South Korea - The Korea Times

Last missing worker found dead at collapsed construction site in Gwangju; death toll at 4

The last missing worker in a library construction site accident was found dead Saturday, following the fatal collapse incident that occurred two days ago. The body of the 58-year-old worker, identified by his surname Kim, was discovered at around 11:20 a.m., officials said, bringing the death toll from Thursday's accident to four. Earlier in the day, authorities found the body of another worker, surnamed Ko, at around 1:03 a.m. Two other workers died Thursday, the day the accident occurred. The four victims were identified as technicians affiliated with a subcontractor, all of whom were Korean nationals. Officials suspect the collapse began as workers poured concrete onto the two-story structure's rooftop, with the ground floors falling to the underground level. The library under construction was being built by the Gwangju metropolitan government on the site of a former waste incineration plant in the city some 300 kilometers south of Seoul. Police and labor authorities raided the headquarters of the project's main contractor to seize documents related to the construction to confirm whethe

Dec 13, 2025By Yonhap

Last missing worker found dead at collapsed construction site in Gwangju; death toll at 4

Celebrity scandals reignite debate over Korea’s drinking culture

Alcohol-related controversies are once again shaking South Korea’s entertainment industry, with allegations ranging from workplace misconduct to repeat drunk driving cases renewing public scrutiny of a long-criticized celebrity drinking culture. The latest spark came from JTBC’s investigative program, “Scandal Supervisor,” which aired on Wednesday and revisited allegations involving comedian and television host Park Na-rae. According to the broadcast, former managers who met Park recently to discuss a possible settlement over alleged mistreatment claimed she appeared intoxicated during the meeting. The claims quickly ignited backlash online. Netizens flooded social media with reactions such as “She should cut back on drinking regardless of the controversy,” “This is beyond disappointment — it’s worrying,” and “Drinking even in this situation?” Earlier reporting by Dispatch on Dec. 4 said former managers accused Park of repeatedly ordering them to run errands for drinking snacks, clean up after private parties and attend drinking sessions against their will. The a

Dec 13, 2025By Xportsnews

Celebrity scandals reignite debate over Korea’s drinking culture

Koreans hesitant to have children amid pricey Seoul life, scarce regional jobs

A shortage of job opportunities is widely cited as the chief driver of falling birthrates and population outflows in towns and smaller cities, underscoring the need for policies that prioritize job creation to slow the demographic decline. A report released Thursday by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs found the trend especially acute in 89 population-decline zones, defined by eight metrics such as the proportion of residents under 14 and those over 65, over the past five years. The report is based on a nationwide survey of 5,000 adults aged 19 to 69 conducted last month. Asked to assess the leading causes of declining birthrates on a five-point scale, respondents identified “a lack of desirable job opportunities” as the top factor, assigning it an average score of 3.61, compared with 3.27 for housing costs and 2.97 for limited child-education facilities. Among respondents in population-decline zones, employment conditions scored even higher in relation to low birthrates, averaging 4.09. The same factor also ranked highest for population outflows, scoring 3.8 overall a

Dec 12, 2025By Park Ung

Koreans hesitant to have children amid pricey Seoul life, scarce regional jobs

Itaewon sees visitors surge as local-brand revival takes hold

Itaewon has seen a sharp rise in visitors this year, a trend driven in part by Yongsan District’s effort to revive the area’s local-brand commercial district. According to the Yongsan District Office on Friday, the initiative is now entering its final stage and has begun to deliver tangible results. The number of domestic visitors climbed from 1.25 million last year to 1.3 million as of November. Foreign tourist arrivals also exceeded 250,000, up from 240,000 a year earlier. Famed as Seoul’s international nightlife district, Itaewon suffered a severe downturn after a major cluster of COVID-19 cases was linked to its clubs in May 2020. The government responded with monthslong bans on gatherings at entertainment venues and the resulting collapse in weekend crowds and retail sales left the neighborhood’s service economy deeply scarred, with widespread vacancies in what had once been a bustling district. Selected in 2023 as a Seoul Metropolitan Government's public support program, the revitalization project was launched to support Itaewon’s commercial district after the 2022 crowd

Dec 12, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

Korea Heritage Service designates Jongmyo Shrine as world heritage zone

The Korea Heritage Service (KHS) on Thursday designated roughly 194,000 square meters around Jongmyo Shrine — the royal Confucian shrine where ancestral rites for Joseon Dynasty kings are still performed to this day — as a world heritage zone, aiming to curb high-rise development near the protected site. Built in 1395, Jongmyo houses ancestral tablets bearing the names of 49 Joseon kings and queens. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995, it is widely regarded as the world’s oldest and most intact Confucian royal ancestral shrine, with its original layout preserved. The move comes after the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s October decision to raise building height limits in Sewoon District 4 — a redevelopment area located roughly 180 meters from the shrine — to as much as 141.9 meters. However, the KHS immediately pushed back, saying the move could undermine the shrine’s outstanding universal value. The agency noted that when Jongmyo was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the U.N. cultural body specified that no nearby high-rise construction should be appr

