SEJONG -- The V-shape rebound in gasoline prices in the local market is emerging as a factor that could restrict the recovery of the sagging economy. Gasoline prices have bounced back rapidly in South Korea over the past two months, in keeping with the normalization of international crude prices. As of July 8, gasoline prices reached 1,359.67 won ($1.16) per liter, which is the highest since 1,362.90 won on April 6. The prices -- which dipped to 1,247.53 won on May 15 amid the COVID-19 pande

SEJONG -- The percentage of South Koreans aged 50 or over topped the 40 percent mark for the first time last month. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the number of those aged 50 or more reached 20.78 million as of June. This made up 40.09 percent of the entire population, up from 28.6 percent of the population in June 2010. The tally for those aged 50 or over first rose past 20 million in 2019. Those in their 50s topped accounted for the largest group in the June 2020 populat

SEJONG -- An eye-catching issue in the nation’s economy is whether the growth of gross domestic product will bounce back in the second half of the year after touching a bottom in the first half. While GDP growth was minus 1.3 percent in the first quarter, compared to the previous quarter, there is a possibility that the coming figure for the second quarter (April-June) will also post negative growth or dip further. Exports fell by 11.2 percent in the first half, on an on-year basis. For

SEJONG -- The population of Sejong declined last month, which marked the first time in eight years since the administrative city was established as one of the eight major cities in South Korea in July 2012. According to data held by the Ministry of Interior and Safety, Sejong posted 345,341 registered residents as of June, down 32 compared to a month earlier. Though the diminution may be imperceptible, the city’s demographic changes for this year suggested the possibility that its popul

SEJONG -- The next presidential election will be conducted in about 20 months, under which South Korea is to see the president-elect in March 2022. While President Moon Jae-in finishes his term at midnight May 9, 2022, the new presidential transition committee -- being formed after the scheduled March 9 election in the year -- will carry out preparation activities during Moon’s final weeks in office. A viewpoint for the coming 20th president of Korea is whether the majority of vote

SEJONG -- Global confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus have topped 10 million, with the number of deaths now over 500,000 across 185 countries. According to data from the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, 19 countries saw the tally for COVID-19 patients exceed 100,000 each as of Saturday. Those with numbers of COVID-19 cases surpassing 500,000 were the US, Brazil, Russia and India, whose collective tally approached 5 million. The figure for the US mark

SEJONG -- A number of salaried people and ordinary households in South Korea have been resorting to stocks and real estate as their two main investment. But their investments according to market principles have been restricted under the Moon Jae-in administration, which has dumped a variety of regulations on the market. Following a series of regulations to the real estate market over the past three years to 2017, the Moon government is poised to tackle the stock market in terms of enhanced ta

SEJONG -- South Korea saw the number of recipients of unemployment benefits surge 30.4 percent to 660,464 in only three months in the wake of the novel coronavirus. While the government paid more in benefits to those who lost their jobs in all 17 regions nationwide, data from the Korea Employment Information Service showed disparities among regions. Jeju Province had 8,286 recipients in April, compared with 5,135 in January, when the first coronavirus case was reported in Korea. That is a 61.

SEJONG -- In the late 2000s, one out of every four South Koreans was under the age of 20 years old, with the population of those aged between 0-19 far surpassing 10 million. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, that group made up 24.3 percent of the population in May 2008. The tally for them was 12.01 million of then-entire population, 49.38 million. But data showed that the percentage of youth has continued to sharply decline over the past decade, posing a variety of concerns fo

SEJONG -- The novel coronavirus has created a tough job market in which more than 4 million South Koreans have been unemployed or underemployed for a third consecutive month. According to Statistics Korea, the “extended-based” jobless rate under the Supplementary Index III for Employment stayed above 14 percent over the past three months -- 14.4 percent in March, 14.9 percent in April and 14.5 percent in May. This is an unprecedented high, indicating that 1 out of 7 Koreans has b

SEJONG -- South Korea ranked third in women’s life expectancy at birth among the 37 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in its latest findings. The OECD defined the life expectancy at birth as how long, on average, a newborn can expect to live if current death rates do not change. Korean female newborns are projected to live 85.7 years on average. The figure is quite high compared to that of the US (81.1 years), Turkey (80.8), Hungary (79.3) and Mexico (

SEJONG -- The level of household debt in South Korea remains high, according to the latest research from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Korea’s 184 percent ratio of household debt to disposable income in 2019 placed the country eighth from the top, meaning debt levels were higher only in seven countries. Data was available for only 33 of the OECD’s 37 member nations, and was compiled in 2018. The figure means that a Korean household with disposable inco

SEJONG -- The issue of whether to establish a KTX station in Sejong, enabling high-speed train service within the administrative city, has come to the fore again. Earlier attempts to do so faced a tough backlash from residents of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, who ultimately won out in the name of regional balanced development. As a result, the closest KTX station to Government Complex Sejong is Osong Station in Cheongju’s Osong-eup. But daytime travel between the complex and the

SEJONG -- South Korea’s four largest cities saw significant population declines over the past six months, depressing the population of the nation as a whole. The collective population of Seoul, Busan, Incheon and Daegu declined by 37,838 during the period beginning December 2019 and ending May 2020, according to data from the Ministry of Interior and Safety. Daegu’s population fell by 12,522, the steepest decline among the four cities. Alongside neighboring North Gyeongsang Provin

SEJONG -- In 2019 South Korea ranked 20th in gross domestic product per capita among the 37 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, outstripping Japan and Spain. In terms of GDP alone, over the past five years Korea has moved around on the list, occupying the eighth through the 11th positions. Further, it is one of the world’s six largest exporters. But Korea is one of only two OECD countries where the value of the currency against the US dollar posts four

SEJONG -- South Korea saw its number of unemployed people climb 19,000 during the Feb. 1-April 30 period as the impact of the novel coronavirus hit. The figure is the headline unemployment statistic publicized by the government. According to Statistics Korea, the tally for the jobless came to 1.172 million in April, compared to 1.153 million in January, when the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the nation. But the data showed a sex disparity, in which the number of unemployed men incr

SEJONG -- South Korea saw the tally for registered residents post 51.841 million as of May, down 1,153 from the previous month, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety. This marked a decline in population for the sixth consecutive month since last December. Compared to November 2019, when the number of residents peaked at 51.851 million, the nation’s population has dropped 10,056 over the past half a year. The monthly demographic data reflects not only the number of births and

SEJONG – The online shopping market has become a core factor for the nation’s gross domestic product in recent years, as it makes up a core portion of household consumption. Data from Statistics Korea showed that the monthly turnover of retailers operating online retail operations came to 12.58 trillion won ($10.16 billion) in March. It posted growth of 191.8 percent over five years, from 4.31 trillion won in March 2015. The monthly turnover has continued to surge -- to 5.22 trill

SEJONG -- This summer, during the vacation season in particular, extraordinary traffic jams are expected on major expressways nationwide in the wake of the novel coronavirus. This is because there is a high possibility that most vacationers will give up overseas travel this year. Instead, they are likely to choose to stay at local beaches and mountains. This could bring a bounce-back in the consumption index and a surge in tax revenue – via tolls and gasoline taxes -- during the third q

SEJONG -- Of 25 major economies around the world, only two posted positive growth during the first quarter of 2020, according to a recent analysis from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In terms of gross domestic product growth, South Korea ranked ninth among the 25 countries -- all OECD members -- posting minus 1.4 percent. Japan stood at No. 7 with minus 0.85 percent and the US at No. 8 with minus 1.22 percent. As of Tuesday, the France-based organization had compil