The gross domestic product per capita of a unified Korea would reach $73,747 in 2050, the second-highest GDP figure among G20 countries, according to a projection made on Monday.Professor Kim Byung-yeon of Seoul National University said a unified Korea’s economy would grow at an annual rate of 4.51 percent, with more than 50,000 jobs created each year from 2015 to 2050.Kim said a unified Korea’s GDP per capita would rank 11th ($35,718) among OECD member nations in 2030, and make a big jump to th

South Korean currency and stocks have been the worst performers among emerging markets in Asia this month amid concerns of a slow economic recovery and a set of negative external factors, market data showed Sunday.According to the data, the South Korean won tumbled 2.06 percent against the greenback over the past 17 days, the largest drop among the currencies of seven emerging markets in Asia.Malaysia came next with a 0.4 percent drop in the value of its currency against the dollar, followed by

Grates covering a ventilation shaft for an underground parking lot collapsed under the weight of people watching a K-pop event Oct. 17. So far, 16 people have died, and eight of the 11 people injured in the accident are said to be in critical condition.

One in 10 teenagers in Korea suffers from depression, data showed Thursday.About 490,000 or 11.2 percent of teenagers aged 12 to 18 had experienced severe sadness or depression that lasted for about two weeks last year, according to Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.The data showed that the number teenagers feeling depressed went up by 2.7 percent in the past four years, with more girls feeling depressed than boys.The rate of depression in girls rose each year to reach 16 per

Leaders of the three West African nations hardest hit by Ebola sought support from the international financial community amid warnings that the widening epidemic is devastating the region’s fragile economies. The presidents of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea discussed strategies to combat the deadly virus during a meeting in Washington of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The World Bank, which provides loans and funding to developing nations, has pledged $400 million to help c

Fewer low-income earners in South Korea have benefited from the national health insurance program’s increased coverage of expenses related to the “four major diseases” that require costly treatment, including cancer and heart disease, while high-income earners recouped far more benefits from the policy, according to Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo’s office.The four serious diseases are cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and a total of 138 incurable conditions such as Crohn’s disease.According to

Mobile phones in South Korea were the most expensive in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to government data released Sunday.The initial price upon release for handsets stood at $230.56 last year, followed by Japan with $200.72. The U.S. ranked 18th place with $107.55.Prices have been decreasing annually since 2011, but it still came higher than Japan, which had been considered generally expensive.In contrast, prices of premium phones has been on the rise annua

One in four South Korean male children aged 5 to 17 are obese, a rate that is higher than the OECD average, according to the nation’s Health Ministry.According to the ministry, 25 percent of young male Koreans are obese, compared to the OECD average of 23 percent.The ministry announced the statistics using Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development data from no earlier than 2010. “Some 60 percent of obese children end up becoming obese as adults as well,” said the Health Ministry in a

Almost half of the executives at affiliates of the nation’s top 10 companies were found to be graduates of South Korea’s leading three universities or from schools abroad, according to Chaebul.com, a website devoted to conglomerate data. Up to 594 ― or 23.9 percent ― of the 2,483 surveyed executives were graduates of Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University, while another 22.6 percent were from overseas universities as of last year. Among the executives, 10.2 percent wer

The number of sex offenders who live near schools stood at 5,098 as of this year, with 1,273 schools affected, data showed Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Education, 4,270 sex offenders live near elementary schools while 635 and 191 sex offenders live near middle and high schools, respectively.An average of 7 in 10 schools in Korea are located in a neighborhood where at one sex offender lives. And 102 schools are within a 1 km radius of the residences of more than 10 sex offenders. Paren

The number of South Koreans receiving public pension payments will rise by 8.2 percent next year, according to a government report submitted to the National Assembly.The public pension system consists of four pension programs, including the state pension and separate programs for public servants, military officers and public school teachers.According to the report, 4.69 million Koreans will receive public pension payments next year, while only 4.33 million received them this year. In total, some

The South Korean central government’s debt is on the rise, according to government data released Monday. The debt is expected to grow this year to 496.8 trillion won ($464 billion), up 7 percent from 464 trillion won last year, according to a mid-term debt management plan submitted to the National Assembly.The interest on that debt is an expected 21.2 trillion won, up 12 percent on-year, as state borrowing continues to rise. This is the first time in the country’s history that interest on debt h

Kim Beom-su, the founder of mobile messenger service Kakao Inc., has become Korea’s wealthiest IT entrepreneur by stock value, financial market researcher’s data showed. After Kakao merged with the country’s No. 2 portal Daum Communications Co., Daum shares have rallied on the tech-focused secondary bourse KOSDAQ, according to recent data provided by corporate financial information provider FnGuide.Lee Hae-jin, the founder and CEO of the country’s biggest portal Naver and who had long held the t

The world’s largest outbreak of Ebola has infected more than 6,500 people across five West African countries and killed nearly 4,000 since the start of the year, according to the World Health Organization.The first case of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S. was confirmed Tuesday in an unidentified man who recently traveled from Liberia to Dallas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

South Korean premium cars have regained a 30 percent market share at home, according to data provided by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. Locally made cars accounted for 32.9 percent, or 47,119 units out of 143,123 premium vehicles ― those with a sticker price of over 40 million won ($ 37,850) ― sold in the first eight months of 2014.The rise was thanks to strong demand for Hyundai Motor’s brand new Genesis sedan, whi