Dec 12, 2025By Park Ung

Korea Heritage Service designates Jongmyo Shrine as world heritage zone

Number of newlywed couples falls below 1 mil. for 2nd consecutive year in 2024

The number of newly married couples in Korea fell short of 1 million for the second consecutive year in 2024, with nearly half remaining childless, government data showed Friday. There were 952,000 newlyweds here last year, down 2.3 percent from 974,000 couples the previous year, according to the data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. "Newlyweds" refer to couples who have been married for five years or less. The figure dipped below 1 million in 2023 for the first time since the ministry began compiling such data in 2015. Despite the overall drop, there was a slight increase in the number of couples in their first and second year of marriage in 2024, rising 9.8 percent on-year and 2.9 percent on-year, respectively. Of the newlywed couples in 2024, 51.2 percent had children, down 1.3 percentage points from a year earlier, the data showed. Korea has been struggling with a low birthrate and aging population, as many young people opt to postpone or give up on getting married or having babies in line with changing social norms and lifestyles, as well as in the face of high home prices,

Dec 12, 2025By Yonhap

Number of newlywed couples falls below 1 mil. for 2nd consecutive year in 2024

National Museum of Korea draws 6 mil. annual visitors, highest in 80 years

The National Museum of Korea has welcomed more than 6 million visitors this year, its highest annual figure since opening 80 years ago, officials said Thursday. The museum said it reached the milestone around 2 p.m., with the number representing nearly a 4.5-fold increase from 1.34 million in 2005, when it relocated to its current site in Yongsan, central Seoul. The cumulative number of visitors since its founding in 1945 has now surpassed 100 million. According to the London-based The Art Newspaper, only three museums worldwide exceeded this threshold in 2024: the Louvre (8.74 million), Vatican Museums (6.83 million) and British Museum (6.48 million). The 6 millionth visitor was identified as Noh Yong-wook, a 40-year-old resident of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, who visited with his wife and twin children. "It's my first time at the museum," Noh said. "I'm here to see the special exhibition 'From Impressionism to Early Modernism: Collectors of Light' and the Children's Museum. I'm thrilled to be the 6 millionth visitor." Museum director You Hong-june personally presented Noh with a comme

Dec 11, 2025By Yonhap

National Museum of Korea draws 6 mil. annual visitors, highest in 80 years

Lotte Dept. Store under fire for asking customer to remove union vest

A confrontation between a customer wearing a labor union vest and staff at Lotte Department Store’s Jamsil branch has ignited fierce criticism online, fueling debate over possible discrimination against union members and labor activists. A video posted late Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, shows staff at the store’s food court approaching a man wearing a vest affiliated with the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), which is part of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and represents about 185,000 members. The post, which garnered over 7,400 retweets as of Thursday, read, "It happened again … If you wear a message, you can’t come in. Slogans are not allowed because they reveal an ideology. So people wearing union vests are not even allowed to eat?" In the footage, an employee asks the customer to remove his vest, saying that "a certain level of etiquette is needed in public places." The customer replies, "We don’t deserve this kind of treatment just because we’re wearing the vests … We wear these even in front of the Cheong Wa Dae," referring to the former presidentia

Dec 11, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

Lotte Dept. Store under fire for asking customer to remove union vest

Nobel laureates join Korea University as distinguished professors

Korea University appointed the 2025 Nobel laureates in chemistry — Omar Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley, and Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University — as distinguished professors at the KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology. The move marks a significant push in the university’s effort to establish itself as a global center for interdisciplinary research targeting pressing challenges in energy, environmental sustainability and biotechnology. Yaghi and Kitagawa, widely regarded as pioneers in the field of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), were awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in chemistry for defining and expanding the field’s scientific foundations. According to the university, the two professors had already agreed to join the Crimson Project — an international research initiative focused on addressing critical global research priorities — and accepted appointments as distinguished professors before the Nobel Prize announcement. Their win on Oct. 8 has injected momentum into the initiative, positioning the Crimson Project for an accelerated phase

Dec 11, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

Nobel laureates join Korea University as distinguished professors

2 killed, 2 trapped after collapse at library construction site in Gwangju

Two workers were confirmed dead and two others remained missing after a steel structure collapsed at a library construction site in the southwestern city of Gwangju on Thursday, with firefighters continuing search and rescue operations through the night. Search operations were ongoing to locate the missing workers believed to be trapped under twisted steel and concrete debris amid low visibility and fears of further collapse. Two large cranes were being used to stabilize concrete structures and steel columns, while rescuers deployed thermographic cameras and other detection devices to search through the debris. The accident was reported at 1:58 p.m., with four workers trapped under the collapsed steel structure at the construction site in Gwangju, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul. Firefighters pulled out a 47-year-old worker, who was taken to a hospital in cardiac arrest but later pronounced dead. A second worker was located earlier in the day and recovered at 8:13 p.m., but was pronounced dead at the site. The four victims were identified as technicians affiliated with a subcontractor