Preferences in Car Purchasing Plan")
Background of the hot sales of imported wheels lies their good fuel efficiency. According to a recent survey, imported cars attract domestic buyers with their higher fuel efficiency and they purchase foreign cars for that reason, while domestic cars appeal the buyers with their exterior looks and Korean consumers buy them due to lower prices. [...]
![[Stats] Bottom Line of Korea’s Meat Products Industry](http://koreabizwire.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/축산물순수익현황-1.png "[Stats] Bottom Line of Korea’s Meat Products Industry")
Data revealed that a cattle farmer takes an average of 573,000-won loss for every bull he raises.According to a report “2013 Livestock Production Cost Survey” published by the National Statistical Office on May 30, the total cost of raising a beef cow was 6,509,000 won as of 2013. In contrast, the average price of a [...]
![[Stats] Foreigners’ Land Ownership in Korea](http://koreabizwire.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Foreigners’-Land-Ownership-in-Korea.png "[Stats] Foreigners’ Land Ownership in Korea")
For the first quarter of this year, the Chinese bought the largest amount of land in Korea of all nationalities. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation said on May 28 that the total foreign land holdings as of the end of March were 227.44 square kilometers, accounting for about 0.22 percent of the nation’s [...]