SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Last year, owner-operated businesses without any employees struggled in the third quarter, more so than in the first year of the pandemic era. Among all households across the country with more than one member, those with owner-operated businesses without any employees earned an average of 2,701,958 won (US$2,252) each [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — The self-employed who shut down operations due to the government’s coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions will be allowed to terminate their commercial lease contracts earlier than the end date. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that the revision of the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act took immediate effect after [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of foreign tourists who visited South Korea last year is expected to have fallen below the 1 million mark due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. The data from the state-run Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) showed 877,000 foreigners visited the country from January to November, down 64.3 percent [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — With the winter cold and the coronavirus pandemic sweeping across the country, many struggling individuals living in low-cost boarding housing facilities known as gosiwons or old residential districts have passed away. Most of them died a solitary death, a financially stricken single-person household living off of basic welfare. On Dec. 28, [...]
DAEJEON, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent analysis showed that lower-income households have more estranged family relationships in the COVID-19 pandemic era. According to data from Statistics Korea analyzed by the Daejeon Gender Equality and Family Policy Center, among the households with a monthly income of less than 1 million won (US$840), 23.4 percent [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Korea Bizwire) – The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on South Koreans’ waistlines, according to data from a recent survey. The Korea Health Promotion Institute conducted a survey of 1,000 South Koreans, 42 percent of whom said they had gained weight since the onset of the pandemic with respondents reporting [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Annual year-end bell-ringing ceremonies have been canceled across the nation for the second year in a row amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Friday. The country’s most popular bell-ringing ceremony, which used to be held on New Year’s Eve at Bosingak Pavilion in central Seoul, has been called [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Social relationships are changing drastically as the coronavirus pandemic, which has dragged on over the past two years, has prevented people from meeting in person. An institute affiliated with South Korea’s top life insurer Samsung Life Insurance Co. reported Wednesday that COVID-19 has led to a drastic reduction in [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 28 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of small companies in South Korea expanded nearly 5 percent in 2020 from a year earlier despite the pandemic, but their profit fell sharply, government data showed Tuesday. The country had 2,902,000 companies with fewer than five workers as of the end of 2020, up 4.7 percent [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of franchise outlets in South Korea rose more than 9 percent in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic, but their sales dropped for the first time since 2013, data showed Monday. Franchise stores numbered 235,709 as of end-December last year, up 9.5 percent from a year earlier, according [...]