SEOUL, March 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s household debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio was the second highest among major nations, following Canada, amid growing concerns about rising household borrowing amid weak growth and domestic demand, data showed Sunday. The debt-to-GDP ratio for South Korea came to 91.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, [...]
SEOUL, March 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of young South Koreans who were jobless or opted to remain economically inactive surpassed 1.2 million last month amid tough job market conditions, data showed Sunday. A total of 1.21 million individuals aged 15 to 29 either remained unemployed or economically inactive to prepare for a job [...]
SEOUL, March 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans are spending nearly seven times more time watching short-form videos than traditional over-the-top (OTT) streaming content, underscoring a shift in digital consumption patterns toward quick, engaging clips. According to a report released on Thursday by WiseApp Retail, a mobile app and retail analytics firm, the average South Korean [...]
SEOUL, March 13 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government has, for the first time, publicly disclosed data on early childhood private education spending, shedding light on a rapidly expanding market that has sparked concerns over educational inequality and excessive academic pressure on young children. The Ministry of Education released findings from the 2024 Early Childhood [...]
SEOUL, March 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean researchers have discovered that a common native plant shows promising results in suppressing norovirus, offering potential hope for preventing the widespread winter illness. The National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR) announced on March 12 that extracts from Duchesnea chrysantha, a wild strawberry species native to Korea, demonstrated significant [...]
SEOUL, March 12 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent study reveals that South Korea’s younger generation perceives marriage and childbirth with overwhelmingly negative emotions, with financial concerns emerging as the dominant theme. The Korean Peninsula Population Institute for Future (KPPIF), a nonprofit research organization, analyzed approximately 50,000 posts on the workplace community platform Blind from November [...]
SEOUL, March 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Six out of 10 office workers believe marriage is no longer necessary, given changing social norms and economic factors, a survey showed Monday. According to the survey of 653 wage earners conducted by local online job placement portal Incruit, 60.2 percent of those polled said getting married is not [...]
SEOUL, March 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s manufacturing production fell more than 4 percent from a year earlier in January, marking the sharpest drop in 18 months, data showed Sunday. The Manufacturing Production Index stood at 103.7 points in January, down 4.2 percent from a year ago, according to the data from Statistics Korea. [...]
SEOUL, March 9 (Korea Bizwire) — People in their 60s or older looking for jobs increased last year despite a decline in all other age groups, data showed Sunday. A total of 4,525,456 new job applications were posted on government-run employment website Worknet in 2024, marking a 5.3 percent decline from a year earlier, according [...]
SEOUL, March 6 (Korea Bizwire) — A majority of Seoul residents support raising the minimum age for senior citizens’ free subway rides from the current 65 years, with most favoring 70 as the new threshold, according to a survey released on March 5. The findings were presented at a public forum on elderly transportation benefits hosted [...]