The Korea Times

Asiana’s move to Terminal 2 to ease congestion at Incheon Int'l Airport

Incheon International Airport expects passenger flows to ease next year after Asiana Airlines relocates from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2, the airport’s operator said Tuesday. The shift is also expected to support steady growth in traffic as the hub approaches, and potentially surpasses, pre-pandemic levels. Asiana Airlines will begin operating out of Terminal 2 on Jan. 14, following its low-cost affiliates, Air Busan and Air Seoul, which moved there in July and September respectively. Currently, about 66 percent of air travelers use Terminal 1, but the share is projected to fall to around 51 percent after the move. The change is expected to ease chronic congestion at Terminal 1 check-in counters and parking lots, especially during peak holiday seasons. Travelers on international flights at the airport are estimated to reach 75.07 million next year, surpassing this year's estimated 74.04 million, which is up 4.1 percent from 2024. To prepare for the shift, the airport has added 119 security screeners, expanded self baggage drop units to 104 and increased parking capacity to about 250,000 v

Dec 16, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

Asiana’s move to Terminal 2 to ease congestion at Incheon Int'l Airport

Law & Crime

Coupang data breach fuels calls to expand class action lawsuits

A massive customer data breach at Coupang has revived a long-running call to expand the country’s limited class action system beyond the brokerage industry — a reform that experts say is long overdue among developed nations. The call was renewed not only among citizens but also by President Lee Jae Myung, who on Friday urged the swift introduction of a broader class action system. "Every Korean has been affected. It makes no sense to ask each victim to file an individual lawsuit," Lee said. His comments came as public anger mounted over the leak of personal information belonging to 33.7 million Coupang users — roughly two-thirds of Korea’s population of 51.7 million. Under current Korean law, victims may bring joint civil lawsuits, but only those named as plaintiffs are eligible for compensation even if a case succeeds. That limitation has made legal redress difficult in cases involving widespread data breaches or consumer rights violations, where individual losses are often small. "Korea and Turkey are the only OECD members that do not operate a comprehensive class action system,

Dec 15, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

Coupang data breach fuels calls to expand class action lawsuits

Society

Lotte Department Store apologizes for asking customer to remove union vest

Lotte Department Store issued a formal apology Saturday after one of its security staff asked a customer wearing a labor union vest to remove it at a food court, sparking backlash over discrimination against union members and labor activists. In a statement posted on its website, Lotte said it was "deeply sorry for the inconvenience caused" when a guest wearing a vest with labor-related lettering was told to remove it at the company’s Jamsil branch in southern Seoul on Wednesday. "This was an inappropriate action, and we sincerely apologize to the customer who may have felt discomfort," CEO Jung Hyun-seok said in the apology. "We will thoroughly review all processes related to our customer service and do our utmost to prevent any recurrence." The incident occurred around 7 p.m., when members of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union's (KMWU) Goeje-Tongyeong branch tried to enter the department store’s basement restaurant area wearing union vests. Security personnel stopped the group, saying the vests might make other customers uncomfortable. When the union members refused to remove them,

Dec 14, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

Lotte Department Store apologizes for asking customer to remove union vest

Society

Lotte Dept. Store under fire for asking customer to remove union vest

A confrontation between a customer wearing a labor union vest and staff at Lotte Department Store’s Jamsil branch has ignited fierce criticism online, fueling debate over possible discrimination against union members and labor activists. A video posted late Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, shows staff at the store’s food court approaching a man wearing a vest affiliated with the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), which is part of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and represents about 185,000 members. The post, which garnered over 7,400 retweets as of Thursday, read, "It happened again … If you wear a message, you can’t come in. Slogans are not allowed because they reveal an ideology. So people wearing union vests are not even allowed to eat?" In the footage, an employee asks the customer to remove his vest, saying that "a certain level of etiquette is needed in public places." The customer replies, "We don’t deserve this kind of treatment just because we’re wearing the vests … We wear these even in front of the Cheong Wa Dae," referring to the former presidentia

Dec 11, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

Lotte Dept. Store under fire for asking customer to remove union vest

Politics

Korea unveils $534 bil. plan to lead global chip race in AI era

Korea unveiled an ambitious plan Wednesday to invest 700 trillion won ($534 billion) to bolster its semiconductor sector and gain an edge in the global chip race shaped by artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to shift from a memory-dominated industry to a more balanced, innovation-driven ecosystem spanning the entire semiconductor value chain. At a policy briefing titled “Vision and Strategy for K-Semiconductors in the AI Era,” held at the presidential office in Yongsan, President Lee Jae Myung and ministers outlined the government’s mid- to long-term blueprint for securing chip supremacy. About 40 people attended, including senior officials from key ministries, executives from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, industry representatives and academics. To move beyond Korea’s dominance in memory chips, the government said it would accelerate research into next-generation semiconductors, pledging 21.6 billion won for future memory technologies by 2032, 126.8 billion won for AI chips by 2030, 26 billion won for compound semiconductors and 36 billion won for advanced packaging by 203

