South Korea - The Korea Times

Is Korea next in line for a sugar levy?

President Lee Jae Myung has sparked debate by raising the possibility of an additional levy on sugar. The aim is straightforward: to protect public health, particularly among lower-income households and other vulnerable groups where excessive sugar consumption is seen as having a disproportionate impact. Critics, however, argue that those same groups could be hit hardest by higher prices if it drives up the cost of processed foods, further straining household budgets. Disagreements also persist over which products should be covered and how high the levy should be set. The idea gained traction on Wednesday after President Lee Jae Myung raised it in a social media post. “What do you think about curbing sugar through a levy, similar to those imposed on tobacco, and reinvesting the revenue in regional and public healthcare?” he wrote. Asked about the proposal the following day, a senior official at the Ministry of Economy and Finance said further discussion and consultation would be needed, noting that such a measure could have a significant impact on the food industry. A sugar levy refers

Jan 30, 2026By Hankookilbo

Why Gen Z in Korea is flocking to bus driving jobs

At the training center for KD Transport Group, South Korea's largest bus operator, in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, boyish-looking men stood out among about 100 drivers gathered for safety training on Jan. 20. According to the company, 47 of the 460 drivers at its Pangyo branch are in their 20s or 30s, accounting for roughly 10 percent of the workforce. “Most of them joined within the last year or two,” a company official said. “It is unusual to see such a sharp increase in young applicants.” Bus driving, once a job avoided by young workers, is becoming a magnet for Koreans in their 20s and 30s. Analysts attribute this shift to the introduction of the semipublic bus system, a model in which local governments cover operating deficits with tax revenue, coupled with a tough job market. Data from the Korea Transportation Safety Authority shows that the number of people in their 20s and 30s obtaining bus driver licenses jumped 43 percent in three years, from 6,218 in 2023 to 10,931 last year. The primary drivers of this trend are improved working conditions and shifting social perceptio

Jan 29, 2026By Hankookilbo

Why Gen Z in Korea is flocking to bus driving jobs

Prosecutors criticized for delay in Hanshin University deportation probe

Nearly two years after Hanshin University officials were accused of forcing more than 20 Uzbek students onto a bus bound for the airport, a criminal investigation into the case has stalled at the prosecutor’s office, drawing sharp rebukes from advocates and those at the center of the case over the inquiry’s protracted pace. The case has exposed gaps in how Korea protects the rights of international students, with Hanshin University students and lawyers warning that prolonged prosecutorial delays have left victims in a legal limbo. In November 2023, Hanshin University put 23 Uzbek students enrolled in its Korean language institute on a bus after telling them they were going to an immigration office to receive their residence cards. The school is a private four-year university with campuses in Osan, Gyeonggi Province and Seoul. Instead, the bus took them to Incheon International Airport, accompanied by staff from a private security firm. There, 22 of the students — except for one who was unwell — were forced to return to Uzbekistan, a move the university said was due to the studen

Jan 29, 2026By Park Ung

Prosecutors criticized for delay in Hanshin University deportation probe

Gov't to provide 60,000 additional housing units in Seoul: finance chief

The government will supply an additional 60,000 housing units in the Seoul metropolitan area mostly for young people and newly married couples, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said Thursday. The latest housing supply measures for Seoul and neighboring Gyeonggi Province build on the government's pledge made in September to construct more than 1.35 million homes nationwide by 2030. "The government plans to swiftly provide a total of 60,000 housing units by utilizing idle land in central Seoul with good transportation access, including 28,000 units on state-owned land," Koo said at a meeting of ministers related to real estate policy. Koo said the units will be primarily allocated to young people and newly married couples to ease housing concerns among the younger generation. He added that the government will continue to identify additional sites for the urban housing supply and announce further plans as preparations are completed.

Jan 29, 2026By Yonhap

Gov't to provide 60,000 additional housing units in Seoul: finance chief

Land minister vows to provide more homes for youth, newlyweds in greater Seoul area

Land Minister Kim Yun-duk said Thursday the government will swiftly expand the home supply for young people and newly married couples in the Seoul metropolitan area as part of efforts to stabilize the overheated real estate market. Kim made the remarks during a consultation between the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the government at the National Assembly, where the two sides discussed ways to boost the housing supply in urban areas amid concerns over rising home prices. "The government will move swiftly to provide housing for young people and newly married couples in the Seoul metropolitan area," Kim said. "The government will do its best to provide stable housing for those who are living in poor housing environments and are concerned over expensive housing prices." The government plans to announce additional housing supply measures for Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province, following its earlier pledge in September to launch the construction of more than 1.35 million homes nationwide by 2030. Kim said the government focused last year on revising regulations to lay the

Jan 29, 2026By Yonhap

Land minister vows to provide more homes for youth, newlyweds in greater Seoul area

