Journalist
Kim Hee-su, Han Jun-gu
khs@ajupress.com
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Coupang, latest breach in Korea, with no effective guardrail in sight SEOUL, November 21 (AJP) - Coupang has emerged as the latest flashpoint in Korea's widening cybersecurity crisis, with customer data leaking yet again as major companies — from telecom operators to card issuers — continue to fall victim to preventable attacks under a regulatory system that seldom imposes meaningful penalties. Coupang said late Thursday that an "unauthorized third party" accessed the personal information of more than 4,500 customers. According to the company's emergency notice, the exposed data included names, email addresses, phone numbers, delivery addresses, and each user's five most recent order records. The company said it immediately blocked the intrusion route and has so far found no evidence of misuse. It apologized to affected customers and advised them to contact its service center for assistance. The breach comes amid a series of major security incidents across Korea's telecommunications and financial sectors this year, intensifying concerns over the country's ability to safeguard personal information despite its reputation as one of the world's most digitalized societies. SK Telecom is preparing for legal disputes over a large-scale USIM-related leak disclosed in April. The company has rejected a state mediation panel's recommendation to compensate the 23 million individuals affected at 300,000 won ($203.28) per person. It has already incurred more than 1 trillion won in costs related to the incident. KT customers experienced more direct financial losses after illegally smuggled femtocell devices were used to impersonate cell towers, intercept authentication codes, and trigger unauthorized small-sum mobile payments. Hundreds of victims have filed official complaints, and both police and the Korea Communications Commission are investigating the case. LG Uplus reported suspicious access attempts to its internal network around the same period, resulting in the confirmed leak of 300,000 customer records and fines exceeding 6 billion won. In the financial sector, Lotte Card suffered a major cyberattack that compromised nearly 300 million customer data files, amounting to about 200 gigabytes of internal records. Government data points to the scale of the problem. According to the Personal Information Protection Commission, 88.54 million pieces of personal information have been leaked across public and private institutions over the past five years. Public-sector breaches alone rose from 650,000 cases in 2022 to 3.52 million in 2023 and 3.91 million in 2024. Penalties, however, remain limited. Between 2021 and July 2025, Korea recorded 451 data-security incidents but issued only 87.7 billion won in fines and 2.49 billion won in administrative penalties, averaging just 1,019 won per leaked data entry. Korean law allows fines of up to 3 percent of company revenue, but firms may exclude revenue deemed unrelated to the violation when calculating penalties. This contrasts sharply with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, which permits fines of up to 20 million euros ($23.2 million) or 4 percent of annual global turnover. In 2021, Luxembourg imposed a 746 million-euro fine on Amazon for GDPR violations. A recent KAIST study found that widely used security plug-ins required by Korean financial and public institutions can themselves become attack pathways. These non-standard programs often conflict with the built-in security architecture of global web browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox, which follow unified W3C and WHATWG standards designed to maintain consistent security protocols. The study concluded that the vulnerabilities stem from Korea's continued reliance on proprietary, mandatory security software that can undermine rather than strengthen consumer protection, even as companies claim compliance with existing regulations. 2025-11-21 17:31:59 -
Korea braces up for travel boon during winter holiday season from China–Japan fallout SEOUL, November 20 (AJP) - Korean travel agencies and the industry are bracing up to seize a potential boon from the fallout and escalating hostility between China and Japan over remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in early November on a potential Taiwan contingency that have led to a series of boycott-driven cancellations. Nearly 500,000 Chinese travelers have reportedly canceled Japan-related bookings — 32 percent of all Japan-bound reservations — after Beijing issued a warning against travel to Japan. Independent aviation analyst Li Hanming said cancellation rates surged to 82.1 percent on Sunday and 75.6 percent on Monday, noting that "the number of cancellations was 27 times higher than new bookings — a flurry of withdrawals unseen since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic." Chinese travel agencies, in compliance with the state advisory, are offering full refunds for canceled Japan tour packages. Korea has quickly emerged as the top alternative destination in the region. Data released Sunday by Chinese travel platform Qunar showed Korea ranking first among overseas destinations for Chinese travelers over the weekend of November 15 to 16, overtaking long-time No. 1 Japan. Korea also led in flight payments and travel-related search volume, with Seoul recording the highest number of queries. Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia followed. The travel disruption stems from remarks Prime Minister Takaichi made during a parliamentary budget committee session on November 7, in which she suggested that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan — and subsequent U.S. military intervention — could constitute an "existential crisis" for Japan and potentially invoke Japan's right to collective self-defense. Beijing demanded an immediate retraction and issued a de facto travel ban urging citizens to avoid Japan from November 14 after Tokyo refused. Korea stands to benefit most on the tourism front, as Chinese and Japanese travelers together make up nearly half of foreign arrivals. According to the Korea Tourism Organization's Data Lab, of 18,316,412 foreign visitors to Korea between October 2024 and September 2025, 5,233,649 were from China and 3,583,533 from Japan — a combined 48.1 percent of all inbound travelers. "We are carrying out our annual plans as scheduled. For the Chinese market, we are continuing pre-planned promotions targeting the winter vacation period and long holidays, particularly through online campaigns," said a spokesperson for the Korea Tourism Organization, adding that it was too early to assess the direct impact of China's travel advisory. Still, the travel industry is bracing up for a potential surge in traffic during the year-end holiday season and leading up to the Lunar New Year. Korean Air recently formed a strategic partnership with Chinese online travel giant Ctrip, part of the Trip.com Group, which has more than 300 million registered users. Korean Air already operates the largest number of Korea–China routes among carriers from both countries. As of August this year, the airline operates over 200 weekly flights between the two nations. 2025-11-20 17:29:46 -
K-pop groups once again caught in diplomatic crossfire amid China–Japan fallout SEOUL, November 20 (AJP) - K-pop groups that have recently become regulars on Japanese television are once again caught in the crossfire between China and Japan, as renewed tensions under Tokyo's new hawkish leadership spill over into pop culture. The diplomatic standoff has revived decades-old antipathy between the two countries and is sending ripple effects across multiple fronts — from tourism to entertainment. Chinese music platform QQ Music announced Monday via social media that a fan event for Japanese boy band JO1 scheduled for later this month in Guangzhou was canceled due to "force majeure." The 11-member group, formed through Produce 101 Japan in 2020 — the Japanese adaptation of the Korean idol audition franchise — is managed by Lapone Entertainment, a joint venture between CJ ENM and Yoshimoto Kogyo. K-pop girl group aespa, which includes Chinese member Ningning, also received a direct hit. After news broke that the group would appear on NHK's year-end "Kōhaku" music program, a petition demanding their removal surfaced on change.org on Monday. Ningning had previously drawn ire in Japan after posting mushroom-shaped lighting in 2022 that some interpreted as resembling an "atomic bomb." Petitioners argue her appearance would "damage Japan's international image" and "hurt victims of the Hiroshima bombing." The petition gathered more than 50,000 signatures within 24 hours, rising to 70,000 as of Thursday. The four-member group has become "one of the biggest cultural casualties of the current diplomatic rift," Hong Kong–based Sing Tao Daily wrote, adding that whether aespa ultimately performs on "Kōhaku" could serve as a barometer of the depth of the China–Japan conflict. Beijing's reaction is rooted in its strict adherence to the "One China" policy, under which Taiwan is considered part of greater China. Ahead of his third term, President Xi Jinping emphasized ideological discipline and cultural purification, leading to heightened censorship since 2021 under the stated goals of protecting youth from "harmful cultural consumption" and restoring "proper values." Korean pop culture has faced de facto sanctions under this framework. