United Airlines Posts Record Q4 Revenue as Premium Demand Lifts Earnings 
Proposed Rio Tinto–Glencore Merger Faces China Regulatory Hurdles and Asset Sale Pressure 
Tesla Revives Dojo Supercomputer Project With AI5 Chip at the Core 
Netflix Stock Slips After Earnings as Soft 2026 Guidance Overshadows Subscriber Milestone 
Asian Stock Markets Start New Year Higher as Tech and AI Shares Drive Gains 
Citi Forecasts a Volatile but Ongoing Bull Market for S&P 500 in 2026 
Gold Prices Rebound in Europe as Geopolitical Tensions and Fed Outlook Support Bullion 
Court Allows Expert Testimony Linking Johnson & Johnson Talc Products to Ovarian Cancer 
Asian Markets Slip as Precious Metals Cool, Geopolitical Tensions Weigh on Sentiment 
South Korean Won Slides Despite Government Efforts to Stabilize Currency Markets 
Apple Stock Jumps as Company Prepares Major Siri AI Chatbot Upgrade 
South Korea Factory Activity Returns to Growth in December on Export Rebound 
U.S. Stocks Slip as Gold Rebounds Ahead of Year-End, Markets Eye 2026 Outlook 
China Manufacturing PMI Rebounds in December, Offering Boost to Economic Growth Outlook 
Singapore GDP Growth Surges in 2025 but Outlook Remains Cautious Amid Global Trade Risks 
South Korea has a healthy economy, thanks to tech companies such as Samsung and LG. The Kpop industry also played a big part in boosting the country’s financial resources after it entered the international market.
However, even with the big businesses striving in South Korea, it was reported that thousands of individuals have lost their jobs last year and recently. This is because the flourishing economy has been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that has not been completely wiped out yet.
A new record-high job loss in South Korea
As per the Korea Times, South Korea reported the biggest job loss this year, and the figure is the worst since 1998. Based on the data from Korea Statistics, the country shed 218,000 jobs last year since many businesses have shut down due to the coronavirus crisis.
The decline in employment is said to be Korea’s worst experience in 22 years. Back in 1998, the country suffered from the financial crisis that hit Asia and wiped out more than 1.27 million jobs.
In November, the number of unemployed rose to 273,000. December was said to be the worst month as data shows the number of employed was only 26.5 million, which is 628,000 fewer compared to 2019. The loss of jobs in that particular time period marked the 10th straight month that South Korean people have been losing their source of income, Al Jazeera reported.
Job recovery in South Korea
The decline of jobs is continuous in SoKor, and experts say that the recovery will be slow even in the forthcoming months. This is because most of the small and medium-sized businesses (SME) have yet to recover themselves. At this time, most of them have remained closed as the lockdown and stricter social distancing rules have been put in place.
"The lives of many small business owners have been devastated following strengthened social distancing rules, with their extremely strained financial condition likely to take a turn for the worse in the coming months,” Kim So Young, Seoul National University economist, commented. “Government orders to shut down left them with no income and part-time workers hired were let go as a result."
