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  • Society

    InterviewStarbucks union leader says 'Tank Day' fiasco deepened strain on workers

    The leader of Starbucks Korea’s newly formed union says the company’s recent “Tank Day” marketing failure not only damaged the brand but also intensified pressure and uncertainty for workers already struggling with heavy workloads and unstable schedules. Lee Yong-bin, head of the Starbucks branch of the Korean Chemical, Textile & Food Workers’ Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said the union’s creation emerged out of frustration with years of one-way communication — a dynamic he thinks helped pave the way for the marketing fiasco. “I heard that after the ‘Tank Day’ marketing, frontline partners had to deal with customer complaints and other issues that they would not have had to respond to if there had been no controversy,” Lee said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. “The impact of the boycott differs by store, but in locations where customer numbers have dropped sharply, the overtime work some workers used to do as a routine part of their job has disappeared, and their monthly pay has declined as a result.” His comments came after S

    3 MIN READBy Jung Min-ho
    Starbucks union leader says 'Tank Day' fiasco deepened strain on workers
  • Law & Crime

    Court set to rule on ex-President Yoon's election law violation case

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Court set to rule on ex-President Yoon's election law violation case
  • Politics

    Lee arrives in Brazil for summit with Lula, business roundtable

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Lee arrives in Brazil for summit with Lula, business roundtable
  • Politics

    $950 bil. chip partnerships reinforce Korea's place in global AI supply chain

    3 MIN READBy Yi Whan-woo
    $950 bil. chip partnerships reinforce Korea's place in global AI supply chain
  • Society

    Highest-level heat warnings issued for southeastern Korea

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Highest-level heat warnings issued for southeastern Korea
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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

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Global Community

Rain or shine, Seoul Drag Parade glitters in gold

No amount of rain could dull the sparkle of the kings and queens of the Seoul Drag Parade, who graced the streets of central Seoul’s multicultural Itaewon and Haebangchon neighborhoods, Friday, aiming to show the world the charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent of Korea’s queer community. Gathered outside the small neon sign that marked Haebangchon's Rabbithole Arcade Pub, a home for many in Seoul’s LGBTQ+ community, were drag artists of all walks of life: queens draped in elaborate, bedazzled costumes and multicolored tulle, alongside kings who donned fierce statement pieces. Behind them were young queer people wearing Pride flags, carrying signs that declared their gender identity and expression loud and proud. Against the usual neutral-toned backdrop of Seoul were these exuberant declarations of identity, flamboyant and fearless, buzzing with excitement as they sought to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight. “We don’t want [drag] to be hidden away and just tolerated on the fringes. It deserves to be a part of the everyday cultural landscape,” Seoul Drag Parade c

Oct 4, 2025By Inna Christine Cabel
Rain or shine, Seoul Drag Parade glitters in gold
Law & Crime

Court orders release of ex-KCC chief following legality review

A court accepted a request Saturday from Lee Jin-sook, former head of the now-defunct Korea Communications Commission (KCC), to be released from detention. A judge at the Seoul Southern District Court granted Lee's request for release, saying her arrest is "not justified at this stage." Lee filed for a court review of her detention the previous day. Lee was taken into custody earlier in the week on suspicion of violating the Election Law and breaching political neutrality. The former KCC chief is accused of breaching political neutrality by making partisan remarks on conservative YouTube channels in September last year. The remarks were also deemed to violate the Election Law, as they were allegedly aimed at obstructing the election of President Lee Jae Myung, who was a presidential candidate at that time.

Oct 4, 2025By Yonhap
Court orders release of ex-KCC chief following legality review
Politics

Lee says issue of separated families 'top priority'

President Lee Jae Myung said Saturday that the issue of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War must be addressed as a "top priority" between the two Koreas. Lee made the remark in a speech read on his behalf by Second Deputy National Security Adviser Lim Woong-soon at a ceremony marking the third Separated Families Day. "Unfortunately, inter-Korean relations are currently mired in deep distrust, but the issue of separated families remains the top priority that South and North Korea must work together to resolve," he said. "We will work to fundamentally resolve this issue through dialogue and cooperation." Lee vowed to "strengthen the basis" for exchanges for the families, including conducting DNA tests to use their genetic information for potential family reunions with relatives in North Korea. "We will do our utmost to ensure peace takes root on the Korean Peninsula and work to bring the day of their reunion forward even by a single day so that the grief of the separated families is not passed down to future generations," he said. On Friday, Lee also met with elderly people who fle

Oct 4, 2025By Yonhap
Lee says issue of separated families 'top priority'
Society

Lee vows to improve people's livelihoods in Chuseok holiday greetings

President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hea Kyung offered their greetings to the public Saturday, the second day of the extended Chuseok holiday, vowing their utmost efforts to improve people's livelihoods. In a video message, Lee said he feels a "heavy sense of responsibility" as the country celebrates this year's extended Chuseok holiday, the Korean fall harvest festival, from Friday to next Thursday. "The Chuseok holiday is a time when we wish for abundance for the year and dream of a hopeful future but the hardships facing people's livelihoods remain too great for us to be sharing only joy," he said. Lee pledged his utmost efforts to help "every household live more prosperously" and ensure that the country's industries make a "vigorous leap forward." "I am confident we will overcome all challenges, given our people's shared commitment and aspiration for a better tomorrow," he added.

