The Korea Herald

[News Focus] Self-employed in S. Korea face strong headwinds

EconomyDec 16, 2019

SEJONG -- The sluggish domestic economy and a spike in statutory minimum wage in South Korea in recent years have dealt a severe blow to the self-employed. Most have been forced to close shop or hav...
[News Focus] Only 1 in 5 support Moon’s apartment policies: poll

PoliticsDec 12, 2019

SEJONG -- The approval ratings for President Moon Jae-in have recently inched up to hover around 45 percent, according to a variety of surveys by major pollsters. A noteworthy point in the latest po...
[News Focus] Korea 7th-highest in temporary-job portion among 42 countries

EconomyDec 10, 2019

SEJONG -- In South Korea, the government does not include people with nonregular jobs -- like temporary or contract employees -- when it counts the official number of jobless. As a result, the nation...
[News Focus] Number of Seoulites residing alone up 300,000 in 10 years

Social affairsDec 9, 2019

SEJONG -- The number of residents in Seoul stood at 9.73 million as of November 2019, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety. This is estimated to be the lowest figure in more than 30 years...
[News Focus] Number of people paying into state pension falls 150,000 in 2019

Social affairsDec 5, 2019

SEJONG -- South Koreans born in 1969 or later cannot enjoy the old-age annuity benefits, paid by the national pension operator, for five years after they retire at the age of around 60. As they have...
[News Focus] Number of centenarians in Korea tops 20,000

Social affairsDec 3, 2019

SEJONG -- The number of people over the age of 70 is rapidly increasing in South Korea, which was dubbed an “aged society” two years ago, according to standards set by the United Nations. Further, t...
[News Focus] Gyeonggi, Sejong see unemployment-payouts surge

EconomyDec 2, 2019

SEJONG -- More than 3 million of the working-age population, aged 15-64, in South Korea have been de facto out of work, while the government highlighted that the nation’s jobless people stayed under ...
[News Focus] Outlook for Korean economy remains grim

EconomyDec 1, 2019

SEJONG -- South Korea has yet to see any positive signals of an economic revival although the government predicted it would bounce back in the second half of the year. The financial woes of companie...
[News Focus] Real estate, education policies lower Moon’s approval ratings among housewives, students

PoliticsNov 28, 2019

SEJONG -- President Moon Jae-in started the latter part of his term this month amid discontent with his administration’s policies on real estate and education. Alongside sagging economic indices, a ...
[News Focus] Of 36 OECD countries, Korea stands at No. 28 in employment

EconomyNov 27, 2019

SEJONG -- For South Koreans who say they do not support the incumbent administration, jobs are one of the main reasons cited in polls. President Moon Jae-in’s detractors say the government’s labor p...
[News Focus] OECD’s debt data suggests Korea’s inherent risks

EconomyNov 21, 2019

SEJONG -- A large proportion of middle-aged South Koreans have become hugely indebted to financial firms over the past few years due to their apartment purchases. The previous Park Geun-hye administ...
[News Focus] Women increasingly outnumber men in Korea

Social affairsNov 19, 2019

SEJONG -- The number of women was found to have overtaken that of men in South Korea more than four years ago, a demographic database held by the government showed. According to the Ministry of Inte...
[News Focus] People question policy on Seoul apartments

EconomyNov 17, 2019

SEJONG -- An online commenter, who identified himself as a salaried worker in charge of a household, wrote earlier this month that he bought an apartment in Seoul during the latter part of the Park G...
[News Focus] Meager birthrate expected to undermine Korea’s GDP

Social affairsNov 14, 2019

SEJONG -- The number of South Koreans aged 14 or under accounted for only 12.5 percent of the total population as of October 2019, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety. The demographic d...
[News Focus] Investment banks not upbeat about Korea’s 2020 economy

EconomyNov 12, 2019

SEJONG -- South Korea’s economic growth is projected to fall behind that of the US this year, according to outlooks from global investment banks and international organizations. Most of them have pr...