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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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Defense

Korea to run promotion booth at defense exhibition in Malaysia

Korea will run a promotion booth at a major defense exhibition in Malaysia this week aimed at promoting homegrown arms products eyeing entry into the Southeast Asian market, the state arms procurement agency said Monday. The Defence Services Asia (DSA) 2026, scheduled for a four-day run from Monday to Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, will be attended by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement. The DSA is the largest arms exhibition in Asia, hosted by Malaysia's defense ministry, bringing together some 1,400 defense firms and government and military officials from around 60 countries. This year, eight Korean defense firms will showcase a range of new products featuring advanced technology, such as hull-mounted sonars for minesweepers, underwater drones and artificial intelligence-based command decision support systems. DAPA also plans to cooperate with the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency to facilitate consultations between foreign buyers and local defense firms as part of its bid to s

Apr 20, 2026By Yonhap
Korea to run promotion booth at defense exhibition in Malaysia
Politics

Lee's approval rating hits record high 65.5%: poll

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has hit a record high of 65.5 percent since his inauguration in June last year on achievements in the economy and energy security, a poll showed Monday. According to a survey conducted by Realmeter and commissioned by EKN newspaper, 65.5 percent of the 2,519 respondents aged 18 or older positively assessed Lee's performance, up 3.6 percentage points from the previous poll. The previous high was 64.6 percent in the second week of July last year. Also in the latest survey, conducted nationwide from last Monday until Friday, 30 percent of the respondents viewed Lee's performance negatively, down 2.8 percentage points from the previous poll, while 4.5 percent said they were unsure. "The increase in the approval rate was driven by achievements in the economy and energy security, such as the securing of large amounts of crude oil amid the Middle East crisis and the KOSPI's recovery to the 6,200-point level," the pollster said. Lee's hard-line remarks on Israel's alleged mistreatment of Palestinians and his attendance at a ceremony commemorating the 2014

Apr 20, 2026By Yonhap
Lee's approval rating hits record high 65.5%: poll
Society

Remains of centenarian independence fighter to return home this week

The remains of centenarian independence activist Lee Ha-jun, who fought under the 1910-1945 Japanese colonial rule, will return home this week from the United States to be laid to rest at a national cemetery, the veterans ministry said Monday. Lee, who took part in various independence movements, died at his home in California in February at the age of 104. He was the oldest surviving independence fighter living abroad. His remains will arrive at Incheon International Airport, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday ahead of a repatriation ceremony scheduled to take place at Seoul National Cemetery the following day. His remains will then be laid to rest at Daejeon National Cemetery, alongside his deceased wife. A total of 156 remains of independence fighters, including Lee, have returned home since a project to repatriate independence patriots began in 1946, according to the ministry. Only four surviving independence fighters remain in Korea.

Apr 20, 2026By Yonhap
Remains of centenarian independence fighter to return home this week
Society

Young Koreans flock to Daiso amid high inflation

A Daiso store in Sinchon, western Seoul, was crowded with college students on Wednesday evening. “There’s something fun about shopping at Daiso,” said Song Seung-min, a 26-year-old college student who stopped by to browse the cosmetics section. “It makes me feel rich because I can buy all kinds of things without actually spending much.” Thrift-driven spending grows amid high inflation The rising popularity of Daiso shopping is part of an emerging consumer trend among Koreans in their 20s and 30s called “small indulgences.” Rather than cutting back on spending altogether, the trend refers to a selective pattern of consumption seeking enjoyment and satisfaction at a lower cost. These consumption trends are driven by high inflation, which has persisted since 2022. According to Statistics Korea, the consumer price index rose 5.1 percent that year, marking the start of a sustained period of elevated inflation. At the time, online communities and social media were flooded with content such as the “no-spend challenge,” in which people tried to avoid spending for a set period, a

Apr 20, 2026By Hankookilbo
Young Koreans flock to Daiso amid high inflation
Campus

InterviewWhy Korea University is nurturing critical thinkers to prepare for AI era

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly reshapes classrooms and research, universities are being called to redefine their role — not as passive adopters of technology, but as institutions that cultivate individuals capable of using AI as a tool while safeguarding human dignity and intellectual autonomy. Korea University unveiled “Next Intelligence” as its core vision to mark its 120th anniversary last year and has continued to advance the concept since. It frames intelligence as a partnership between humans and AI, working together to enhance and extend each other’s capabilities rather than compete for dominance. “The core mission of university education is no longer simply to deliver knowledge,” Korea University President Kim Dong-one told The Korea Times in a recent interview. “It is to fulfill the role of a Next Intelligence University — one that teaches what AI cannot replace: how to ask meaningful questions and how to choose values.” He emphasized that the rise of AI presents both new opportunities and fundamental challenges for universities. “The current moment

Apr 20, 2026By Jung Da-hyun
Why Korea University is nurturing critical thinkers to prepare for AI era
Global Community

Gimpo, 'second hometown' of Bangladeshi Jumma community, celebrates new year with Boi-Sa-Bi festival

