South Korea's start-ups hit new high in Dec

SEOUL: The number of newly-established companies in South Korea hit a new high last month due to a surge in start-ups by baby boomers, the central bank said on Thursday.

A total of 6,645 companies were newly established in December, up from 1,213 in November, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure was the largest monthly increase since the bank began compiling the data in January 2000.

"Baby boomers born between 1955 and 1963 started new firms after retirement, and the number of start-ups grew by year-end due to seasonal factors," an official at the BOK told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, the number companies that went belly-up stood at 128 in December, down from 130 tallied in the previous month, according to the BOK.

The default rate on corporate bills, including bonds, checks and promissory notes, was unchanged at 0.02 percent last month.