[Graphic News] Metabolic syndrome on rise in Korea

Patients suffering from more than three symptoms of metabolic syndrome surged by 16.5 percent between 2010 and 2014 in South Korea, data showed.Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service said that a total of 9,911,000 patients received treatment for metabolic syndrome last year compared to 8,505,000 in 2010. They include those who suffered from at least three of the five major symptoms ― abdominal obesity, hyper-blood pressure, blood sugar disorders, triglyceride and low HDL cholesterol. The

Social AffairsMay 18, 2015

[Graphic News] Household loans surge

The growth of commercial banks’ lending to the household sector climbed to its highest rate in seven years last month in the wake of the brisk trading in the real estate market, data showed Sunday.According to the Bank of Korea, banks’ outstanding household loans (including transferred mortgage loans) reached 579.1 trillion won ($534 billion) in April, posting an 8.46 trillion won increase from a month earlier.This marked the largest monthly increase since 2008. Economists cited home purchases a

IndustryMay 17, 2015

[Graphic News] Korea slips in e-commerce index

South Korea’s rank in the Global Retail E-Commerce Index dropped to seventh place due to the economic slowdown, data showed Thursday.According to the latest index by global consulting firm A.T. Kearney, Korea’s rank slipped from fifth place in the previous year.The index analyzes nine indicators of e-commerce such as macroeconomics, consumers’ technology acceptance, shopping habits, e-commerce infrastructure and potential in 30 countries.The United States ranked first this year, followed by Chin

TechnologyMay 7, 2015

[Graphic News] Inter-Korean exchanges

Trade volume between the two Koreas reached an all-time high last year despite the May 24, 2010, punitive sanctions on North Korea following Pyongyang’s deadly sinking of the South’s Cheonan warship, data by Seoul’s Unification Ministry showed.Inter-Korean trade surged 106.2 percent on-year to reach $2.34 billion. The rise was largely attributed to businesses at Gaeseong industrial park in the North’s border town.The volume of exchanges is expected to grow as the Seoul government recently announ

North KoreaMay 5, 2015

[Graphic News] Apple, Xiaomi jump in smartphone sales

Samsung Electronics showed a decrease in smartphone sales while other players enjoyed an increase in the first quarter of this year, data showed Monday.According to Hong Kong’s Counterpoint Research, Samsung’s sales reached 83.3 million smartphones during the period, a 6.2 percent decrease from a year earlier.Meanwhile, other companies increased smartphone sales compared to last year ― Apple’s sales increased by 40 percent with 61.2 million phones, while local competitor LG increased by 25.2 per

IndustryMay 4, 2015

[Graphic News] Korea has world’s highest colorectal cancer rate

South Korea topped the list of colorectal cancer rate among 184 countries in a survey by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization.Among every 100,000 South Koreans, 45 suffered from colorectal cancer, followed by Slovakia’s 42.7, Hungary’s 42.3 and Denmark’s 40.5.The world average was 17.2 per 100,000 population, while the average among the Asian countries was 13.7.Korean men were more exposed to the disease with 58.7 out of 100,000 men suffering from the

Social AffairsMay 3, 2015