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  • Society

    Behind bars in Cheonan, foreign inmate weighs past and future

    CHEONAN, South Chungcheong Province — Joe, identified by a pseudonym, is serving an 18-month sentence at Cheonan Correctional Institution, Korea's only prison tasked with handling foreign inmates. His name, age and nationality are being withheld at his request. “I caused a car accident while out with friends and entered prison last August,” Joe told The Korea Times. “I'm very sorry to my parents and the victim, who suffered great pain and harm because of me.” Inside the prison, his days follow a strict routine. He wakes up at 6 a.m., prepares for inspection, eats breakfast and waits for the next inspection. He spends his time studying English and religion, drawing and writing letters to friends. “At first it was hard to adjust, but the correctional officers helped a lot, so I haven't had any difficulties. I'm also adjusting to the culture here. Before coming to prison, I was too busy working to pick much up, but now I've been attending a prison program called 'Good Morning Korea,' learning about Korean culture.” Culture is one thing, but sharing a cell with strangers is ano

    2 MIN READBy Park Ung
    Behind bars in Cheonan, foreign inmate weighs past and future
  • Society

    WEEKENDER Inside Korea's only prison tasked with handling foreign inmates

    4 MIN READBy Park Ung
    [WEEKENDER] Inside Korea's only prison tasked with handling foreign inmates
  • Society

    After 14 years with foreign inmates, correctional officer says crime has no nationality

    4 MIN READBy Park Ung
    After 14 years with foreign inmates, correctional officer says crime has no nationality
  • South Korea

    Lee meets SK chairman for possible discussion on chip projects: sources

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Lee meets SK chairman for possible discussion on chip projects: sources
  • South Korea

    Drinking trend shift: Why more young Koreans are avoiding company dinners

    2 MIN READBy Kormedi.com
    Drinking trend shift: Why more young Koreans are avoiding company dinners
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Politics

Lee administration's reform drive raises concerns over rushed policymaking

The Lee Jae Myung administration is sparking concerns that it is rushing through major reforms without fully assessing their risks, with critics arguing that it is hastily implementing policies and addressing unintended consequences only after they emerge. The concerns have been fueled by a disputed revised law, set to take effect on Oct. 2, that completely strips the prosecution of its direct investigative powers and high-risk, high-return single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), rolled out just ahead of the June 3 local elections. Regarding the legislation on prosecution reform, the bill was passed by the National Assembly July 31 and cleared by the Cabinet Tuesday amid controversy that it would leave shortcomings in police investigations unaddressed. The controversy deepened particularly after allegations of police misconduct surfaced in a recent murder case involving a police officer's son. The majority-wielding ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), however, placed greater importance on its long-standing goal of preventing the prosecution's abuse of power to both invest

Aug 6, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Lee administration's reform drive raises concerns over rushed policymaking
Defense

To match soldiers' tastes, military brings wider ice cream selection to barracks

For a young conscript enduring the muggy heat of Korean summer, few moments in basic training rival the quiet comfort of a cold dessert. But for decades, that brief respite came with a mandatory catch: you ate whatever single, government-contracted ice cream bar landed in your mess hall, whether you liked it or not. Now, in a subtle yet telling sign of how Korea’s armed forces are adapting to a new generation of recruits, the military is giving soldiers something rarely associated with military life: freedom of choice. The Public Procurement Service said Thursday it is scrapping its long-standing single-vendor contract system for military ice cream. In its place, the agency is introducing a multisupplier contract framework that allows individual military units to order a tailored roster of popular commercial treats directly through an internal procurement marketplace. The policy shift is aimed squarely at satisfying the changing palates of Gen Z recruits. Today's soldiers, born around the turn of the millennium, grew up in one of the world's most competitive food markets, where conven

Aug 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
To match soldiers' tastes, military brings wider ice cream selection to barracks
Education

