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  • Society

    Paichai High School baseball team suspended 6 months over 'Tank Day' chant against Gwangju school

    The Paichai High School baseball team has been suspended from national tournament play for six months after a chant evoked Starbucks Korea's controversial "Tank Day" promotion during a national tournament match against a school from Gwangju. The Korea Baseball Softball Association held a sports fair play committee meeting Wednesday to review the incident and imposed the suspension after determining the chant violated the spirit of sportsmanship and disrupted order on the field. During Monday's match against Gwangju Jeil High School at the 81st Cheongnonggi National High School Baseball Championship in Seoul's Mokdong Baseball Stadium, some Paichai players repeatedly chanted “Let's go, let's go, let's go to Starbucks” in unison. One student even shouted “Tank Day.” The chant was a direct reference to Starbucks Korea's "Tank Day" promotion launched on May 18 — the 46th anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising — which used the phrase in a reference widely condemned as denigrating the pro-democracy movement. The backlash at the time drew responses from consumers and politicians alike

    2 MIN READBy Park Ung
    Paichai High School baseball team suspended 6 months over 'Tank Day' chant against Gwangju school
  • Society

    Korean high school where 1 in 4 graduates heads straight to Samsung Electronics

    3 MIN READBy Hankookilbo
    Korean high school where 1 in 4 graduates heads straight to Samsung Electronics
  • Society

    New PM orders thorough measures with heavy rain forecast to hit southern region

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    New PM orders thorough measures with heavy rain forecast to hit southern region
  • Politics

    Presidential unification body adds over 2,000 advisers, plans overseas expansion

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Presidential unification body adds over 2,000 advisers, plans overseas expansion
  • Defense

    Navy chief to visit Hawaii this week for RIMPAC exercise

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Navy chief to visit Hawaii this week for RIMPAC exercise
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Politics

Opposition leader claims has established 'hotline' with US Republican Party

Opposition leader Jang Dong-hyeok said Monday he has established a "hotline" with key members of the Republican Party during his recent visit to the United States, rejecting criticism from within and outside his party that the trip may have been fruitless and badly timed. Jang of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) made the remarks at a press conference held shortly after he returned from a 10-day visit to the U.S. The trip was widely panned as it took place less than two months before the June 3 local elections and produced a viral photo of what critics said looked like Jang and PPP Supreme Council member Kim Min-soo posing for a photo shoot in front of the Capitol building in Washington. "I met and listened to the opinions of many people in the U.S. government, Congress and the American establishment, and fully conveyed our position as well," Jang said during the press conference at the National Assembly, declining to name the people. "I established an actual hotline with key members of the U.S. Republican Party and created a foundation of trust to hold up the shaky Korea-U.S.

Apr 20, 2026By Yonhap
Opposition leader claims has established 'hotline' with US Republican Party
Society

From YOLO to 'maps for beggars': How inflation impacts Gen Z spending

Consumer prices in Korea have surged this year, driven by soaring food and raw material costs. The increase burdens consumers, with many saying the cost of living outpaces official inflation statistics, forcing young adults to cut spending. In response, younger consumers are turning to extreme frugality, a survival strategy called "jjantech" — a portmanteau of the Korean words for "stingy" and "tech" — that replaces the previous generation's "YOLO" (you only live once) consumption. Driven by a prolonged economic recession and high exchange rates, people in their 20s and 30s are turning to digital platforms like "rooms for beggars" (geojibang) and "map for beggars" (geojimap) to gamify their penny pinching. On domestic mobile platforms such as KakaoTalk, participants share their daily expenses on public group chats and praise one another for completing the "no-spend challenge." "I purchased green tea teabags for 3,100 won ($2.10)," one user wrote. Another said, "Let's brew and drink them two or three times." When another user said, "I plan to spend 75,000 won for a marathon participa

Apr 20, 2026By Hankookilbo
From YOLO to 'maps for beggars': How inflation impacts Gen Z spending
Society

InterviewKorea's largest industrial union criticizes employers for shutting workers out of AI transition

In a logistics center attached to one of Korea's biggest auto plants, a robot quietly rolls across the floor, following a digital map to fetch parts that previously were hauled by a human worker. No one negotiated the shift from human labor to robots. That, says Park Sang-man, head of the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU), is the problem — and it is happening everywhere. His position is simple: "No AI deployment should happen without workers at the table." Park, who started his three-year term as leader of the country's largest industrial union in January, warned that Korea's push into artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics is fast becoming a one-way transition, with companies and the government deploying machines far faster than they are writing rules to protect the workers those machines replace. “If management unilaterally pushes robots and AI without any serious effort at negotiating with the union, I’m opposed to that,” Park said during an interview with The Korea Times last week. “If capital insists on pushing this through unilaterally, you may have to ask whether a

Apr 20, 2026By Jung Min-ho
Korea's largest industrial union criticizes employers for shutting workers out of AI transition
Campus

Sejong University taps Sheridan College to sharpen Korea’s animation edge

Sejong University is moving to expand its global footprint in animation education, hosting senior leaders from Sheridan College, a Canadian institution known for its highly regarded animation and design programs, for talks aimed at strengthening academic and research collaboration. The meeting, held April 2, brought together Sejong University President Eom Jong-hwa and Sheridan College President Cindy Gouveia, along with key faculty and administrators from both institutions to discuss practical avenues for cooperation. Sheridan College, based in the province of Ontario, is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading schools in animation and the arts. Founded in 1967, it ranked No. 2 globally in animation schools in 2025 by Animation Career Review and is often referred to in the industry as a training ground for top talent working at major studios such as Walt Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks Animation. Ahead of the talks, the Sheridan delegation toured Sejong University’s advanced production facilities, including Team Studio Sejong and a motion capture studio, expressing strong intere

