South Korea - The Korea Times

Labor, gov’t launch consultative body as concerns rise over AI replacing human workers

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a powerful umbrella labor organization with more than 1 million members, launched a joint consultative body with the government on Wednesday to address rising anxiety over artificial intelligence (AI) and rapid industrial change in workplaces. As the Ministry of Employment and Labor and other government departments prepare for sweeping changes that new technologies are expected to bring across industries, including robotics and AI-powered production systems, the labor union called for a “human-centered” approach to the transition. The ministry and KCTU formally inaugurated a high-level operational consultative body, under which representatives of both sides will meet monthly to discuss and seek agreement on key labor issues. The ministry set up a similar structure with another major labor union, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, on Monday, and also plans to do so with the Korea Enterprises Federation on Feb. 24. At the launch ceremony, KCTU Vice President Lee Yang-soo urged the government to play a more active role in protecting

Feb 11, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Labor, gov’t launch consultative body as concerns rise over AI replacing human workers

Bill proposed to safeguard workers from AI-driven job losses

Advocates challenge Korean law threatening migrant parents with deportation

For nearly two decades, she built a life in Korea, raising five children as a single mother. Now, the Korean government says her time has run out — simply because her youngest child has grown up. The 56-year-old Nigerian woman, whose identity has been withheld for her protection, is the latest face of a rigid immigration rule in Korea. Under current policy, undocumented migrant parents are granted a precarious legal reprieve only as long as their children are minors. Once those children turn 19 or graduate from high school, the protection dissolves, often forcing parents into a devastating choice: leave their families behind or face deportation. On Wednesday, a coalition of advocacy groups, including the Association for Migrant Workers’ Human Rights, filed a formal complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK). They are urging a revision of the Immigration Act, which currently lacks specific residency protections for the families of migrant youth raised in the country. Without such reforms, advocates say, the Ministry of Justice’s temporary measures remain

Feb 11, 2026By Park Ung

Advocates challenge Korean law threatening migrant parents with deportation

Why Seoul students are being forced into cramped housing

With the spring semester just weeks away, university students in Seoul are facing a severe housing crunch as monthly rents skyrocket, compounding the financial strain of rising tuition and inflation. Yoo, a 20-year-old sophomore at Yonsei University from South Jeolla Province, recently found out they didn't get a space through the school’s dormitory lottery. They are now scrambling to find off-campus housing before classes begin in March. "No matter how much I scrimp, my fixed monthly costs for food, books and transport are already around 700,000 won ($480)," Yoo said. "Adding rent on top of that will double my living expenses. I’m really worried." Yoo’s search for a room near the Sinchon campus has been futile. Most affordable units were snapped up, and remaining studios cost over 700,000 won per month, excluding maintenance fees. The sophomore considered moving to the Sillim Station area — a district known for cheaper housing — but the 40-minute commute is a major deterrent. The atmosphere on campuses across Seoul is grim. Students describe a "triple whammy" of financial pres

Feb 11, 2026By Hankookilbo

Why Seoul students are being forced into cramped housing

Police halt international flight to stop man seeking assisted death abroad

Police in Korea delayed the departure of an international flight Monday to prevent a man in his 60s from leaving the country to seek assisted death in Switzerland, authorities said. According to the Incheon International Airport Police Corps, the incident occurred at Incheon International Airport and involved a man identified only as A, who was scheduled to depart on a Paris-bound flight at 12:05 p.m. Police received an emergency call from a family member at about 9:30 a.m. saying A was suspected of planning to travel overseas to end his life through assisted death. Officers met him at the airport at about 10 a.m. but allowed him to proceed after he described his trip as travel to Switzerland. At about 11:50 a.m., relatives discovered a letter and alerted police. Authorities then delayed the Paris-bound flight’s departure. Officers boarded the aircraft and escorted the man off before engaging him in prolonged discussions. He was later allowed to return to his family, police said. The man had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and was believed to be planning to travel to Switzerland

Feb 11, 2026By Hankookilbo

Police halt international flight to stop man seeking assisted death abroad

Korea adds 108,000 jobs in January, smallest growth in 13 months

Korea added slightly more than 100,000 jobs in January, marking the slowest on-year growth in 13 months, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people rose by 108,000, or 0.4 percent, from a year earlier to 27.99 million last month, according to the data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marks the smallest on-year gain since losing 52,000 positions in December 2024. Last month's modest increase underscored a prolonged slump in the manufacturing and construction sectors, while youth employment fell for the 21st consecutive month, highlighting continued challenges for young job seekers. By age, jobs for people aged 15 to 29 fell sharply by 175,000 in January, pushing down the employment rate for the age group 1.2 percentage points from a year earlier to 43.6 percent. This marked the lowest January figure since 2021, when the rate stood at 41.1 percent. Employment among those in their 40s also declined slightly, falling by 3,000 jobs. Even jobs for older workers, which had led the labor market in recent years, showed signs of weakening. Employment among people aged 60 and olde

