[Graphic News] 60% of U.S. submarine reconnaissance focused on Pacific

More than 60 percent of U.S. submarine-based reconnaissance activities are focused on Pacific areas including the Korean Peninsula, according to a recent report by two American nuclear experts.According to the report on U.S. nuclear forces by American scientists Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris, Washington has deployed 14 Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarines, equipped with Trident II D5 ballistic missiles, to the Pacific and Atlantic operational areas for nuclear deterrence.Observers say the U

DefenseJan. 13, 2014

[Graphic News] K-pop fans around the world

The number of K-pop fans around the world surpassed 9 million last year, according to a recent report by the Korea Foundation. The number stood at 9.28 million, up 2.58 million from 2012. Fan clubs came in at 987, up 204 from a year ago. By region, the Asia-Pacific had the greatest number of K-pop-loving fans at 6.8 million, while Africa and the Middle East together reported the most significant surge. The combined number of fans in Africa and the Middle East tripled to 60,000, with countries li

Jan. 12, 2014

[Graphic News] Nuclear materials security index by country

North Korea is least capable of keeping nuclear materials secure among the 25 countries that possess the largest amounts of nuclear materials, a report concluded. According to the U.S.-based nongovernmental organization Nuclear Threat Initiative, North Korea scored 30 out of a possible 100 on its nuclear material security index. The index was compiled by analyzing a range of factors including adherence to international standards and management capabilities of the countries that hold 1 kilogram o

NationalJan. 9, 2014

[Graphic News] Freak weather grips world

Several parts of the world have been hit by unusual weather patterns this week, causing deaths and damage on a massive scale.The U.S. and Canada fought with the frigid cold sparked by what is called a “polar vortex,” which claimed about a dozen lives across the country. U.S. authorities in chilly regions such as Milwaukee, Wisconsin, urged residents to stay indoors.Southeast Asia was also struck by a cold snap. Vegetable gardens were hit by frost, forcing the Manila government to prepare alterna

NationalJan. 8, 2014

[Graphic News] Economic burden of suicide, depression surging in Korea

The socioeconomic costs of suicides and depression jumped more than 40 percent between 2007 and 2011, a report showed on Tuesday.According to the state-run National Health Insurance Service, Korea saw 10.38 trillion won ($9.71 billion) in economic losses as an effect of people committing suicide or suffering from depression in 2011, a 41.5 percent increase from the 7.33 trillion won recorded in 2007.The report studied medical costs spent by people diagnosed with depression as well as financial a

Social AffairsJan. 7, 2014

[Graphic News] More debt for self-employed

 Debt held by the self-employed grew about 9 percent last year as their income declined amid the economic slowdown, spawning concerns about their capacity to service debt, according to bank data on Monday.Bank loans extended to the self-employed amounted to 105.6 trillion won ($100 billion) as of end 2012, up 8.5 percent from the previous year, according to data provided by four major local banks.

Jan. 6, 2014

[Graphic News] Time spent on Internet portals

A survey by KT’s economic research center DIGIECO showed that Web portal use was highest by wired Internet, with 1.9 hours, followed by smartphones with 1.5 hours and tablet PCs with 0.8 hour.Lifestyle, family and culture-oriented use is highest on wired Internet with 1.9 hours. For smartphones, social network and fashion-oriented use is the highest because of the ability to use social media regardless of time and place.

TechnologyJan. 5, 2014

[Graphic News] 2014 budget by sector

After much delay, the National Assembly on Wednesday approved the government budget and a host of tightly contested bills including the revised Foreign Investment Promotion Act and the National Intelligence Service Act.

