[Graphic News] Korea sees nonpaying health care beneficiaries rise

The number of people receiving benefits from the national health insurance program without paying premiums has increased by 28 percent over the past decade, heralding severe problems in the nation’s health care budget in the coming years.Some 20.5 million people were registered as non-paying beneficiaries, according to National Health Insurance Service, which went up from 16 million in 2003. During the same period, the total number of people insured increased by just 6.5 percent.Korean law allow

Social AffairsFeb. 1, 2015

[Graphic News] Coffee imports hit all-time high

Imports of coffee hit an all-time high last year despite the nation’s economic slowdown.In 2014, Korea imported 139,764 tons of coffee beans and powder-based materials, a 14 percent increase from 2013. The total value of imports was $595 million.The import rate staggered a bit after the price of coffee beans rose in 2011, but has increased again since 2012.The increase is due to the ever-growing demand for coffee in Korea with an increase in coffee shops, as well as a drop in coffee prices after

Jan. 29, 2015

[Graphic News] S. Korea sees illegal migrants increase

The number of illegal foreign residents in the nation again exceeded the 200,000 mark in 2014, the highest level in seven years.According to the Ministry of Justice, there were 208,778 illegal immigrants at the end of last year, up 14 percent from 183,106 in 2013.After peaking at 223,464 in 2007, the figure slid from 200,489 in 2008 to dip below 200,000 from 2009 to 2013.

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2015

[Graphic News] World’s richest 1%

The majority of the world’s rich ― the top 1 percent ― reside in the United States, Japan and France, reports said.About 18 million out of the 47 million wealthy people with more than $798,000 each in assets are living in the United States, according to the BBC and the Credit Suisse 2014 Annual Report. The U.S. was followed by Japan (4.04 million rich people), France (3.52 million), Britain (2.9 million) and Germany (2.75 million).Meanwhile, South Korea had 448,000 people who were in the world’s

Jan. 27, 2015

[Graphic News] Korea’s sharp increase in per capita income tax

The average per capita income tax in Korea increased 25 percent in five years, the fourth-highest increase rate among OECD member countries. The amount increased from $5,051 in 2008 to $6,314 in 2013.However, the nation’s income tax per person and rate of tax revenue to gross domestic product were comparatively low.According to the OECD report on Monday, Korea’s per capita income tax in 2013 ($6,314) was the sixth-lowest among the 29 OECD members. The OECD average was $15,634, about 2.5 times hi

World NewsJan. 26, 2015

[Graphic News] Apple gains an edge on Samsung

Apple is rapidly catching up with Samsung Electronics in South Korea’s smartphone market, following the launch of the U.S. tech company’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in the country in November last year.Samsung’s Galaxy smartphone series had been dominating with a market share of about 60 percent in the local smartphone market, with its close rival Apple at only 15 percent.The launch of the new products pulled up Apple’s Korean market share to 33 percent, knocking Samsung’s share below 50 percent

TechnologyJan. 25, 2015

[Graphic News] Korean firms’ profitability drops sharply

South Korean companies have dropped in profitability from last three years, according to industry data released on Monday.The ratio of net income to sales at South Korean businesses from 2012-2014 fell 2.9 percentage points. It stood at 5.5 percent on average in 2014, far lower than the world’s average (7.9 percent) and emerging countries (average 5.9 percent). Meanwhile, the global average ratio from 2012 to 2014 rose by around 0.24 percentage point.Japan marked the highest rise of 1.3 percenta

Jan. 22, 2015

[Graphic News] Smartphones outnumber PCs

The global supply of smartphones has outnumbered that of PCs for the first time.According to the “2015 Mobile Trend Prospects” report published by KT Economic Research Institute, the global supply of smartphones stood at 24.5 percent of the population, surpassing that of the PCs (20 percent) and conquering the 40-year-old market within just four years of its release.While the supply of smartphones has been rising ― from 5.2 percent in 2012 to 19.8 percent in 2013 ― PCs’ penetration rate has stal

TechnologyJan. 21, 2015

[Graphic News] Ratio of oil consumption to GDP to hit 45-year low

The ratio of domestic oil consumption to gross domestic product is expected to fall to its lowest rate this year since 1970, data showed Tuesday. Analysts said the expected drop in the ratio would boost corporate earnings and domestic consumption.The report, compiled by Yonhap using data from the IMF, Korea Energy Economics Institute, and KB Investments and Securities, said that, excluding reexports, the ratio of oil consumption to the nation’s GDP was expected to be around 1.71 percent.The rati