In Korea, 14% of people live in cognitive gray zone

When Jonathan — a Korean who asked to be identified by his English name — turned 20 years old four years ago, his parents took him to Seoul National University Hospital, where tests showed his IQ was around 70, far below the typical adult average of about 100. The diagnosis arrived less as a clinical data point than as a life-altering sentence. “I think my parents knew about my condition since elementary school but didn’t tell me until they took me to a clinic when I was 20,” Jonathan told The Korea Times. “Learning I had borderline intellectual functioning shattered me. I blamed myself, wondering if that was all I would ever amount to.” Jonathan is one of an estimated 6.95 million people in Korea believed to have borderline intellectual functioning. The figure is large because, statistically, about 13.59 percent of the population falls within the IQ range used for such assessments. The result is a gray zone of cognitive precarity — a "borderline" population estimated to comprise nearly 14 percent of the general public. These individuals exist in a policy vacuum, function

Jan 29, 2026By Park Ung

In Korea, 14% of people live in cognitive gray zone

Generative AI cuts work hours by 17% on average: poll

Korean workers have reduced their work hours by 17.8 percent with the help of generative AI platforms, a poll showed Wednesday, with more than half of them using such tools in their daily work. According to a poll of 3,000 wage workers aged 20 and older conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), generative AI tools helped workers cut their work hours by an average of 8.4 hours per week. Some 56 percent of respondents said they use AI tools in their daily work, with employees in the information and telecommunications industry recording the highest rate at 77.6 percent. The poll showed that 66.5 percent of employees at large businesses with 300 or more workers used AI tools, compared with 52.7 percent at small and medium-sized firms. Respondents said they mainly used AI tools to draft or summarize documents. Workers who do not use AI tools cited low work efficiency, while those at large companies pointed to corporate security regulations as the main reason. "In order to gain productivity improvements from generative AI platforms, companies need not only to invest in hard

Jan 28, 2026By Yonhap

Generative AI cuts work hours by 17% on average: poll

Childbirths grow at fastest pace in 18 years on increased marriages

The number of babies born here rose at the fastest pace in 18 years in the first 11 months of last year, driven largely by an increase in marriages, government data showed Wednesday. A total of 233,708 babies were born between January-November in 2025, up 6.2 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Statistics. It marks the steepest on-year increase since 2007. The ministry said the total number of newborns in 2025 is expected to rise for a second consecutive year and surpass 238,317 babies recorded in 2024. In November alone, 20,710 babies were born, up 3.1 percent from 20,083 a year earlier. The November figure was the highest for the month since 2019, when 23,727 babies were born, the ministry said, noting that births are gradually recovering to pre-pandemic levels. The number of newborns has been on an upward trend since July 2024. The country's total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, rose 0.02 from a year earlier to 0.79 in November. The ministry said the recent rise in births appears t

Jan 28, 2026By Yonhap

Childbirths grow at fastest pace in 18 years on increased marriages

Rural Korean town goes from ridicule to riches as gold prices skyrocket

In rural Hampyeong County, South Jeolla Province, stands a giant bat statue made of 24-karat gold. When it was completed in 2008, the statue came under fire for allegedly wasting taxpayer money. Nearly two decades later, rising gold prices have shifted the narrative, with the statue’s value now estimated at roughly 14 times its original production cost. According to the Korea Gold Exchange, the price of pure gold stood at a record 1,034,000 won ($714) per 3.75 grams as of Tuesday. The figure reflects a continuing upward trend after prices crossed the 1 million won threshold for the first time on Jan. 21, driven by a sharp rise in global gold prices and growing investor demand for safe haven assets. As gold prices continue to reach new highs, growing attention is being drawn to a giant bat statue in the rural county — or, more precisely, to its current value. Completed in 2008, the statue is made of 162 kilograms of pure gold and 281 kilograms of silver. At the time of construction, the material cost stood at roughly 2.7 billion won. Based on current prices, the gold alone is estimated

Jan 28, 2026By Hankookilbo

Rural Korean town goes from ridicule to riches as gold prices skyrocket

Ex-Constitutional Court justice joins KAIST to research law in age of AI

Moon Hyung-bae, former acting chief justice of the Constitutional Court, has begun a new chapter in academia after joining KAIST as a distinguished visiting professor, where he plans to delve into legal issues arising in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Moon disclosed his new career earlier this week while speaking as a lecturer at a book presentation at Gwangju District Court. He said he was officially appointed on Jan. 9 as a distinguished visiting professor at KAIST’s Moon Soul Graduate School of Future Strategy and had already started commuting to campus. “I decided to take on this role because, as a legal professional, I believe I may be able to offer guidance on how KAIST can proactively respond to the AI era," Moon said. Moon identified personal data rights as the central legal challenge posed by artificial intelligence. “The biggest issue with AI is the right to informational self-determination,” he explained. “AI operates by collecting and processing personal data, which inevitably leads to conflicts with individuals’ rights to control their own information.

Jan 28, 2026By Anna J. Park

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