South Korea - The Korea Times

ExclusiveIncheon's new bridge set to toll foreign residents only

Set to open in January, a bridge in Incheon promises to be a stunning and practical link connecting Incheon International Airport — Korea’s main international gateway — with the sprawling business hub of Cheongna International City in Incheon. Spanning 4.68 kilometers and featuring the world’s tallest offshore observation deck, the six-lane crossing is hailed as a major boost to the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), which encompasses Cheongna and Yeongjong, as well as Songdo International Business District. Yet, as the final cables are being laid, the bridge is attracting more than just praise. Its toll exemption policy, which critics say discriminates against non-Koreans by linking free passage to the nation’s Resident Registration Act, has turned this vital piece of infrastructure into a flash point over fairness and inclusion at the very entrance to Korea. Upon its opening, vehicles owned by residents whose addresses are listed under the Resident Registration Act in the Incheon areas of Yeongjong Island, Cheongna and islands of Bukdo Township will be eligible for unlimited

Dec 16, 2025By Park Ung

Incheon's new bridge set to toll foreign residents only

Overseas AI models outperform Korean rivals in CSAT math tests

Korean artificial intelligence (AI) models being developed under the government’s bid to assert technological sovereignty were found to lag behind leading overseas systems in tests modeled on the College Scholastic Ability Test and in advanced, essay-style mathematics questions. The comparison was conducted by a research team led by Kim Jon-lark, a professor of mathematics at Sogang University, which asked 10 large language models to solve a total of 50 questions. The set comprised 20 advanced CSAT mathematics problems, covering calculus, probability and statistics, geometry and common subjects, along with 30 essay-style questions drawn from top South Korean universities, Indian entrance examinations and graduate-level tests at the University of Tokyo. Overseas models took the top spots. Google’s Gemini 3 Pro Preview ranked first with 92 points, correctly solving 46 of the 50 questions. Claude Opus 4.5 from Anthropic followed with 84 points, while Grok 4.1 Fast from xAI scored 82. GPT-5.1 from OpenAI earned 80 points, and China’s DeepSeek V3.2 posted 76 points. By contrast, the per

Dec 16, 2025By Bahk Eun-ji

Overseas AI models outperform Korean rivals in CSAT math tests

Job stability, income, home ownership linked to higher birth rate: survey

Job stability, higher income and home ownership are key factors in correlation with higher rates of marriage and child birth, a government survey showed Tuesday. The Ministry of Data and Statistics said it has found such a trend through a cohort study on people born between 1983 and 1995, the first survey of its kind. The study was conducted over an eight year period from 2015 to see the correlation between economic and social status, and marriages and birth. The study showed that the marriage and birth rates were comparatively lower in younger generation than the older one. Some 32.4 percent of males born in 1988 were married at the age of 32, while 42.9 percent of those born in 1983 had tied a knot in the same age. For females, 45.3 percent of those born in 1989 were married at the age of 31, while 56.5 percent of those born in 1984 did so in the same age. In terms of birth rate, only 17.8 percent of the men born in 1988 had a child when they were 32 years old, while 27 percent of the men born in 1983 had a child at that age. Twenty-seven percent of the women born in 1989 had given birth

Dec 16, 2025By Yonhap

Job stability, income, home ownership linked to higher birth rate: survey

‘Yellow envelope law’ decree sparks dual backlash from labor, businesses

A government decree detailing the so-called Yellow Envelope Law — a landmark revision intended to curb the ability of companies to seek large damage claims against striking workers — has drawn criticism from both business groups and labor unions, with each accusing the Ministry of Employment and Labor of creating more confusion than clarity ahead of its implementation in March 2026. The revised enforcement ordinances under the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act have drawn criticism for placing additional burdens on companies while narrowing the practical reach of the pro-labor law’s core protections for subcontracted workers. Key questions remain over how the new rules will govern collective bargaining between principal employers and subcontractor unions and how much discretion the government will wield in the process. In theory, a subcontractor union may seek separate talks with a principal employer, but whether such negotiations proceed in any given case would be decided by the National Labor Relations Commission or a newly created state body. The rules also leave un

Dec 16, 2025By Jung Min-ho

‘Yellow envelope law’ decree sparks dual backlash from labor, businesses

Jeonbuk National University joins K-STAR visa track, enabling longer stays for regional foreign talent

Jeonbuk National University has been selected to join the government’s new K-STAR visa track, a program designed to help top foreign experts in science and technology build long-term careers and settle in Korea. The Ministry of Justice’s K-STAR visa track offers a state-supported pathway from study to research, employment and permanent residency, enabling high-caliber STEM talent stay in the country. The program — once limited to five state-run science and technology institutes, including KAIST — has expanded the permanent residency and fast-track naturalization benefits to general universities. With the designation, Jeonbuk National University President Yang O-bong can now directly recommend eligible foreign students for the program. Recommended candidates will receive major incentives, including immediate eligibility for an F-2 residency visa upon graduation without needing a job offer, the option to apply for an F-5 permanent residency visa after three years and the possibility of special naturalization regardless of their length of stay if they demonstrate exceptional resear

