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Park Ung

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

I cover a wide range of stories about Korean society — one of the most dynamic places in the world. To me, journalism means being on the ground, uncovering untold stories and amplifying marginalized voices, especially in an era when AI is reshaping the media landscape. That’s why I’m always here to listen. Tips and stories are welcome — feel free to reach out via email. Before becoming a journalist, I traveled through 24 countries over 702 days, served two years as a military police officer in the Republic of Korea Air Force and later studied filmmaking at the Korea National University of Arts.

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Companies

Korean Air, Asiana to offer free in-flight Wi-Fi services

Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are set to offer free in-flight Wi-Fi using SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, becoming the first East Asian full-service carriers to adopt the system. Korean Air said Friday it will roll out the service starting Tuesday on four retrofitted aircraft — three Airbus A350-900s and one Boeing 777-300ER. These planes will be deployed first on long-haul routes to the Americas, Europe and Southeast Asia, with some also assigned to short-haul routes. Korean Air will offer the service free of charge across all seating classes and plans to expand it to most of its operating fleet by the end of 2027. Asiana Airlines, which is set to merge with Korean Air, will also offer free Starlink-based in-flight Wi-Fi on select flights. The service will first apply to nine A350-900s and one A330-300 that completed installation of the communication equipment this month, with the remaining aircraft to follow gradually. To use the service, passengers must switch their devices to airplane mode and connect to the in-flight network. They then enter the passenger name and s

Sep 11, 2026By Park Ung
Korean Air, Asiana to offer free in-flight Wi-Fi services
Health

AI-driven anti-aging fuels Korea's next medical tourism wave

Korea's medical tourism industry is on the cusp of its next leap, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and anti-aging care converging to reshape treatment across specialties. Panelists at the Medicon Black Roundtable on Tuesday said Korea already has skilled medical staff and technology and AI now makes possible what wasn't before. Hosted by The Korea Times and the Korea Medical Tourism Promotion Association (KMTPA), the roundtable brought together specialists from Korea's five key medical tourism fields: ophthalmology, plastic surgery, dermatology, dentistry and health checkups. Panelists examined how AI and anti-aging could fuel Korea's medical tourism leap, from diagnosis to treatment. "Combine Korea's clinical strengths with AI, K-beauty, wellness and its national brand, and medical tourism can go beyond simply attracting foreign patients," said Kim Jae-kyoung, managing director of Content and Business Planning at The Korea Times. With anti-aging drawing growing interest, hospitals no longer need to offer a single specialty, panelists said, adding that bundling ophthalmology, denti

Sep 10, 2026By Park Ung
AI-driven anti-aging fuels Korea's next medical tourism wave
Society

More than 100 int'l fugitives hiding in Korea, police data shows

More than 100 foreign nationals wanted for crimes committed overseas are believed to be hiding in Korea, prompting police to strengthen cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies to track them down and repatriate them. According to data submitted by the National Police Agency (NPA) to Rep. Kim Joon-hwan's office on Tuesday, 110 foreign nationals wanted for crimes committed in their home countries or other countries had fled to Korea as of Aug. 12. By nationality, China accounted for the largest share with 40 Interpol requests, or 36 percent, followed by Uzbekistan with 19 requests, Mongolia with 17 and Vietnam with 13. Most other cases involved nearby Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand and Japan. By offense type, fraud was the most common charge with 47 cases, followed by an "other" category that included violations of child and youth protection laws, kidnapping, confinement and prostitution with 29 cases. Drug offenses accounted for seven cases, while theft, traffic law violations, injury and assault each accounted for five. When Interpol requests

Sep 8, 2026By Park Ung
More than 100 int'l fugitives hiding in Korea, police data shows
Society

Public sector gender pay gap falls below 20% for 1st time

The gender pay gap at Korea's public institutions fell below 20 percent for the first time on record, part of a broader trend seen across the private sector as well. Women at public institutions earned an average of 60.56 million won ($45,300) in 2025, 19 percent less than men's 74.79 million won, according to a gender wage statistics survey released by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on Monday. The survey covered 3,146 companies subject to disclosure requirements and 355 public institutions. The gap narrowed 1 percentage point from a year earlier, the first time it has fallen below 20 percent since the ministry began compiling the statistics in 2020. Women's wages at public institutions rose 4.1 percent from a year earlier, outpacing a 2.9 percent gain for men. Average tenure stood at 10.6 years for men and 8.7 years for women, narrowing the tenure gap 1.8 percentage points to 18.1 percent. "Public institutions have wage systems that strictly limit gender discrimination, while private companies are less affected by those systems," said Kim Sung-hee, a professor at Korea Univ

Sep 7, 2026By Park Ung
Public sector gender pay gap falls below 20% for 1st time
Others

Busan-Taiwan flights surge as city captures Taiwanese tourists' hearts

Flights between Busan and Taiwan are surging as more Taiwanese tourists visit the southeastern port city, reflecting strong demand from Taiwan, Busan's top source of foreign tourists in recent years. According to Korea Airports Corp. aviation statistics released Sunday, a total of 6,609 flights operated between Busan and Taiwan this year through July, equaling the total for all of 2024 and already reaching 82.9 percent of the 7,976 flights recorded in 2025. Passenger traffic on the route reached more than 1.14 million through July this year, surpassing the 1.06 million passengers recorded in 2024 but slightly below the 1.33 million in 2025. Starlux Airlines and EVA Airways are among the Taiwanese carriers that have launched new routes to Busan, while Korean airlines have also increased their flights. The expansion is driven by the lack of traffic rights restrictions on the route, which lets airlines add flights relatively freely, as well as higher passenger occupancy rates as more Taiwanese tourists fly to the city. Taiwanese visitors accounted for the largest share of foreign tourists t

