South Korea’s total population is expected to record its first decline this year, the statistics agency said, a grim assessment of its demographic situations amid the country’s chronically low birthrate, rapid aging and a decline in incoming foreigners during the pandemic. 　The country’s total population is estimated to have peaked at 51.84 million last year before falling to an estimated 51.75 million this year and an estimated 37.7 million in 2070, according to the latest

National Dec. 13, 2021

　South Korea’s imports of golf equipment rose to a record high in the first 10 months of this year on the back of strong demand amid the pandemic, customs data showed. 　The imports of golf clubs and other related equipment reached $601 million in the January-October period, up 29.3 percent from the previous year, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. 　The reading hit an all-time high for any first 10-month period of the year. It was also higher than the yearly imports of gol

Business Dec. 10, 2021

South Korea's internet banking services continued to grow in the first half of the year, with the number of users and daily transactions rising to new highs, central bank data showed. The number of internet banking users, including mobile banking, came to 186.5 million as of end-June, up 5.6 percent from six months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. The figure is the simple sum of all registered users of 18 internet and mobile banking service providers in the country, meani

Economy Dec. 9, 2021

　More than 1 in 6 South Korean married women suffered a career break this year, quitting their jobs due to child rearing and getting married, data showed. 　The number of women aged 15-54 who have stopped working after marriage reached 1.45 million in April, down 3.8 percent, or 57,000, from the previous year, according to data from Statistics Korea. 　These women accounted for 17.4 percent of the total 8.32 million married women here, down from 17.6 percent a year earlier. 　The 2021 tally was

National Dec. 9, 2021

　Tel Aviv is the world’s most expensive city to live in, as soaring inflation has pushed up living costs globally, according to a survey.  　The Israeli city climbed five rungs to top the list for the first time in the authoritative ranking compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit. 　The Worldwide Cost of Living Index is compiled by comparing prices in US dollars for goods and services in 173 cities.  　Tel Aviv climbed the rankings partly due to the strength of the national

World Dec. 8, 2021

　South Korea ranks low among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in terms of the employment rate for university graduates due mainly to a severe mismatch between their majors and job openings, a report showed. 　The employment rate for South Koreans aged 25-34 with university diplomas came to 75.2 percent in 2020, 31st lowest among 37 comparable OECD member countries, according to the report from the Korea Economic Research Institute. 　The figure is much lower

World Dec. 7, 2021

　Amid liquidity-driven booms in the real estate and stock markets during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people with assets of more than 1 billion won ($838,000) increased by over 10 percent last year from a year earlier, a report showed.  　The number of Koreans with financial assets worth over 1 billion won stood at 390,000 last year, taking up 0.76 percent of the total population, according to the Korea Wealth Report 2021 released by KB Financial Group Research Institute. 　The lat

Business Dec. 6, 2021

　South Korea’s rice output rose for the first time in six years due mainly to favorable weather conditions and an increase in the cultivation area, data showed. 　The country’s rice production reached 3.88 million metric tons in 2021, up 10.7 percent from a record low of 3.51 million tons the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. 　It marked the first rebound since 2015 when rice output rose 2 percent on-year to 4.33 million tons. The figure declined for

National Dec. 3, 2021

　The number of babies born in South Korea fell to a record low in September, data showed, underscoring the country’s bleak demographic situation with the chronically low birthrate. 　A total of 21,920 babies were born in September, down 6.7 percent from the previous year, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea. 　It marked the lowest for any September since 1981, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. 　In the third quarter, the number of newborns also reached an

Social Affairs Dec. 2, 2021

　Sales of electric vehicles in South Korea almost doubled in the first three quarters of this year from a year earlier, ranking seventh in the world, data showed. 　A total of 71,006 EVs were sold in Asia’s fourth-largest economy in the January-September period, up 96 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Automotive Technology Institute. 　The figure was the seventh-largest in the world. China sold the largest number of EVs with 1.76 million units in the nine-m

World Business Dec. 1, 2021

South Korea has clinched the top spot in Asia in a United Nations agency’s global innovation rankings, coming in fifth globally. In the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index 2021, Korea was ahead of Singapore, Japan and China. It was behind Switzerland, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom. Korea, Asia’s fourth-biggest economy, was in 10th place last year. (Yonhap) By Nam Kyung-don

Economy Nov. 30, 2021

　South Korea has the highest ratio of household debt to gross domestic product among major economies in the world, a report showed, indicating it could crimp consumption and weigh on the economy down the road. 　The country’s household debt stood at 104.2 percent of its GDP as of end-June this year, the highest among 37 economies, according to the report by the Institute of International Finance. 　Hong Kong came next with 92 percent, followed by Britain with 89.4 percent, the United Stat

Business Nov. 30, 2021

　Paul Rudd, 52, the affable actor best known for playing “Ant-Man,” was named People magazine’s sexiest man alive, joining the likes of Idris Elba, George Clooney and Bradley Cooper. 　Rudd played the kind boyfriend of Lisa Kudrow’s wacky Phoebe on TV comedy “Friends” and later took larger roles in comedies like “Knocked Up” before playing Ant-Man in the Marvel superhero movie, followed by a sequel and appearances as the character in “Captai

World Nov. 29, 2021

　The number of marriages between South Koreans and foreign spouses fell to a record low last year as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted people’s cross-border movements, data showed. 　The number of multicultural marriages came to 16,177 last year, down 34.6 percent, or 8,544, from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. 　It marked the lowest reading since 2008 when the statistics agency started to compile the related data. 　The number of international marriages sharply

National Nov. 25, 2021

　South Korea’s top steelmaker Posco said it was named the world’s most competitive steelmaker in a global industry report for the 12th consecutive year. 　In an annual assessment of 35 steelmakers worldwide, global steel information service provider World Steel Dynamics gave Posco the top mark of 8.54 points out of 10, according to the South Korean company. 　The WSD report, which ranks the steelmakers based on 23 categories, gave top scores for Posco in eight segments, including te

World Business Nov. 24, 2021