Dec 15, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

Jeonbuk National University joins K-STAR visa track, enabling longer stays for regional foreign talent

First funeral held for library collapse victims

The first funeral for the four construction workers killed in last week's library collapse was held in the southwestern city of Gwangju on Monday. The funeral for one of the four, known only as Kim in his 50s, occurred at a funeral parlor in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, Monday morning, with the attendance of about 20 bereaved family members. Kim was a plumber working at the library construction site when the fatal collapse occurred last Thursday. He was trapped under debris and found dead two days later. The three other victims are also expected to be laid to rest in separate funerals this week or later. The funeral for a plasterer, identified only as Kim, in his 40s, is set to be held at another funeral parlor in Gwangju on Monday afternoon. The funeral for another worker, known as Seo, in his 70s, will be held in Seoul on Wednesday. The funeral schedule for the fourth victim, identified only as Go, in his 60s, will be fixed through discussions between his bereaved family and the local authorities.

Dec 15, 2025By Yonhap

First funeral held for library collapse victims

Is CSAT obsolete? Calls grow for overhaul after test difficulty uproar

Korea’s all-important annual college entrance test, widely known as the CSAT, is facing an unprecedented crisis as furor over this year’s difficulty and alleged question flaws fuels calls not just for drastic reform but even for its abolition. Long treated as the arbiter of academic success, the exam is now under intense scrutiny over whether it still has a place in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). In an open letter sent to President Lee Jae Myung last week, 15 senior educators, including Park Do-soon, one of the CSAT architects, called for the abolition of the test. They criticized what they called a “lineup” test that, in their view, focuses on ranking students instead of educating them. “While the government talks of making Korea a top-three AI power, schools remain locked in 20th century rote learning and multiple-choice drills,” they said in a joint statement. “We must abolish the current system of ranking students through the CSAT and multiple-choice evaluations. It’s time to make a significant shift in education ― one that helps our children develop cri

Dec 14, 2025By Jung Min-ho

Is CSAT obsolete? Calls grow for overhaul after test difficulty uproar

Lotte Department Store apologizes for asking customer to remove union vest

Lotte Department Store issued a formal apology Saturday after one of its security staff asked a customer wearing a labor union vest to remove it at a food court, sparking backlash over discrimination against union members and labor activists. In a statement posted on its website, Lotte said it was "deeply sorry for the inconvenience caused" when a guest wearing a vest with labor-related lettering was told to remove it at the company’s Jamsil branch in southern Seoul on Wednesday. "This was an inappropriate action, and we sincerely apologize to the customer who may have felt discomfort," CEO Jung Hyun-seok said in the apology. "We will thoroughly review all processes related to our customer service and do our utmost to prevent any recurrence." The incident occurred around 7 p.m., when members of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union's (KMWU) Goeje-Tongyeong branch tried to enter the department store’s basement restaurant area wearing union vests. Security personnel stopped the group, saying the vests might make other customers uncomfortable. When the union members refused to remove them,

Dec 14, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

Lotte Department Store apologizes for asking customer to remove union vest

Deer at military academy brought back after short escape

A deer that lives on the campus of the Korea Military Academy in northern Seoul briefly wandered outside the grounds before being safely brought back, authorities said Sunday. The deer, which usually roams a park inside the academy, slipped past a vehicle barricade at one of the gates on Thursday afternoon. Gate personnel and CCTV operators spotted the animal but were unable to stop it as it quickly exited the campus. Two vehicles and about 10 firefighters were deployed to locate the deer, which was later found near a nearby stream. They guided it back toward the campus, and it returned safely about an hour and 10 minutes later, at around 2:30 p.m. No one was injured and no property damage was reported, according to authorities. The Army academy has been raising deer on its grounds for about 30 years, and eight deer currently live in the campus park.

Dec 14, 2025By Yonhap

Deer at military academy brought back after short escape

Why hiring foreign workers is tough in Korea, but easier for Coupang

Coupang, reeling from a sweeping data breach allegedly linked to a former Chinese employee, is drawing fire over its heavy reliance on foreign workers in its IT department. While visa rules remain one of the biggest barriers for Korean companies seeking to hire foreign workers, Coupang faces far fewer restrictions because it is classified as a foreign-invested company with its headquarters in the U.S. The company, widely seen as Korea’s answer to Amazon, is said to have about 1,000 foreign employees in Korea, accounting for roughly 10 percent of its workforce. As a foreign-invested company, the e-commerce giant can navigate visa requirements more easily than domestic firms, giving it access to a broader pool of eligible workers. Korean companies generally rely on the E-7 visa when hiring foreign workers. The E-7 is a work visa granted to foreign nationals with verified professional expertise or specialized technical skills and is divided into 87 job categories, including IT, business management, finance and design. The requirements for this visa are stringent, covering factors such as

Dec 13, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

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