Sep 7, 2026By Park Ung
Busan-Taiwan flights surge as city captures Taiwanese tourists' hearts
Society

Nicotine-like products expose blind spot in e-cigarette rules

A new regulatory blind spot is emerging around nicotine-free and nicotine-imitation products, following a law revision that brought liquid e-cigarettes under government oversight for the first time. Nicotine-imitation substances have not been fully verified for safety, and actual nicotine has turned up even in products marketed as "nicotine-free," prompting calls for a comprehensive system to regulate such products. In April, a revision to the Tobacco Business Act took effect extending the legal definition of tobacco from traditional leaf-based products to cover natural and synthetic nicotine. Under the revised law, use of e-cigarettes is banned in facilities such as schools, hospitals and government offices, as well as in designated outdoor no-smoking zones. Online sales of e-cigarettes are banned, and health warnings including nicotine content and ingredient disclosures must appear on packaging. Sales to minors are prohibited, along with any promotional activities targeting them. But the Tobacco Business Act defines tobacco only as products made from tobacco leaf or nicotine, leaving n

Sep 6, 2026By Park Ung
Nicotine-like products expose blind spot in e-cigarette rules
Education

Competition for regional national universities hits 5-year high amid free tuition push

Regional flagship national universities are drawing increasing interest as the government prepares to expand support for balanced regional development. The competition rate for regular admissions, based on Korea's College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), reached 5.68 to 1 for admission in 2026 at nine regional flagship national universities, the highest in five years, according to an analysis released Thursday by Jongro Academy, a private university admissions prep institution. The nine schools are Kangwon National University, Gyeongsang National University, Kyungpook National University, Pusan National University, Chonnam National University, Jeonbuk National University, Jeju National University, Chungnam National University and Chungbuk National University. Their competition rate for regular admissions was 4.67 to 1 for admission in 2022, 4.69 to 1 in 2023, 4.58 to 1 in 2024 and 4.88 to 1 in 2025. The competition rate for early admissions, based primarily on high school academic performance and other extracurricular activities, reached 8.65 to 1 for admission in 2026, the highest in fou

Sep 3, 2026By Park Ung
Competition for regional national universities hits 5-year high amid free tuition push
Society

Korea seeks to toughen pension eligibility for foreign residents as loophole found

The government is tightening regulations on the national pension following concerns that a legal loophole could let foreign residents unfairly secure old-age pension benefits. It is considering limiting a retroactive payment system only to foreign nationals whose countries also provide reciprocal measures to Koreans in those nations. The controversy emerged recently as some foreign nationals were found to have applied for the retroactive payment system in the national pension scheme. The retroactive payment system allows both Korean and foreign subscribers to pay missed premiums in one lump sum, covering up to 119 months, to fill contribution gaps. This qualifies them for a lifelong monthly pension once their contribution period exceeds 120 months. Recently, a news outlet reported on a case in which a foreign national worked in Korea for just one month and still secured a lifelong old-age pension by taking advantage of the loophole. Foreign nationals aged 18 to 59 who work at a domestic company or run their own business can join the National Pension Service (NPS) schemes. As of last year,

Sep 2, 2026By Park Ung
Korea seeks to toughen pension eligibility for foreign residents as loophole found
Society

Jeju officer admits closing missing person cases to avoid extra work

The Jeju Provincial Police said Tuesday that an officer who prematurely closed multiple missing person cases on the island admitted to closing them to avoid the extra workload involved in keeping the cases open. The controversy erupted after it emerged that the officer had closed the missing person case of Jang Mi-ran, a 37-year-old woman missing for months, without confirming her whereabouts. Last week, police said they had removed all four officers in the chain of command at Jeju Seobu Police Station from their duties, pending an investigation. Police said the officer did not take Jang’s disappearance seriously because she was an adult and wished to avoid the workload associated with keeping the case open. “He indicated that he felt burdened by the additional work required if the case remained unresolved and prematurely closed it as a result,” police said at a briefing. Profilers who questioned the officer believe that negligence, driven by fatigue from a growing workload, was the main motive behind his actions. After closing Jang's case, the officer removed the case record by en

Sep 1, 2026By Park Ung
Jeju officer admits closing missing person cases to avoid extra work
Society

Immigration detainees lack access to key forms, rights information: watchdog

The state human rights watchdog has called for stronger procedural safeguards for foreign nationals in immigration detention after inspections found inadequate access to review and temporary release forms, as well as insufficient guidance on detainees’ rights. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said Monday it inspected the Seoul Immigration Office, the Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center and the Cheongju Immigration Detention Center to see how the revised Immigration Act has operated in the field since taking effect in June 2025. The revised law allows immigration officials to detain foreign nationals facing deportation for an initial period of up to two months. That period can be extended for three months at a time following review by a detention review panel. Detention is capped at a maximum of nine months, extendable to 20 months in cases such as delays in enforcement over refugee applications or violations of the National Security Act. The NHRCK found that the facilities lacked sufficient review request forms and temporary release applications. It also identifi

Aug 31, 2026By Park Ung
Immigration detainees lack access to key forms, rights information: watchdog
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