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent comments align with long-standing defense views — that Japan may need to adopt a self-defense posture should Chinese actions toward Taiwan create a "survival-threatening situation." Beijing denounced the remarks as provocative and insulting. This is far from the first time Korean entertainers have been drawn into political tensions. Tzuyu of TWICE was forced to issue a public apology in 2016 after holding a Taiwanese flag on Korean television, triggering intense backlash from Chinese netizens. EXO's Lay terminated an endorsement deal with Samsung after the company listed Taiwan and Hong Kong as separate entities on its website. In 2019, during a Korean boycott of Japanese goods following Japan's export restrictions on semiconductor materials, some online communities demanded the removal of TWICE's Japanese members — Sana, Momo, and Mina — from Korean broadcasts. "Asia is fundamentally collectivist. They cannot separate individuals from the actions of their group or nationality," said Yu Hyun-jae, professor at Sogang University's College of Communication, explaining that such reactions reflect deeper cultural patterns in East Asia. "Social media is extremely powerful. Information spreads fast regardless of facts or nuance, making it an ideal environment for agitation. Fan communities that grow under these conditions can easily become distorted or extreme," he added. 2025-11-20 17:29:21 -
AI cover controversy in New Zealand poses wake-up call for Korean publishers SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - It took less than a minute for ChatGPT to deliver a fully rendered image of Seoul's landmark Gwanghwamun draped in autumn leaves in the warm, painterly style of Studio Ghibli, the iconic Japanese animation studio. Image-making has become easy and ubiquitous ever since OpenAI added its image-generation feature, allowing users to transform their portraits into Ghibli-style illustrations within seconds. The feature quickly went viral across social media, sharply boosting ChatGPT's global usage: weekly active users jumped 30 percent in the first quarter, and as of last month, the platform counts more than 800 million users worldwide. But the spread of everyday AI assistance in visual and creative work is also complicating life for creators — a reality underscored by a recent case in New Zealand. Two New Zealand writers, Stephanie Johnson and Elizabeth Smither, were disqualified from the country's most prestigious literary prize, the Ockham Book Awards, making them ineligible for next year's NZ$65,000 fiction award. The decision came after the awards committee discovered that the publishers' design team had used artificial intelligence (AI) to create the book covers without informing the authors beforehand. The affected books, Johnson's short-story collection "Obligate Carnivore" (2025) and Smither's novella collection "Angel Train" (2025), shocked the literary world due to the absence of clear regulatory guidelines. A less dramatic but similar case occurred in Korea when it was revealed that the 2023 youth edition of "Almond" — the million-selling bildungsroman by Sohn Won-pyung about a boy who struggles to feel emotions — used AI in its redesigned cover. Before this incident, AI usage had largely been limited to publish-on-demand (POD) or self-published works. This was the first time AI had been used for the re-covering of a major bestseller. The core of the controversy centered on copyright: under current Korean law, AI cannot be recognized as a copyright holder. Korea will put its AI Basic Act into effect in January next year, but it barely touches the broad, day-to-day issues emerging across the many sectors AI has already penetrated. "Without clear rules, everything is judged on a case-by-case basis. But the trend is moving toward acknowledging rights for AI-assisted creations. Even if the themes are similar, different texts receive separate copyright protection," said Kim Hyung-geun, CEO of publishing house Seoul Selection, who added that the lack of regulations places publishers in limbo. AI-generated works differ fundamentally from traditional publishing, with the most notable changes appearing in the dramatic reduction of time and cost. Yet the law does not specify how disclosure requirements should apply to AI-produced covers, illustrations, or text. "Hiring designers for covers is expensive, and works created with ChatGPT are clearly copyright-free, so I don't see a legal issue there," observed Park Han-woo, media and communication professor at Yeungnam University. He suggested that Korea incorporate NFT-style systems to track the provenance of AI-generated content. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital certificates recorded on a blockchain that verify ownership and trace the history of a digital asset. Even if identical copies of an artwork circulate online, only the NFT-registered version carries true ownership rights — which could help ease confusion while authorities catch up with appropriate regulations, he said. 2025-11-19 17:19:07 -
