my timesThe Korea Times
jhoo

Jhoo Dong-chan

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.

Go to Email

Read more

Law & Crime

Migrant workers flood new rights hotline after gov't streamlines abuse filing

A newly streamlined government hotline dedicated to protecting foreign laborers from institutional and workplace abuse has seen a sixfold surge in reported cases during its first month of operation, the Ministry of Justice said Monday. The dramatic influx of reports underscores the precarious conditions faced by the country’s rapidly expanding migrant workforce and highlights a critical gap in access to legal protection that had long gone unaddressed. Enacted on May 27, the policy shift simplified the state-run 1345 immigration helpline by designating the "No. 1" hotkey exclusively for reporting human rights violations. Previously, noncitizens seeking immediate help for systemic issues like wage theft, physical assault or sexual harassment had to navigate a complex labyrinth of disparate administrative bodies, a process frequently stymied by severe language barriers. Under the overhauled system, pressing a single digit immediately routes callers to dedicated counselors fluent in 20 languages, including Vietnamese, Tagalog and Arabic. The ministry reported that average monthly filings

Jul 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Migrant workers flood new rights hotline after gov't streamlines abuse filing
Health

Korea exports food safety tech via training for Saudi, Indonesian officials

Korea is intensifying its bureaucratic and technological diplomacy to safeguard its growing culinary footprint abroad, launching a high-level human resources exchange designed to help domestic exporters navigate increasingly stringent international food regulations and the trillion-dollar global halal market. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, alongside the Korea Institute for Food Safety Management Accreditation, said Monday that it will host senior regulatory officials from Indonesia and Saudi Arabia for a weeklong food safety exchange program beginning July 13. The initiative arrives at a critical juncture for Korean food companies, which face an impending mandatory halal certification law in Indonesia and shifting import standards across the Middle East. Delegates from Indonesia’s Halal Product Assurance Organizing Agency and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority will examine Korea’s digitized safety infrastructure. Central to the program is Smart HACCP — Korea’s automated, real-time hazard monitoring system — which officials here hope to position as a gold standard for in

Jul 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea exports food safety tech via training for Saudi, Indonesian officials
Environment & Animals

'Noseprints' to bring lost dogs home

Move over, microchips and dangling collar tags: The next big thing in municipal canine security is almost literally right under your dog’s nose. The western port city of Incheon said Friday that it is launching a pilot program next month to register dogs using their canine rhinaria patterns — the highly individualized, wrinkled skin patterns on a dog or cat's nose that act exactly like human fingerprints. For the modern pet owner, traditional registration has long posed a dilemma. Microchips, while effective, require insertion of a chip under the skin, a procedure that leaves many owners squeamish. External tags are less invasive but notorious for falling off during a game of fetch or getting lost in the brush. Incheon’s solution? A simple, painless digital scan of a dog’s snout. Starting in August, pet owners in the city’s Gyeyang and Michuhol districts will be able to bring their furry friends to mobile pop-up booths at local apartment complexes and dog parks to have their pets’ noses officially logged into a database. There is a slight legal catch. Korean law does not yet re

Jul 4, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
'Noseprints' to bring lost dogs home
Companies

Smilegate showcases 'Chaos Zero Nightmare,' 'Miresi' at Anime Expo 2026

Korean video game developer and publisher Smilegate said Friday it has officially opened booths for two of its mobile games, "Chaos Zero Nightmare" (CZN) and "Miresi: Invisible Future" (Miresi), at Anime Expo 2026, North America's largest anime and pop culture convention, which opened Thursday in Los Angeles and runs through Sunday. Miresi, an upcoming collectible role-playing game developed by Control9, is being showcased at a booth in the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The booth includes a hands-on demo zone where visitors can try the game, a four-sided LED experience area and a 360-degree photo zone. The Miresi stage will host daily events. On Saturday morning, Control9 CEO and Creative Director Kwon Se-woong, Production Director Cho Sun-gu and Art Director Kim "Hyulla" Hyung-sup will hold a Dev Talk to share the game's development philosophy and history. Illustrators REIQ, Karory and Ruca will also appear over three days for live drawing shows, sketching the game's characters in their own styles. REIQ is also scheduled to join a separate panel session Saturday evening

Jul 3, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Smilegate showcases 'Chaos Zero Nightmare,' 'Miresi' at Anime Expo 2026
Society

Seoul expands accessible bus travel options for wheelchair users

Korea’s capital is broadening travel options for residents with mobility restrictions by easing regulations and expanding the geographic reach of its specialized accessible minibus fleet. The Seoul Facilities Corporation, which manages public infrastructure in the capital, said Friday that its fleet of customized small buses will now operate overnight and travel deep into the country's central and eastern provinces. The policy shift aims to grant wheelchair users greater autonomy for long-distance and overnight travel. Previously, the city's larger accessible coaches could be chartered for multiday trips across the country. However, its fleet of modified Hyundai Solati minibuses, which accommodate two wheelchair positions and six standard seats, were strictly restricted to same-day return trips within the boundaries of the Seoul metropolitan area. Under the new directives, these mini-buses can now cross provincial lines into the Chungcheong and Gangwon regions, and can be booked for trips lasting up to two days and one night. The policy adjustment follows a sharp rise in demand for acc

