SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Young South Koreans are reporting strikingly low levels of life satisfaction compared with their global peers, revealing a generational mood shaped as much by economic pressure as by a sense of dwindling possibility. A government report released Tuesday shows that among waged workers ages 19 to 34, only 36 percent [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Job stability, higher incomes and access to home ownership are strongly correlated with higher marriage and birth rates among younger South Koreans, according to a government study released on Tuesday. The findings add new statistical weight to concerns that worsening economic insecurity is feeding the country’s demographic decline. The [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — A majority of South Korean adults believe a new infectious disease outbreak is likely in the near future and would persist for an extended period, even as willingness to be vaccinated continues to decline, according to a government-commissioned survey released Monday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) asked [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s wealthy population continued to grow last year, exceeding 476,000 individuals with more than 1 billion won (about $760,000) in financial assets, according to a new report that highlights widening asset gaps and a renewed appetite for stock investments despite a climate of economic uncertainty. The 2025 Korea Wealth [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s newlywed population slipped below the one-million mark for the second year in a row in 2024, a symbolic threshold for a country already preoccupied with its demographic future. Government data released Friday show just 952,000 couples had been married for five years or less last year—a 2.3 [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — A large majority of South Koreans believe that maintaining peaceful coexistence with North Korea is more important than achieving reunification, according to a government survey released Thursday. The Unification Ministry’s poll found that 79.4 percent of respondents agreed that “peaceful coexistence without war is more important than reunification,” reflecting [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The average amount South Koreans send as mobile wedding gifts has surpassed 100,000 won (US$68) for the first time this year, reflecting changing social norms and rising costs, according to new data from KakaoPay. In its annual “2025 Money Report” released Wednesday, KakaoPay said the average transfer made through its [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Free cash flow at South Korea’s 500 largest listed companies rose sharply over the past year, lifted by a rebound in the semiconductor market that strengthened liquidity at major chipmakers, according to industry data released Wednesday. The companies — excluding financial institutions — generated a combined 69.6 trillion won ($47.3 [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Cigarette smoking among South Korean adults has fallen over the past year, but the use of e-cigarettes has increased, underscoring shifting consumption habits amid persistent public health concerns, according to new national survey data released Monday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) analyzed findings from its 2025 Community [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean artificial intelligence startups are facing significant challenges, with fewer than six in ten surviving beyond three years, according to a new analysis released Sunday by the Korea Industrial Technology Association. The report examined more than 38,000 companies with in-house research institutes or dedicated R&D divisions, comparing young startups [...]