K-beauty set to be next collateral damage from localization fever in China SEOUL, November 18 (AJP) - Korean beauty brands were virtually absent from this year's Singles' Day shopping festival — often dubbed China's version of Black Friday — marking a stark retreat from a market they once dominated and positioning K-beauty as the next collateral damage of China’s localization drive after smartphones and cars. The simultaneous withdrawal of Korean players underscores both the sophistication and rising confidence of Chinese manufacturing — from AI phones to skincare — under Beijing's state-steered industrial system. It also highlights the failure of Korean brands to either localize deeply or assert a distinctive identity compelling enough to withstand China’s fast-advancing competitors. China's largest e-commerce platform, Tmall, reported that Proya, a Chinese skincare giant, was the top-selling beauty brand this Singles' Day. Proya surpassed 100 million yuan ($14 million) in sales within the first minute of pre-sales and ranked No.1 throughout the Oct. 15 to Nov. 11 promotion period. Chinese beauty labels consolidated their dominance across platforms. Five domestic brands — Proya, Winona, Kefumei, Herborist, and Mao Geping — made the Tmall top-20 ranking, reaffirming the sector’s shift to high-performing local names. With the exception of Mao Geping, a color-cosmetics specialist, most are skincare labels built around plant-based ingredients, hydration, and sensitive-skin solutions. No Korean brands made Tmall's top-20 list. LG Household & Health Care's luxury label, The History of Whoo, managed only ninth place on Douyin's beauty sales chart. Demand for dermacosmetics — functional skincare that blends dermatology with cosmetics — is also surging in China, particularly for sensitive-skin consumers. According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency's Hangzhou office, 36.1 percent of Chinese women today have sensitive skin, a figure projected to reach 48 percent by 2030 due to pollution, stress, UV exposure, and changing lifestyles. This shift has rapidly fueled demand for irritation-free, dermatology-backed products — a category where Chinese brands have strengthened capabilities far faster than their Korean rivals. Kim Hee-jong, CEO of the China-based Sangsangrak Creative Center and a researcher with the China Specialist Forum (CSF) under the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, noted that "Guochao" — China's homegrown consumer-product wave — is reshaping sectors from cosmetics and food to home appliances and apparel. "Guochao products may look trendy, but their core appeal is high quality at practical prices," he said. "People used to distrust domestic brands, but once they try them, they find the quality surprisingly strong. With social-media-savvy Gen Z embracing Guochao as cultural identity, the trend is here to stay." Lee Wook-yon, a professor of Chinese Culture at Sogang University, said in a CSF column that Guochao first gained momentum in 2018, the year U.S. sanctions on Huawei escalated the U.S.–China tech rivalry. "What began as niche consumer behavior under external pressure has now become a mass phenomenon," he said. A similar story has played out in China's smartphone market. Xiaomi, Samsung, Huawei, and Apple once competed fiercely. But when U.S. sanctions throttled Huawei's access to advanced 5G chips in 2019, citing security risks, its market share collapsed. Apple captured the premium segment as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo strengthened their grip on mid-range categories. Defying restrictions, Huawei partnered with China's SMIC to develop its own 7-nanometer chips. Its 2023 launch of the Mate 60 Pro, powered by the Kirin chipset, marked a symbolic return to 5G prowess. While Huawei still faces hurdles abroad, its domestic brand power has sharply rebounded. Korean firms lost ground. Samsung, which held nearly 20 percent of China's smartphone market a decade ago, now has less than a 3 percent share. Chinese EVs and SUVs account for more than half of the automotive market, pushing Hyundai Motor to shut down its Beijing sales unit in September as demand in major cities wanes. Business prospects in the world's second-largest consumer market have grown dimmer as Beijing intensifies its push for self-sufficiency and domestic consumption. China's research and development spending surpassed 700 trillion won ($477 billion) last year — more than Korea's entire fiscal budget. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's R&D expenditure reached 3.63 trillion yuan in 2023, up 8.9 percent from a year earlier. From 2021 to 2024, R&D spending grew at an average annual rate of 10.5 percent, underscoring its accelerated drive for technological competitiveness. 2025-11-18 17:01:09 -
