Workers aged 70 and older surpass 2 million for first time

The number of workers aged 70 and older reached 2.16 million in 2025, up 9.2 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics on Wednesday. Seniors accounted for 7.1 percent of the country's total employed population of 28.209 million. It is the first time working seniors have exceeded the 2-million mark since the agency began publishing employment statistics for people aged 70 and older in 2018, when the number stood at 1.21 million. After surpassing 1.5 m

2026-06-10 11:31:57:00

Twists and turns on Korean players' road to World Cup

The World Cup lasts only a few weeks. The journeys that bring players there take years. For some players on South Korea's roster, the path was far from straightforward, marked by unexpected twists of fate, long waits for an opportunity and precious family moments put on hold. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defender Cho Wi-je left for Salt Lake City, Utah, in mid-May to help the Taegeuk Warriors prepare for the World Cup. Now, he is one of them. The 24-year-old center back was initially named as one of t

2026-06-09 17:02:57:00

Getting married soon? Some Koreans say skip the funeral

Every wedding season, online communities for newlyweds in Korea buzz with a familiar question: Is it a bad idea to attend a funeral before my wedding? Rooted in a traditional belief that attending a funeral before major life events can bring bad luck, the superstition remains surprisingly resilient among young Koreans even in 2026. In a recent post on Blind, an anonymous online community for office workers, a man set to marry later this month said he had an argument with his fiancee after attend

2026-06-08 12:34:15:00

Stakeouts after school: A day in the life of Korea's Gen Z private detective

By day, Oh Ji-wan is a history major at Ajou University. By night, he tracks suspected cheaters, fraudsters and missing persons as a private investigator. While many college students spend their evenings studying, socializing or pursuing romance, this one is more likely to be on the road or staking out restaurants or motels, hunting for leads. "There was one time when a family asked me to find their son, who was about my age and had run away from home and cut off all contact," Oh, 24, said in an

2026-06-06 16:00:00:00

Tears and tributes for Hanwha Aerospace explosion victims

Bereaved family members, friends and colleagues of victims of the explosion at Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon facility gathered at joint memorial altars on Thursday morning to mourn the loss of their loved ones. Hanwha Aerospace, the defense affiliate of Hanwha Group, has established joint memorial altars across 10 of its business sites nationwide to honor those killed in the explosion, including one at the Yuseong District Office near its Daejeon facility. Other locations include the company's head

2026-06-05 11:24:21:00

Single vote decides local council seat in South Chungcheong Province

The single closest contest in Wednesday's local elections unfolded in South Chungcheong Province, where Democratic Party of Korea candidate Gi Ho-yeop edged out his conservative rival by just one vote in a race for a provincial council seat. According to the National Election Commission on Thursday, Gi received 11,594 votes in the Nonsan City No. 1 constituency for a seat on the South Chungcheong Provincial Council, defeating People Power Party candidate Yoon Gi-hyeong by a single vote. The two

2026-06-04 15:15:10:00

Sleepless night in Jamsil as angry protesters block ballot box removal

Overnight protests following voting disruptions caused by a ballot paper shortage in Seoul's Songpa-gu continued into Thursday afternoon, with demonstrators physically blocking the transfer of ballot boxes to a counting center. Well past 2 p.m. on Thursday, a day after Election Day, protesters remained gathered outside Jamsil 7-dong's No. 2 polling station, set up at the Woosung Apartment senior citizens' center, continuing to barricade the building. The National Election Commission said the two

2026-06-04 11:11:23:00

Winners likely to emerge around midnight; tight races may extend to 3-4 a.m.

The outcome of most races in Wednesday's local elections and parliamentary by-elections is expected to become clear by midnight, while tightly contested races could remain undecided until around 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. Thursday, according to the National Election Commission. Voting, which began nationwide at 6 a.m., will continue until 6 p.m., after which exit poll results will be announced. Ballot counting is expected to begin in earnest about 20 minutes after polls close. Results from metropolitan an

2026-06-03 11:16:46:00

57.3% of voters cast ballots by 5 p.m., surpassing previous local election’s final turnout

More than half of eligible voters had cast their ballots in South Korea’s local elections by 5 p.m. Wednesday, pushing turnout to 57.3 percent — surpassing the final turnout recorded in the previous local election. According to the National Election Commission, the 5 p.m. turnout was 6.4 percentage points higher than the final turnout of 50.9 percent in the 2022 election and 9.7 percentage points above the level recorded at the same time four years earlier. Of the country’s 44.65 million eligibl

2026-06-03 10:05:08:00

Unexpected polling stations awaiting voters on Election Day

Across South Korea, a variety of spaces — from barbecue restaurants to wedding halls — are serving as polling stations for Wednesday's local elections and parliamentary by-elections. In Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, Sangsang Chowoel Dwaeji Galbi, a Korean barbecue restaurant known for its pork ribs, will again open to voters as a polling station, a role it has served for more than a decade. "We have enough room to separate the polling area from the restaurant, so business can continue as usual

2026-06-02 13:37:30:00