CHEONGJU, South Korea, Jan. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – The Korean Lunar New Year holiday starts Friday, and it usually means good news for children and young adults who visit their grandparents, aunts, and uncles for a bow in exchange for “lucky money”, cash gifts handed out as a token for a fruitful New Year. A [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s economy grew at a slower pace in the fourth quarter than three months earlier on decreased demand and construction investments, central bank data showed Wednesday. In the October-December period, the country’s gross domestic product rose 0.4 percent from the previous quarter, decelerating from a 0.6 percent on-quarter [...]
SEJONG, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – More than half of South Koreans have bought lottery tickets at least once last year amid the deepening economic slump, a survey showed Monday. According to the survey of 1,000 people by the finance ministry in November last year, 55.9 percent said they have made a lottery ticket purchase [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government said Tuesday it will provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) here with a record level of financial support this year via policy lenders to help them weather difficult business conditions. The lenders will increase their lending to 186.7 trillion won (US$156 billion) for the year [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s top 100 large-cap companies have cut more than 7,000 jobs in 2016, data showed Monday, as they are reluctant to hire new employees amid the economy’s prolonged sluggishness. According to the data by market tracker Chaebul.com, the leading companies had a combined 861,578 employees as of the [...]
SEJONG, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – Sales of the Korean lottery Lotto hit their highest last year, statistics from the operator showed Monday, a trend that comes during economic slumps, social analysts say. The statistics from the Korea Lottery Commission said Lotto sales reached 3.55 trillion won (US$3.02 billion), or 3.55 billion tickets, last year, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – South Koreans, both poor and rich, are tightening their belts with no economic recovery in sight and the prices of goods ascending, data showed Wednesday. The spending-to-income ratio of local households hit a record low despite stagnant wage levels. Department stores and duty-free shops, two routine shopping spots for [...]
SEJONG, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s national tax revenue increased sharply in the first 11 months of last year despite the protracted economic slowdown, government data showed Tuesday. The government collected a total of 230.5 trillion won (US$192 billion) in taxes through November in 2016, up 24.5 trillion won from a year earlier, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – Prices are soaring despite a prolonged economic downturn, and the term “stagflation” is now being bandied about to describe the potential future of the South Korean economy. According to Statistics Korea, the consumer price index last month was up 1.3 percent from the year prior. The index, which remained [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – When times are hard, people look back and start immersing themselves in nostalgia, because reality simply doesn’t feel good enough. The recent comebacks of first generation K-pop idols amidst the worst economic downturn that Korea has suffered since the 2008 financial crisis are offering a trip down memory lane, [...]