Korea weighs standardized vet fees to address runaway inflation in pet care SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - Three out of ten Korean households now own a pet, and the government is considering a standardized payment system for veterinary care to address soaring medical costs and widening price disparities. The move follows mounting public frustration over bills that vary dramatically by clinic and location. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), the cost of a first-time checkup for a 5-kilogram pet ranges from as low as 1,000 won ($0.69) to as high as 65,000 won. With no standardized fee schedule and all services priced independently, the same treatment can cost several times more at clinics in affluent districts. "I took my cat to a vet in Gangnam after it swallowed a thread. An MRI scan to locate it and the removal procedure cost 1.5 million won, which was almost half my monthly salary. It's insane," said Park Jae-wook, a 29-year-old Seoul resident. Rising medical bills have become a growing financial burden and a leading factor behind pet abandonment. A 2024 report by the KB Financial Group Research Institute found that pet-owning households spent an average of 194,000 won per month on pet care, or about 2.1 million won annually — nearly equivalent to one month of minimum-wage earnings. Spending patterns are becoming increasingly polarized, with the share of households spending less than 50,000 won a month rising from 9.2 percent in 2021 to 18.8 percent in 2024, while those spending more than 250,000 won grew from 14.2 percent to 20.6 percent. Private pet insurance has failed to ease the burden. Although 89 percent of pet owners are aware of insurance products, only 11.9 percent carry coverage due to high premiums and limited benefits. Owners surveyed in 2023 cited cost as the biggest barrier, followed by restrictive reimbursement terms. MAFRA plans to develop a feasible payment model by the second half of next year after consultations with veterinary groups and industry officials. But with no public insurance system for animals and wide differences in clinic size, equipment, and staffing, officials acknowledge that introducing mandatory standardized fees would be difficult to enforce. The Korean Veterinary Medical Association has opposed the plan, calling it "excessive" and impractical given the cost differences across clinics. The association warned that fixed prices could undermine service quality and limit investment in medical equipment. A senior official at MAFRA's Companion Animal Industry and Animal Health Care System division said the government is considering applying standardized fees only at designated public veterinary hospitals that treat vulnerable households or abandoned animals. The official added that introducing a nationwide public insurance system for pets would require broad public support, which remains uncertain since only about a quarter of Koreans own pets. As of the end of 2024, the number of pet owners stood at 15.46 million, or 29.9 percent of the population. Pet-owning households numbered 5.91 million, accounting for 28.6 percent of all households, a ratio that has remained near the 30-percent level for the past five years despite a declining population. By age group, pet ownership was highest among people in their 50s at 23.17 percent, followed by those in their 30s at 22.01 percent and 40s at 21.88 percent. Only 9.91 percent of pet owners were in their 20s, contradicting the belief that younger generations are replacing children with pets amid falling birthrates. 2025-11-17 16:46:11 -
Despite drone boom, South Korea lags behind amid heavy reliance on Chinese components SEOUL, November 14 (AJP) - South Korea's exports of drones have grown nearly tenfold over the past two years, yet the country still holds less than 0.5 percent of the global market. According to a report released on Friday by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the country's exports of drones surged from $2.81 million in 2022 to $27.54 million in 2024. "Despite the rise in export volumes, the country's market competitiveness still lags far behind that of major overseas players," said Kim Mu-hyun, a senior researcher at the KITA. Although the number of drone manufacturers has increased in response to surging demand in this nascent high-tech industry, many lack sufficient infrastructure and R&D facilities, hindering further growth. Among some 265 drone manufacturers surveyed by the Korea Institute of Aviation Safety Technology in 2023, only 71 had such facilities, forcing many of them to conduct limited experiments that constrain consistent research and development." Profitability is another concern for the industry. Last year's survey by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport found that the country's drone market grew 12.1 percent to 1.1 trillion Korean won ($754 million) in 2023 from the previous year. However, of nearly 7,000 firms in the industry, average revenue stood at a mere 200 million won. According to market researcher Hana Institute of Finance, even firms with more than seven