SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — Young workers in South Korea are increasingly gravitating toward large corporations, even as employment at small businesses shrinks to historic lows — a widening divide that is reshaping the country’s labor market. Government microdata from the Economically Active Population Survey show that in 2025, the number of people in their [...]
SEOUL, May 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Major companies in South Korea saw their total first-quarter operating income plunge almost 50 percent on-year due to sluggish chip exports, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The combined operating income of 309 out of South Korea’s top 500 companies by sales came to 25.9 trillion won (US$19.4 billion) in [...]
SEOUL, April 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Major South Korean firms’ spending on research and development (R&D) swelled 14 percent in 2022 from a year earlier despite sharply decreased operating income amid an economic slowdown, a market tracker said Wednesday. Combined R&D expenditures by 231 out of the country’s top 500 companies came to 68.4 trillion [...]
SEOUL, April 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Large South Korean firms saw their interest expenses spike more than 50 percent in 2022 from a year earlier due to rising interest rates, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The combined interest cost of 377 out of the country’s top 500 firms by sales stood at 39.9 trillion won [...]
SEOUL, April 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Major South Korean companies’ inventories surged nearly 30 percent in 2022 from a year earlier amid a global economic slump, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. Combined inventories of 212 out of the country’s top 500 firms by sales reached 175.5 trillion won (US$134 billion) as of end-December last year, [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Major listed companies in South Korea cut their dividends by nearly 14 percent in 2022 from a year earlier amid an economic slump, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. Combined dividends paid out by 50 of South Korea’s top 100 firms in terms of market capitalization came to 15.7 trillion [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — The greenhouse gas emissions of South Korean large companies have increased by nearly 6 percent in recent years, going against the country’s carbon neutrality goal, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. The volume of greenhouse gases emitted by 50 big businesses in Asia’s fourth-largest economy reached 272.8 million tons in [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Major South Korean companies spent more than 5 trillion won (US$4.04 billion) in 2022 to help cut air pollution and promote workplace safety as part of their so-called environment, social and governance (ESG) management, a report said Wednesday. The country’s top 100 firms by sales invested 5.44 trillion won [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean large companies operated below 80 percent of their capacity in the third quarter of the year due to the global economic downturn, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The average capacity utilization rate of 200 out of the country’s top 500 firms by sales came to 78.4 percent [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Large companies in South Korea have seen their combined free cash flow (FCF) plunge nearly 80 percent over the past year amid concerns over a liquidity crunch stemming from high interest rates, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. The total FCF of 268 out of the country’s top 500 listed [...]