KOREA TODAY
Culture Ministry brings performing-arts voices into 2027 budget planning
The ministry is consulting theatre, classical music, gugak and dance practitioners as it shapes the direction of government support for the 2027 budget.
Korea moves to define frailty before ageing turns into disability
KDCA is building a national standard for frailty after adding K-FRAIL to the 2026 Community Health Survey, aiming to give local prevention programs a common threshold.
Korea puts flavored tobacco under a sharper public-health lens
KDCA says 80.2 percent of adolescents with tobacco-use experience used a flavored product the first time, and is examining how that evidence should shape prevention and regulation.
Korea says high-risk flu vaccination supply remains on track
KDCA says 12.33 million government-procured doses remain secured after replacing a delayed 500,000-dose shipment, with additional private-market supply also arranged.
WEEKLY
What changed in Korea, and why it matters
WHAT'S ON
Events, festivals and things to do across Korea
PLACES
Venues, institutions and public spaces worth knowing
GUIDES
Clear answers for living and working in Korea
RECENT STORIES
DAILY LEADS
Fed rate increase puts Korea back on a tighter-money path
South Korea plans regulated abortion medication access
Seoul buses stay on the road after overnight pay deal averts strike
Korea and Uzbekistan widen partnership into critical minerals, AI and defense
Yong Hye-in withdraws as gender equality minister nominee after 14 days
Korean container ship completes landmark Arctic route trial to Britain
ESSENTIAL STORIES
Korean researchers find two recurring brain patterns in autism models
An IBS and KISTI team found that mutations in different autism-risk genes converged on two broad patterns of brain activity, offering a possible route toward more precise research and treatment.
Police refer executives over Daejeon factory fire that killed 14
Investigators sent company officials and others to prosecutors after finding repeated safety failures around the fire that left 14 people dead and 60 injured.
Korea extends occupancy relief for tenant-occupied homes in permit zones
Eligible first-home buyers can delay moving into homes with existing tenants, with applications extended through 2027 and some occupancy deadlines reaching 2029.
Study links North Korean nuclear tests to years of fault activity
Researchers say the 2017 Punggye-ri nuclear test reactivated a fault system near Mount Mantap, with earthquakes continuing for years afterward.
KCTU joins special labor talks over mega-zone bill
The union confederation agreed to a one-off social dialogue on proposed labor exemptions, its first participation in comparable tripartite talks in six years.
College application outage: 388 remedies confirmed
The Education Ministry has reviewed most relief requests after a disruption in the 2027 early-admissions application process.
Korea moves flu vaccinations earlier after early surge
Children and pregnant people can begin on September 21, while older adults will start in stages from October 6.
US crypto bill setback hits Korean-linked shares
A stalled Senate procedural vote on the CLARITY Act drove declines in Bitcoin, US crypto stocks and related Korean shares.
Korean workers begin legal claims over Georgia immigration detention
About 300 Korean workers detained in last year’s Georgia immigration raid have begun the required administrative claims process before possible federal lawsuits.
Ruling party advances prosecution overhaul bills in committee
Several National Assembly committees approved follow-up legislation for the planned prosecution-system overhaul as opposition lawmakers walked out.
POSCO union starts 120-hour partial strike after wage talks stall
POSCO workers are beginning a second partial strike after management and the union failed to narrow differences in renewed wage negotiations.
Audit agency says officials improperly intervened in YTN stake sale
South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection says it found signs of improper intervention by officials, including former communications regulator chief Lee Dong-kwan, in the sale of a YTN stake.
Korea cuts space-risk planning cycle from 10 years to five
A legal change halves the cycle for Korea’s national space-risk plan as satellite traffic, orbital debris and space-weather risks increase.
US 10-year Treasury yield crosses 5%, adding pressure to Korean markets
The US 10-year Treasury yield moved above 5% for the first time since October 2023 as inflation and energy-price concerns intensified.