[Graphic News] Mobile shopping hits record W2.7tr in May　

Mobile shopping in Korea soared 41.7 percent to a record high of 2.697 trillion won ($2.4 billion) in May from a year earlier, according to a government report Monday.“Purchases on mobile devices jumped last month due to convenience, competitive prices and a bigger range of products. And the trend is set to strengthen over time,” said an official from Statistics Korea.Mobile shopping accounted for 52.1 percent of the country’s overall online shopping sales worth 5.178 trillion won last month, up

July 5, 2016

[Graphic News] IS touts it can still inspire violence, attacks abroad

To mark its second anniversary on June 29, the Islamic State group revealed a graph showing its worldwide network on Instagram, titled “Spread of Islamic State.”On the graph, Syria and Iraq are claimed to be its “areas of major control.” Libya, Nigeria, Egypt, Yemen, Chechenya, the Republic of Dagestan, Afghanistan, Niger, the Philippines and Somalia are claimed to be “areas of medium control,” while Algeria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Tunisia and France are labeled “areas with p

World NewsJuly 4, 2016

[Graphic News] Korea tops average Internet speed worldwide: report

Korea had the highest average Internet connection speed in the world in the first quarter of this year, according to a report by Akamai Technologies, a content delivery network provider headquartered in the U.S. The report released Friday showed that in the first quarter of the year, Korea had four times faster average Internet speed at 29 megabits per second, an 8.6 percent increase over the previous quarter. It was followed by Norway, Sweden, Hong Kong and Switzerland. The world average was 6.

TechnologyJuly 3, 2016

[Graphic News] Single-income households account for 27%

The number of single-income households in Korea increased to 5 million last year, taking a 27.2 percent share of the total, according to data Thursday.Statistics Korea said the data also showed nearly half of all married couples were double-income families. The proportion of double-income families stood at 43.9 percent, which slightly increased from the previous year. What is notable is the increase of double-income couples living separately. Officials attributed the increase to massive relocati

June 30, 2016

[Graphic News] Female job quality remains low

The job quality of Korean women still remains low compared to their male counterparts, although the female employment rate edged up slightly last year, data showed Monday.Statistics Korea said in its compiled report that among all female employees, 40.3 percent were irregular workers as of March this year, while the figure for men stood at 25.5 percent.In terms of salary, a female worker was paid an average 1.78 million won ($1,530) a month last year, 62.8 percent of that of men in the country.

June 29, 2016

[Graphic News] Koreans most sleep deprived in Asia-Pacific

South Koreans get the least sleep among those in Asia-Pacific, according to a healthy living index by life insurance group AIA.The study showed that Koreans on average slept 6.3 hours per night, which was less than the Asia-Pacific average of 6.9 hours. However, Koreans actually want to sleep 7.5 hours every night. Also, 74 percent of Koreans were dissatisfied with their weight and they on average wanted to lose 7.2 kilograms. A relatively high proportion of Koreans, 31 percent, was also skippin

Social AffairsJune 28, 2016

[Graphic News] Korean firms face growing labor costs, declining productivity

Revenue and operating profit generated per worker at the top 30 listed companies here have been falling in the past five years, but pay on average has been growing in the same period, a study showed Monday.According to the Federation of Korean Industries, sales produced per employee dropped 2.7 percent on average from 1.07 billion won ($902,800) in 2011 to 968.6 million won in 2015. Operating profit per employee also declined 7.1 percent on average from 71.32 million won to 53.17 million won. Th

IndustryJune 27, 2016

[Graphic News] Ships, cars are top export items to Britain

As Great Britain voted to leave the European Union, domestic attention is being paid to how it might affect Korea’s trade with the Western European country. According to a report from the Industry Ministry, two-way trade volume reached $13.8 billion in 2015, with Korea‘s exports amounting to $7.7 billion. Particularly, the nation’s 13 major items of exports to Britain accounted for $7.39 billion. Among the export items, ships topped the list at $2.5 billion, followed by cars with $1.5 billion an

June 26, 2016

[Graphic News] Korea’s exports projected to improve in H2

Korea’s exports are projected to improve in the second half of this year, despite the poor performances of the semiconductor and shipbuilding industries, data showed Thursday. According to the Korea Institute for Economics & Trade’s report, the amount of exports will recover in the second half of this year and reach an increase rate of minus 1.3 percent compared to last year. Exports in the first half plummeted by 10.8 percent on-year. The overall export increase rate is projected to record minu

IndustryJune 23, 2016

[Graphic News] Lotte most active in M&A

Korea’s retail giant Lotte Group topped the ranking for making mergers and acquisitions deals over the past six years, data showed Tuesday. According to corporate tracker CEO Score, Lotte took over a total of 21 companies through M&A deals from 2010 to 2015. The size of the deals amounted to $6.5 billion, accounting for 20 percent of total M&A deals made by the top 30 conglomerates. Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin has aggressively pushed for the deals since 2004, completing 36 such deals so f

IndustryJune 22, 2016

[Graphic News] Record 65 million people displaced worldwide: U.N.

