[Graphic News] Abe approval ratings drop sharply over security bills

Public support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has fallen sharply amid the controversy over his push to expand the role of the military.Recent media polls put support for his Cabinet at the 35-40 percent range, the lowest since he took office in December 2012.In a survey published in the conservative Sankei Shimbun newspaper, his government’s support rate dropped 6.8 percentage points to 39.3 percent while the disapproval rate rose 10.2 percentage points to 52.6 percent.The disapproval ra

World NewsJuly 22, 2015

[Graphic News] Korea suffers age disparity in unemployment

South Korea has relatively low unemployment, but its young workers have the biggest comparative disadvantage to their middle-aged peers of any country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a report showed Monday. In its report on youth employment, the Bank of Korea said the nation’s youth (aged 15-29) unemployment rate reached 8.0 percent in 2013. This figure was lower than in major European economies. The youth unemployment rate was 42.4 percent in Spain, 29.6 percent in

July 21, 2015

[Graphic News] Koreans consume most calories on Saturdays

South Koreans consume the most calories on Saturdays, mostly by eating more instant noodles and fried chicken, a government study showed Monday. The study, which surveyed 2,308 Koreans from 2009 to 2013 on their calorie consumption, discovered that Korean men and women both consumed higher calories on weekends than weekdays. A Korean man on average consumed 2,587.1 kcal on Saturdays, which was higher than the weekly average of 2,418.1 kcal. A Korean woman, on the other hand, consumed 1,792.2 kca

Social AffairsJuly 20, 2015

[Graphic News] South-North Korean economic gap widens

Major economic indicators show that the economic gap between South and North Korea is widening.According to data released by the Bank of Korea in Seoul last week, North Korea’s nominal gross national income came in at 34.2 trillion won ($29.8 billion) last year, which is roughly 2.3 percent of South Korea’s 2014 GNI of 1,496.6 trillion won. North Korea’s nominal GNI per capita also stood at 1.39 million won, meaning an average North Korean individual produces approximately 4.7 percent of what th

July 19, 2015

[Graphic News] Smoking rate among men fall 5.8 percentage points

The smoking rate among South Korean men has dropped by 5.8 percentage points, partly because of the 80 percent hike in cigarette prices which took effect in January, government data said. According to the study, which surveyed 1,262 Korean men aged 19 or older from May to June, 78 of them said they had quit smoking within the past year. Among them, 48 of them said they had quit because of the price increase. Currently, 35 percent of Korean men are smoking, the study said.However, as this was the

Social AffairsJuly 16, 2015

[Graphic News] Iran nuclear resolution to boost Korean exports

As economic sanctions are expected to be lifted as a result of the settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue, Korean industries anticipate their overseas business will be revitalized.According to the Korean International Trade Association, South Korea-Iran trade reached its peak in 2011 as Korea exported $6.1 billion to Iran and imported $11.4 billion.However, the trade volume has halved since the economic sanction led by the United States was launched.But as the U.S.-Iran relationship warms and t

IndustryJuly 15, 2015

[Graphic News] Inbound remittance surpasses outbound transfers

Foreign remittance sent to Korea surpassed money going abroad, data showed Tuesday. 　According to data from KB Financial Group and World Bank, the amount of money wired from abroad to Korea in 2014 was $6.48 billion, eclipsing the $5.8 billion wired out of the country.By country, the most money was wired to Korea from the United States with $2.96 billion, followed by Japan with $1.71 billion. The two countries made up 71.3 percent of all money being wired to Korea.The next three countries in ter

IndustryJuly 14, 2015

[Graphic News] Six Korean banks listed on global top 100

Six South Korean banks are on the list of the world’s top 100 banks, data showed Sunday.KDB Financial Group, KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, Woori Financial Group and NongHyup Financial Group made the top 100 global bank list, according to British-based financial industry tracker The Banker.The highest-ranked Korean bank was KDB Financial Group at 62nd place, up 16 notches from last year. KB Financial Group followed in 65th place.Shinhan Financial Group ranked

IndustryJuly 13, 2015

[Graphic News] First electric plane flies over English Channel

An Airbus electric plane has crossed the English Channel from Britain to France, claiming the record for the first such crossing, but the event was marred by controversy over the cancellation of a rival flight.Test pilot and designer Didier Esteyne landed Airbus Group‘s E-Fan 1.0 plane in the French port of Calais on Friday after flying the 74 kilometers from Lydd in southeast England in 37 minutes, setting a “milestone for the all-electric aircraft technology,” the company said.Airbus‘ all-elec

