household

June 23 (Asia Today) — The estimated value of unpaid household services consumed by South Korean children totaled 116.6 trillion won ($75.3 billion) in 2024, with parents and grandparents providing much of the work, government data showed Tuesday.

The Ministry of Data and Statistics published the findings in South Korea’s 2024 National Time Transfer Accounts, which measure how unpaid household work is produced, consumed and transferred among age groups.

The account covers services that are generally excluded from gross domestic product, including cooking, cleaning, household management, caregiving and volunteer work.

The figure does not represent money that families paid for child care. It estimates the market value of unpaid services by using the time spent on household work, population figures and the wages that would be required to hire someone to perform similar tasks.

Children ages 14 and younger recorded a household-work lifecycle deficit of 116.6 trillion won because they consumed unpaid services but did not produce them.

A lifecycle deficit occurs when the value of household services consumed by an age group exceeds the value it produces.

About 107.3 trillion won ($69.3 billion), or 92% of the children’s deficit, was covered through transfers within the same household. This category largely represents time and labor provided by parents and other family members living with the children.

An additional 9.4 trillion won ($6.1 billion) came through transfers between households, which can include care provided by relatives living separately.

Working-age people between 15 and 64 produced unpaid household services valued at 444.4 trillion won ($287 billion) and consumed services worth 336.1 trillion won ($217 billion).

That left the group with a surplus of 108.3 trillion won ($69.9 billion).

The working-age population transferred a net 104.6 trillion won ($67.5 billion) in unpaid services to other members of the same households, primarily children.

The data show that people in their 30s and 40s, who are often raising young or school-age children, were at the center of the transfer system.

On a per-person basis, the household-work surplus reached its highest level at age 39, at 10.35 million won ($6,700).

Older South Koreans also made a net contribution.

People ages 65 and older produced household services valued at 138 trillion won ($89.1 billion) while consuming 129.7 trillion won ($83.8 billion), leaving a surplus of 8.3 trillion won ($5.4 billion).

They transferred a net 5.7 trillion won ($3.7 billion) in services between households. The ministry said the pattern reflects contributions such as grandparents caring for grandchildren who live in separate households.

Per-person household production peaked at age 40, declined and then increased again after retirement, producing what the ministry described as an M-shaped pattern.

Unpaid housework and care for grandchildren contributed to the later increase.

The lifecycle deficit was highest at birth, reaching 37 million won ($23,900) per person.

The balance shifted into a surplus at age 28, reached its peak at age 39 and returned to a deficit at age 82.

Those ages do not indicate when income begins to exceed personal spending. They show when the estimated value of unpaid household services a person produces becomes greater or smaller than the value of services the person consumes.

Household-service consumption was highest at birth and lowest at age 19, forming an L-shaped pattern.

Compared with 2019, the total deficit for children declined by 7.5 trillion won ($4.8 billion). Surpluses among working-age and older people also decreased.

The results provide a broader measure of the economic contributions made inside families, including work performed by parents and grandparents that does not appear in conventional income or production statistics.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260623010008145

A soap star being probed by cops for child sex offences against five teenage boys remains on bail despite being arrested more than 18 months ago

A soap star previously accused of child sex offences against five teenage boys still remains under investigation 18 months after being arrested. The household name was arrested in October 2024 but has been on bail since. It is understood he has been reinterviewed since then over the claims, which date back to the 1990s when the man had major roles in some of Britain’s most popular television shows.

The police force investigating the actor, who can’t be named for legal reasons, has confirmed that inquiries are ongoing, and he remains on bail. Guidance suggests suspects can generally be on bail between three to nine months before needing to be charged or released.

The original bail period can be extended to six months by an inspector, nine months by a superintendent, with further extension needing Magistrate court approval. Detectives have spent time since his arrest analysing computers and documents which they seized upon his arrest.

The star was initially held for several hours before being released on bail. His family, including his partner, were left stunned by his arrest and he is also understood to be shocked by the historic allegations, which he denies. The five alleged victims are now all adults.

A police spokesman initially said in October 2024: “A man has been arrested on suspicion of historical child sex offences involving five victims. Officers investigating allegations relating to the 1990s detained a man. He was arrested on suspicion of several sexual offences relating to five men who were teenage boys at the time of the alleged offending. He has been conditionally bailed while enquiries continue.”

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees is striking against “CoComelon: The Melon Patch” in protest over wages and working conditions.

The union representing crew members working on the live-action YouTube series said the workers are being overworked and that the production is understaffed.

The crew, which consists of 22 workers, recently signed cards seeking the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or IATSE, to represent them in collective bargaining. The production’s management refused to bargain, according to the workers.

“The crew on this project experienced firsthand what working conditions can be like on a non-union production and organized for fair wages and industry-standard benefits after they started the second season,” IATSE said in a statement to The Times.

The strike began on Wednesday, halfway through the series’ shoot. The workers are currently picketing outside the Stage This studio in Sun Valley.

Moonbug Entertainment, the company behind the “CoComelon” franchise, declined to comment on the matter.

“The Melon Patch” first launched in 2025 and is a spinoff of the original “CoComelon” on YouTube. Over the last several years, “CoComelon” has become a staple in households with young children, known for its brightly colored 3D animation style. The franchise has spawned many spinoffs including Netflix’s “CoComelon Lane.” Universal Pictures is set to release a full-length feature in early 2027.

Several previous “CoComelon” productions have successfully been unionized and covered by IATSE’s contract, including the Netflix series.

Chris Roberts worked as an art director on the first season, but says he was initially offered a lower rate for season two. Though the project is non-union, he said it’s ironic to have to picket a company that makes kids’ content, as he’s unable to support his own family.

“It’s a little disheartening to be offered less money than we were paid in the first season and then have less staff, a heavier workload, and not be able to provide for my kids,” said Roberts, who has been a member of IATSE since 2016.

April 17 (Asia Today) — Corporate loan delinquency rates in South Korea are rising three times faster than household debt, increasing pressure on banks as lending expands, financial data showed Thursday.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the delinquency rate on corporate loans at domestic banks reached 0.76% at the end of February, up 0.09 percentage points from a month earlier and 0.08 points from a year earlier.

By comparison, the household loan delinquency rate rose 0.03 percentage points from the previous month to 0.45%, highlighting a much steeper increase in corporate defaults.

The corporate delinquency rate marked its highest level in nine months. Small and medium-sized enterprises recorded a rate of 0.92%, with small corporations at 1.02% and sole proprietors at 0.78%, indicating rising stress across the sector.

Delinquency rates among large corporations also increased, reaching 0.19% – the highest level in 28 months – suggesting that financial strain is spreading beyond smaller firms.

The trend comes as banks expand corporate lending under policies aimed at boosting “productive financing.” Outstanding corporate loans at the country’s five major commercial banks totaled about 859.8 trillion won ($573 billion) as of the end of March, up roughly 15.0 trillion won ($10 billion) in three months.

Loans to small and medium-sized enterprises accounted for about 79% of the total, while large corporate loans made up about 21%.

Regulators said rising delinquencies are most pronounced among smaller firms but warned that broader economic uncertainty could push default risks higher across the corporate sector.

Banks are responding by tightening risk management while maintaining lending growth. Major lenders are strengthening oversight from initial loan screening to post-loan monitoring, using systems such as early warning tools and AI-based credit assessments to identify high-risk borrowers.

Industry officials said the combination of expanding corporate lending and rising delinquency rates is rapidly increasing the burden on banks to maintain asset quality.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260417010005508