[Graphic News] Seoul’s above 60 population soars: report

Seoul is aging rapidly, with the city’s population of those aged 60 and above expected to reach over 3 million by 2030, a report by McKinsey Global Institute showed Tuesday.The report said Seoul will be the eighth city in the world with the largest population in their 60s. In South Korea’s capital, this demographic group will make up 31 percent of the total population, showed the report. As of the end of 2015, 1.84 million of 10.02 million citizens in Seoul were aged 60 and over, or 18 percent o

Social AffairsApril 12, 2016

[Graphic News] VR headset market will be led by Oculus, HTC, and Sony

The “big three” of the world’s virtual reality sector -- Oculus, HTC, and Sony -- will go head-to-head this year, according to market research firm Strategic Analytics.Worldwide sales of virtual reality headsets are expected to stand at $895 billion this year, of which the three VR firms will account for 77 percent. The report did not give details on the market share of each firm. The research firm, however, anticipated that the three brands will only make up 13 percent of the global shipment vo

TechnologyApril 11, 2016

[Graphic News] Number of asylum seekers on the rise

The number of asylum seekers in South Korea has steadily increased in recent years since it began accepting refugee applications in 1994, government statistics showed. With millions of people fleeing conflicts in war zones across the world, South Korea saw a surge in the number of asylum seekers from 1,574 in 2013 to 2,896 in 2014 and 4,265 last year. The number of those who were granted asylum, too, rose from 57 to 94 and on to 106 during the same period.Since 1994, the country has accepted 576

Social AffairsApril 10, 2016

[Graphic News] Asian elephant is zoo’s biggest eater

The Asian elephant eats the most out of all the animals at Seoul Grand Park, which contains a zoo. It eats up to 102.3 kilograms of food on a daily basis. On the other hand, the tarantula eats only 0.2 grams of food -- the smallest intake out of the zoo’s animals, according to the facility on Wednesday. One Asian elephant can consume 75 kilograms of hay, 24.7 kg of fruits and vegetables, and 2.6 kg of assorted feed, making it the No.1 eater out of all the animals at the park. It can also excrete

April 7, 2016

[Graphic News] Popular tax havens around the world

Mossack Fonseca is considered the fifth-largest provider of offshore services.Of the companies appearing in the firm’s files, one of every two were incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, making it the firm’s No. 1 tax haven.Niue, a small South Pacific island nation with a population of about 1,000 people, ranks as the firm’s No. 5 tax haven.The most active clients by number of offshore company incorporations were from Hong Kong, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

World NewsApril 6, 2016

[Graphic News] Koreans spend big overseas

Lackluster consumer spending has been a headache for policymakers striving to reinvigorate the sluggish economy, but recent data show that Koreans are spending more than ever before overseas. According to Bank of Korea data, Korean households’ total expenditure abroad grew 13.7 percent on-year in 2015 to a record high of 26.27 trillion won ($22.7 billion). Overseas spending has risen for four consecutive years, with the pace of growth far exceeding that of domestic expenditure. Last year, househ

April 5, 2016

[Graphic News] Foreign tourists spend most on shopping

Foreign tourists spend over half of their travel expenses in Korea on shopping, according to government data on Sunday. Out of the total 10.4 trillion won ($9.06 billion) spent last year by tourists in Korea, 52.8 percent -- or 5.5 trillion won -- was used on shopping alone, the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute said. This was followed by accommodation at 23.3 percent and food at 8 percent. 　Government officials expect that foreign spending will increase this year compared to last year when th

April 4, 2016

[Graphic News] Global obesity rate surges

Number of obese adults in the world surged for the past four decades, reaching a record high of 641 million in 2014, according to the English medical journal the Lancet on Friday. The figure was a nearly sixfold increase from 105 million 40 years ago. If the trend continues, 20 percent of the total adult population will be obese by 2025, the report said.Collecting data from 19.2 million adults from 186 countries in 2014, Imperial College London professor Majid Ezzati found that 10.8 percent of m

April 3, 2016

[Graphic News] Salaries of workers rise slightly, working hours fall

Employees of companies with at least five workers received average monthly pay of 3.56 million won ($3,110) as of January, up 6.4 percent from a year before, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said.Permanent employees received an average of 3.75 million, compared to temporary and contract-based workers’ 1.5 million won.Average monthly working hours were 168.8 per employee, shorter by 6.2 hours from 2015.

