SEJONG, Nov. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s household spending on alcohol and cigarettes reached a new record high in the third quarter as the coronavirus outbreak forced more people to stay home, government data showed Wednesday. Local households spent an average of 42,980 won (US$38.7) on liquors and cigarettes during the July-September period, up [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Payments made with cards in South Korea grew at a slower pace in the first nine months of the year from a year earlier as consumer spending remained tepid amid the new coronavirus outbreak, central bank data showed Tuesday. Spending made with credit, debit and prepaid cards reached a [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a plunge in South Korean consumers’ spending at department stores, cinemas and other large indoor facilities, an expert said Friday. In contrast, consumer spending at outdoor and small facilities, including neighborhood grocery stores and camping sites, has gone up, said Lee Jae-ho, head [...]
SEOUL, July 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s spending on chipmaking equipment is likely to be the third largest of any country this year, industry data showed Wednesday, amid solid global chip demand sparked by the pandemic-driven stay-at-home economy. South Korea, home to major memory chip producers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., is [...]
SEOUL, July 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreigners who traveled to South Korea last year to consume K-pop goods and content were estimated to have spent US$1,007 on average, according to a report Thursday. In its latest tourism industry analysis report, the state-run Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) estimated that some 1.11 million foreigners came to South [...]
SEOUL, June 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Millennials, born between the early 1980s and early 2000s with tendencies to enjoy the present rather than the future, turned out to be quite insistent on prioritizing savings rather than indiscreet consumption. The Hana Institute of Finance, a research unit of Hana Financial Group Inc., conducted a survey of [...]
SEOUL, June 10 (Korea Bizwire) — The state coronavirus relief funds have been spent mostly on dining out and grocery shopping, the interior ministry said Wednesday, based on an analysis of credit card data. The Ministry of Interior and Safety analyzed credit and debit card transactions from May 11-31 from eight financial firms to find [...]
SEOUL, May 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Many South Korean families could use their emergency coronavirus relief funds on private education costs due to the rather broad spending restrictions, online comments and opinions suggested Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the government began offering emergency funds in the forms of credit or debit card points — 1 [...]
SEOUL, April 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s credit card spending fell at the fastest rate ever last month, data showed Tuesday, amid the spread of the new coronavirus that continued to keep people away from unnecessary contact. In March, the amount of purchases using credit and debit cards dropped 4.3 percent from the same [...]
SEOUL, April 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Major South Korean companies’ spending on research and development (R&D) climbed nearly 8 percent in 2019 despite weaker performances, a market tracker said Tuesday. Combined R&D expenditures by 208 out of the top 500 companies by sales came to 53.5 trillion won (US$43.9 billion) last year, up 7.8 percent [...]