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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.

Court overturns conviction of defector who helped send money to family in North Korea

A court has overturned a lower court's guilty verdict against a North Korean defector who helped other defectors send money to family members back in the North, marking the latest ruling to push back against a string of prosecutions targeting such remittances. The Uijeongbu District Court on Tuesday acquitted a 54-year-old North Korean defector on charges of violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, reversing a lower court ruling that had handed the defector a suspended fine. A police investigation found the defector helped North Korean escapees send money to family members left behind in the North in 2021, using their own bank account and that of an acquaintance in China a total of 11 times. The Goyang branch of the Uijeongbu District Court, ruling in February last year, acknowledged that the defector's method of sending money had been unavoidable, but still found the defector guilty. Legally sending money abroad requires currency exchange and transfer through a licensed foreign exchange bank, but that route is unavailable to North Korea. Defectors instead rely on broker accounts

Jul 15, 2026By Park Ung
Court overturns conviction of defector who helped send money to family in North Korea

'30 Days in Seoul' turns confused newcomers into confident residents

For Nadine Hummel, a 23-year-old German from a small town near Frankfurt, Seoul is the first big city she's ever lived in. Coming to study at Ewha Womans University for four years, she's having the time of her life. “There's so much more going on in Korean university life. The campuses are huge and there are university festivals, so many school clubs to join, activities planned by the students,” she told The Korea Times. “If it's possible, maybe I would like to pursue a career here.” Helping her navigate that whirlwind journey and settle in Seoul in the long run is “30 Days in Seoul,” a city government program that helps global residents adjust quickly and put down roots for the long term. Launched in 2025, it is open to international students at universities and graduate schools in the capital, as well as job seekers who graduated within the past two years. This comes as more international students are choosing to study in Korea, with many hoping to stay long term. According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of international students in Korea reached 308,838 as of Decem

Jul 15, 2026By Park Ung
'30 Days in Seoul' turns confused newcomers into confident residents

Court suspends FTC order naming Coupang founder Bom Kim as controller

A court on Tuesday suspended a Fair Trade Commission (FTC) decision naming Coupang founder Kim Bom-suk, better known as Bom Kim, as the company's legally designated controller. The Seoul High Court partially granted an injunction filed by Coupang and Kim against the FTC, suspending the commission's decision to name Kim as the company's controller and a related request for him to submit documents. The FTC's May 1 decision shifting the controller status from Coupang to Kim will stay suspended until 30 days after a ruling in the main case, as will its April 8 document request to Kim. “There appears to be an urgent need to prevent irreparable harm to the applicants,” the court said. “There is no evidence suggesting the suspension would seriously affect public welfare.” The change stemmed from this year's process of designating business groups subject to disclosure obligations. The FTC said Coupang did not meet the exception criteria that would have allowed the corporation to be treated as the controlling entity because Kim's younger brother, Kim Yoo-seok, holds substantial influence

Jul 14, 2026By Park Ung
Court suspends FTC order naming Coupang founder Bom Kim as controller

Lee's apartment set to be sold, 5 months after being put on market

President Lee Jae Myung's apartment in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, is set to be sold, five months after it was put on the market, sources said Tuesday. Lee put the apartment in Seongnam's affluent Bundang district, his only home, which he owns jointly with his wife, on the market in February as part of an effort to curb runaway home princes. Sources at Cheong Wa Dae said the final contract is expected to be signed soon, following the preliminary contract signed shortly after the apartment was put on the market. During a Cabinet meeting he presided over earlier in the day, Lee said, "I no longer have a home."

Jul 14, 2026By Yonhap
Lee's apartment set to be sold, 5 months after being put on market

Labor, management narrow gap in minimum wage proposals to 200 won

Labor and management representatives negotiating next year's legal hourly minimum wage narrowed the gap in their wage proposals to 200 won ($0.13) on Tuesday in a last-minute effort to reach a final agreement. The labor side proposed 10,820 won for next year's hourly minimum wage, whereas the management side proposed 10,620 won in their 11th revised proposals during a meeting of the Minimum Wage Commission. The figures translate to an increase of 4.8 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively, from this year's 10,320 won. The labor side had initially proposed 12,000 won, while the management side had called for freezing the minimum wage. The latest proposals came after public interest representatives stepped in and proposed setting next year's hourly minimum wage between 10,600 and 10,860 won, which would mark a hike of 2.7 to 5.25 percent from this year's amount. The commission, made up of representatives from labor, business and public interest groups, is required to finalize the new minimum wage by mid-July for a formal announcement by the labor minister by Aug. 5. The representatives are ex

Jul 14, 2026By Yonhap
Labor, management narrow gap in minimum wage proposals to 200 won