Social AffairsMarch 31, 2016

[Graphic News] World’s senior population rockets

The number of people aged 65 and over around the world is expected to more than double by 2050 as the world’s senior population continues to rocket, a U.S. study said.The global population is aging at an unprecedented rate, with 8.5 percent of people worldwide -- or more than 600 million -- now aged 65 and over, said the U.S. Census Bureau report.If the trend continues, nearly 17 percent of the global population, or 1.6 billion people, will be 65 years old and above by 2050. The global populatio

World NewsMarch 30, 2016

[Graphic News] Korean card issuers’ 2015 net profit fell

Korean credit card firms saw their combined net profits shrink last year from a year earlier, marking the first fall in three years, as they spent more on services to attract customers amid tougher competition, data showed Wednesday.Eight credit card issuers posted combined profits of 2.158 trillion won ($1.86 billion) in 2015, down 7.5 percent from 2.178 trillion won the previous year, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service.Despite an increase in revenue from interest rate cha

March 29, 2016

[Graphic News] Chicken, beer in Korea cheaper than overseas

The prices of chicken and beer in Korea are relatively cheaper than other countries, said local reports on Monday.The market price of a 500 ml-bottle of locally produced beer is $1.69, considerably lower than those sold in the Maldives and United Arab Emirates where it costs $7.19 and $6.63, respectively. These figures are from a recent survey by numbeo.com, a crowdsourced database of the prices of goods around the world. Korean beer ranks 40th in terms of market price around the world. Germany

IndustryMarch 28, 2016

[Graphic News] Rice farming revenue falls despite rising efficiency

The revenue earned from rice farming in Korea fell 6.1 percent on-year despite lowered production costs and increased yields in 2015, data from Statistics Korea showed Friday.Production costs for paddy rice fell 4.1 percent from 721,000 won ($616) to 692,000 won per 1,000 square meters in 2015, due to reduced spending on labor and equipment. Despite this, the yield rose from 520 kilograms to 542 kilograms per 1,000 square meters. However, rice farmers saw their total revenue decline because of a

IndustryMarch 27, 2016

[Graphic News] Number of Korean TB patients lowest in 15 years

The number of newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients in South Korea last year was the lowest in 15 years, government data showed Thursday. According to the report, 63.5 per 100,000 Koreans were newly diagnosed with the infectious disease last year. This is 8.1 percentage points lower than the year before. However, the report showed the number of newly diagnosed patients aged between 10 and 14 had also increased over the same period, from 4.2 patients per 100,000 to 5 patients. South Korea has the

Social AffairsMarch 24, 2016

[Graphic News] Seniors to make up over 40% of population by 2060

Korea’s population is aging fast and the proportion of elderly will be more than 40 percent of the population by 2060, according to a report released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday.The report on Korea’s overall social trends in 2015 said that due to the continued decrease in birthrate and medical technology development, the number of seniors aged 65 and above will increase to 17.62 million people by 2060 from 6.62 million people in 2015. 　Government officials said the triangular-shaped populatio

March 23, 2016

[Graphic News] Koreans’ overseas card spending hits record in 2015

Koreans’ use of plastic overseas hit an all-time high last year due to an increase in their outbound travel and direct buying from overseas online shops, according to industry data released Monday. The Credit Finance Association said overseas credit and debit card spending reached a combined $13.26 billion in 2015, up 8.7 percent from a year earlier. Card spending by foreign visitors in Korea fell 13.2 percent on-year to $10.05 billion during the same period, as foreigners delayed planned trips

March 22, 2016

[Graphic News] Full-time housewives decrease as more elderly women join workforce

The number of full-time housewives is decreasing as more and more elderly women join the workforce to help with household income, according to Statistics Korea on Monday. The agency’s report on the breakdown of the country’s economically active population showed that the number of full-time housewives last year was 7.08 million, down 0.8 percent from the previous year.Despite the number of stay-at-home housewives consistently increasing since 2000, the decreasing trend began in 2014 with a 2.1 p

March 21, 2016

[Graphic News] ISA subscription exceeds 650,000 in first week

More than 650,000 Koreans have opened Individual Savings Accounts over the past week since the tax-efficient scheme was launched March 14. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on Sunday, the number of people who subscribed to an ISA account was 658,040 as of Friday and their combined deposits exceeded 320 billion won ($280 million). Even though the daily subscriptions slowed down day by day, the average subscription amount surged from 340,000 won to 490,000 won. Cash ISAs made

March 20, 2016

[Graphic News] The old hold onto more cash

An average Korean household holds 300,000 won ($255) in cash, a Bank of Korea survey shows. Those with heads of households who are older tend to hold larger amounts of cash for both payment and emergency uses. Households headed by those in their 50s keep 400,000 won -- the largest amount of cash -- at home.When it comes to the ratio of cash holdings to monthly income, households headed by seniors aged 60 or older keep 16.4 percent of their earnings in cash, the highest proportion across age grou

March 17, 2016

[Graphic News] Korea’s income inequality highest in Asia

The income share of Korea’s top 10 percent earners to total earnings is the highest in Asia, according to a report released by the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday.The IMF’s Analysis of Inequality in Asia report said Korea’s top 10 percent income class accounted for 45 percent of the country’s total income.In 2013, the top 1 percent in emerging Asia earned 32 percent of the income share, compared to 30 percent in 1990. The share for the top decile in South Korea rose 5 percentage points

March 16, 2016