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Yoon Ja-young

Korea Times AI content 1 team Reporter

Yoon Ja-young is in charge of articles translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times. She is interested in improving the newspaper through AI.

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Economy

Koreans unprepared for retirement

By Yoon Ja-young Koreans will have only half the money needed for life after retirement because of excessive spending on children and household debt, a survey shows.According to a KB Financial Research Institute report, an average 2.3 million won is needed monthly for life after retirement.But its survey of 2,906 Koreans showed they expect to have income of only 1.1 million won a month. This comes from their pension, public and private, as well as savings and other financial assets. It means they will have only 48 percent of the money they need.It showed that couples with children are especially poorly prepared. While singles expect to have 890,000 won ready, which is 64 percent of the 1.4 million won they need each month, couples with children are likely to have 1.1 million won a month, which is less than half the 2.5 million won they would need after retirement.Four out of 10 Koreans expect their life to be unstable after retirement, while only 17 percent expect stability. When asked why they are not prepared adequately, they cited low income, excessive spending on children an

Dec 11, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Economy

Young generation not so proud of Korean identity

By Yoon Ja-youngThe country’s younger generation is not as proud of their Korean identity as their parents are. They also have less trust in the government and conglomerates.According to a “Korea Social Trends 2015” report released by Statistics Korea, Thursday, 79 percent of baby-boomers, born between 1955 and 1963, say they are proud of being Korean. In the case of their children, dubbed the echo generation, born between 1979 and 1992, however, only 66.9 percent say they felt the same.The young generation meanwhile is more open to cohabitation. When asked if they approve of free union, 61.9 percent of the echo generation say “Yes” while only 34.4 percent of baby-boomers agree.The report showed that over half of those in their 20s and 30s were single as of 2010, while only 35.1 percent of young people were single in 1995. One out of five people between 35 and 39 were single in 2010, which compares with 4.6 percent, or one out of 20, in 1995.While only 14.6 percent of the baby-boomers regard themselves as progressive, 29.5 percent of the echo generation

Dec 10, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Economy

Low rate to be unchanged for the time being

By Yoon Ja-youngThe Bank of Korea (BOK) can ill-afford to tighten its monetary policy even if the U.S. Federal Reserve proceeds with its much-anticipated key rate hike later this month, analysts said.The central bank has left its key rate at a historically low 1.5 percent. Korea needs to follow in the footsteps of the U.S. Fed, lest it should face capital flight.However, analysts are betting that the BOK will have to maintain its current monetary easing for a while. The bank holds a policy-setting monetary committee meeting today to decide its key rate for December.Analysts expect the BOK to hold the rate steady, saying the hike by the Fed will not have any major impact on the Korean financial market. Hong Jun-pyo, an economist at Hyundai Research Institute, said any exodus may be limited even after the U.S. rate hike.  “Korea has sound foreign exchange rates right now, and in this way, the country is different from other emerging economies that are facing the risk of an exchange crisis.”He said Korea’s interest rate is already higher than those of countri

Dec 9, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Economy

FTC examining Apple's unfair repair deals

Min Hye-young, an official in charge of contract reviews at the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), gives a briefing on Apple Korea’s repair policies at the FTC office in Sejong, Wednesday. The commission is examining Apple Korea over unfair deals it has signed with repair service providers. / YonhapBy Yoon Ja-youngThe Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is looking into whether Apple Korea operates unfair repair policies.“Apple Korea is being examined as we confirmed that there were unfair provisions in contracts it signed with official service companies,” FTC Chairman Jeong Jae-chan said in a meeting with the media, Tuesday.Apple has six service providers authorized to repair its iPhones sold in Korea. They only provide simple repair services such as replacing batteries or cameras while sending the devices to the Apple Center for other problems.However, consumers have been complaining about Apple’s repair process. The unfair policies uncovered out by the FTC include forcing consumers to determine whether to request repairs or not before assessments of repairs are made, thus

Dec 9, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Economy

Insurer helps teenager better understand the disabled

Sooyoung of girl group Girls’ Generation, third from left, and Kang Kyung-sung of boy band Noel, sixth from left, pose at the preview of “Perfect Sense” held at Seoul National University Girls’ Middle School in Seoul, Thursday. The special drama produced by Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance aims at enhancing teenagers’ understanding of the disabled./ Courtesy of Samsung Fire and Marine InsuranceBy Yoon Ja-youngTeenagers attending Seoul National University Girls’ Middle School watched a special drama together, Dec. 3.They previewed “Perfect Sense,” a drama produced by Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance, on the United Nations (UN) designated International Day of Persons with Disabilities.It is the story of a girl named Eunseo, who is gradually losing her sight, but changes positively after meeting Ayeon, a teacher who is also visually impaired, and Soli, a guide dog.The drama was produced through contributions by many. Singer and actress Choi Soo-young, who is more often credited as Sooyoung of Girls’ Generation, starred as the teach