Feb 11, 2026By Yonhap

Korea adds 108,000 jobs in January, smallest growth in 13 months

Gov’t hikes med school admission quota by 668 per year, ties new doctors to provinces for 10 years

The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Tuesday announced medical school admissions quotas for 2027 through 2031, raising them by an average of 668 seats per year. The 2027 quota was set at 3,548, up 490 seats, and will increase by 613 in 2028 and 2029, and by 813 in 2030 and 2031, for a total five-year increase of 3,342. The increased number of students will be obliged to work under the regional doctor system, which would place doctors in designated areas, including underserved regions, to ease shortages outside Seoul. One option offers tuition aid to selected first-year medical students in exchange for a 10-year commitment. Another requires licensed specialists to serve for five to 10 years. “Under the regional doctor system, all additional seats at existing medical schools will be filled with regional doctors, and the state will take responsibility for supporting them from medical education through training and settlement in local communities,” Jeong said. Jeong added that the figures were set based on standards including staffing needs for regional and essential care and future sh

Feb 10, 2026By Park Ung

Gov’t hikes med school admission quota by 668 per year, ties new doctors to provinces for 10 years

PHOTO Lunar New Year shopping

People shop at a traditional market in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday, for ingredients needed to prepare food for family gatherings and ancestral rites ahead of the Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 17 this year. Yonhap

Feb 10, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin

Seoul mayor urges review of voting rights for foreign residents ahead of June elections

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon called for a review of voting rights for foreign residents in local elections, while defending his troubled Hangang Bus project as a pillar of his mayoral legacy and broader vision for the capital. Speaking to reporters at a City Hall press conference on Tuesday, Oh signaled a strong intention to seek another term, framing the upcoming vote as a test of Seoul’s global standing and the public’s faith in his leadership. Under the Public Official Election Act, noncitizens who hold permanent residency and have lived in the country for at least three years may cast ballots for mayors, governors and local councils, though not for president or National Assembly members. According to data from the National Assembly Budget Office, disclosed last year by Rep. Kim Mi-ae of the conservative People Power Party, the number of noncitizens eligible to vote in local elections exceeded 140,000, with 81 percent of them Chinese nationals. “Voting rights must go hand in hand with responsibility and contribution,” Oh said. “Anyone with such a right should have contributions

Feb 10, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Seoul mayor urges review of voting rights for foreign residents ahead of June elections

Inside Seoul’s closet-sized homes, viral YouTube tour sheds light on gosiwon living

When Drew Binsky stepped into a gosiwon in Seoul, the doorway alone offered a clue to the life inside. The entrance measured barely 61 centimeters across — narrow enough to require a slight turn of the shoulders to pass through. Binsky, an American travel YouTuber with millions of subscribers, documented his experience in his video “Inside Korea’s smallest apartment,” posted on Feb. 1. The video tours several gosiwon facilities across Seoul and drew more than 1.9 million views within days of its release, bringing renewed international attention to one of the city’s least visible forms of housing. “Behind the bright lights and advanced technology, many people are building their lives in rooms smaller than a closet,” Binsky says in the video after visiting a tour guide living in a gosiwon in Seoul’s Eunpyeong district. Gosiwon — among Seoul’s cheapest and smallest housing options — were initially occupied mainly by students preparing for the highly competitive "gosi" law exams, before gradually becoming homes for people from a wide range of backgrounds. Residents usua

Feb 10, 2026By Hankookilbo

Inside Seoul’s closet-sized homes, viral YouTube tour sheds light on gosiwon living

Samsung heiress Lee Boo-jin cheers on SNU-bound son at graduation

Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin was spotted cheering for her son, Im Dong-hyun, at his high school graduation in Seoul on Monday, capping off a week in which the teenager made headlines for his admission to the country's top university. Lee attended the ceremony at the prestigious Whimoon High School in Gangnam District on Monday. She was accompanied by her aunt, Hong Ra-young, the former deputy director of the Samsung Museum of Art. The event offered a rare glimpse into the private life of the Samsung heiress. Lee was seen smiling throughout the ceremony and singing along as her son, the front man of the school band, performed on stage. Im belted out Korean rock anthems — including "Never Ending Story" by Boohwal and "To You" by Muhangwedo — to celebrate the graduating class. Following the performance, Lee presented her son with flowers, offering warm congratulations. Yet, in a moment capturing the burden of her high profile, she was subsequently overheard apologizing as the crowd and flashing cameras created a commotion around him during their photo session. Im graduated with top hono