lowest birthrate

Business & Politics Korea sharply cuts 2025 growth forecast, opens door for extra budget

South Korea sharply lowered its economic growth forecast for this year amid the prolonged political turmoil following President Yoon Suk Yeol’...

Economy South Korea becomes super-aged society faster than expected

One in five South Koreans is now 65 years old or older as the Asian country grapples with the demographic challenge of a rapidly aging population an...

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea Zinc ups share buyback price, volume to counter MBK

Korea Zinc Inc. said on Friday it will buy back more shares at a higher price than originally planned to counter North Asia-focused private equity f...

Culture & Trends Nation With Lowest Birthrate Is Rocked by Soaring Sales of Dog Strollers

SEOUL—After pushing a stroller to a park near her home in a Seoul suburb, Kang Seung-min plopped down on a bench. Then an elderly woman ap...

Debt financing Korean firms rush to sell bonds with yields at over 2-yr low

South Korea’s corporate bond markets are having an unusually busy summer as companies are rushing to sell debts to lock in lower interest cost...

Markets Korean treasury yields fall to lowest level in over 2 years

South Korea’s treasury bond yields fell to their lowest points in more than two years, slipping below the 3% level for the first time since Ap...

Real estate Seoul prime office deals at 10-year low on rate uncertainty

Prime office transactions in Seoul hit a 10-year low in the second quarter due to delayed fundraising amid uncertainties of the central bank’s...

Banking & Finance Korea’s Woori Bank raises $550 mn in AT1 hybrid bond

South Korean major bank Woori Bank said on Thursday that it raised $550 million by issuing additional tier 1 (AT1) hybrid bonds on July 17 with call...

Economy As many as one in 10 residents in South Korea likely to be foreign by 2042

The number of foreign residents in South Korea is expected to rise steadily in the coming years to account for up to 10.1% of the country’s to...

Economy Korea’s inflation at 6-month low in further relief to BOK

South Korea’s headline inflation dropped for a third straight month to a six-month low on declining oil prices, adding relief to the central b...

Central bank South Koreans expect inflation to slow, relief to BOK’s hawkish stance

South Koreans expect inflation to slow over the next 12 months, providing relief to the central bank’s hawkish stance that policy rates should...

North Korea Kim Jong Un urges women to be good comrades — and give birth

SEOUL—Kim Jong Un has a new mission for North Korean women: Have more babies.Kim acknowledged the impoverished nation’s plunging bi...

Electronics LG Display’s OLED panel gets certifications for eye comfort

South Korea’s LG Display Co. announced on Wednesday its third-generation OLED TV panels got a certification from global safety science resea...

Foreign exchange S.Korea’s forex reserves dwindle to lowest point in more than 3 years

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves dropped in October for the third straight month to their lowest point since June 2020, as local author...

Corporate strategy Lotte leads corporate push to raise Korea’s dismal birthrate

South Korea’s dreadfully low birthrate — the world’s lowest — is not just a concern for politicians or government officials....

Economy Korea expects inflation to ease from Oct after 5-month high

South Korea predicted headline inflation to ease from October after hitting a five-month high last month, adding to expectations that the central ba...

Economy S.Korea’s birth rate at record low despite rebound in marriages

South Korea’s total fertility rate hit its trough of 0.7 again in the second quarter, according to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, deepening th...

Insurance Hanwha Life sees cumulative profit in 15 years in Vietnam

Hanwha Life Insurance Co.’s Vietnamese subsidiary has reported a cumulative profit in 15 years, marking the first South Korean insurers’...

ESG SK’s Tmap enhances ESG efforts by navigating lowest-carbon routes

South Korea’s leading mobility platform Tmap Mobility Co. has stepped up its environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts via its naviga...

Food & Beverage S.Korea urges ramen makers to cut prices to ease inflation

South Korean instant noodle makers are considering price cuts for the first time in 13 years pressured by the government, which aims to further ease...

Energy Moody’s cuts credit view on KEPCO to lowest investment grade

Moody’s on Friday cut its view on KEPCO’s credit to the lowest investment grade, a move that could lead the rating agency to downgrade t...

Economy Seoul eyes opening doors to domestic helpers from Southeast Asia

Seoul is slated to welcome domestic helpers from Southeast Asia later this year to ease the burden of childcare and address issues surrounding Korea...

Economy Korea's expected inflation hits 11-month low

South Korea's expected inflation has hit a record low of 3.7% in 11 months in April 2023. While the consumer price index rose by 4.2% last month, wh...

Venture capital Korean startup investments rapidly dry up in wake of SVB debacle 

The shock from the collapse of American startups’ main financing artery Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has been deeply felt in the South Korean sta...

Economy Business Survey Index falls for 4th consecutive month

With both exports and domestic spending growing shakier amid the global economic downturn, South Korean business sentiment has taken a backward step...

Economy Korea's stock deposits dip to lowest point since July 2020

Monthly average deposits for stock investment in South Korea are poised to drop below 50 trillion won ($35.1 billion) for the first time since July ...

Foreign exchange Korean won at fresh low since global financial crisis as markets crash

The South Korean won on Monday extended losses to a fresh low since the 2008-09 financial crisis as local financial markets lost ground, alongside t...

Korean stock market Samsung family’s shareholdings shrink by $8 bn in one year

Samsung Group’s four heirs to the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee have seen their group company shareholdings shrink by a combined 11 trillion won (...

Korean stock market Foreign ownership of Korean shares hits lowest level since 2010

Foreign investors’ holding rate in South Korea’s main bourse Kospi has plunged to the lowest level since 2010. The investors have dispos...

Real estate Grade-A offices in Seoul hit lowest vacancy rate in Q1 2022

Grade-A offices saw their lowest-ever quarterly vacancy rate in the first quarter of 2022 since 2010, when Canada-based real estate investment manag...