SEJONG -- Gasoline prices in South Korea have almost reached pre-pandemic levels, in the wake of a spiral in international crude prices and weak US dollar. According to the Korea National Oil Corp., gasoline prices climbed to 1,562.7 won ($1.40) per liter as of Monday, which marked the highest in 16 months since it recorded 1,563.3 won on Feb. 4, 2020. At the current pace of increase, there is a high possibility that prices will exceed 1,571.26 won -- the level recorded on Jan. 20, 2020, when

Economy June 8, 2021

SEJONG -- Women in South Korea have been hit harder by the pandemic than their male counterparts in terms of job security, labor-related government data suggested. The data indicated that women in the nation’s Honam region -- Gwangju and North and South Jeolla provinces -- suffered the hardest hit. According to the Korea Employment Information Service, payouts of unemployment benefits grew at a faster pace among women than men in most cities and provinces across the nation. The only exc

Social Affairs June 6, 2021

SEJONG -- South Korea’s population retreated to 2016 levels as of last month, with the demographic figure posting unprecedented negative growth over the past 1 1/2 years. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the nation’s population fell by 19,075 (8,685 for men and 10,390 for women) from 51.702 million in April to 51.683 million in May. It was at its lowest since October 2016 when the figure was 51.677 million. After peaking at 51.851 million in November 2019 -- which

Social Affairs June 3, 2021

SEJONG -- Recent housing prices in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul, suggest that a raft of real estate policies from the administration since 2017 to tamp down runaway property prices had little efficacy eventually. According to KB Kookmin Bank and Naver.com, the average trading price of homes, including apartments, in Apgujeong-dong -- which belongs to Seoul’s Gangnam-gu -- surged by 11.4 percent for the first 21 weeks of this year. Prices in the affluent district climbed to 83.58 million won ($

Economy June 1, 2021

SEJONG -- South Korea’s national debt has reached the highest level after rising back past 800 trillion won ($717 billion), aggravating concerns over fiscal soundness. According to calculations from the National Assembly Budget Office, the nation’s sovereign debt was estimated at 800.3 trillion won as of Saturday. Though the figure inched down below the 800 trillion-won mark in early 2021 after surpassing 800 trillion won for the first time in November 2020, it has broken through t

Economy May 30, 2021

SEJONG -- The topic of food and agriculture will likely come under the spotlight as one of the core items on the agenda for the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit, set for May 30-31. P4G -- Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 -- is a global initiative launched in 2017 to accelerate the response to climate change and the implementation of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. Twelve countries, including South Korea, are taking part in the gathering. While the internatio

Social Affairs May 27, 2021

SEJONG -- The pandemic has worsened hiring conditions for female defectors from North Korea, who already faced higher unemployment rates than male defectors and South Korean women who were born here. According to the Korea Hana Foundation and Statistics Korea, the jobless rate for female North Korean defectors reached an all-time high of 11.4 percent in 2020. Though unemployment had been relatively high among female North Korean defectors for years, until last year the rate never exceeded 8 p

Social Affairs May 25, 2021

SEJONG -- The number of foreign nationals in South Korea has dropped to the lowest level in more than four years in the wake of the pandemic, state data showed. According to the Korea Immigration Service, the tally for foreign nationals in the nation -- both as long-term residents and short-term visitors -- stayed at 1.99 million in April, down about 9,000 from 1.999 million a month earlier. This was the lowest number in 50 months since the figure stood at 1.986 million in February 2017. Thi

Social Affairs May 23, 2021

SEJONG -- South Korea has been successful in minimizing the spread of contagious animal disease by building up a bolstered, preemptive livestock disease control system over the past few years. Three major livestock diseases -- African swine fever, avian influenza and foot-and-mouth -- have been subject to full-fledged control measures, led by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Among the ministry-led countermeasures and preemptive actions were intensive disinfection, immediat

Industry May 20, 2021

SEJONG -- The pandemic dealt a severe blow to South Koreans in the core-working age group – those aged between 25-54 - in terms of employment, a global comparison data showed. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea’s employment rate for the “prime” working age population stayed at 74.9 percent last year. The nation ranked 29th out of 36 members in the Paris-based organization’s comparison of employment for the corresponding

Social Affairs May 18, 2021

SEJONG -- South Korea is the only country whose labor force exceeds 70 percent of the total population in the 37-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The high percentage of the working age population -- people aged between 15-64 -- among Korea’s total inhabitants has greatly contributed to the nation’s economic growth over the past few decades. Their share of the population reached 72.8 percent in 2018, far surpassing Japan’s 59.7 percent and the OE

Social Affairs May 16, 2021

SEJONG -- Foreign investors’ total stake in Samsung Electronics dipped to the lowest level in over two years Wednesday, with their daily trading of the nation’s flagship stock drawing close attention. The market’s interest comes as short selling -- which had been under a provisional ban for about 14 months -- has been allowed again in the local stock market since May 3. While most retail investors had called for the government not to lift the ban, or issue the ban perma

Market May 13, 2021

SEJONG -- South Koreans shouldered a similar burden to US and Japanese nationals in property taxes, including those on real estate, in the mid-2010s, data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed. But recent figures indicate that Korea has far outstripped the US and Japan in the growth of property taxes, under which Koreans have been saddled with a much higher burden on capital gains from trading of apartments or land. According to the OECD, Korea saw the ratio of

Economy May 11, 2021

SEJONG -- Labor-related indexes suggest that the pandemic is still dealing a severe blow to a large portion of jobseekers in South Korea, with the hiring market showing little signs of recovery this year. According to Statistics Korea, the number of people who abandoned looking for jobs reached 582,000 in March 2020, when the tally for COVID-19 infections was growing sharply after the first case was reported two months earlier. These are dubbed “discouraged workers,” those who did

Social Affairs May 9, 2021

SEJONG -- About three decades ago, nearly 1 out of every 4 South Koreans were residing in Seoul. But it has been found that less than 1 in 5 today are Seoulites. The population of Seoul peaked at 10.969 million in 1992, accounting for 24.6 percent of the entire population of 44.503 million, according to unofficial demographic statistics held by the government. Data from the Ministry of Interior and Safety showed that the share of residents in Seoul of the population of Korea fell to

Social Affairs May 4, 2021