SEOUL, April 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s consumption of petroleum declined to a five-year low last year amid the pandemic, data showed Sunday. The country’s consumption of petroleum reached 878 million barrels last year, down 5.8 percent from the previous year, according to Korea National Oil Corp. The tally marked the lowest since 2015, [...]
SEOUL, April 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s jobless rate hit a 19-year high last year amid the pandemic, and women faced tougher job market situations than men, a report showed Thursday. The country’s unemployment rate reached 4 percent last year, up from 3.8 percent the previous year and the highest since 2001, according to [...]
SEOUL, March 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Noise complaints surged more than 60 percent last year, as people spend more time at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a state environment promotion agency said Wednesday. Korea Environment Corp. (KECO) said its hotline dedicated to the matter received 42,250 complaints in total last year, a 60.9 percent year-on-year [...]
SEOUL, March 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of South Koreans who seek consolation by cultivating small vegetable gardens or growing companion plants on rooftops or balconies is on the rise. In a nutshell, they are ‘farming’ using small outdoor spaces like balconies inside apartments. In the midst of an increase in the amount of [...]
SAMCHEOK, March 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Municipal officials in Samcheok, Gangwon Province have opted to cancel the city’s canola flower festival for the second straight year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Samcheok’s Geundeok region used to be filled with yellow canola flowers along the old National Highway No. 7, looking over the sea, every April. [...]
SEOUL, March 29 (Korea Bizwire) — More than 95 percent of the self-employed and mom-and-pop businesses have suffered a drop in sales since the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey by an association of the self-employed showed Monday. The association held a press conference in front of Seoul City Hall to release the [...]
SEOUL, March 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea said Thursday it will offer discounts on electricity fees for small businesses to ease their burden amid the prolonged new coronavirus pandemic. The parliament passed a bill to allocate 220 billion won (US$193 million) in extra budget to ease the financial burden on virus-hit small businesses from [...]
SEOUL, March 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Most South Koreans are feeling stress from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, a survey showed Wednesday. Nonetheless, respondents shared the view that the government needs to toughen its COVID-19 disinfection guidance. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism jointly carried out a [...]
DAEJEON, March 23 (Korea Bizwire) — The contactless practices triggered by the coronavirus outbreak are altering the landscape of the design industry. The Korean Intellectual Property Office reported a decrease in the number of new design patents for beauty products and fabric, while applications for products related to hobbies, entertainment, and exercise increased in number. [...]
SEOUL, March 22 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of NEETs — people who are unemployed and not receiving an education or vocational training — marked a sharp increase in South Korea as the job environment deteriorated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a report released on Sunday by the Hyundai Research Institute, the number [...]