[Graphic News] Who's who in Choi scandal

  

World NewsNov. 1, 2016

[Graphic News] Average salary of major firms tops 70 million won

The average annual salary of workers at 88 largest listed firms stood at 73.4 million won ($64,317) in 2015, data by Korea’s stock market operator showed Monday. The figure is a 20 percent increase from 61.2 million won in 2011, according to the Korea Exchange.The surveyed firms employed an of 8,633 workers, whose continuous service averaged 10.13 years, up 4.1 percent compared to four years ago. Experts say, longer continuous service reflects the enhanced work environment of the listed companie

IndustryOct. 31, 2016

[Graphic News] Chinese smartphone makers threaten Samsung’s dominance

The combined production volume of China’s top three smartphone makers - Huawei, Oppo and Vivo - in the third quarter surpassed that of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics for the first time, industry data showed.According to market research firm IDC, Samsung Electronics manufactured 72.5 million smartphones, giving it a 20 percent market share of the global smartphone market, during the July-September period.Meanwhile, the three Chinese firms together produced 80.1 million smartphone uni

TechnologyOct. 30, 2016

[Graphic News] Top 10 earners control 45% of total income

The top 10 percent of South Korea’s highest income earners account for 44.9 percent of the country’s total income as of 2012, according to data from the International Monetary Fund and The World Wealth and Income Database. This makes South Korea the No. 2 country among major economies in terms of income inequality, only after the US, where the top 10 percent of income earners make up 47.8 percent of the country’s total income. South Korea’s income equality is worsening rapidly. It jumped 15.6 pe

Oct. 27, 2016

[Graphic News] South Korea ranks 5th in business environment

South Korea came in at No. 5 in business environment among 190 countries this year, driven by high scores in electricity supply and other legal, administrative and taxation systems, a report by the World Bank showed Wednesday. It marked a notch down from last year.The annual “Doing Business 2017” report gave South Korea a total 84.07 points. The country moved up in the ratings in terms of legal settlement, environment for starting a business, tax payment and property registration. Its rankings,

Oct. 26, 2016

[Graphic News] Financial workers feel most threatened by AI

Nearly half of South Korean workers feel threatened by the rise of artificial intelligence as they are concerned that one day they may be replaced by it at work, a latest survey has found. According to the Korea Employment Information Service’s poll of 1,600 workers across 23 job categories, 44.7 percent of respondents said the technology would eventually replace humans in their respective field of work. A slightly smaller proportion, 42.3 percent, predicted no impact on their jobs, while 13 per

PoliticsOct. 25, 2016

[Graphic News] Baby boomers least satisfied with life

Koreans in their 50s are the least satisfied with life, a survey found, while men in general are more discontent than their female counterparts. According to the survey, conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, happiness peaks in your 20s, with 82.6 percent of 20-somethings saying that they are satisfied with life. However, as people get older their lust for life begins to dwindle reaching its lowest rate for those in their 50s (66.9 percent). The downward trend begins to

Social AffairsOct. 24, 2016

[Graphic News] Birthgiving age climb up over decade

The average age at which women give birth has risen significantly over the past decade, with more than a quarter of mothers now aged 35 or more, while the number of women of childbearing age dropped, a study showed. According to data released by National Health Insurance Service, the average age of delivery stood at 32.2 as of 2015, up 1.9 years from 2006.Also, the proportion of mothers who were aged 35 or older soared from 13.7 percent to 27.6 percent during the same period.The total number of

Social AffairsOct. 23, 2016

[Graphic News] S. Korea has 4th-lowest fertility rate

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates South Korea’s average fertility rate at 1.3, the fourth lowest in the world.In its latest State of World Population report, the UNFPA said South Korea’s population growth rate stood at 0.5 percent, while the rate for the global population reached 1.2 percent. At the high end was Oman at 7.6 percent.China boasted the largest population of 1.38 billion, followed by India with 1.32 billion people, and the United States with a population of 324 million.The gl

World NewsOct. 20, 2016

[Graphic News] Top 3 shipbuilding firms post shaky performance

The value of contracts signed by Korea’s top three shipbuilding firms -- Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, and Samsung Heavy Industries -- fell far behind the amount they projected for this year, industry sources said Wednesday. Samsung Heavy Industries did not sell a single vessel during the first eight months of this year. Its yearly outcome, however, may differ as the company is currently negotiating a deal worth as much as $2.7 billion. The pitch came afte

IndustryOct. 19, 2016

[Graphic News] Number of Seoul schoolchildren falling

The number of school pupils in Seoul are declining at a faster pace, a direct result of the country’s persistently low birth rates, data shows. According to Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, as of April 1 this year, the city’s kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools have 4.2 percent fewer students than a year earlier. The student tally stands at slightly over 1.07 million. That represents a steeper year-on-year drop than the 3.6 percent decline in 2015 and 3.7 percent in 2014. B

Social AffairsOct. 18, 2016

[Graphic News] Financial fallout from Note 7 debacle

Samsung will ship 310 million smartphones this year, down from a forecast of 316 million units, according to new data from research firm TrendForce. Customers will, in turn, move in part to Apple’s iPhone, which will see its forecast shipments grow from 205 million to 208 million due in part to the Galaxy Note 7’s woes, according to TrendForce.“In the large-size smartphone market, Samsung’s competitors such as Apple, Huawei, Vivo, and OPPO are expected to snatch up the demand that was initially

World BusinessOct. 17, 2016

[Graphic News] Korea's Exports to Vietnam up sharply

Korea’s exports to Vietnam rose 200 percent between 2010 and 2015, according to the Korea International Trade Association.The amount of exports to Vietnam tripled from $9.7 billion (10.9 trillion won) in 2010 to $27.8 billion last year, KITA data showed.During the cited period, exports to the US also steadily rose on increased demand.Meanwhile, exports to China are on the decline, totaling $69.4 million between January and August, after posting 137.1 billion won in 2015. China’s share of Korea’s

IndustryOct. 16, 2016