School meals halted again, as kitchen workers strike

A second round of relay strikes by nonregular workers at schools began Thursday in Gyeonggi Province, South Chungcheong Province and Daejeon. Workers in South Gyeongsang, North Gyeongsang, Daegu, Busan and Ulsan will follow suit Friday, stopping their work for the day. The collective action by unionized workers at school who typically handle school meal preparations and after-hours care programs for younger students comes after negotiations between the National School Irregular Workers’ Union Co

Dec. 4, 2025

Workplace fatality penalties, AI service disclosure

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act Proposed by Rep. Kim Yoon (Democratic Party of Korea) Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act Proposed by Rep. Lee Yong-woo (Democratic Party of Korea) Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Commercial Act Proposed by Rep. Kim Hyun-jung (Democratic Party of Korea) Promulgated Bill: Clean Air Conservation Act Competent Authority: Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment Administrative

Dec. 4, 2025

[Graphic News] Seoul ranks 5th among world’s richest cities

Seoul has ranked fifth among the world’s richest cities for 2025, according to CEOWorld magazine, with Tokyo topping the list at a gross domestic product of $2.55 trillion, narrowly ahead of the New York metropolitan area at $2.49 trillion, based on a survey of 300 major metropolitans worldwide. 서울이 전 세계 부유한 도시 순위에서 2025년 기준 5위를 기록했다고 CEOWorld 매거진이 밝혔다. 이번 조사는 전 세계 300개 주요 대도시권을 대상으로 진행됐으며, 도쿄가 2조5,500억 달러의 국내총생산(GDP)으로 뉴욕 도시권(2조4,900억 달러)을 근소한 차이로 제치고 1위를 차지했다. Tokyo’s strength comes from decad

Dec. 4, 2025

[Boram Jang] A 6-hour lesson from Korea

Like every schoolchild in South Korea, I was taught about the days in May 1980 when our country’s soldiers killed civilians in the Gwangju Democratic Uprising. At least 166 protesters — mostly students — were shot dead, and at the time there were no consequences for those responsible. One year ago — on Dec. 3 last year, when South Korea’s then-President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law and deployed troops to the National Assembly — that lesson helped save the country's constitutional order. In

Dec. 4, 2025

[Wang Son-taek] A year after an insurrection

Exactly a year ago, South Korea confronted a constitutional disaster. A sitting president attempted a self-coup that could have resulted in violent confrontation or authoritarian consolidation. Instead, South Korea overcame the crisis with extraordinary efficiency and civic maturity. Within 12 months, the country restored constitutional governance, elected a new president and stabilized national systems without falling into either bloodshed or total chaos. Such an achievement deserves recognitio

Dec. 4, 2025

Korea and Japan should handle disputes, cooperation separately: Lee

South Korea and Japan have a number of contested, and unresolved issues but the two sides need to compartmentalize matters in developing bilateral ties, President Lee Jae Myung said at Wednesday’s press conference with foreign media. Saying that the two countries are inseparably connected economically and historically, Lee said that areas that discord must not influence fields that need cooperation. Q. There have been some reports suggesting that you may soon visit Japan. However, there have als

Dec. 3, 2025

Lee vows active role as 'pacemaker' in NK-US dialogue

President Lee Jae Myung reaffirmed South Korea’s willingness to play a proactive "pacemaker" role in facilitating dialogue between the United States and North Korea, despite current deadlock in inter-Korean relations. Speaking to reporters, Lee acknowledged that all communication channels with the North are severed, leaving Seoul limited to taking unilateral goodwill measures, such as halting propaganda broadcasts and minimizing military activities. Lee emphasized that the US—as the legal party

Dec. 3, 2025

Lee says he has weighed apologizing to NK to ease tensions

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday said that he has weighed issuing an apology to North Korea over the leaflets sent during the previous administration, as a gesture to ease tensions. During the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, activists had resumed floating balloons carrying leaflets denouncing the North Korean regime across the border. The North denounced the leaflets as provocations, and responded by floating balloons carrying waste. Q. Recently you commented on social media that the

Dec. 3, 2025

Seoul-Moscow relations ‘difficult,’ but South has limited options: Lee

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday stressed that while Russia is an important nation for South Korea, Seoul has little options due to the war on Ukraine and Moscow’s deepening ties with Pyongyang. Speaking at the press conference with foreign media, Lee said that Moscow-Pyongyang ties are developing in a “very undesirable” direction for South Korea, but that the country will “do our best to prevent things from worsening and work to improve the situation, even slightly.” Q. Over the past one to

Dec. 3, 2025

Lee says Korea should ‘mediate’ in China-Japan friction

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday said that Korea would not take sides in the escalating friction between China and Japan, and seek to mediate and moderate between the two neighbors. When asked about what would Korea’s role be if conflict breaks out between China and Taiwan, in relation to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent comment that sparked off deterioration in China-Japan relations. Last month, Takaichi said that conflict involving force between China and Taiwan could "const

Dec. 3, 2025