SEOUL, July 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean investors in gold have posted sky-high returns this year amid strong safe-haven demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Gold changed hands at 261,423 won (US$217) per 3.75 grams on the Korea Exchange as of Friday, up a whopping 23.3 percent from the start of [...]
SEOUL, July 13 (Korea Bizwire) — A combined market value of Naver Corp., South Korea’s top internet portal operator, and other so-called ‘untact’ stocks, such as Kakao Corp., have seen their combined market cap surpass the 100-trillion won (US$83.27 billion) mark for the first time amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. The market capitalization of the [...]
SEJONG, July 13 (Korea Bizwire) — The total value of unemployment benefits paid out in June set a new record due to the continuing negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy, data showed Monday. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said the government paid out 1.1 trillion won (US$916 million) last month in [...]
SEOUL, July 12 (Korea Bizwire) — A state-led sales festival designed to boost spending amid the coronavirus outbreak was set to end Sunday, with major department stores posting an increase in revenue on high demand for luxury goods. But discount store chains and traditional markets did not see intended sales-boosting impacts due mainly to a [...]
SEOUL, July 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly half of South Koreans viewed air pollution as the most pressing environmental concern last year, a government survey showed Sunday, amid a worsening level of fine dust in the country. According to a survey conducted by the state-run Korea Environment Institute on 3,008 people around the country, 46.5 [...]
SEOUL, July 9 (Korea Bizwire) — New orders won by South Korea’s shipbuilders tumbled 67 percent in the first half of the year from a year ago as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged demand, industry data showed Thursday. In the first half of this year, South Korean shipbuilders’ new orders came to 1.18 million compensated gross [...]
SEOUL, July 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s household debt grew at an increased speed in June, while the rise in corporate loans slowed sharply from a month earlier following the government’s stimulus measures aimed at supporting the pandemic-hit economy, central bank data showed Thursday. Fresh bank loans extended to local households came to 8.1 [...]
SEOUL, July 8 (Korea Bizwire) — A single-person household is the most common type of living arrangement in South Korea, data showed Wednesday. Data released by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety showed 8.77 million single-person residence registrations, accounting for 39 percent of the total number of 22.7 million. The second most common type [...]
SEOUL, July 8 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of blood donors in South Korea sank nearly 11 percent in the first five months of this year amid a prolonged coronavirus outbreak, data showed Wednesday. About 966,900 people donated blood in the January-May period, down 10.9 percent from some 1.08 million a year earlier, according to [...]
SEOUL, July 8 (Korea Bizwire) — The value of Japan’s exports to South Korea sank to a near 11-year low in May due to the coronavirus pandemic and Tokyo’s export controls, data showed Wednesday. Japan shipped 329.3 billion yen (US$3 billion) worth of goods to its neighboring country in May, down 18 percent from a [...]