Korea considers using AI to grade CSAT essay answers

Korea’s top education policy body is weighing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in order to safeguard fairness in evaluating essay-style answers, as the government moves to overhaul the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). The presidential National Education Commission, which oversees national education policy plans, has started drafting a reform blueprint that would introduce written and essay-type questions across subjects and shift the college entrance exam as well as high school records from relative grading to absolute evaluation. The commission is currently collecting public opinions before finalizing the plan next March. “In fact, when it comes to essay-type assessment, the biggest public concern is fairness and we are reviewing the use of AI as one possible alternative among options to address that,” a senior official involved in the project told The Korea Times. At the commission’s policy briefing held at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Wednesday, Chairman Cha Jeong-in highlighted the problem with the current main test structure based on five-option multiple-choice qu

Aug 6, 2026By Jung Min-ho
Korea considers using AI to grade CSAT essay answers
  • Korea’s infamously difficult CSAT English section to get AI makeover
Campus

University of Seoul celebrates 1st graduates of jointly created urban planning department in Cambodia

The University of Seoul and the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) have celebrated the first graduates of their jointly established Department of Sustainable Urban Planning and Development. The university said Monday that the graduation ceremony was held at RUPP’s campus in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on July 31 for 31 students who completed the department’s undergraduate program. The event marked the first graduation since the department was established in 2022. The graduation represented a major milestone in the Leading University Project for International Cooperation, which has been led by the Korean government and implemented by the University of Seoul’s International School of Urban Sciences since 2021. The initiative has been funded by the Ministry of Education and supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea. In May 2022, the two universities received approval to establish Cambodia’s first urban planning department. They have since incorporated the University of Seoul’s urban planning curriculum and Korea’s expertise in urban development into the department’s a

Aug 6, 2026By Park Yoon-bae
University of Seoul celebrates 1st graduates of jointly created urban planning department in Cambodia
South Korea

Lee orders full mobilization of resources to minimize damage from extreme heat

President Lee Jae Myung instructed the government Thursday to mobilize all of its resources to minimize damage from a record-breaking heat wave gripping the nation. Lee issued the order at a meeting with relevant ministers and heads of local governments as temperatures climbed to near 40 C in many parts of the country, with the southeastern city of Yangsan posting the highest recorded temperature of 42.5 C on Sunday. Thousands of people had visited hospitals and 21 people had died from heat-related illnesses as of Wednesday, according to health authorities. "The heat wave is highly likely to continue for some time, so the government must with exceptional resolve activate a comprehensive response system until the heat wave eases," Lee said at the meeting at the government complex. "I ask you to fully mobilize all administrative powers so that the damage to the people from the heat wave and the drought can be minimized." Lee gave instructions to devise measures to respond to extreme weather, look after senior citizens living alone and shanty town residents, ensure that breaks are implemente

Aug 6, 2026By Yonhap
Lee orders full mobilization of resources to minimize damage from extreme heat
Politics

PPP leader slams Lee over remarks on revision to Criminal Procedure Act

The leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday denounced President Lee Jae Myung over remarks suggesting he had not read a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act that strips prosecutors of their investigative powers, despite having earlier approved its promulgation. The criticism came after Lee raised questions about the legislation during a government briefing Wednesday, saying he had "not read" the revised law during a Cabinet meeting the previous day. "It is embarrassing to call someone who has completely destroyed South Korea's judicial system by amending the Criminal Procedure Act and confidently says, 'I have not read the legal text,' the president of South Korea," Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok said during a meeting of the party's supreme council. "The president is nonchalantly spouting out such nonsense as if it is no big deal that people don't even recognize it as such," he added. At Wednesday's meeting, where the president received policy briefings from government agencies, Lee asked the justice minister whether prosecutors will not be allowed to conduct investiga

Aug 6, 2026By Yonhap
PPP leader slams Lee over remarks on revision to Criminal Procedure Act
Defense

