[Graphic News] Fatal air crashes rose last year

　A total of 556 people died in 15 plane crashes in 2018, significantly more than the previous year, but long-term trends show that safety has improved, an aviation watchdog reported.　The year 2017 was the safest year in aviation history with only 44 people killed in 10 airliner accidents, said the Aviation Safety Network.　Last year was still the third-safest year in aviation history in terms of the number of fatal accidents and the ninth-safest in terms of lives lost.　Last year’s deadliest accid

World NewsJan. 7, 2019

[Graphic News] Food industry sales rise 2.3% in 2018

　South Korean food industry sales grew 2.3 percent in 2018 from a year ago to exceed 90 trillion won ($80.2 billion) for the first time, a report showed.　According to the report from the Korea Rural Economic Institute, total shipments of the nation’s food products, groceries and beverages came to an estimated 91.3 trillion won last year, up 2 trillion won from 2017.　Food industry sales topped the mark of 90 trillion won three years after passing the milestone of 80 trillion won.　Last year’s grow

BusinessJan. 6, 2019

[Graphic News] Samsung No. 1 in number of patents filed for self-driving cars

　According to the data compiled by the European Patent Office, the number of applications related to self-driving cars filed in Europe was 3,998 in 2017, growing more than threefold from 922 in 2011. 　Samsung Electronics holds the largest number of patents between 2011 and 2017, 624, with US company Intel ranking second with 590.　US chipmaker Qualcomm held 361, followed by Samsung Electronics’ smaller rival LG Electronics at 348 and Germany’s Bosch with 343. 　The figures show that information an

World BusinessJan. 3, 2019

[Graphic News] 10% of S. Korean seniors suffer from dementia

　More than 1 in 10 South Korean senior citizens live with dementia, data showed, with the number expected to reach 2 million by 2039 due to the rapidly aging population.　According to the data compiled by the National Institute of Dementia, 10.2 percent of Koreans aged 65 and above had dementia as of 2018. It was the first time the figure exceeded the 10 percent mark, the institute said. The 2017 figure stood at 9.95 percent. 　The total number of dementia patients came to 750,000: 275,000 men and

Social AffairsJan. 2, 2019

[Graphic News] Number of naturalized S. Koreans nears 190,000 over last 70 years

　Nearly 190,000 foreign nationals have become naturalized South Korean citizens over the past seven decades, government data showed.　The Ministry of Justice said the number of people naturalized here since the enactment of the Nationality Act on Dec. 20, 1948, reached 189,193 as of the end of November.　The nation’s first naturalization occurred on Feb. 8, 1957, when a then Taiwanese citizen who changed his name to Son Il-seung acquired South Korean nationality.

Social AffairsJan. 1, 2019

[Graphic News] Switzerland remains most attractive for top talent

 Switzerland once again clinched the top spot in a global survey on fostering and attracting talent, part of a top-10 list that includes Canada but not the US and no Asian nations.The country retained its title for the fifth consecutive year in the World Talent Ranking report published by IMD Business School, a result of its strong emphasis on skills training and education. Denmark and Norway ranked second and third. While the US didn’t make the top 10, it climbed four notches to No. 12. Canada

World NewsDec. 31, 2018

[Graphic News] Australia, Indonesia world’s most generous nations: Gallup

　Australia, Indonesia, the United States and New Zealand were found to be the world’s most generous countries in an annual study by pollster Gallup.　Gallup released its list of “most generous countries” for 2018. Indonesia and Australia tied for the top spot, and the United States and New Zealand tied for third.　To rank more than 140 nations in its wide-ranging survey, Gallup said it looked at population, which countries’ people gave the most volunteer time, and which helped strangers most often

World NewsDec. 28, 2018

[Graphic News] Bamdokkaebi Night Market picked as Seoul’s best policy of year

　According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Seoul Bamdokkaebi Night Market has been chosen by foreigners as the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s best policy of 2018.　The night market opened in various locations on Fridays and Saturdays from March through October this year, including the Cheonggye Stream, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Yeouido Hangang Park and Banpo Hangang Park.　Seoul officials said the policy of lending out suits for job seekers to wear to interviews ranked as the second-best

Social AffairsDec. 27, 2018

[Graphic News] Alcohol addiction increasing among youth

　The number of young people getting treatment for alcohol addiction neared 2,000 last year, doubling from seven years prior, a report said.　The drinking rate among the young is declining, but the severity of problems from drinking is still heavy, with one 1 in 2 young peole drinking to dangerous levels, the report from the National Assembly Research Service said.　There were 1,968 young people diagnosed as being addicted to alcohol last year, up 2.1-fold from 922 in 2010.  