Dec 10, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

Korea unveils $534 bil. plan to lead global chip race in AI era

Health

Dozens report side effects in first month of Mounjaro’s rollout in Korea

At least 35 cases of side effects, including two serious ones, were reported within a month of weight loss drug Mounjaro’s release in Korea, raising safety concerns amid surging demand. According to data obtained by Rep. Seo Mi-hwa of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea from the Korea Institute of Drug Safety and Risk Management, the cases were reported between August and September, following the local rollout of Mounjaro, whose active ingredient is tirzepatide. Health officials said two of the 35 reported cases met the threshold for a serious reaction, with symptoms such as diarrhea and hypoglycemic shock. Under Korean drug safety regulations, serious adverse events are defined as those that lead to death, are life-threatening, require hospitalization or produce permanent impairment. Fifteen cases involved women and four involved men, while the gender of the remaining 16 patients was not reported. Seven cases were reported among people between the ages of 19 and 65, with no age data given for the others. Common side effects linked to tirzepatide include gastrointestinal distress, ab

Dec 10, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

Dozens report side effects in first month of Mounjaro’s rollout in Korea

Travel & Food

Seoul lights up for Christmas with Gwanghwamun Market, lantern festival

Santa Claus, traditional and LED lanterns and media art are set to light up central Seoul this winter as the city rolls out major Christmas and year-end festivals designed to attract visitors to Gwanghwamun Square and Cheonggye Stream, two of the city’s most symbolic public spaces. Gwanghwamun Square turns into Santa's Village From Friday to Dec. 31, Gwanghwamun Square will transform into the 2025 Gwanghwamun Market, a European-style Christmas village built around a 15-meter Christmas tree and a newly installed Rudolph carousel. Now in its fourth year, the market has quickly become one of Seoul’s signature winter attractions, drawing 1.64 million visitors and generating about 700 million won ($476,372) in sales for 141 small businesses over 24 days last winter, according to the Seoul Tourism Organization (STO). This year’s concept, "Santa Village in a Winter Fairy Tale," divides the square into three zones — a village entrance, play plaza and village market — filled with more than 10 themed photo spots such as a nutcracker house, gingerbread cookie house and teddy bear photo st

Dec 9, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

Seoul lights up for Christmas with Gwanghwamun Market, lantern festival

Travel & Food

Incheon’s Inspire Resort transforms into ‘Winter Wonderland’ for holiday season

YEONGJONG ISLAND, Incheon — Inspire Entertainment Resort on Incheon’s Yeongjong Island has emerged as one of Korea’s most talked-about hotel destinations for a winter vacation, drawing domestic and international visitors to an all-indoor Christmas playground branded as a “Winter Wonderland.” The integrated resort’s layout — linking hotels, media art, arena shows, shopping and dining under one roof — means a single overnight stay can feel too short, as seasonal programs, photo zones and parties spill seamlessly from morning through late night. The heart of this year’s program is the Rotunda, a vast circular hall at the resort’s center that has been transformed into the Winter Wonderland Gift Factory, a large-scale Christmas installation built around animatronic bears busily preparing presents. Six themed zones, from a gift registry reception to baking, toy-making and gift-wrapping stations, create a narrative journey as finished presents glide along conveyor belts before departing for Santa Village. Nearby, the 150-meter digital entertainment street Aurora immerses vi

Dec 9, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

Incheon’s Inspire Resort transforms into ‘Winter Wonderland’ for holiday season

Politics

PHOTO Back to Cheong Wa Dae

Trucks loaded with office supplies enter the Sihwa Gate of Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul's Jongno District, Tuesday. The move is part of relocating the presidential office back to Cheong Wa Dae after three years and seven months in Yongsan District. The relocation, a central campaign promise of President Lee Jae Myung, is expected to be completed around Christmas Day. Newsis

Dec 9, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

Society

Actor Cho Jin-woong's retirement sparks debate over lasting impact of juvenile records

In an era where a digital paper trail rarely fades, the sudden retirement of Cho Jin-woong, one of Korea’s most recognizable and respected actors, has forced a painful national reckoning over the limits of forgiveness and the long shadow of juvenile crime. The controversy, which saw the 49-year-old star abruptly step away from his career after a decades-old offense came to light, pits the progressive principles of juvenile rehabilitation against the modern demand for absolute accountability. The dramatic exit came swiftly after a local entertainment news outlet, Dispatch, published a report detailing a serious crime committed by the actor when he was a teenager, before he adopted his stage name. In Korea, a court-issued juvenile protection measure applies to youths ages 10 to 19 who commit crimes or delinquent acts, prioritizing protection, reform and education over criminal punishment to help them reintegrate into society. The records are kept confidential for the same reason. Cho, best known internationally for the drama “Signal,” acknowledged wrongdoing as a minor while denying

Dec 8, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

Lee Hae-rin

Read more

Asiana’s move to Terminal 2 to ease congestion at Incheon Int'l Airport

Coupang data breach fuels calls to expand class action lawsuits

Lotte Department Store apologizes for asking customer to remove union vest

Lotte Dept. Store under fire for asking customer to remove union vest

Korea unveils $534 bil. plan to lead global chip race in AI era

Dozens report side effects in first month of Mounjaro’s rollout in Korea

Seoul lights up for Christmas with Gwanghwamun Market, lantern festival

Incheon’s Inspire Resort transforms into ‘Winter Wonderland’ for holiday season

PHOTO Back to Cheong Wa Dae

Actor Cho Jin-woong's retirement sparks debate over lasting impact of juvenile records

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