[Graphic News] Fading hopes of separated families

Nearly half of the 129,688 South Koreans who had registered with the Korean Red Cross to have a chance to reunite with their loved ones in the North are deceased.The actual number of separated families is thought to be much higher when including those who did not report due to fears of any negative impact it would have on their families across the border.Of the 66,843 surviving families here, the majority, or 42.5 percent, are in their 80s, while 27.2 percent are in their 70s. Some 12.1 percent

North KoreaJune 24, 2015

[Graphic News] Korea’s growth engine technology 3.8 years behind U.S.

South Korea’s technology level in its chosen growth engines is 3.8 years behind that of the United States, a ministry report found Tuesday.According to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, there are 13 new growth engines that it would focus on developing, including 5G mobile communications, smart cars, intelligent robots, smart disaster safety management systems and the Internet of Things.However, when the ministry compared Korea’s technology in these sectors are compared to that of

IndustryJune 23, 2015

[Graphic News] Government collects record fines

The total amount of fines the government collected hit a record high last year mainly due to its tough response to unfair corporate practices, data showed. According to a report from the Finance Ministry, which was submitted to opposition lawmaker Choi Jae-sung, the government collected fines amounting to 3.2 trillion won ($2.86 billion) in 2014, up 12.9 percent from the previous year.In particular, fines from tax dodgers and traffic violators tripled over four years to 949.1 billion won, with t

Social AffairsJune 17, 2015

[Graphic News] Overseas construction orders of Korean firms surpass $700b

The cumulative overseas construction orders of South Korean builders has exceeded $700 billion since they first ventured abroad in 1965, data showed Thursday.According to the Ministry of Land and the International Construction Information Service, the amount of construction order commissions reported was $699.54 billion as of June 10. However, if Samsung C&T’s order of $694 million for the WestConnex construction in Sydney, Australia, on June 4 it included, the total reaches $700.23 billion.Sout

IndustryJune 11, 2015

[Graphic News] Average yearly pay at big firms reaches W75.64m

Employees working at South Korean conglomerates earned an average of 75.64 million won ($67,000) last year, said Job Korea, a leading local employment website. The recruiting company collected salary data from corporate reports submitted by 90 of Korea’s top 100 companies. Among the 887,636 employees, including contract workers, 75.1 percent were male and 24.9 percent were female.According to the data, male employees earned roughly 30 million won more than female colleagues, as men received an a

World BusinessJune 9, 2015

[Graphic News] Childbirths in Korea increase to 2-year high

The number of childbirths in South Korea increased to the its highest level in two years, according to a government report released Wednesday.Statistics Korea said about 40,400 babies were born in March this year, an increase of 6.3 percent from 38,000 reported in the same month last year.It also said the number of babies born during the first quarter of this year reached 117,700, up 1.5 percent from 116,000.“The number of women aged over 35 having babies played a part in the rise of newborn num

May 28, 2015