US Marines hold first FPV suicide drone live-fire drill in Korea

POCHEON, Gyeonggi Province — A voice over the radio quietly called out, “Splash.” About three seconds later, an explosion echoed across Rodriguez Live-Fire Complex as a first-person view (FPV) attack drone slammed into a target about 2.5 kilometers from the observation post. The U.S. Marine Corps on Wednesday publicly conducted its first live-fire exercise with FPV attack drones on the Korean Peninsula, using the Neros Archer as part of the Korea Marine Exchange program (KMEP). Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment launched six quadcopter-style drones, all six of which struck targets about 900 meters away. Operated in hit-to-kill mode, the explosive-laden drones were designed to crash directly into their targets, effectively functioning as one-way attack, or "suicide," drones. They were guided through onboard cameras until impact, allowing operators and reporters at the observation post to watch the flights in real time from the drones’ perspective before the video feed cut out abruptly. Roughly the size of a backpack, the Neros Archer has a maximum range of 25 kilo

Aug 6, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
US Marines hold first FPV suicide drone live-fire drill in Korea
Law & Crime

Arrest warrants sought for 4 student activists over alleged infiltration into US air base

Police said Thursday they have requested arrest warrants for four student activists for allegedly trespassing on a U.S. air base in Korea earlier this week. On Tuesday, eight members of the Korean Progressive University Student Union, four male and four female, attempted to breach the main gate of the K-55 Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, about 60 kilometers south of Seoul. Six entered the compound, while the other two were stopped at the entrance. The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) detained the student activists on-site and handed them over to the Pyeongtaek Police Station. Four were placed in custody, while the other four were released. The four detained allegedly filmed themselves chanting anti-U.S. slogans against the 7th Air Force, which they accused of interfering in a semiconductor cluster project in the southwestern city of Gwangju by raising concerns about its impact on U.S. military interests. The group also protested a recent white phosphorous leak at the base. The Suwon District Court's Pyeongtaek branch has scheduled an arrest warrant hearing for later in the day, with a decision expe

Aug 6, 2026By Yonhap
Arrest warrants sought for 4 student activists over alleged infiltration into US air base
Society

Korea launches respect campaign for migrant workers

On construction sites and factory floors across Korea, supervisors barking orders at foreign laborers often address them not by their given names, but by blunt, casual Korean pronouns: "hey" or "you." Now, a nationwide campaign led by government officials, regional authorities and labor rights foundations is attempting to reshape that workplace culture, starting with a simple act of human recognition: giving migrant laborers hard hats printed with their actual names. The Ministry of Employment and Labor partnered with local officials and four major labor rights organizations — including the Jeon Tae-il Foundation and the Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation — to host the Migrant Worker Labor Respect Campaign on Thursday in Asan, an industrial hub in South Chungcheong Province. Gathered inside a local community center, roughly 150 business leaders, union delegates and foreign laborers watched as workers were formally presented with custom hard hats bearing their names in clear, bold lettering. The initiative stems from a joint agreement signed in April to promote the rights

Aug 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea launches respect campaign for migrant workers
Law & Crime

Number of Koreans imprisoned overseas up 25 % in 4 years: lawmaker

The number of Korean citizens imprisoned overseas has jumped more than 25 percent over the past four years, a ruling party lawmaker said Thursday, citing data from the foreign ministry. Rep. Kim Joon-hwan of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said 1,325 Korean nationals were held in prisons across 54 countries as of the end of June this year, a 25.6 percent increase from 1,055 tallied in 2022. By country, China topped the list with 424 cases, followed by Japan with 254, Vietnam with 204, the United States with 138, the Philippines with 61, Cambodia with 54 and Thailand with 43. Vietnam saw the sharpest increase, with the number of imprisoned Koreans rising nearly fivefold from 42 in 2022 to 204 this year. Of the total, fraud accounted for about a quarter with 332 cases, followed by drug-related crimes with 291, murder with 128, gambling with 91, theft with 69 and sexual assault or harassment with 52. Thirty-four Koreans were also incarcerated on charges of kidnapping linked to organized crimes, including employment scams.

Aug 6, 2026By Yonhap
Number of Koreans imprisoned overseas up 25 % in 4 years: lawmaker
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