[Graphic News] Defendants in global anti-dumping suits

South Korea faced the second-most anti-dumping lawsuits in the global market last year.By country, Korean firms were defendants in 10.71 percent of the world’s total anti-dumping litigations in 2012.China topped the list with 28.57 percent, while the U.S.’ and Japan’s rates stood much lower at 3.57 percent and 3.06 percent, respectively.(kys@heraldcorp.com)

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2013

[Graphic News] Insurers implicated in faulty sales

Aug. 20, 2013

[Graphic News] Top 10 underage shareholders

IndustryAug. 19, 2013

[Graphic News] Registered separated families

North Korea on Sunday accepted the South’s proposal to hold working-level talks on Aug. 23 for resuming separated family reunions.

North KoreaAug. 18, 2013

[Graphic News] Demand for new homes rises

The number of new apartments provided by construction firms is on the rise. According to R114, an online real estate information provider, about 250,000 households are expected to move into new apartments next year.

Aug. 16, 2013

[Graphic News] Demand for new homes rises

The number of new apartments provided by construction firms is on the rise. According to R114, an online real estate information provider, about 250,000 households are expected to move into new apartments next year.

Aug. 16, 2013

[Graphic News] Minimum cost of living

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has raised its assessment of the minimum monthly cost of living for four-member families for 2014 by 5.5 percent year-on-year to 1.638 million won. The increase, the third-highest since 2000, would lead to more government spending on subsidies for poor households in line with the Park Geun-hye administration’s policy of boosting welfare.

Social AffairsAug. 15, 2013

[Graphic News] Korea’s tax revenue drops

According to National Tax Service data submitted to Rep. An Min-suk of the main opposition Democratic Party, the nation’s tax revenue during the first half of the year fell to a three-year low. The drop was attributed to the protracted economic slowdown and a fall in corporate profits and consumer spending.

Aug. 13, 2013

[Graphic News] Health care spending for senior citizens

Health care spending for senior citizens accounted for more than 33.3 percent of the total for the first time last year. On average, one senior citizen spent about 200 percent more on health care than the average citizen.

Social AffairsAug. 12, 2013

[Graphic News] Tax burden ratio

The government plans to increase Korea’s tax burden in proportion to its national output from 20.2 percent to 21 percent over the next four years. This is part of efforts to service growing welfare costs in the long-run at the expense of increasing taxes on average workers.Its recent proposal to replace income tax deductions with tax credits and raise tax rates for the top 20 percent of earners resembles the path European nations took in creating welfare states.

Aug. 11, 2013

[Graphic News] More fines for high-income tax evaders

The National Tax Service said Thursday that it has slapped a total of 1.37 trillion won in additional taxes over the past five years on self-employed high-income earners such as doctors and lawyers who evaded taxes. Last year, the NTS unearthed a total of 598 self-employed high-income earners who dodged taxes.

Aug. 8, 2013

[Graphic News] Daily caffeine consumption

Korean children get most of their caffeine from soda while adults consume the stimulant mostly from instant coffee mix, according to a study based on the annual state survey of public health in 2010.

TechnologyAug. 7, 2013

[Graphic News] China boosts land purchases in Korea

Chinese investors are buying more and more stocks, bonds and real estate in South Korea. According to government officials, Chinese investors purchased a total of 1.08 million square meters of land worth 355.8 billion won ($319.5 million) in South Korea last year.

Aug. 6, 2013

[Graphic News] Singers earn more than other celebrities

According to a report submitted by the National Tax Service to Rep. An Min-suk, singers, earning 52.55 million won ($46,700) last year, topped the list of average incomes among celebrities. Actors and actresses made an average 41.34 million won while athletes earned 29.85 million won, and models 13.1 million won.

Aug. 5, 2013

[Graphic News] No. of unused credit cards reaches 23 million

According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the number of unused credit cards in Korea was 23.1 million as of last month. The number has been dropping at a slow pace since early this year. It was 23.4 million in April and 23.5 million in January. The FSS regards a credit card not in use for more than a year as a dormant card.

Aug. 4, 2013

[Graphic News] University student numbers fall

The Ministry of Education will roll out a series of measures to strengthen provincial universities and address a decrease in the number of students. As part of the plans, the government will increase financial support for provincial universities, and introduce regulations that allow such institutions to set aside a portion of available places for students from nearby areas.

PoliticsAug. 1, 2013

[Graphic News] Banking groups’ net profits

The financial soundness of the nation’s major banking groups is expected to reach its lowest since the 2008 global financial crisis. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the combined net profit of 12 financial groups, including Woori and KB, is forecast to reach about 7.3 trillion won ($6.56 billion) in 2013, down 25.5 percent from the previous year.

July 31, 2013

[Graphic News] Aid to North Korea

South Korea on Monday approved planned shipments of humanitarian aid for the North. Five civic groups were allowed to send medicine, food and clothes worth 1.47 billion won ($1.25 million) to aid children. Seoul also approved about 678 million won in aid from the Eugene Bell Foundation in April.

North KoreaJuly 30, 2013

[Graphic News] Korea has priciest phones

According to Strategy Analytics, South Korea’s average sale price for mobile phones was $415 per handset last year, becoming the most expensive in the world. It attributed the high price to the high proportion of sales taken up by premium-level smartphones.

TechnologyJuly 29, 2013

[Graphic News] Smartphone use among school students

6.28 million students in 11,410 schools surveyed from June 28 to July 8

Social AffairsJuly 28, 2013