South Korea added 113,000 jobs in September, the Ministry of Data and Statistics reported. Health and social welfare services added 207,000 on their own, according to Seoul Economic Daily, so every other industry together lost a net 94,000.
Perspective Coverage
5 publishers
- Builder
- Builder 5%
- Operator
- Operator 45%
- Investor
- Investor 50%
Reality
- Evidence86
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives30
- Confidence82
Beer and diluted soju supply 97% of the two-year fall in Korea's domestic liquor tax
Korea's tax on domestically produced alcohol fell 4.5% to 2.4352 trillion won in 2025, a six-year low, National Tax Service data show. Beer and diluted soju explain nearly all of the two-year drop, but four years of falling retail sales cloud the youth-drinking story.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives40
- Confidence58
Shrinking divorce totals lift Japan's late-life share to a record 24.2%
Divorces after 20-plus years of marriage were a record 24.2% of Japan's 179,073 divorces last year, Mainichi Shimbun's analysis of government data shows. The count behind that share fell by about 900, so the growth in older couples splitting up is in Korea, where over-60 divorces rose 7.4%.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence58
Prices for 24 of Korea's 26 most-bought processed foods rose on year in August as factory hikes by Lotte Chilsung, Coca-Cola and CJ CheilJedang hit shelves. Whether it is a one-off catch-up or a spread into other foods decides how long it lasts.
Reality
- Evidence74
- Adoption62
- Hype gap+18
- Incentives35
- Confidence70
Nearly a quarter of Korean newlywed couples now owe 300 million won or more
South Korean newlyweds' median debt reached 179 million won in 2024, 2.3 times the 2016 figure, national statistics show. With the Bank of Korea raising rates, the risk now sits in the interest bills of households with relatively little time to build income and assets.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+5
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence58
Korea restarts public agency relocation against 20 straight years of young inflows to Seoul
The second round would cluster agencies around existing innovation cities under a five-hub framework. The migration series behind it shows no year of net 19-to-34 outflow from the capital region in two decades.
Reality
- Evidence45
- Adoption35
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives60
- Confidence50