Lee meets Princess Anne, says Koreans have been waiting for her

President Lee Jae Myung met Britain's Princess Anne on Tuesday, telling her that Koreans have been waiting for her visit. The meeting took place at Cheong Wa Dae as the British princess, the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and sister of King Charles III, is visiting Korea on a three-day trip starting Monday to promote collaboration between Korea and Britain. The visit marks her first to Korea in eight years, following her trip for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). "Koreans have been waiting for Princess Anne ... Thank you for your visit," Lee told the princess. Lee recalled the late Queen Elizabeth II's 1999 visit to the historic Korean city of Andong, noting that it is his hometown. During the meeting, Princess Anne spoke about her visit earlier Tuesday to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.'s shipyard in the southeastern city of Ulsan, referring to maritime cooperation between Korea and Britain. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries maintains close ties with British companies, she also said, citing Rolls-Royce as one example. The

Jul 14, 2026By Yonhap
Lee meets Princess Anne, says Koreans have been waiting for her

PM reaffirms Korea's push to join top 5 global exporters

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook vowed Tuesday to focus the government's policy efforts to advance South Korea into the ranks of the world's top five exporters. Han made the pledge during a ceremony marking the 80th founding anniversary of the Korea International Trade Association as the country is posting record high export figures this year fueled by strong demand for memory chips. "The government will focus policy capabilities on the goal of becoming a top five global export powerhouse and will work to diversify products and markets in order to increase the sustainability of trade growth," she said. Han noted that the country is racing towards logging $1 trillion in exports this year, pledging to strengthen partnerships with key countries to expand exports of semiconductors, cars and ships. Korea's exports through June this year reached a record high, rising 48.4 percent from a year earlier to $496.7 billion on the back of strong exports of memory chips driven by global demand for artificial intelligence servers. The country's outbound shipments in June surged 70.9 percent on-year to $102

Jul 14, 2026By Yonhap
PM reaffirms Korea's push to join top 5 global exporters

Korea should give dual citizenship to its diaspora to fight population crisis, says OKA official

Korea should expand dual citizenship for its overseas diaspora to help counter the country's population decline, a senior official at the Overseas Koreans Agency (OKA) said Tuesday, urging the government to treat ethnic Koreans abroad as strategic partners rather than subjects of regulatory control. “Considering our current demographic challenges, Korea should allow dual citizenship for Korean diasporas, who share Korea’s historical and cultural identity, for a better future for the country,” OKA Vice Commissioner Kim Min-cheol said during a press briefing. "In line with global standards, the basic philosophy of the OKA is clear; Korea must proactively embrace the diaspora of 8 million, recognizing them as both citizens and strategic partners of Korea ... It is time for Korea to redefine what nationality means." He pointed to Japan as a cautionary example, warning that Korea risks repeating its neighbor's prolonged economic stagnation if the population continues to shrink. To tackle the diaspora issue, Kim called for a fundamental shift in approach, saying past policy had treated r

Jul 14, 2026By Park Ji-won
Korea should give dual citizenship to its diaspora to fight population crisis, says OKA official

Why political neutrality rules leave teachers unable to address classroom hate speech

Korean teachers say the growing problem with hate speech among teenagers in the classroom could be addressed by expanding educators' political rights, while experts stress that adults must model responsible language first. Concern has intensified following a series of controversies, including an incident last month when Paichai High School students chanted a phrase condemned as a direct reference denigrating the 1980 pro-democracy movement in Gwangju, prompting calls for a broader look at how schools address the issue. A survey by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union, released last week, found that 89.3 percent of 1,109 elementary, middle and high school teachers nationwide had witnessed or heard about students engaging in hate speech, discrimination, historical distortion or anti-democratic expressions in their remarks, assignments or presentations over the past year. The most commonly encountered expressions mocked politicians or historical figures, cited by 88.9 percent of teachers, with 58.2 percent saying they heard such remarks repeatedly and often. That reality is fami

Jul 13, 2026By Park Ung
Why political neutrality rules leave teachers unable to address classroom hate speech

Gangnam plastic surgery clinics penalized over incentivized positive reviews

Plastic surgery clinics in Seoul’s Gangnam area were hit with administrative sanctions for offering financial incentives to models in exchange for positive reviews without disclosing the arrangement to consumers, a practice regulators deemed deceptive advertising. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Sunday that it had issued corrective orders to View Plastic Surgery Clinic and DA Plastic Surgery Clinic in Gangnam District, as well as AB Plastic Surgery Clinic in Seocho District, for violating the Fair Labeling and Advertising Act. View Plastic Surgery Clinic was also ordered to publicly disclose that it had received the corrective order. The clinics investigated by the FTC were frequently advertised and prominently featured on online portals. From 2018 through May this year, they offered discounts on cosmetic surgery to clinic-recruited promotional models in exchange for favorable posts about consultations and procedures on online communities and mobile apps that carry reviews of beauty clinics. The models gave the clinics positive ratings, with one post saying that the writer had un

Jul 13, 2026By Hankookilbo
Gangnam plastic surgery clinics penalized over incentivized positive reviews
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