Social AffairsDec. 26, 2018

[Graphic News] Korea’s gaming industry ranks among world’s top in sales

　South Korea’s gaming industry is the world’s fourth largest in sales, but none of the local companies rank among the top producers, a report said.　According to the Korea Creative Content Agency, the industry’s sales came to $5.76 billion in October, ranking fourth behind $34.4 billion for China, $31.53 billion for the US and $17.71 billion for Japan.　However, Korea would rank higher if internet connections are taken into consideration.   　For example, the internet-linked population in South Kor

World BusinessDec. 25, 2018

[Graphic News] People the world lost in 2018

　From US President George H.W. Bush to astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and former UN chief Kofi Annan, here are some of the notable figures who passed away in 2018.

World NewsDec. 24, 2018

[Graphic News] A day in Seoul by numbers

Social AffairsDec. 23, 2018

[Graphic News] Microsoft CEO ranks best in US

　Microsoft’s Satya Nadella was named the best CEO of 2018, according to compensation, culture and career website Comparably.　Other big names in the top 10 include Home Depot’s Craig Menear, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Saleforce’s Marc Benioff.　Comparably asked employees to rank their CEOs using a numerical scale and received nearly 10 million ratings from employees at more than 50,000 US companies, the report said. 

World BusinessDec. 20, 2018

[Graphic News] Korea ranks 115th in gender gap ranking last year

　The level of economic participation and opportunity of South Korean women is well below the world average, ranking the country No. 115 out of 149 countries in terms of gender equality, according to a report from the World Economic Forum.　The forum‘s Global Gender Gap Report 2018 said South Korea’s gender gap index was 0.657, compared to 0.673 for China and 0.662 for Japan, which ranked Nos. 103 and 110, respectively.　The annual report uses the Global Gender Gap Index to see how countries compar

Social AffairsDec. 19, 2018

[Graphic News] Koreans spent about $250 each on cultural activities in 2018: survey

　South Koreans spent an average of around 287,000 won ($253) each on cultural activities this year, according to a recent survey commissioned by a KBS radio program. 　The survey of 800 respondents between 15 and 69 years old was conducted by World Research & Consulting from Dec. 1-9. 　It found that 93,211 won was spent on books, 86,855 won on watching movies and 72,246 won on attending music concerts or performances.　In addition, 51.5 percent said they spent a similar amount on cultural activiti

Social AffairsDec. 18, 2018

[Graphic News] Performing arts market improves

　South Korea’s performing arts market rebounded in 2017, apparently reflecting greater political and social stability after the presidential election in May that year, officials said.　According to data released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts Management Service, the nation’s performing arts market grew 8.7 percent from the previous year to 813.2 billion won ($721 million) last year.　It is the first time that the domestic performing arts market has exceeded 800 b

Life&CultureDec. 17, 2018

[Graphic News] Russian arms industry No. 2 in world, right behind US

　Russia has overtaken Britain to become the world’s second-biggest arms producer, surpassed only by the United States, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in a recent report.　Russia had 10 companies on Sipri’s 2017 Top 100 list, which identifies the world’s leading arms-producing and military services companies. The 10 companies’ sales totaled $37.7 billion, Sipri said, 9.5 percent of arms sales by all countries on the list.　That put Russia in second place, a position previ

WorldDec. 16, 2018

[Graphic News] Korean travelers looking more at Portugal, Hungary

　South Korean tourists’ interest grew the most for Portugal and Hungary over the past year, although Japan, Vietnam and other nearby Asian nations remained steady picks, according to a travel fare website.　Skyscanner analyzed internet searches of travel destinations from October last year to September this year and found that searches for Portugal increased 93 percent compared to the previous period of the same months. Searches for Hungary were up second most, jumping 74 percent.　Other increases

TravelDec. 13, 2018

[Graphic News] Public servant most-coveted job among Korean adults: poll

　A civil servant position is the most sought-after job among South Korean adults, though most of them aim to take jobs as office workers for practical reasons, a poll showed.　Of 1,143 job seekers and salaried people questioned, the largest portion - 26.7 percent - said they wanted to work for the government or a public institution regardless of the reality, according to the survey conducted by online job portal Saramin.　Another 16.2 percent said they hoped to run a restaurant or other independen

Social AffairsDec. 12, 2018

[Graphic News] Samsung world’s No. 1 advertiser last year

　According to Ad Age’s list of the world’s 100 largest advertisers, Samsung pumped $11.2 billion into its advertising and sales promotion in 2017, up 13 percent from the previous year.　Industry insiders say the increased spending was aimed at improving the company’s image after the highly publicized recall of the Galaxy Note 7 in 2016 due to battery explosions. It is the first time that Samsung has topped the list. 　Consumer goods corporation Procter & Gamble ranked second, spending $10.5 billio

World BusinessDec. 11, 2018