Jul 3, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul expands accessible bus travel options for wheelchair users
Health

Korea boosts global medical push with English data

Korea’s drug safety ministry released its comprehensive annual medical product approval reports in English, Friday, in a move aimed at enhancing regulatory transparency and bolstering the international credibility of the country’s booming health care sector. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said the newly translated reports cover pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs and medical devices approved throughout 2025. By providing granular data to global audiences, the ministry said it hopes to strengthen the competitive edge of Korean medical products. The English-language publications follow a domestic Korean release in April. They arrive as Korea seeks to deeply integrate its pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries into global supply chains, requiring closer alignment with international regulatory reporting standards. “Expanding the disclosure of transparent approval information is critical to raising global trust in our medical products,” a ministry spokesperson said. Available on the agency's official English website, the reports offer a deep dive into Korea's regulatory landscape

Jul 3, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea boosts global medical push with English data
People & Events

Korean Cultural Center to stage K-culture festival at Vienna's Danube Island Festival

The Korean Cultural Center in Austria said it will present a three-day Korean culture festival at the Danube Island Festival, one of Europe's largest free open-air music festivals, from Friday through Sunday. This year's edition of Inspire Me Korea, now in its fifth year, is built around a stage called "Next K-Pop," produced with CJ Cultural Foundation, featuring Korean indie, hip-hop and electronic acts alongside mainstream K-pop. The center said the lineup reflects a broader range of Korean popular music beyond idol groups. Organizers are also planning four booths offering Korean food, beauty products and tourism information, run with the local Korean community association, the Korea Tourism Organization, LG and other Korean businesses operating in Austria. The center pointed to Korean beauty brands now sold at Austrian drugstore chains dm and Bipa, and Korean instant noodles available at major supermarkets, as signs that interest in Korean culture has spread beyond entertainment fans into everyday consumer habits. Austrian food magazine Falstaff featured Korean cuisine on its cover i

Jul 2, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korean Cultural Center to stage K-culture festival at Vienna's Danube Island Festival
Companies

SK bioscience, Gates Foundation to launch AI-driven vaccine platform

SK bioscience said Thursday it will lead an artificial intelligence (AI) project funded by the Gates Foundation aimed at speeding up decision-making in vaccine development. The Research Optimization & Trial Outcome Recommender (ROTOR) project will build an AI platform that analyzes clinical and scientific data generated during vaccine development to help researchers decide how to advance a candidate vaccine. Global health nonprofit PATH and consulting firm Slalom will also take part, the company said. In drug development, companies typically decide whether to move into large, costly Phase 3 trials based on Phase 2 results. That decision is harder for many vaccines, including rotavirus vaccines, because scientists often lack a reliable biological marker — a correlate of protection — that predicts whether a vaccine will work, or because lab tests produce inconsistent results. SK bioscience said the AI platform is meant to make that process more scientific and reduce costly guesswork. The platform will initially be built and tested using rotavirus vaccine data from SK bioscience and PAT

Jul 2, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
SK bioscience, Gates Foundation to launch AI-driven vaccine platform
Companies

Olive Young to launch inaugural K-beauty festival in LA

CJ Olive Young, Korea's largest health and beauty retailer, said Thursday it will debut its signature Olive Young Festa in Los Angeles this August, marking the company’s first large-scale experiential beauty festival in the United States. The festival will run from Aug. 14–16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, anchoring itself to KCON LA 2026 to capitalize on the massive influx of international K-pop and pop culture enthusiasts. The move marks an aggressive acceleration of Olive Young's global retail strategy. It follows the debut of the company's first physical U.S. location in May, as well as a highly successful market test through a sister festival in Japan that same month. Held under the theme "The K-Beauty Playground Festival," the roughly 4,700-square-meter, or about 50,000-square-foot, space will feature 55 Korean beauty and lifestyle brands. At its center will be a mock Olive Young store showcasing best-selling products, surrounded by four zones styled after Seoul shopping districts popular with tourists —Hongdae, Myeongdong, Seongsu and Gangnam — with Korean-language

Jul 2, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Olive Young to launch inaugural K-beauty festival in LA
South Korea

Korea trims bureaucracy to woo elite global tech experts

In an increasingly competitive global scramble for advanced technology, Korea is rolling out the red carpet for elite foreign engineers and researchers. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources announced Thursday the expansion of its “K-Tech Pass” program, introducing a more flexible screening framework designed to aggressively boost the recruitment of global talent by domestic firms. The overhaul shifts away from a rigid visa system that corporate leaders complained was disconnected from the realities of hiring in cutting-edge fields. Previously, foreign applicants could only secure the fast-tracked "Top-tier" residency visa if they met strict quantitative milestones. These included holding a postgraduate degree from one of the world’s top 100 engineering schools, an employment history at Fortune 500 companies or a salary at least three times Korea’s gross national income per capita. Under the new "qualitative track" launched Thursday, applicants will be evaluated on a broader 100-point rubric. While quantitative metrics still account for 65 points, 35 points are now alloc

Jul 2, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea trims bureaucracy to woo elite global tech experts
previous page
2122232425
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.