SEOUL, May 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The overall happiness of children in South Korea has improved steadily over the past decade, but significant disparities remain based on household income and family structure, according to a government-backed study released on Sunday. The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) published findings showing that the average [...]
SEOUL, May 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea is the only major OECD economy where the proportion of youth not in education, employment, or training (NEET) has increased over the past decade, according to a new government-backed study. The country’s NEET rate remains significantly above the OECD average, raising fresh concerns about barriers to labor market [...]
SEOUL, May 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans’ overseas card spending fell by the largest margin in three years in the first quarter from three months earlier due mainly to a decline in overseas direct purchases, data showed Friday. The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with credit and debit cards came to [...]
BUSAN, May 22 (Korea Bizwire) – A rise in traffic accidents involving elderly drivers in Busan is drawing renewed attention to the urgent need for comprehensive safety measures, as demographic shifts push the city deeper into an aging society. According to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, the latest incident occurred on May 21, when an SM7 [...]
SEOUL, May 12 (Korea Bizwire) — As South Korea grapples with the financial implications of its aging population, the government has released the nation’s first full-scale survey on so-called “dementia money”—the frozen assets held by elderly citizens with dementia—and experts are urging swift action modeled on Japan’s experience. According to the Presidential Committee on Aging Society [...]
SEOUL, May 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s birthrate continues to decline, but a growing number of unmarried adults now say they still intend to marry—offering a potential, if modest, glimmer of hope in the nation’s battle against population decline. According to a comprehensive 2024 survey released Sunday by the Korea Institute for Health and Social [...]
SEOUL, May 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean consumers reined in spending on everyday items and luxury goods in the first quarter of 2025, while showing a notable willingness to spend on travel-related expenses, according to new data from mobile analytics platform IGAWorks. The firm’s Mobile Index data, based on estimated credit and debit card transactions [...]
SEOUL, May 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has dropped one spot to 20th in the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) latest Human Development Index (HDI) rankings, despite a slight improvement in its overall score, highlighting growing international competition and widening inequality between countries. According to the 2025 Human Development Report released Tuesday by the UNDP, [...]
SEOUL, May 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Seven in 10 households made online purchases of processed foods in 2024, a survey showed Tuesday, marking a sharp increase from a year earlier and a significant change in where and how people shop. According to the survey conducted by the Korea Rural Economic Institute, 72.3 percent of households [...]
SEOUL, May 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Elderly dementia patients in South Korea hold assets worth a combined 153.5 trillion won (US$110.9 billion), which is equivalent to about 6.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), data showed Tuesday. The assets had been owned by 1.24 million dementia patients aged 65 and above as of [...]