Oct 4, 2025By Yonhap
Lee vows to improve people's livelihoods in Chuseok holiday greetings
Global Community

Muse makes Korea wait a decade, then delivers a spectacle

“How’s it going, Seoul?” Matt Bellamy, lead singer and guitarist of Muse, proclaimed to a packed stadium in... Incheon. It’s alright, Mr. Bellamy. You’ve been gone 10 years and have just flown in from Japan. You might be a little groggy. Muse is an English three-piece “Progressive hard-rock opera piano symphonic” band. Anyone familiar with the band would tell you it’s hard to pigeonhole them into a genre. Those familiar with the band will also tell you that they are one of the best live bands on the planet. Many an astonished punter at the smorgasbord of Europe’s summer rock festivals has turned instant convert to Muse after seeing them in a muddy field on a Sunday night. And here they are, back in Korea after a lengthy hiatus. Having had their last show in Korea be Sept. 30, 2015, at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena, at which I was present, means that their Sept. 27 show in Incheon was, for all intents and purposes, a decade gap. This was my 12th Muse concert over 21 years, which basically means I had seen them once a year for the first half and only one time in the seco

Oct 4, 2025By Kevin Grabb
Muse makes Korea wait a decade, then delivers a spectacle
Society

Unionized workers at 14 airports suspend strike; Incheon airport walkout continues

Unionized workers at 14 airports across Korea decided to suspend their strikes Saturday, but employees at the nation's main Incheon International Airport said they will continue their indefinite walkout, raising concerns of travel disruptions during the Chuseok holiday period. The workers at the 14 airports said they will resume their duties through Oct. 14, when the presidential office is scheduled to meet with officials from the state-run Korea Airports Corp. for talks on the issue. "If the government and the relevant agencies fail to take responsible action after the talks, we will resume the general strike Oct. 15," they said in a press release. Unionized workers at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, will continue their full-scale walkout throughout the Chuseok break, which runs from Friday through next Thursday. On Wednesday, around 15,000 unionized workers from 15 airports, including those in charge of runway repairs, firefighting and electrical maintenance, launched an indefinite strike. The workers have demanded improved working conditions, such as more relaxed work shi

Oct 4, 2025By Yonhap
Unionized workers at 14 airports suspend strike; Incheon airport walkout continues
Defense

Korean overseas troops continue to serve for peace as UNC marks 75th anniversary

Korean peacekeeping troops in Lebanon and South Sudan continue to serve for global peace through activities ranging from combined training to taekwondo lessons for civilians as the U.N. Command (UNC) marks its 75th anniversary of establishment this year. Korea has deployed troops to its Dongmyeong Unit as part of the U.N. Interim Forces in Lebanon and the Hanbit Unit for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, of which both seek to honor the devotion of troops that were deployed here under the U.N. flag, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The presence of the Korean peacekeeping units has come into the spotlight as the U.S-led multinational command marks the 75th anniversary of its establishment this year. In a ceremony marking the milestone last month, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Korea could arise from a war-torn country due to the UNC and troops from 22 nations, pledging to remember the spirit of solidarity and help defend peace with the international community. First deployed in 2007, the Dongmyeong Unit seeks to contribute to regional stability by conducting aroun

Oct 4, 2025By Yonhap
Korean overseas troops continue to serve for peace as UNC marks 75th anniversary
Global Community

Adoptees, birth families, officials demand justice as Korea confronts abuses

Mie Lee Hansen, now 38 years old and living in Denmark, thought she knew the story of her adoption and the family that gave her away. She had documents that offered convincing information about her Korean background, including the fact that she had two older sisters. After taking a DNA test, she was reconnected with a Korean relative — but the story she learned from this long-lost relative differed radically from what was in those files. “The real story is that when my mother went into labor, she was rushed to the hospital,” Lee said. “She gave birth, and after she recovered and requested to see her baby, she was told that the baby was stillborn. The day after my mother went home, my maternal grandmother returned to the hospital to claim my body. But the doctors told her to go home and became angry with her.” Needless to say, her family was shocked to learn that she was very much alive. “When my Korean family read my adoption file, they said, 'Everything here is fake.' The file had their names and the city we lived in, and it was true that I had two older sisters. But everyth

Oct 3, 2025By Alice Hong and Antonia Giordano
Adoptees, birth families, officials demand justice as Korea confronts abuses
Society

Chuseok traditions shift as MZ Generation embraces digital connections, overseas travel

Chuseok is undergoing a marked cultural change for Korea’s so-called MZ Generation, who are increasingly opting to spend the holiday alone, send digital gifts and travel abroad — departing from longstanding traditions of family gatherings and ancestral rites. The MZ Generation — a term that encompasses both millennials and Gen Z — is largely concentrated in Seoul and the greater capital region for work or study. Digitally fluent and globally minded, many prefer international travel over domestic getaways. This shift reflects how for many in the MZ Generation Chuseok is no longer synonymous with returning to their hometowns — a tradition that typically sees millions of Koreans travel across the country to reunite with family. In a recent nationwide poll conducted by research and analysis firm PMI, 36.1 percent of 3,000 adult respondents said they planned to spend this year’s Chuseok holiday resting at home, edging out the 33.5 percent who intended to visit family. The survey was conducted among people aged 20 to 69, and those opting to stay home alone were primarily in their 2

Oct 3, 2025By Yi Whan-woo
Chuseok traditions shift as MZ Generation embraces digital connections, overseas travel
South Korea

Lee meets Korean War refugees on first day of Chuseok holiday

President Lee Jae Myung met with people who fled to South Korea from North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War, Friday, the first day of the extended Chuseok holiday, according to his office. The meeting took place at the Ganghwa Peace Observatory in Incheon, where Lee expressed sympathy to the families and wished them a warm holiday. From a lookout point, they gazed toward North Korea and also took photos together. The Presidential Office said Lee plans to use the weeklong holiday to rest and prepare for the remainder of the year, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. On Sunday, he is scheduled to appear on a TV cooking show to introduce his favorite Korean foods and promote them.

Oct 3, 2025By Yonhap
Lee meets Korean War refugees on first day of Chuseok holiday
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