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July 03, 2026
 

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Heejin Kim
South Korea's labor minister said companies like Samsung that outperform profit targets should consider sharing excess gains with suppliers, subcontractors and their workers.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2026
South Korea minister calls on tech firms to share excess AI profits with suppliers and staff
The government, businesses and unions should discuss how to share “excess profits” and narrow the gap between conglomerates and smaller suppliers, Kim Young-hoon said.
Starbucks launched its "Tank Day" campaign on Monday in South Korea to promote what it called its "Tank" line of tumblers and has since withdrawn the campaign after facing public backlash.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2026
Starbucks South Korea head fired after ‘Tank Day’ promotion sparks public uproar
The coffee chain’s “Tank Day” campaign began Monday, which also marks Democratization Movement Day commemorating the student-led Gwangju Uprising of May 1980.
In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, the Iran-flagged tugboat Basim sails near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.
WORLD
May 5, 2026
South Korean-run vessel ablaze in Strait of Hormuz; Trump says Iran fired at the ship
No casualties have been reported and authorities are investigating what caused the blaze.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks at the Philippines-Korea Business Forum in Pasay, Metro Manila, on March 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 10, 2026
Seoul can’t stop U.S. forces from redeploying weapons to Middle East, says Lee
U.S. and South Korean militaries have been discussing possible redeployment of some U.S. Patriot missile defense systems based in South Korea.
Fragments of a drone lie scattered on the ground in the Muksan-ri area, Kaepung District, Kaesong City, North Korea, after North Korea said on Saturday that South Korea sent another drone into North Korean airspace on Jan. 4, according to North Korean state media KCNA, in this picture released on Jan. 10.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 18, 2026
South Korea says civilians sent drones to North Korea four times, harming ties
The ​trio flew the aircraft between September and January.
South Korea’s fourth homegrown Nuri rocket lifts off from Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Korea, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 27, 2025
South Korea’s fourth space rocket launch sends satellites into orbit
Including Thursday’s launch, South Korea aims to test-launch a total of six rockets by 2027.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won arrives to attend a hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul in December 2016.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Oct 16, 2025
South Korean top court partially overturns SK Group chief’s near $1B divorce deal
Last year, the Seoul High Court said Chey should pay $972.5 million to his estranged wife, Roh So-yeong, as part of their planned divorce and additional funds in alimony.
Officials in South Korea have not given a timetable for the full restoration of disrupted services caused by a fire that broke out during routine maintenance in a server room at the state-run National Information Resources Service in Daejeon on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 29, 2025
South Korea scrambles to restore digital services after server fire
Authorities said 62 government services had been restored of about 647 systems affected after a fire broke out at the state-run National Information Resources Service on Friday.
Activists holding signs that reads "No one is illegal!" protest against a huge immigration raid last week in the U.S. state of Georgia, in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Sep 9, 2025
Workers say corporate South Korea was warned about questionable U.S. visas before Hyundai raid
For years, South Korean companies have said they struggle to obtain short-term work visas for specialists needed in their high-tech plants in the United States.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a news conference at the Blue House in Seoul on July 3.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 13, 2025
South Korean President Lee to visit Japan for summit with Ishiba, Seoul says
The leaders will discuss ways to improve regional peace and boost trilateral cooperation with Washington.
Customers browse Amorepacific cosmetics at the store inside the company's headquarters in Seoul.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 31, 2025
Seoul overtakes Paris in beauty boom with dealmakers rushing in
South Korea last year became the top exporter of cosmetics to the United States, overtaking France, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission.
The flight data recorder retrieved from Jeju Air flight 2216, which crashed killing 179 people in December. Black boxes holding the flight data and cockpit voice recorders for the flight stopped recording four minutes before the disaster, South Korea's transport ministry said Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 15, 2025
Crashed Jeju jet’s black box failure shows decadeslong gap in power rules
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board first recommended that cockpit voice recorders be fitted with an independent power source in the late 1990s.
Han Duck-soo, South Korean Prime Minister, gives a speech during an event in Seoul on May 22.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 24, 2024
South Korean opposition seeks to impeach acting president Han
The exact timing of the impeachment proposal against Han will be decided after an internal party review, report says.
A Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle (EV) at a dealership in Colma, California, on Jan. 26
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 9, 2024
Trump’s EV skepticism threatens $54 billion in Korean investments
Some Korean companies have slowed or hit the pause button on any ongoing construction of some plants in the U.S. because they’re concerned about reduced demand for EVs.
The upscale Gangnam area of Seoul is one area in South Korea where high-end apartments for seniors are being developed.
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2024
Fast-aging South Korea sees money in luxury retirement homes
The popularity of such residences have prompted the likes of Lotte and Hyundai to invest billions of dollars on new projects.
An LG Energy Solution battery pack for an electric vehicle using cell-to-pack technologies displayed at the InterBattery exhibition in Seoul on March 6
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 4, 2024
LG sees battery breakthrough by 2028 that has eluded Tesla
It aims to commercialize the dry-coating technology for making electrodes that can allow savings on energy, equipment costs and space.
Hyundai Wia robotic arms on the production line at the Kia plant in Gwangmyeong, South Korea, on Jan. 3
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2024
How one of the world’s strongest car unions is dealing with EV job losses
Hyundai Motor and Kia’s moves toward electrification are provoking anxiety in South Korea’s highly active and organized labor movement.
Demonstrators protest against a government plan to increase the number of seats at medical schools in Seoul in March.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 8, 2024
Deaths amid doctor shortage fuel election angst in South Korea
A critical lack of doctors in South Korea has led to thousands of deaths as President Yoon Suk-yeol works to address the problem.  
Demonstrators gather during a protest in Seoul on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 29, 2024
South Korea seeks first talks with doctors as deadline looms
The Health and Welfare Ministry said it has proposed having talks to address the 10-day walkout by about 9,000 trainee doctors.
The Yeouido financial district in Seoul
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 8, 2024
South Korea watchdog intensifies crackdown on China-linked notes
Authorities will investigate 12 institutions over the sale of equity-linked securities that are tied to the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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