Jan. 2, 2014

[Graphic News] Projections for Seoul mayoral race

Current Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon commands a solid lead over potential contenders for his post as the political parties gear up for the June 4 provincial elections, surveys show.According to surveys conducted by local media outlets, Park outpaces Rep. Chung Mong-joon of the ruling Saenuri Party by as much as 10.2 percentage points. When pitted against former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, another figure the ruling party may call on to dislodge the progressive Seoul mayor, Park’s lead was extended

PoliticsJan. 1, 2014

[Graphic News] Korean middle class shrinking: report

Korea’s middle class has steadily decreased from 74.47 percent of the population in 1990 to 67.33 percent in 2010, while the percentages of high-income and low-income earners have increased 2.23 and 4.9 percentage points, respectively, to 20.43 percent and 12.24 percent over the last 20 years, according to a report released by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs Monday.

Social AffairsDec. 30, 2013

[Graphic News] Fines imposed on telecom operators

The fine imposed on the nation’s major telecom operators for their illegal subsidies to customers soared this year, an indication that they were waging heated competition to increase new subscribers. The three ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― were fined a record-setting 106.4 billion won together last week.

Dec. 29, 2013

[Graphic News] Korea may see economic recovery

According to an outlook by the Korea Economic Research Institute, the nation is expected to see a slight economic recovery next year, although uncertainties still linger.KERI’s report showed that the economy is expected to grow 3.4 percent on-year and consumer inflation to stand at 2.2 percent. But the GDP growth is expected to be limited by the stronger Korean won against the U.S. dollar.

Dec. 26, 2013

[Graphic News] Stock market performance among OECD members

As of last Friday, Korea saw its stock price index fall 0.7 percent this year, coming in 30th among 34 OECD members in terms of stock index performance, according to data compiled by Yonhap News.Market analysts said the weak Japanese yen might have caused the bearish run by the Korea Composite Stock Price Index.

Dec. 24, 2013

[Graphic News] Korea’s gas emissions

Korea’s total greenhouse gas emissions increased 3.3 percent on average annually from 2005 to 2010, according to Statistics Korea. The nation emitted a total of 568.8 million tons of CO2 in 2005 and 668.8 tons in 2010.The nation’s per capita gas emissions amounted to 11.4 tons, higher than the OECD average of 10.1 tons.

Dec. 23, 2013

[Graphic News] Cancer remains top cause of Korean deaths

Cancer remained the most common cause of death in 2012 while cerebrovascular diseases replaced heart diseases as the second leading cause, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2013

[Graphic News] Impact of court‘s ordinary wage ruling on companies

The Supreme Court’s decision to include regular bonuses in calculations of the “ordinary wage” for workers will result in additional employment costs for companies. The Korea Employers’ Federation expected the financial burden on companies to reach 38.5 trillion won, while the Korea Labor Institute predicted 21.9 trillion won in increased costs as a result of the ruling.The Korea Federation of SMEs, or K-Biz, estimates SMEs will have to foot an additional bill of 11.6 trillion won and the Korea

Dec. 19, 2013

[Graphic News] 200 million go to the movies

More than 200 million people were expected to have watched films in theaters this year as of Wednesday, setting a record in Korean cinema history. Last year, a total of 194,890,587 people hit theaters to watch films in Korea. Korean films alone attracted 118,160,000 viewers this year, exceeding last year’s record of 114,613,190. The market share of Korean movies also reached 59.1 percent this year, surpassing that of foreign films, which stood at 40.9 percent. This year saw releases of English-l

FilmDec. 18, 2013

[Graphic News] Park in the polls

More than half of the public considers the Park Geun-hye administration to have done a good job this year, a poll showed. According to the poll conducted by Gallup Korea ahead of the first anniversary of her election on Dec. 19, 54 percent of the 1,204 people surveyed positively assessed Park’s administration, while 35 percent said the opposite. The survey showed that diplomacy and international relations were the most commonly chosen factor for the positive assessments, while lack of communicat

PoliticsDec. 17, 2013

[Graphic News] Trade balance in ICT and non-ICT industries

Korea’s industries are estimated to have posted trade deficits ― except in ICT-related sectors ― for the last 14 years, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. But it said the nation’s annual trade surplus in the ICT sector has already set a new record high of $81.9 billion in the first 11 months of the year.

Dec. 16, 2013