SEOUL, June 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Spending on pet care services and products in South Korea has surged by 30% over the past three years, with the fastest growth driven by consumers aged 60 and older, according to a new report released by KB Kookmin Card. The analysis, based on 24.85 million card transactions by 3.54 [...]
SEOUL, June 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans are spending a smaller share of their income than they did a decade ago, signaling deeper shifts in household behavior amid demographic and economic changes, according to a new report released by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). The report, titled “Changes in Consumption Propensity by [...]
SEOUL, June 2 (Korea Bizwire) – Despite legal protections for maternity and parental leave in South Korea, new data reveals that many workers—particularly non-regular employees—continue to face pressure and retaliation for attempting to exercise these rights. The labor advocacy group Gapjil 119 on Sunday disclosed 58 cases of workplace mistreatment related to childbirth and parenting over [...]
SEOUL, May 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Parking issues remain the leading source of frustration for apartment dwellers in South Korea, according to a new analysis of resident complaints filed through a popular apartment management platform. Apartmenti, a residential service app, revealed Friday that parking-related grievances accounted for 33% of the more than 100,000 complaints submitted [...]
SEOUL, May 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of homes in South Korea owned by foreign nationals surpassed 100,000 for the first time in 2024, with Chinese buyers accounting for more than half, according to data released Friday by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. As of December 2024, foreigners owned 100,216 residential properties across [...]
SEOUL, May 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Smoking-related deaths in South Korea exceeded 70,000 in 2022, with the associated socioeconomic costs reaching 13.6 trillion won (approximately $10 billion), according to new government data released Friday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the figures were derived from an analysis of cohort studies and national mortality [...]
SEOUL, May 29 (Korea Bizwire) — After three years of steady decline, exposure to secondhand smoke in South Korea is once again on the rise — particularly in indoor workplaces and public spaces — prompting renewed calls for stronger tobacco control measures. According to new data released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency [...]
SEOUL, May 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has emerged as the world’s second-largest market for paid ChatGPT subscriptions, trailing only the United States, amid a dramatic surge in the use of generative AI services nationwide. According to the 2024 Intelligent Information Society User Panel Survey released Thursday by the Korea Communications Commission and the [...]
SEOUL, May 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s youth population is shrinking at a rapid pace due to declining birth rates, even as the number of students from multicultural backgrounds continues to rise, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s annual Youth Statistics 2025 report released Tuesday. As of this year, the youth population [...]
SEOUL, May 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has the highest employment rate among people aged 65 and older across the OECD, but the quality of jobs available to the elderly remains alarmingly low, driven by insufficient pension income and limited opportunities to leverage their lifelong careers. According to a recent report released by the National [...]