South Korea’s global competitiveness ranking remained unchanged this year after rising by five notches in the previous year on the back of its efforts to contain the pandemic, a report showed. 　South Korea ranked 23rd in terms of global competitiveness among 64 countries surveyed, according to the 2021 report by the International Institute for Management Development. 　IMD, a Swiss-based international institution, has been releasing the report every year since 1989 based on a country

World July 7, 2021

　Nearly 8 out of 10 South Korean consumers have increased their online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed. 　The survey of 1,000 local consumers, taken by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, showed 78.4 percent of the respondents saying their online purchases have risen since the outbreak of COVID-19. 　About 71 percent of them said they have purchased more foodstuffs and beverages online, followed by dining out and other food services, kitchen and daily goods an

Business July 6, 2021

　Over 60 percent of South Koreans are opposed to President Moon Jae-in’s possible visit to Japan during the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, a poll showed. 　In a survey of 500 people aged 18 and older conducted by Realmeter on June 25, 60.2 percent of respondents said they object to Moon’s visit during the games scheduled to open July 23, while 33.2 percent approved of his visit and the remaining 6.6 percent were undecided. 　Japanese media have reported the two governments have been

National July 5, 2021

　The world has marked the first rise in child labor in two decades and the coronavirus crisis threatens to push millions more youngsters toward the same fate, the United Nations said. 　In a joint report, the International Labor Organization and the UN children’s agency UNICEF said the number in child labor stood at 160 million at the start of 2020 - an increase of 8.4 million in four years. 　The hike began before the pandemic hit and marks a dramatic reversal of a downward trend that

World July 2, 2021

　Sales of fiction and poetry books at leading online bookstore Yes24 have grown this year as people spend more time at home amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company said. 　The sales volume of novels, poetry and dramas has risen 8.3 percent year-on-year so far this year, Yes24 announced. Their sales increased 21.4 percent year-on-year last year after decreasing 9.6 percent in 2019. 　Among this year’s 100 bestsellers, 13 titles belonged to the category, which came in third after busi

National July 1, 2021

　Samsung Electronics was the second-largest vendor of wearable devices in Europe in the first quarter of the year, although its market share declined as archrival Apple expanded its presence. 　Samsung posted a 16.1 percent market share in the January-March period in the European market, down from 16.8 percent a year earlier, according to the latest report from market researcher International Data Corp. 　The South Korean tech giant shipped 3.5 million wearable products in the region in th

World Business June 30, 2021

　The number of accidents involving e-scooters in Seoul more than tripled between 2018 and 2020, the fire authorities said. 　The Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters said it had responded to 366 e-scooter accidents over the three years: 57 in 2018, 117 in 2019 and 192 in 2020. 　The increase reflects the vehicles’ increased popularity. 　Collisions between e-scooters and cars were the most frequent, accounting for 107 accidents, or 29.2 percent of the total. 　There were 2

National June 29, 2021

　New Zealand has the bubbliest housing market in the world, followed by Canada and Sweden, according to a ranking by Bloomberg Economics. 　Real estate prices around the world are flashing the kind of bubble warnings that haven’t been seen since the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, the global news service said. 　Bloomberg ranked the world’s frothiest housing markets based on key indicators such as the price-to-rent ratio, price-to-income ratio, price growth and credit growth.

World June 28, 2021

　Seoul National University has retained its rank of 9th place among Asia‘s top universities, while Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and Sungkyunkwan University ranked 13th and 14th respectively in the latest rankings by Times Higher Education. 　The top 10 universities in Asia were dominated by China. Tsinghua topped the ranking followed by Peking University and the National University of Singapore 　The university rankings are based on global performance tables that judg

World June 25, 2021

　South Korea was the world's largest spender on chip equipment in the first quarter of the year, a report showed, amid a global semiconductor shortage. 　South Korea, home to major memory chip producers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, spent $7.31 billion in chipmaking equipment in the January-March period, up 118 percent from a year ago, according to quarterly billings data from SEMI, a global industry association representing companies in the electronics design and manufacturing supply c

World Business June 24, 2021

　The image of the United States throughout the world has changed significantly since the election of Joe Biden to replace former President Donald Trump, according to a new Pew Research Center survey released. 　Pew Research examination of 16 public surveys found a noteworthy increase in the image of the United States, pointing to the election of Biden and several of his major policy initiatives. 　The center said more than 6 in 10 people surveyed said they had confidence in Biden to make the

World June 23, 2021

　The portion of single-member households in South Korea surpassed 30 percent last year, a government survey showed, amid an increase in diverse forms of families. 　One-person households accounted for 30.4 percent of the total in 2020, according to a survey conducted of 11,000 households by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family every five years. 　The percentage was 21.3 percent in 2015 and 15.8 percent in 2010. 　At the same time, the portion of households composed of parents and unma

National June 22, 2021

　South Korea’s exports of grapes shot up 35 percent on-year in 2020 to set a new record high, data showed, on the back of the growing popularity of local agricultural products overseas. 　Outbound shipments of grapes came to $30.7 million in 2020, compared to $22.8 million posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 　Over the first four months of 2021, exports of grapes came to $7.2 million, also up nearly 50 percent fr

Business June 21, 2021

　Mixed martial arts superstar Conor McGregor was the sporting world’s highest-paid athlete in 2020, raking in around $180 million with earnings boosted by commercial ventures, a Forbes report showed. 　The 32-year-old Irishman only fought once in 2020, earning around $22 million from his victory over Donald Cerrone in January. 　The bulk of the former plumber’s pay - an estimated $158 million - came via his successful business activities, which included the sale of his Proper Twel

World June 18, 2021

　Samsung Electronics was the world’s second-largest semiconductor vendor in the first quarter of the year, a report showed, after posting double-digit year-on-year sales growth. 　The South Korean tech juggernaut logged $17.07 billion in chip sales in the January-March period, up 15 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest McClean Report released by market researcher IC Insights. 　Samsung, the world’s largest memory chip supplier, racked up $16.15 billion in integr

World Business June 17, 2021