World NewsJuly 12, 2015

[Graphic News] Korean population to begin to fall in 2030

South Korea saw its proportion of young people to the total population sink to an all-time low this year due to the effect of low birthrates, data showed Wednesday.According to Statistics Korea, the number of people under age 14 made up 13.9 percent of the total population.It is lower than 14.3 percent recorded in 2014 and 21.1 percent in 2000, making it the lowest-ever figure.Korea’s fertility rate, or the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime, stood at 1.21

IndustryJuly 9, 2015

[Graphic News] New disposal system reduces household waste

 The amount of Korean household waste has fallen sharply over the past 20 years thanks to the introduction of a new disposable system, a report showed Wednesday. Since 1995, the government has implemented a volume-rate disposal system which requires residents to purchase and use special trash bags. The price of the trash bag is proportional to its volume. As of 2013, Koreans threw out about 49,000 tons of waste each day, which is 16.2 percent lower than before the system was introduced. The dail

July 8, 2015

[Graphic News] MERS darkens Q3 profit outlooks

The negative effect of the Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome on Korean companies is expected to hit home in the third quarter of this year, data suggested Monday.According to financial investors and market data company WISEfn, the combined operating profit of 117 listed firms for the third quarter is expected to be 28.9 trillion won.That would be a 6.36 percent decrease from the 30.9 trillion won estimated on May 30, at the beginning of the MERS outbreak.The hotel and leisure industry estimate

IndustryJuly 6, 2015

[Graphic News] Korea's plan to keep summer lights on

The government has announced a new set of approaches to cope with this summer’s surge in electric power demand. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Tuesday, this summer’s demand for electric power is forecast to peak at 80.9 million kilowatts, a 4.85 million kW increase from last year. The demand will most likely to occur during the second and third weeks of August. The country’s maximum electric power supply is expected to increase up to 88.3 million kW, the number increa

World NewsJuly 5, 2015

[Graphic News] Foreign population in Korea reaches 1.8 million

The number of expatriates residing in South Korea as of last year reached 1,797,618, marking 3.57 percent of the total population, statistics from the Justice Ministry showed this week.It marked a sharp increase from 2005, when a total of 747,000 foreigners were living here, 1.55 percent of the population then.A total of 14.3 million foreign nationals entered the country, more than double the 6 million recorded 9 years ago.By nationality, the largest group who entered Korea were Chinese at 44 pe

Social AffairsJuly 2, 2015

[Graphic News] Koreans spend more time sleeping and eating

The average Korean spent more time sleeping and eating, and less time studying, compared to five years ago, survey results showed Monday.The time use poll on 12,000 households showed that compared to 2009, people spent 21 more minutes on sleeping and eating in 2014, clocking in at 11 hours and 14 minutes of off-time.Time spent studying fell by 17 minutes and commuting by five minutes compared to 2009, while time for wage-generating work and household chores was largely steady, increasing by just

IndustryJune 30, 2015

[Graphic News] Average age of major companies stands at 28.3

The average age of the nation‘s major companies was 28.3 years old, data showed Monday.The Korea CXO Institute examined the top 2,000 listed and nonlisted companies and found their average ages by industry, excluding those from the financial sector.The textile industry had the highest average age at 51.5 years old. The textile industry includes a number of textile companies that are over 60 years old.The average ages of the food and drink manufacturing industry and the construction industry were

IndustryJune 29, 2015

[Graphic News] Korea lowers growth outlook to 3.1%

The Korean government lowered its economic growth forecast for 2015 from 3.8 percent to 3.1 percent.Presenting its economic policy direction for the second half of the year, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said it cut the growth forecast due to falling exports and the effect of the Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome outbreak on spending and tourism.The ministry also cut its forecast of the employment rate for the year, from 66.2 percent to 66.0 percent.The expected consumer inflation rate

IndustryJune 28, 2015

[Graphic News] Population movement lowest in 40 years

The number of people who moved in May was the lowest in 40 years, data showed Wednesday.According to Statistic Korea, 606,000 people moved last month, a 1.2 percent decrease from the same time period last year.Data showed that this is the lowest number of people moving in May since 1975 (480,000 people).Experts suggest that the decrease in population movement is due to decreased domestic migration for school and work.A spokesperson from Statistics Korea said that different regions in Korea have

IndustryJune 25, 2015