The Korea Times

Immigration raids spark rural labor crisis

When presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung visited Changnyeong, a small county with some 55,000 residents in South Gyeongsang Province on May 10, representatives of its farmers used the opportunity to convey their single most urgent request: Stop the ongoing crackdown on undocumented migrant workers. On April 14, five government ministries and agencies launched a crackdown on undocumented foreign workers ― a campaign that is set to continue through June 29. Criminals and those who threaten the livelihood of citizens are among the main targets, according to immigration officials. But for many citizens, especially farmers in rural regions, the effects are not what was hoped for. “Many farmers here say their livelihood is now under threat because they can no longer find workers after the beginning of the crackdown,” said Sung Bo-kyung, head of an emergency committee formed in Changnyeong over the issue. “It is a very serious problem. If farmers fail to remove garlic scapes between around April 10 to May 10, their crops for this year will be ruined.” This localized crisis in Changn

May 21, 2025By Jung Min-ho

Immigration raids spark rural labor crisis

Politics

Presidential candidates embrace Seoul mayor’s vision for social mobility initiatives

Conservative presidential hopefuls are increasingly aligning themselves with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's signature welfare initiatives, framing them as a potential blueprint for enhancing social mobility across Korea. This alignment underscores a potential conservative pivot toward addressing inequality, suggesting that even staunch fiscal conservatives see a political imperative in tackling Korea's social mobility challenges. At Monday’s forum reviewing the city government’s Stepping Stone Income and Seoul Learn programs, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party praised their success and pledged to expand them into national initiatives if elected. “These are not created by scholars. They are proven, verified policies that work,” Kim said at Seoul City Hall. “There are many underprivileged people in rural areas across Korea … I will spread these programs nationwide.” The Stepping Stone Income program, known as "didimdol" in Korean, is an experimental policy that supplements the income of low-income households earning less than 85 percent of the median income. A key feature of the

May 19, 2025By Jung Min-ho

Presidential candidates embrace Seoul mayor’s vision for social mobility initiatives

Politics

Impact of ex-president’s departure from PPP will be limited: experts

Can conservative Kim Moon-soo build a united front before the June 3 presidential election and rally enough support to overcome Lee Jae-myung, the front-runner from the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)? In an effort to boost Kim's struggling campaign, former President Yoon Suk Yeol officially left the People Power Party (PPP) on Saturday. His severing ties with the party is seen as an attempt to rally conservative voters behind Kim in what is shaping up to be a tough race. So far, however, the move has fallen short of rallying sufficient support from reform-minded members within the party — a critical faction needed to mount a viable challenge against Lee Jae-myung of the DPK. “Although I am leaving the party, I will continue to stand at the forefront to defend freedom and national sovereignty,” Yoon said in a social media post. “Please give your support to Kim Moon-soo. Make sure to cast your vote. Your vote is needed for a path toward safeguarding this country’s freedom, sovereignty and prosperity.” Yet the impact of his announcement on the race will likely be limite

May 18, 2025By Jung Min-ho

Impact of ex-president’s departure from PPP will be limited: experts

Global Community

E-9 visa holders allowed to work as restaurant servers, parcel sorters

E-9 visa holders in Korea are now permitted to serve customers at restaurants and sort parcels at fulfillment centers, as the government relaxes restrictions on the types of work they can do — roles that were previously reserved mostly for citizens. The Foreign Workforce Policy Committee, which is responsible for shaping major policies for foreign workers, decided on Thursday to allow holders of E-9 or non-professional employment visas to work as restaurant servers and parcel sorters at logistics firms, to address rising labor shortages. This means more than 300,000 foreign workers who have come here under the Employment Permit System on E-9 visas can now help fill that labor shortage. Previously, restaurant owners were only allowed to hire E-9 visa holders as kitchen assistants. At logistics companies, foreign workers could load and unload parcels, but were not permitted to sort them. These restrictions remained in place due to concerns among many Koreans about losing jobs to foreign labor. “But in reality, employees serve food and do kitchen work whenever necessary, especially in s

May 15, 2025By Jung Min-ho

E-9 visa holders allowed to work as restaurant servers, parcel sorters

Sports

Figure skating star supported by Seoul City’s new sports program

Figure skating star Cha Jun-hwan, 24, has joined the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s new figure skating team as its first member, officials said on Wednesday. Cha, who won the gold medal in the men’s singles event at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity, which will provide him with stable support for training ahead of next year’s Winter Olympics in Italy. The city government launched the figure skating team as part of its broader effort to nurture young athletes and support competitors in less-publicized sports. It currently runs 26 teams with a total of 189 athletes, including fencers, sprinters and women's soccer players. At this year’s Asian Winter Games in Harbin, Seoul's athletes won two gold medals and three silver medals, helping Korea finish as the overall runner-up behind China. “I am so honored and excited to be the first athlete to join the figure skating team of the city government in Seoul. The fact that it is the first such Korean team established for figure skaters makes it even more meaningful,” Cha said at a joini