Apr 20, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Sejong University taps Sheridan College to sharpen Korea’s animation edge
South Korea

Gov't launches program to help small businesses break into export markets

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Monday it is launching a new initiative to help promising small businesses scale into export-ready firms, opening applications for the “2026 Global Small Business Development Program.” The program, introduced this year, offers support for export capability training, product development tailored to overseas markets and access to international markets for participating firms. About 100 companies will be selected under two tracks — a Local Track for 60 firms and an Innovation Track for 40 — based on their business models and global competitiveness. Support is structured in phases. The ministry will first assess each participant’s readiness for overseas markets, then provide training on customs procedures, regulatory requirements and market expertise, focusing on four consumer goods categories: food, cosmetics, fashion and household products. Companies will also receive guidance on product adaptation and localization strategies tailored to target markets. To give these nascent ventures a foothold, the government is offering up to 100 million

Apr 20, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Gov't launches program to help small businesses break into export markets
Society

Korea bets on young entrepreneurs to revive rural economies

Facing a deepening demographic crisis and the hollowing out of its rural heartland, Korea is subsidizing the migration of young entrepreneurs to depopulated areas, hoping to convert a growing inventory of abandoned real estate into economic engines. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Monday that it has designated 10 struggling communities as “Youth Villages” for 2026, a strategic gamble to reverse the demographic decline caused by young people flocking to the hypercompetitive orbit of Seoul. By providing seed money to transform abandoned storefronts and idle local spaces into high-tech hubs and cultural centers, officials hope to lure young entrepreneurs away from the crushing costs of the capital and toward a decentralized economy built on boutique manufacturing and digital nomadism. The selections were made from 141 competing teams nationwide. The 10 designated areas are Jung-gu in Daejeon; Cheorwon County in Gangwon Province; Nonsan in South Chungcheong Province; Gimje and Gochang in North Jeolla Province; Gurye in South Jeolla Province; Yeongju and Bonghwa in North Gy

Apr 20, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea bets on young entrepreneurs to revive rural economies
Society

Truck runs into rallygoers in Jinju, killing 1, injuring 2 others

A cargo truck collided with a group of people at a rally in the southern city of Jinju on Monday, leaving one person dead and two others injured, officials said. The 2.5-ton vehicle struck the rally participants near a logistics center at 10:32 a.m., with the collision said to have happened as people tried to stop the vehicle from leaving the area, according to police. Unionized cargo workers had staged the rally to call for joint negotiations with BGF Retail, the operator of the CU convenience store chain. Hours after the collision, a union vehicle rammed into a police barricade near the rally site at 1:33 p.m., leaving one police officer in his 20s with minor injuries. Police have detained the driver and a passenger of the union vehicle and are investigating the incident. Union members and police were locked in a stand-off at the scene following the tragic incident.

Apr 20, 2026By Yonhap
Truck runs into rallygoers in Jinju, killing 1, injuring 2 others
Law & Crime

Special counsel raids police over alleged cover-up of Unification Church case

The second comprehensive special counsel team raided the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) and two other police offices Monday over an alleged mishandling of the initial police investigation into suspected overseas gambling by Unification Church officials. Prosecutors and investigators from special counsel Kwon Chang-young's team searched the KNPA in western Seoul, along with the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency and the Chuncheon Police Station, both in Chuncheon, 75 kilometers northeast of Seoul, in the morning to secure materials related to the police's intelligence and internal investigation into church officials' alleged gambling. The allegations are centered on the claim that the police became aware of suspicions of illicit overseas gambling by Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja and other officials but suspended their investigation after the information was leaked to political circles. In June 2022, the Chuncheon Police Station allegedly obtained information that Han and other church officials spent 60 billion won ($40.7 million) on gambling in Las Vegas between 2008 and 2011.

Apr 20, 2026By Yonhap
Special counsel raids police over alleged cover-up of Unification Church case
Society

Lee vows to better ensure rights of people with disabilities

President Lee Jae Myung on Monday vowed efforts to better ensure the rights of the disabled in a message to mark the Day of Persons with Disabilities. In a Facebook post, Lee highlighted the difficulties faced by people with disabilities, sharing his own experience of a workplace accident when he was a child laborer that left him with a disabled arm. "(I) will pay careful attention so that your today becomes more comfortable and your tomorrow more free," he wrote. "As someone who acquired a disability from a workplace accident, I feel this reality deeply." He noted that his government is working to establish a comprehensive health care management plan for the disabled while also pushing for legislation to better ensure the rights of people with disabilities. "(I) will fulfill my responsibilities so that disabilities do not determine the possibilities of life in all areas, including care, education, culture and employment."

Apr 20, 2026By Yonhap
Lee vows to better ensure rights of people with disabilities
Law & Crime

Exception sought for HYBE chairman's US trip despite travel ban: report

It has been reported that the U.S. requested cooperation from the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) regarding a visit to the United States by HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk and other senior executives, despite Bang being subject to an overseas travel ban tied to a police investigation. Critics say the move may constitute a breach of diplomatic norms, as the U.S. allegedly bypassed formal diplomatic channels and directly singled out individuals under travel bans in a request to a foreign investigative agency. According to an April 19 report by the Hankook Ilbo, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul recently delivered a letter to the acting commissioner general of the KNPA requesting cooperation to allow HYBE senior executives — chairman Bang Si-hyuk, CEO Lee Jae-sang and vice president Kim Hyun-jung — to travel to the United States. The stated reasons for the their U.S. visit reportedly included attending celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of Independence Day on July 4, as well as supporting BTS during the group’s U.S. leg of its world tour. Earlier, Donald Trump announced plans for an

Apr 20, 2026By Hankookilbo
Exception sought for HYBE chairman's US trip despite travel ban: report
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