Jan. 20, 2015

[Graphic News] Fewer families have meals together

Fewer Koreans are having meals with their families, according to government data.Less than 50 percent of 7,000 Koreans surveyed last year said they had breakfast with their family members. The number has been declining since 2005, from 62.9 percent to 53.7 percent in 2010, and to 46.1 percent last year.Meanwhile, only 64.1 percent of the surveyed Koreans said they had dinner with their families. In 2005, 76 percent of Koreans were reported to be eating dinner with their families.The growing numb

Social AffairsJan. 19, 2015

[Graphic News] Child abuse by care workers rises

Child abuse committed by workers at nursery-related institutes has recently been rampant, the state-run child rights organization said.According to the National Child Protection Agency, the number of such cases more than doubled from 260 in 2012 to 644 in 2013. It accounted for 9.5 percent of the 6,796 child abuse cases in 2013.Public anger erupted this month when a worker at a day care center in Incheon was found to have beaten a 4-year-old girl for not finishing her food. A local court issued

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2015

[Graphic News] Foot-and-mouth spreads across Korea

The recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has spread nationwide despite efforts by South Korea’s quarantine authorities to contain it, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.As of Thursday, 50 cases of the disease occurred in 13 cities and districts, mostly in the central region of the peninsula. North Chungcheong Province ― the epicenter of the outbreak ― was the hardest hit with 25 regions being affected.Authorities have even confirmed a case of the disease at the

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2015

[Graphic News] 1 in 5 young adults begins as short-term contract worker

About 20 percent of young adults begin employment as contract workers with positions that last less than a year, an indication that the nation’s youth labor market is worsening, according to data released by the National Statistics Office.The government agency conducted an economic activity census and found that about 761,000, or 19.5 percent of young adult workers, began working under such conditions.This indicates that since the financial crisis, regular positions are being replaced with short

Jan. 14, 2015

[Graphic News] Seoul among most expensive cities

Seoul has some of the highest prices for goods such as Starbucks coffee, Chilean wine, carbonated water, beef and imported fruits, according to data released by Consumers Korea on Monday.The organization examined the prices of 42 agricultural, livestock and processed products in June and October across 13 major cities in the world.Out of 42 products, Seoul turned out to have the highest prices for 35 items, earning the title of one of the top five most expensive cities.

IndustryJan. 13, 2015

[Graphic News] SUVs lead Korea’s automobile exports

Korea’s auto export volume dropped for the second consecutive year, but its value edged up 0.6 percent on-year to an all-time high of $48.9 billion last year, according to government data. The Trade Ministry said in a report that the number of exported cars amounted to 3,061,000 units, a 0.9 percent decrease from 2013, mainly due to moribund European markets and GM Chevrolet pulling out of Western Europe. But the value of exports rose slightly as shipments of high-priced recreational vehicles, o

Jan. 12, 2015

[Graphic News] Singapore’s broadband speed fastest in world: report

Broadband speed in Singapore is now the world’s fastest, according to a Federal Communications Commission report. In the third quarter of last year, Singapore recorded an average connection speed of 105.3 Mbps. Other Asian countries that topped the global list for fastest Internet speeds are Hong Kong (95.7 Mbps), Japan (69.7 Mbps) and South Korea (34 Mbps).Globally, the average connection speed was 4.5 Mbps, remaining above the 4 Mbps “broadband” threshold but declining by 2.8 percent from the

TechnologyJan. 11, 2015

[Graphic News] Lower oil prices would boost growth

 The Korea Development Institute forecast that the decline in global oil prices would have a positive effect on the Korean economy.　In its report analyzing the relevance of oil prices and its economic impact, the state-run think tank said that if oil prices hold at $49 per barrel, the Korean economic growth rate would increase by 0.2 percentage points.　It also stated that if oil prices drop by 10 percent, the nation’s production costs for overall industries would decrease by 0.67 percent, the ma

Jan. 8, 2015

[Graphic News] Comparison of two Koreas’ military strength

DefenseJan. 7, 2015

[Graphic News] Changes after handset subsidy law took effect

Nearly one hundred days have passed since the controversial handset subsidy law took effect.The law, which prohibits telecom firms and handset makers from providing subsidies higher than 300,000 won to attract customers, has affected the pattern of subscription of mobile phones.Due to the subsidy limit that started on Oct. 1, the number of new subscribers sharply decreased in the first month. But then it started to recover, which government officials said indicates that the mobile phone market d

TechnologyJan. 6, 2015

[Graphic News] Shadow banking sector doubles in 5 years

The size of shadow banking in Korea doubled in five years, according to data released by the Swiss-based global monitoring body Financial Stability Board on Monday.The value of the shadow banking industry, which mainly refers to nonbank financial intermediaries that provide services similar to traditional banks under less strict regulatory oversight, reached about $1.47 trillion in 2013, or 113.4 percent of the country’s GDP, the FSB said. Following the subprime meltdown in 2008 and the global f

Jan. 5, 2015