S. Koreans’ Nonessential Spending Plummets amid Coronavirus

SEOUL, Aug. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean consumers purchased far fewer nonessential items in the first quarter than normal due to economic uncertainty sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Sunday. The combined essential spending came to 84.81 trillion won (US$71 billion) in the January-March period, accounting for 40.56 percent of total household expenditures, [...]