SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Suicide has overtaken cancer as the leading cause of death for South Koreans in their 40s, underscoring the intensifying pressures on the country’s core working-age population, according to new government data. Figures released by Statistics Korea show that South Korea’s overall suicide rate rose to 29.1 deaths per 100,000 [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans believe they will need about 3.5 million won ($2,600) a month to live comfortably in retirement, but most expect to secure only two-thirds of that amount, according to a new survey by KB Financial Group’s research institute. The study, released Sunday, polled 3,000 people aged 25 to [...]
SEJONG, Sept. 26 (Korea Bizwire) —South Koreans earn the most at age 45 but begin running deficits by 61, as consumption outpaces income in later life, according to new government data that underscores the economic strains of an aging society. The National Statistics Office said Wednesday in its release of the 2023 National Transfer Accounts [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Delinquency rates at South Korea’s major credit card companies hit an 11-year high in the first quarter amid an economic slowdown, the central bank said Thursday. The delinquency rate on loan assets at the major card firms came to 2.3 percent as of end-March, the highest since 2014, according [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — A government-backed consumer coupon program has driven a notable increase in sales at South Korea’s smallest merchants while also lifting household spending among shop owners, Shinhan Card said Thursday. An analysis by the company’s Big Data Research Center found that after the rollout of the “livelihood recovery consumer coupons,” [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s reliance on U.S. pharmaceuticals deepened in 2024, with imports topping $1 billion for the first time, government data showed Tuesday. The trend, fueled by surging demand for cancer treatments and rare disease drugs, has stirred warnings about supply vulnerabilities at a time of heightened trade and tariff tensions [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans are experiencing relatively high levels of anxiety about aging, particularly over declining health and financial insecurity, with younger adults reporting greater unease than their elders, according to new research released Tuesday. The Hanyang University Institute on Aging surveyed 4,254 adults nationwide last year and developed what it [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — More than one in 10 young South Koreans who rarely leave their homes — so-called “hikikomori” or socially withdrawn youth — reported having contemplated suicide, four times the rate of their peers, according to new government-backed research. The findings, published Tuesday in the Health and Welfare Forum by the [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Electronics has emerged as South Korea’s dominant force in artificial intelligence, ranking far ahead of domestic rivals Naver and LG, according to a new industry analysis. Yet even the nation’s top firms remain far behind American and Chinese tech giants in global AI competitiveness. The study, released Tuesday [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — A new government-commissioned study has found that nearly four in ten South Korean adolescents view e-cigarettes as either a substitute for conventional cigarettes or a tool to quit smoking, underscoring the growing influence of targeted marketing campaigns by tobacco companies. The report, released Tuesday by Sahmyook University at the [...]