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An island county needed a doctor, so it tripled the pay
After five failed recruitment attempts, Shinan-gun finally found a senior doctor by tripling its original offer from 11 million won to a pretax monthly salary of 33 million won ($24,100). The island county in Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City said Monday that it had selected a 61-year-old doctor from six applicants to work at its public health center. Korea's senior doctor program recruits experienced physicians aged 60 or older, including retired and soon-to-retire doctors, to work at h
Sept. 2, 2026 -
Ex-head of Incheon disability facility gets 15 years for sexually assaulting residents
A former head of a residential facility for people with severe disabilities was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for sexually assaulting three residents over more than a decade and physically abusing residents. The Seoul Central District Court found the man, surnamed Kim, guilty of nearly all charges stemming from offenses committed at Saekdongwon in Ganghwa, Incheon, between 2012 and 2025. The court also barred Kim from working at facilities serving people with disabilities, children o
Sept. 2, 2026 -
Seoul's art fair week is here
Frieze Seoul kicked off its fifth edition Wednesday at Coex in southern Seoul, where it opened to VIPs and the press a day before the public. More than 130 galleries from 30 countries and regions are taking part in this year's fair, which runs through Saturday. Sharing the building, as it has every September since 2022, is Kiaf Seoul, the homegrown fair put on by the Galleries Association of Korea. Now in its 25th year, Kiaf brings together 175 galleries from 18 countries and stays open a day lo
Sept. 2, 2026 -
Seoul shares tumble 4% on renewed US-Iran tensions; won strengthens
South Korean stocks tumbled 4 percent Wednesday as renewed hostility between the United States and Iran pushed up crude prices and fueled inflation worries. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 6,562.72, down 273.08 points, or 3.99 percent, ending a two-session winning streak. Overnight, the US launched a new round of airstrikes against Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz, driving oil prices higher and fanning inflation worr
Sept. 2, 2026 -
How S. Korea's youngest minister nominee became lightning rod
Criticism is mounting against Rep. Yong Hye-in, a left-wing lawmaker with the minor Basic Income Party who was nominated Sunday to be the next gender equality minister, over her intention to serve in the Cabinet without giving up her parliamentary seat. Yong has come under fire for refusing to relinquish her seat, with some critics accusing her of trying to retain political privileges and pointing to what they describe as "foul play." Others argue her decision runs counter to an unwritten conven
Sept. 2, 2026 -
Hyundai strike sends August sales to four-year low
Hyundai Motor’s global sales fell below 300,000 vehicles in August for the first time in more than four years after its first full-scale strike in a decade disrupted production. The setback also sharply narrowed the sales gap between Hyundai and smaller affiliate Kia. Hyundai said Tuesday that global sales dropped 14.2 percent year on year to 288,574 vehicles. Domestic sales plunged 41.1 percent to an 11-year low of 34,333 units. It was Hyundai’s first monthly domestic tally below 40,000 since F
Sept. 2, 2026 -
Could Trump meet Kim Jong-un in unprecedented Pyongyang summit?
Amid growing speculation that US President Donald Trump could consider meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, there are rising concerns that such a meeting would be focused more on publicity and political gains than on progress in nuclear and other outstanding issues. As signs of renewed diplomacy emerge in Washington and Seoul, experts increasingly see the North Korean capital as a possible meeting venue. Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton this week became the latest
Sept. 2, 2026 -
SK chief’s Kioxia overture raises stakes in NAND race
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is considering building a chip plant in Japan, potentially with NAND flash maker Kioxia, as the Korean conglomerate seeks deeper cooperation with its Japanese rival. Joint production is “one option,” Chey said in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun published Tuesday during his visit to Tokyo. He also identified supply chain coordination and joint research and development as potential areas of cooperation. The move underscores SK hynix’s ambition to leverage its lea
Sept. 2, 2026 -
Korean investors trading US leveraged ETFs 'blind'
South Korean retail investors are trading some popular US leveraged securities without access to real-time quotes during daytime hours, after Blue Ocean ATS suspended trading in 18 securities to comply with US Securities and Exchange Commission rules. The suspension took effect with Monday’s 8 p.m. ET session, Blue Ocean ATS said. Most of the affected securities are leveraged or inverse products, including the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares, known as SOXL, and the Direxion Daily MSC
Sept. 2, 2026 -
Can a ban on senior officers from serving in home regions redeem Korea’s scandal-hit police?
South Korea replaced 14 of its 18 regional police chiefs in a sweeping leadership reshuffle Tuesday, installing new commanders in Seoul, Gwangju and Jeju Island as the force grapples with public anger over recent investigative failures. The Korean National Police Agency said it applied a policy barring chiefs from serving in regions where they have personal ties to all 18 posts, in an effort to strengthen fairness and reduce the risk of collusion between senior officers and local communities. Ki
Sept. 2, 2026 -
1 rescued after tugboat capsizes in waters off Busan
A tugboat capsized in waters off the southeastern city of Busan on Wednesday, with only one of eight crew members aboard rescued so far, the Coast Guard said. The 286-ton vessel overturned in the waters just southeast of Busan at about 1:30 p.m., prompting the Coast Guard to dispatch rescue personnel and equipment to the scene. One of the vessel's crew members was rescued by a cargo ship passing near the area. Oceans Minister Hwang Jong-woo instructed authorities to mobilize all available resour
Sept. 2, 2026 -
Jurisdiction takes center stage in Coupang US lawsuit
Jurisdiction has emerged as the key issue in a US class-action lawsuit over Coupang's massive personal data breach. Judge Ann Donnelly on Tuesday questioned why the case should be heard in New York rather than in South Korea during a preliminary hearing at the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The plaintiffs, represented by South Korean law firm Daeryun and its US partner SJKP, underlined that Coupang Inc. is an American company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and tha
Sept. 2, 2026 -
Beyond HBM: Samsung, SK hynix target AI data center storage
Rapid AI data center expansion is pushing Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to compete over high-capacity enterprise solid-state drives, as the AI infrastructure race moves toward storage solutions. For much of the AI boom, investment has focused on computing power required to accelerate AI model training, particularly graphics processing units (GPUs) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). But as large language models become more complex and AI inference services expand, the industry faces another chal
Sept. 2, 2026 -
KAIST, Caltech to jointly select, mentor postdoctoral researchers
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and the California Institute of Technology will jointly select and mentor postdoctoral researchers under a new fellowship program, KAIST said Wednesday. Under the KAIST-Caltech Global Research Fellow program, faculty members from the two institutions will identify joint research topics and select postdoctoral researchers suited to the projects. Participants will conduct research at both institutions, gaining experience in different research
Sept. 2, 2026 -
Principals, teachers oppose 3 p.m. dismissal for younger elementary students
Associations representing elementary school principals and teachers have opposed the National Educational Commission’s plan to keep younger elementary students at school until 3 p.m., calling it undesirable. The Korea Elementary School Education Principal’s Association on Wednesday urged the committee to reconsider requiring all first- and second-graders to finish school late, warning the plan could disrupt existing school programs and may not be in the best interests of young children. This fol
Sept. 2, 2026