The new year is celebrated by Bangladesh's Indigenous Jumma community annually in mid-April, during a three-day festival called Boi-Sa-Bi. Here in Korea, the Jumma community held its own Boi-Sa-Bi year-end and new year celebration for the 21st year on Sunday at Hangang New Town Lake Park in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province. Organized by the Jumma People's Network Korea (JPNK), established in 2002, and the Gimpo City Foreign Residents' Support Center, the celebration opened with a traditional flower-offering ceremony, a peace march featuring representatives of all 11 Jumma ethnic groups, and a samul nori (Korean percussion) performance by the Kkogume Pungmuldan troupe. The most important traditional festival of the Jumma people, Boi-Sa-Bi is short for Boishuk Sangrai Bizu, a combination of the first syllables of the names for traditional new year festivals of three ethnic groups in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT): Bizu for the Chakma people, Sangrai for the Marma people and Boishuk for the Tripura people. It is observed on the final two days of the old year on the local lunar calendar a

Apr 19, 2026By Bereket Alemayehu
Gimpo, 'second hometown' of Bangladeshi Jumma community, celebrates new year with Boi-Sa-Bi festival
Politics

DPK’s Chong Won-o, PPP’s Oh Se-hoon to compete in Seoul mayoral race

Seoul’s mayoral race scheduled for June 3 has taken shape, with the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) selecting incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon as its candidate to compete with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK) nominee, Chong Won-o. Oh won the PPP’s primary on Saturday, beating Rep. Park Soo-min and former PPP Rep. Yun Hee-suk. It was widely expected that Oh would be chosen as the conservative candidate in the crucial Seoul race, as he is one of the few heavyweights remaining in the conservative camp as its approval ratings plummet, driven by the party’s internal feud over whether to distance itself from impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol. It is Oh’s fifth bid for the Seoul mayor position. Up to three consecutive terms are allowed for a local government head, and while Oh was elected mayor in 2006 and won a second term in 2010, he resigned following a row over a school lunch policy. He then won a by-election in 2021 for a third term and was reelected in 2022 for a fourth term. If reelected again, he will serve a record fifth term as a local government

Apr 19, 2026By Park Ji-won
DPK’s Chong Won-o, PPP’s Oh Se-hoon to compete in Seoul mayoral race
Politics

Lee urges Nat'l Assembly to appoint special presidential inspector

President Lee Jae Myung renewed his calls for the National Assembly to swiftly begin procedures to appoint a special inspector general tasked with investigating corruption involving the president's family, a senior aide said Sunday. In a press briefing, presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said Lee stressed the need to appoint the independent inspector general to oversee misconduct by the president's spouse and close relatives as part of efforts to tighten discipline among public officials and enhance public trust. "Lee believes the appointment of an inspector general is necessary in accordance with the principles of democracy and people's sovereignty that 'all powers must be monitored through institutions,'" Kang said. "We ask that the National Assembly swiftly resume the procedures as the president has expressed his firm commitment." The independent inspector general position was established in 2014 under then President Park Geun-hye, but it has been left vacant since 2016. By law, the National Assembly must recommend three candidates with at least 15 years of legal experience, fr

Apr 19, 2026By Yonhap
Lee urges Nat'l Assembly to appoint special presidential inspector
Society

8 in 10 workers say Korea unwelcoming to employees with disabilities: survey

Nearly 8 in 10 workers say Korea is unwelcoming to workers with disabilities, a survey by a civic labor group found, underscoring a gap between steadily rising employment figures and the reality faced by many workers with disabilities. According to the poll released Sunday by nonprofit advocacy group Gapjil 119, 76.7 percent of 1,000 respondents aged 19 or older said Korea is not a society where people with disabilities can work comfortably. The sentiment was strongest at small private firms with fewer than five employees, at 85.7 percent, compared to 70.3 percent at larger companies with 300 or more employees, and 69.9 percent at public institutions. Women were more likely to say that workplaces were unwelcoming, with 81.2 percent agreeing that it was a problem, compared to 72.5 percent of men. Nearly half of respondents — 46.2 percent — said their workplace harbors bias or a discriminatory atmosphere toward hiring people with disabilities, while 51 percent said their workplace lacks barrier-free spaces. Derogatory or mocking language toward people with disabilities was also a reali

Apr 19, 2026By Park Ung
8 in 10 workers say Korea unwelcoming to employees with disabilities: survey
Society

Court says military service-based promotion track is gender discrimination

Granting higher starting grades and faster promotion tracks to employees with military service experience amounts to gender discrimination, the Seoul Administrative Court has ruled. The decision issued on Sunday renews a long-standing debate over how much society should reward military service, which all able-bodied Korean men are required to undergo for at least 18 months. In 2024, an unnamed plaintiff filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, alleging that an incorporated association’s hiring policy gave college graduates with military service record a higher starting grade and salary step, placing those without such experience at a disadvantage in both pay and promotion opportunities. The commission rejected the complaint in February last year, concluding that the company’s policy did not amount to unjustifiable discrimination against women. The employee eventually took the case to court. Judges found that giving employees with military service experience two extra salary steps was permissible under the Support for Veterans Act as compensation for econo

Apr 19, 2026By Park Ung
Court says military service-based promotion track is gender discrimination
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