South Korea's exports of agricultural products moved up 6 percent in the first three months of the year from a year earlier, with shipments to China remaining steady despite disruptions caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, the Agriculture Ministry said. 　Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its exports of agricultural goods reach $1.74 billion in the January-March period, up 5.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The figure excl

　South Korea’s internet banking services continued to grow in 2019, with the number of users and daily transactions climbing to new highs, central bank data showed. 　The number of internet and mobile banking users came to about 159.2 million as of end-2019, up 8.6 percent from a year before, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. 　The figure is the simple sum of all registered users at 18 internet and mobile banking service providers in the country, meaning the same person may

  　The government started a social distancing campaign late last month, calling on people to avoid mass gatherings and maintain a distance of 2 meters from others. The period was extended on April 4 to last for an additional two weeks. No. of trips outside neighborhood of registered address (unit: 10,000 trips) (Source: SKT, Statistics Korea) Jan. 25: 3,000 Lunar New Year holidays (1/20  First confirmed case of COVID-19 reported) Feb. 15: 1,376 　 Initial plunge of 24.4% from the

　The number of air passengers in South Korea fell to a record low last month due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, data showed, as countries around the globe impose lockdowns and restrict travel and people shun travel. 　The number of air passengers stood at 1.74 million in March, according to industry data, marking the first time that the figure has fallen below 2 million since the country started to record such statistics from 1997. 　The passenger number was 10.62 million in January but

　Retail sales in South Korea rose 9.1 percent in February from a year earlier as more people purchased daily necessities through online platforms amid the spread of the new coronavirus here, data showed. 　The combined sales of 26 major offline and online retailers reached 10.6 trillion won ($8.68 billion) last month, compared with 9.71 trillion won a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. 　The sharp increase came as online stores enjoyed a w

　South Korea’s car sales fell 15 percent last month from a year earlier as the spreading coronavirus outbreak affected vehicle production and sales. 　The country’s five carmakers - Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and SsangYong Motor - sold a combined 597,826 vehicles in March, down from 702,929 units a year ago, according to data from the companies. 　The lower sales largely resulted from suspended operations of Hyundai and Kia’s major overseas

　South Korea will stop overseas election affairs for the April polls in 41 diplomatic missions of 25 nations, including the United States, over the coronavirus pandemic until April 6, according to the National Election Commission. 　The move followed last week’s decision to suspend the election process in Italy and 16 other countries and territories over the COVID-19 pandemic. 　The total affected diplomatic missions reached 65 in 41 countries, the NEC said. An estimated 80,500 voters

　People in South Korea spent more time using applications on their mobile devices last month, data showed, amid the spread of the novel coronavirus. 　Koreans spent an average of 3.9 hours a day on mobile apps in February, up 7 percent from a year ago, according to global mobile data analytics firm App Annie. 　Korea was the No. 2 country in the world in terms of the average time that people spent on mobile apps. China topped the list with five hours, while Japan was No. 3 with 3.5 hours.

　South Korean exports to China are picking up in March as the new coronavirus retreats in the neighboring country, data showed. 　Daily exports to the world’s second-largest economy averaged $436 million during the first 10 days of this month, up 20.8 percent from the same period in February, according to the data from government and industry sources. 　Yet the daily average was down 8.2 percent from the same period a year earlier. 　Daily exports to China soared to $530 million in the

　South Korea reported a net decrease in its population for the third consecutive month in January, due mainly to the critically low birthrate that has plagued Asia’s fourth-largest economy for years. 　Only 26,818 infants were born in January, down 11.6 percent on-year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The number of births has fallen on-year for a whopping 50 consecutive months, dating to December 2015. 　The number of deaths, on the other hand, advanced 4 percent on-y

　With the 2020 Olympics postponed until 2021, there are fears the delay will shatter the gold medal hopes of many aging athletes. 　AFP Sport looks at six evergreen stars for whom a delayed Tokyo Games might be a step too far. 　 1. Roger Federer 　The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who will be 40 in August 2021, won Olympic gold when he partnered Stan Wawrinka to the men’s doubles title at the 2008 Beijing Games. Federer was a quarterfinalist in singles in China and a silver medalist in 2

　More than 880,000 people worldwide died from exposure to secondhand smoke in 2016, compared with nearly 950,000 in 1990, an analysis published by JAMA Network Open concluded. 　This despite the fact that there were more smokers globally in 2016 - nearly 1 billion, thanks in large part to the increasing popularity of the habit in Asia and Africa - than in 1990, when roughly 850 million people smoked worldwide. 　The figures suggest that one nonsmoker died from exposure to secondhand smoke for

　Starting Sunday, all people traveling to South Korea from Europe are required to take COVID-19 tests and undergo a two-week quarantine regardless of symptoms. 　Of the 1,444 people who landed in Korea from Europe on Sunday, 19 tested positive for the virus, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 　As of Tuesday, the KCDC, said, Korea had reported 9,037 cases total, including 171 imported cases. Of the 76 new cases reported Tuesday, 22 of the patients had been inf

　The number of South Koreans getting married sank to an all-time low in 2019, government data showed, as young people increasingly delay marriage amid a prolonged economic slowdown. 　The number of couples tying the knot in Asia’s fourth-largest economy reached 239,200 in 2019, down 7.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. 　The figure is the lowest since 1970, when the statistical agency began compiling related data. (Yonhap)

　South Korea’s exports of protective masks surged nearly 23-fold in February from a year earlier amid the global outbreak of the new coronavirus, data showed, although the volume is likely to plummet this month in line with the export ban. 　Outbound shipments of textile articles, which include masks, came to $157 million in February, up from $6.85 million a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association. It also more than doubled from $70 mil