The number of refugees and others fleeing their homes worldwide has hit a new record, spiking to 65.3 million people by the end of 2015, the United Nations said Monday. Europe’s high-profile migrant crisis -- its worst since World War II -- is just one part of a growing tide of human misery led by Palestinians, Syrians and Afghans.Globally, close to 1 percent of humanity has been forced to flee.The figures, released on World Refugee Day, underscore the unprecedented global displacement crisis.

World NewsJune 21, 2016

[Graphic News] Coal consumption rises 11% 2010-2015

Korea’s coal consumption rose 11 percent over the five years from 2010 to 2015, in contrast to the U.S. and U.K., which have reduced use of the fuel by nearly 25 percent, a recent study shows. China saw a 10.2 percent increase in the cited period, while India logged a 39 percent jump, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. In 2010, Korea consumed 75.9 million tons of coal, which peaked at 84.6 million in 2014, falling slightly to 84.5 million in 2015. That accounted for 2.2 perc

June 20, 2016

[Graphic News] Korean products make up one-tenth of Chinese import market

Korean products’ market share in the Chinese imported goods market grew 1.7 percent in the past two years, data showed Sunday.Just over one-tenth of imported products in China, worth $174.3 billion, came from Korea as of 2015, according to data from the Korea International Trade Association’s Institute for International Trade. Korean products were strongest in the petrochemicals and flat-panel display markets, where they hold about one-third of the market share.Between 2013 and 2015, the most no

IndustryJune 19, 2016

[Graphic News] Top 3 shipbuilders to cut 6,000 jobs this year

Korea’s top three shipbuilders will cut 6,000 jobs this year to survive the decline in global orders and economic slowdown, according to their self-rescue plans released this week.Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, plans to lay off a total of 4,000 workers this year. The company will cut 2,000 workers through voluntary resignations and 1,000 workers through retirement, under the age limit. The company will also relocate 994 employees.Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineeri

IndustryJune 16, 2016

[Graphic News] Korea‘s net worth surpasses W12 quadrillion

Korea’s total net worth surpassed 12 quadrillion won ($10 trillion) for the first time last year. According to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea, the country’s wealth, calculated as total assets minus total liabilities, came in at 12,359.5 trillion won ($10.54 trillion) at the end of 2015, up 5.7 percent from a year earlier. That is 7.9 times the size of Korea’s gross domestic product in 2015. Nearly 87 percent of that wealth was in land and buildings. The net worth of Korean households an

June 15, 2016

[Graphic News] Overseas construction orders drop by 40%

Korean builders’ overseas construction orders received this year so far are worth $14.1 billion, a 40 percent drop compared to last year’s orders worth $23.5 billion in the same time period, according to the International Contractors Association of Korea on Tuesday.This is also the lowest amount in four years in which orders worth $13.7 billion were recorded in the first six months in 2012.Orders from the Middle East and Latin America decreased by 44 percent to $6.6 billion and 68.4 percent to $

IndustryJune 14, 2016

[Graphic News] Global electric vehicle sales surpass 1 million

Accumulated global electric vehicle sales reached 1.2 million as of last year, according to a report compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Energy Agency released Sunday. A total of 550,000 EVs including battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were sold last year, which is a 70 percent increase compared to the 324,000 EVs sold in 2014. The number of newly registered electric vehicles in China was the highest last year wi

MobilityJune 13, 2016

[Graphic News] Government seeks to 3% budget increase for 2017

The government is seeking to increase its budget spending by 3 percent to total 398.1 trillion won ($338.3 billion) next year, the lowest increase in six years, according to Finance Ministry officials.They said requests for an increase in budget have been on a steady decline in recent years as the government continues to reform and innovate its spending.According to the preliminary requests, the culture sector’s budget increased the most, by 5.8 percent, which is consistent with the plans to exp

June 12, 2016

[Graphic News] Public support for EU plunges across Europe

Public support for the European Union has fallen sharply in its biggest member states over the past year, a survey showed Tuesday, weeks before Britons vote on whether to leave the 28-nation bloc.Most striking was a plunge in the percentage of Europeans who view the EU favorably, a development which appears linked to the bloc’s handling of the refugee crisis and the economy.The fall was most pronounced in France, where only 38 percent of respondents said they had a favorable view of the EU, down

World NewsJune 9, 2016

[Graphic News] Imported vehicle sales rebound in May

Registrations for imported vehicles increased in May, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association on Wednesday. May recorded 19,470 new registrations, a 5.9 percent increase from the same month last year, which saw 18,386 registrations. The month’s total number of registrations was also a 9.1 percent increase from the previous month at 17,845 registrations. Despite monthly imported car sales reaching 24,366 vehicles last year in December, car sales have since been st

MobilityJune 8, 2016