U.S. aircraft were flying “near continuous” bombing raids against Islamic State militants in Syria, officials said late Friday, after Britain and two more EU nations agreed to join the U.S.-led air armada. The mission is now similar to U.S.-led air raids undertaken in Iraq, a senior U.S. defense official said. Belgium, Britain and Denmark earlier approved plans to join the war in the air, but Washington warned that up to 15,000 “moderate” rebels would need to be trained and armed to beat back th

The price-to-income ratio of “jeonse” rental deposits reached 6-to-1 in Seoul from 2004 to hit a decade high, according to data from Statistics Korea. The PIR of rental deposits is a ratio of median house rental prices to annual average household income. The latest numbers indicate that to pay a rental deposit in Seoul, households must spend up to six times their annual income. The data was based on the rental deposit prices of 8.9 million households as of last month, and the average nationwide

South Korea’s suicide rate rose 1.5 percent to 28.5 deaths per 100,000 people last year from the rate in 2012, according to Statistics Korea on Wednesday. The data showed that about 40 people took their own lives every day last year. The nation has had the highest suicide rate among member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for 10 straight years, Statistics Korea said. After reaching a peak in 2011, the nation’s suicide rate fell slightly in 2012 before edging u

The labor participation rate for women in their 20s stood at 64.6 percent in the second quarter of this year, up from 63.3 percent in the previous quarter, government data showed. The figure is higher than the rate of 62 percent for men of the same age group, while the gap between men and women was the largest since the second quarter of 2012, according to Statistics Korea. The trend is mostly due to low birthrates and a decline in marriages, the agency said. The number of babies born in South K

South Koreans tend to drink coffee far more often than they eat their traditional staple food, data showed Sunday.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Koreans drank coffee 12.3 times per week in 2013, while they ate foods such as cabbage kimchi 11.8 times, multigrain rice 9.5 times and white rice seven times.Koreans’ coffee-related calorie intake also went up, quadrupling over the past decade in a reflection of the amount of artificial sweeteners in coffee.The propo

This year’s autumn foliage is expected to begin late this month in the mountainous Gangwon Province. The leaves will turn a couple of days later than usual due to higher-than-average temperatures and low rainfall during the summer, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.According to the KMA, leaves will start to show color on Mount Seoraksan on Sept. 28, Mount Odaesan on Oct. 3 and Mount Chiaksan on Oct. 8. Mount Seoraksan and other popular destinations across the nation attract a large nu

Almost three-quarters of women who gave birth last year in Seoul were in their 30s, according to the city’s municipal government. Women in Seoul on average gave birth to their first child at age 31.5 last year, and 74 percent of those who experienced pregnancy and childbirth were in their 30s, the government said.Seoul had the lowest birthrate among all Korean cities and provinces last year, according to Statistics Korea. The capital city’s women also gave birth for the first time later in life.

The economic value created by South Korea’s four largest conglomerates reached 140.2 trillion won ($135.8 billion) in 2013, accounting for 9.7 percent of the country’s GDP, a report by a corporate research firm said Wednesday.According to CEO Score, analyses based on audits submitted to the state financial regulator last year showed Samsung Group, the country’s No. 1 family-run conglomerate with 19 listed companies, generated economic value worth 68.37 trillion won, or 4.7 percent of the GDP.Thi

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, the nation’s two largest auto companies, came in third among car manufacturers worldwide in reliance on global sales, according to Japanese automobile research firm Fourin on Sunday. Overseas orders of Hyundai and Kia cars in 78 countries accounted for 84.8 percent of their total sales, taking third place among global auto companies, behind Volkswagen (86.8 percent) and Nissan (85.2 percent). The overseas sales for BMW (84.7 percent), Renault (82.3 percent), Honda (

The total amount of land owned by South Korea’s top 10 conglomerates has reached 62 times the total area of Yeouido.According to a survey conducted by chaebul.com, 92 listed companies affiliated with the nation’s top 10 conglomerates owned 181.2 square kilometers of land as of the end of last year.The amount was up 7.2 percent from 2008.Also, the land value rose 35.8 percent, from 45.7 billion won ($44 billion) to 62 billion won during the same period.Samsung Group recorded the steepest rise, fr

South Korea recently announced an 80 percent hike in the price of cigarettes in an attempt to curb the country’s smoking rate, which was particularly high among adult men. Lorea’s male smoking rate stood at 43.7 percent in 2012 and was one of the highest of all members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.The figure marked a sharp drop from 48.3 percent in 2010. The results were from the Korean National Health and Nutrition

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday it planned to raise prices by 2,000 won ($1.90) from January. South Korea’s tax ratio on cigarette prices is below the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 70 percent.Taxes make up about 62 percent of the price of a pack of cigarettes. The rest is comprised of retail margin and production costs (39 percent), an excise tax on tobacco (25.6 percent), funds for national health promotion (14.2 percent), local education tax (12.8 percent), val

Korea’s ratio of male to female births hit the lowest level since data first began to be collected in 1981, according to Statistics Korea on Tuesday. The state agency said there were 105.3 male births per 100 female births last year.The agency said the reasons behind Korea’s lfalling male-female birth ratio is the decreasing number of people who prefer boys to girls.Sex ratio at birth is the number of male births per 100 female births, and a number between 103 and 107 is considered normal.

Seoul’s birthrate was the lowest among all Korean cities and provinces last year, according to Statistics Korea. According to the state agency, women living in Seoul had given birth to an average of 0.968 children as of last year, making it the only Korean city with a birthrate lower than 1. The agency said one of the reasons behind Seoul’s low birthrate is its large number of working women who put off marriage and childbearing for the sake of their career.Women in Seoul also had the highest ave

South Korea’s national competitiveness ranking this year fell to 26th, down one notch from last year, according to the Global Competitiveness Report released by the World Economic Forum on Wednesday.Korea’s highest placing was 11th in 2007 and the lowest was 29th in 2004.Among the competitiveness factors, the country’s ranking in efficiency fell from 23rd to 25th and its innovation ranking fell from 20th to 22nd.“The mass personal information leaks, North Korea’s missile launches, and the Sewol