SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Self-employed café owners are struggling to deal with increases in the price of raw materials such as milk and coffee beans. The number of coffee shops that were closed in the first half of this year in Seoul stood at 1,239, according to data from the Seoul Metropolitan Government. [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea plans to release its stockpile of vegetables and salt to cope with the lingering inflation for the annual kimchi-making period ahead of winter, the government said Friday. Under the plan, South Korea will release 5,000 tons of garlic, 1.4 tons of peppers and 3.6 tons of onions [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Soaring consumer prices, a resurgence in the number of COVID-19 cases being reported, and scorching weather are prompting more young South Koreans in their 20s and 30s to postpone their summer vacation. “I saved up 10 vacation days. I’m thinking of going on a trip to Europe in the [...]
SEOUL, July 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite soaring consumer prices, exchange rates and interest rates, the polarization of consumption is becoming more severe than ever. Even Koreans in their 20s and 30s are choosing to stay at home rather than go on a holiday this summer. A 30-year-old office worker surnamed Jeong wanted to go [...]
SEOUL, July 19 (Korea Bizwire) — As disposable income declines day after day, South Korean consumers are turning their eyes towards cheap refurbished products or near-expired products that are available at significantly discounted prices. Lotte Home Shopping Inc., a shopping unit of retail conglomerate Lotte, saw the average daily order volume of refurbished products rise [...]
SEOUL, July 18 (Korea Bizwire) — A new study has revealed that higher inflation rates lead to a higher rate of homicide. Cho Sung-won, an associate professor at Chosun University, recently published an article on how inflation impacts the four major crimes of murder, robbery, theft and assault in the Korea Criminal Intelligence Review. The [...]
SEOUL, July 14 (Korea Bizwire) — President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed officials Thursday to find ways to protect ordinary citizens from the financial pressures of high inflation and high interest rates. Yoon made the remark a day after the Bank of Korea delivered an unprecedented 0.5 percentage-point rate hike in a preemptive bid to fight fast-growing [...]
SEOUL, July 5 (Korea Bizwire) — E-Mart Inc., the country’s biggest discount store chain, declared that it will continue to sell major daily necessities at the lowest price as part of efforts to attract more customers in the era of high inflation. The company said Monday that it will select 40 different types of major [...]
SEOUL, July 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid soaring prices, Koreans are buying lunchboxes at convenience stores or making their own lunches to save money as a so-called ‘lunchflation’ phenomenon takes hold. “I can save 3,000 to 5,000 won (US$2.31-3.85) each time I make a lunchbox,” said a 28-year-old office worker surnamed Shin. “I’m worried that [...]
SEOUL, June 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho asked companies Tuesday to refrain from excessively raising wages for employees as the move could further accelerate inflation. Choo made the request during a meeting with members of the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF), including Sohn Kyung-shik, federation chief and CJ Group chairman, and Rhee In-yong, [...]