May 15, 2025By Jung Min-ho

Figure skating star supported by Seoul City’s new sports program

Law & Crime

2 pro-Yoon rioters jailed for vandalizing court

Two men have been imprisoned for vandalizing court facilities in protest against the decision to issue an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this year. Judge Kim Jin-sung at the Seoul Western District Court, where the Jan. 19 attack took place, on Wednesday sentenced a 35-year-old man, surnamed Kim, to 18 months in prison, and another man, surnamed So, to one year, on charges of trespassing and damaging public property. Kim and So were among dozens of protesters who stormed the building that day, smashing windows and damaging cars parked in the compound, all while searching for the judge, Cha Eun-kyung, who had made the decision. The violence followed the approval of Yoon's formal arrest, after he was impeached by the National Assembly and was being investigated on charges of insurrection related to his declaration of martial law the previous month. Investigators later found that Kim had damaged one of the court building’s walls using bricks and had trespassed despite warnings and attempts by police to stop him. So was also found to have used pieces of broken til

May 14, 2025By Jung Min-ho

2 pro-Yoon rioters jailed for vandalizing court

Global Community

Reform Party candidate pledges separate minimum wage system for foreign workers

Lee Jun-seok, the presidential candidate of the minor conservative Reform Party, has vowed to introduce a separate minimum wage system for foreign workers in Korea as he seeks to bring back more manufacturing jobs from overseas. According to the list of his top 10 policy priorities unveiled ahead of the June 3 election, Lee, 40, aims to bring back the production of goods by offering more affordable labor for Korean manufacturers currently operating in countries like China and Vietnam, where labor costs are lower. If those companies decide to relocate their main manufacturing facilities to one of the state-designated national industrial parks in Ulsan, Yeosu, Changwon, Gumi and other areas, they would be exempt from the obligation of paying the national minimum wage to workers for up to 10 years. “The goal of this policy is to motivate companies to return here by offering a separate wage system for foreign workers and easing other regulations so that companies can maintain the same level of labor expenses,” Lee said in his policy list, which became available Monday on the National El

May 13, 2025By Jung Min-ho

Reform Party candidate pledges separate minimum wage system for foreign workers

Politics

Ex-president remains deeply divisive figure within People Power Party

The end of Yoon Suk Yeol’s tumultuous presidency has left his party facing its greatest challenge in years as it attempts to rally its conservative base ahead of the June 3 presidential election. The People Power Party’s (PPP) coalition is split over how to define its relationship with the impeached leader. It faces the difficult task of crafting a message that appeals to moderates while also energizing hard-right voters who believe Yoon’s martial law decision was justified. So far, it is not succeeding in that mission, with reformist-minded members refusing to rally behind its candidate, Kim Moon-soo, and urging him to expel Yoon as a party member. On Monday, Yoon arrived at the Seoul Central District Court for a hearing in his insurrection trial. When a reporter asked if he was willing to apologize for his decision to declare martial law in December, Yoon refused to respond. This comes a day after he called for unity among conservatives in a social media post. “It’s time to come together. Those who supported Kim Moon-soo must also join hands with people who supported other can

May 12, 2025By Jung Min-ho

Ex-president remains deeply divisive figure within People Power Party

Politics

PPP infighting risks alienating swing voters

Riven by internal strife ahead of the June 3 presidential election, the conservative People Power Party (PPP) is struggling to rally around a single candidate in what is shaping up to be a tough race against frontrunner Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). Amid escalating tensions within the party's leadership, PPP presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo has firmly rejected calls to merge his campaign with that of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. Kim dismissed the request ahead of Sunday’s deadline, set by Han and party leaders, deepening the divide within the conservative bloc. The push for unity comes at a time when consolidating support behind a single conservative candidate is widely viewed as essential to mounting a viable challenge to the DPK's Lee, who continues to lead in many polls by a significant margin. Party preference surveys show only a narrow gap between the two major parties, suggesting that Lee is not unbeatable, if the opposition can present a united front. Despite widespread public frustration with the PPP, particularly over the impeachment

May 9, 2025By Jung Min-ho

PPP infighting risks alienating swing voters

Law & Crime

Trials involving Lee Jae-myung likely to be halted if he wins election: experts

The delayed court hearing for Lee Jae-myung's alleged election law violations is unlikely to go ahead on June 18 — or at any point during the next five years — if he wins the June 3 presidential election, experts said Thursday. The previous day, a parliamentary judiciary committee dominated by the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) — Lee's political base — passed a bill seeking to suspend all criminal trials for a president-elect, in a move widely seen as an attempt to shield its candidate from ongoing legal risks. The move came about a week after the Supreme Court overturned a ruling that had cleared Lee of election law violations and sent the case back to the appellate court. The Seoul High Court subsequently postponed the first hearing — originally set for May 15 — to mid-June, amid growing pressure from DPK lawmakers. But the hearing is unlikely to take place at all, experts say. The DPK, which holds a majority in the National Assembly, is expected to unilaterally approve the bill to suspend the trial and four others in progress for Lee — and there is nothing conse

May 8, 2025By Jung Min-ho

Trials involving Lee Jae-myung likely to be halted if he wins election: experts

30 on the bench? DPK eyes radical Supreme Court expansion plan

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Read more

Immigration raids spark rural labor crisis

Presidential candidates embrace Seoul mayor’s vision for social mobility initiatives

Impact of ex-president’s departure from PPP will be limited: experts

E-9 visa holders allowed to work as restaurant servers, parcel sorters

Figure skating star supported by Seoul City’s new sports program

2 pro-Yoon rioters jailed for vandalizing court

Reform Party candidate pledges separate minimum wage system for foreign workers

Ex-president remains deeply divisive figure within People Power Party

PPP infighting risks alienating swing voters

Trials involving Lee Jae-myung likely to be halted if he wins election: experts

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