SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean exports of red pepper paste soared nearly 63 percent in the past four years thanks to the global popularity of Korean pop culture, data showed Sunday. Overseas shipments of red pepper paste, called “gochujang” in Korean, came to US$50.93 million in 2020, up 62.6 percent compared with [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Exports by companies in South Korea’s free trade zones grew 89.6 percent on-year to hit an all-time high last year, the industry ministry said Sunday. Outbound shipments came to US$10.94 billion, surpassing the $10 billion mark for the first time ever, according to the data from the Ministry of [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s technology trade reached the second-highest tally ever of US$29.9 billion in 2020, down 5.5 percent from the previous year, amid the global pandemic, government data showed Friday. The technology trade refers to the country’s international technology transactions, such as the use of patents, licenses and technical services, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly two-thirds of South Koreans have no interest in the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, a survey showed Friday. Gallup Korea polled 1,002 South Korean adults from Tuesday to Thursday on their thoughts on the Feb. 4-20 Winter Games in the Chinese capital. And 65 percent said they were not [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Over 34 percent of South Koreans were paid subscribers to over-the-top (OTT) media, or video streaming services, a survey showed Thursday. Paid subscribers to OTTs stood at 34.8 percent last year, up 20.4 percentage points from the previous year, according to a survey of 6,834 people over the age [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean investors’ holdings of foreign securities touched a new all-time high in 2021 on an overseas investment boom, data showed Thursday. Local investors had held overseas stocks and bonds worth US$100.59 billion as of end-2021, up 39.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of fake South Korean banknotes touched a record low in 2021 due largely to the coronavirus pandemic, the central bank said Wednesday. The number of counterfeit banknotes found in Asia’s fourth-largest economy stood at 176 last year, down 96 from a year earlier, according to the Bank [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s state pension fund lowered its exposure to large cap and other domestic shares in 2021 in an apparent bid to boost returns and diversify its portfolio, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. The National Pension Service (NPS) held stakes of 5 percent or more in 265 companies listed [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Lottery sales in South Korea rose 10.3 percent on-year to reach an all-time high last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Sales of lottery tickets stood at 5.98 trillion won (US$5.02 billion) in 2021, compared with 5.42 trillion won the previous year, according to the data from [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean market of instant meals jumped more than 145 pct in 2020 from four years earlier on the increased number of convenience stores and the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Shipments of ready-to-eat items, known as home meal replacement (HMR) products in South Korea, came to 2.01 [...]