Dec 4, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Economy

KDI warns of apartment oversupply

By Yoon Ja-young Too many new apartments are being supplied to the market this year, which could weigh on the construction industry as well as household debt in a few years, the country’s leading economic think tank warned Thursday. The Korea Development Institute (KDI) expects up to 30,000 new apartments to remain vacant by 2018 due to an absence of buyers.“Around 490,000 new apartments will be sold this year, which is nearly double the annual average supply between 2000 and 2014. There is concern that the increasing supply will become a burden in the future,” said KDI researcher Song In-ho.“The housing market is running hot and cold in terms of demand, but it takes a few years from sale to real supply. The new apartments sold this year can have a different meaning depending on how demand changes later.”In Korea, construction companies take deposits for new apartments before they are completed. Subscribers pay for the apartment in installments until completion, which generally takes around two or three years. As construction companies are selling a

Dec 4, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Economy

Middle class losing confidence

By Yoon Ja-youngOnly two out of 10 Koreans consider themselves middle class; while four out of 10 think they will fall into poverty after they retire.Korea’s Middle Class, a report released by NH Investment and Securities Wednesday, shows the country’s mid-income earners are losing confidence.The report is based on a survey on 1,128 people in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Statistically, those who make between 50 and 150 percent of the median income are categorized as middle class. Under this definition, 65.4 percent of Koreans are categorized as such. These households make between 1.87 million won and 5.63 million won a month.However, only 19.8 percent of those surveyed consider themselves middle class ― 79.1 percent said they were below this level.A report by Hyundai Research Institute also noted that only 45 percent of Korea’s middle class perceives themselves as so. Research economist Lee Jun-hyup said people take into account factors other than income as well when they think of middle class. They include assets, leisure and quality of life.“While the ratio

Dec 3, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Economy

Glass ceiling remains thick in public sector

By Yoon Ja-youngMore than two years have passed since the inauguration of the country’s first woman president, but the glass ceiling seems to be as strong as ever.Woman executives are still rare at public companies, though many who are public employees think they can do the same job as men compared with others in the private sector.According to CEO Score, a corporate research firm, there are only two female executives in the country’s top 30 state-run enterprises and institutions.They also decreased the hiring of women. According to the analysis, women comprised only 19.6 percent of the 2,501 rookies hired by these state-run companies during the past three years. That is 5 percentage points lower than the ratio marked before the inauguration of President Park Geun-hye. Eleven of the agencies didn’t hire any women at all.What is worse, this ratio notably shrank more, the higher up the corporate ladder.Women comprised 21.3 percent of staff-level employees, but the ratio dwindled to 9.7 percent at the mid-manager level. Among managers, only 1.2 percent are women. Among

Dec 3, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Economy

Industrial output weakest in 9 months

By Yoon Ja-youngThe country’s industrial output suffered its biggest fall in nine months in October due to a sharp drop in exports to China, according to Statistics Korea, Monday.Consumption, however, made the biggest jump in 57 months thanks to government-led stimulus efforts such as Korea Black Friday.Industrial output decreased 1.3 percent in October from the previous month, the biggest decrease since January when it dipped 1.9 percent.The total output had been picking up since June when it marked 0.6 percent growth, jumping 2.5 percent in September. However, it started decreasing in October due to sluggish exports.The country’s exports fell 15.9 percent in October from a year ago. This is the steepest fall since August 2009, when exports dipped 20.9 percent because of the global financial crisis.Due to the sluggish exports, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries decreased 1.4 percent in September. Production in the chemical industry dipped 4 percent and automobiles also saw a 2.8 percent fall in production.The Institute for Internation

Nov 30, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Industrial output weakest in 9 months
People & Events

Kodeco founder passes away at 96

Choi Gye-wolBy Yoon Ja-young Kodeco Group Chairman Choi Gye-wol, who set up Korea’s first overseas investment company in Indonesia, passed away on Nov. 27. He was 96.Born in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, in 1919, Choi moved to Japan with his family when he was six years old. He graduated from Waseda University, majoring in law.After gaining trading experience with Japanese companies, he founded Korea Development Company (Kodeco) in Indonesia in 1963, which focused on developing timber in Kalimantan. Borrowing $4.5 million from the Korean government, Kodeco became the country’s first overseas investment company.The successful development of the virgin forest on Indonesia’s Borneo enabled Choi to advance into the energy business, developing an oil field in Madura, Java, that produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 1994.In 1995, he was awarded by the Indonesian government for his contributions to the country’s economic development.He expanded his business into diverse sectors, including rubber, cement and thermal power generation. However, his activit

Nov 30, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Kodeco founder passes away at 96
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