years in the industry posted average annual sales of just 350 million won. Among the major global players, China dominates the market, accounting for nearly 90 percent, followed by the U.S. and Israel. South Korea ranked 20th as of 2024, although it had jumped significantly over the previous three years. Most domestic firms have heavily relied on Chinese imports for essential parts and components, which account for nearly 70 percent of all drones made here. "In the long term, localization of core components is essential," Kim said. "But The country's heavy reliance on Chinese imports is not simply due to a lack of technical capability, but stems from structural issues such as low profit margins, often linked to a focus on low-cost models for civilian use," he explained. He added that developing commercial models is crucial for nurturing the industry, as this would stimulate demand among businesses, creating a virtuous cycle that increases the use of locally produced components. For example, in the U.S., retail giant Walmart has partnered with startups such as DroneUp, Zipline, and Flytrex to roll out drone-based commercial delivery services, leveraging its nationwide store network and IT infrastructure to provide these startups with stable demand. Swedish DIY retailer IKEA has deployed autonomous indoor drones developed by local startup Verity since 2021 to track and manage inventory across more than a dozen stores in Belgium, Germany, and other countries. 2025-11-14 17:15:47 -
HYBE flies on rosy outlook with NewJeans and BTS pipeline, but NewJeans remain question SEOUL, November 13 (AJP) - Korea's entertainment giant HYBE gained a boost — 6 percent on Thursday on high expectations for a full-member comeback of their budding and steady stars NewJeans and BTS, after the breakaway girl group hinted they would return home following an epic split last year. The rise was more muted than the near-9 percent after-hours jump late Wednesday as the market grew cautious about whether reconciliation is real, given the deep distrust NewJeans members expressed throughout their legal dispute with parent company HYBE and ADOR. "We are yet to confirm the other members and cannot confidently assure a full return," a HYBE official said Thursday on condition of anonymity. ADOR, a HYBE subsidiary, posted on X on Wednesday that Haerin and Hyein had conveyed their intention to continue activities under the label in accordance with last month's court ruling, which upheld the validity of their exclusive contract through July 31, 2029. Hours later, Minji, Hanni, and Danielle reportedly told a local outlet they too intended to return to ADOR. The company, however, said it had not been formally contacted by the three members, while the members' side claimed ADOR was not responding to their attempts to communicate. The development follows NewJeans' loss in the first trial of their contract lawsuit. The Seoul Central District Court rejected the group's claim that a "breakdown in trust justified terminating the contract," ruling that the evidence fell short of the threshold required under Korean law. Although their law firm, Shin & Kim, initially said it would file an immediate appeal, more than ten days have passed without a filing. The deadline is midnight Thursday. Legal experts expect the second trial to favor ADOR unless new evidence emerges. If the members attempt independent activities without ADOR's approval, they could face heavy financial penalties. Industry estimates place potential liability at up to 600 billion won ($408 million) based on the group's average monthly earnings and remaining contract period. In a separate ruling in May, the court granted ADOR's request for indirect compulsory execution, ordering the members to pay 1 billion won per violation for any unauthorized activity — a penalty that applies regardless of additional damages. It remains unclear whether former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin played any role in the latest developments. NewJeans had previously demanded Min's reinstatement as a key condition for returning to the agency. Min has since launched a new company, OOAK (One Of A Kind), and is engaged in a separate legal clash with HYBE over a put-option agreement, making any renewed partnership unlikely. For HYBE, the clearer upside lies with BTS, who are set to resume group activities next year after completing mandatory military service. The company has signaled that BTS' formal schedule will begin in the spring. "NewJeans' return could contribute an additional 20 to 30 billion won in annual profit from 2027 onward," Meritz Securities said Thursday, raising its target price for HYBE from 370,000 won to 380,000 won. Hana Securities analyst Lee Ki-hoon noted that HYBE reported third-quarter revenue of 727.2 billion won and an operating loss of 42.2 billion won — well below market expectations — weighed down by around 87 billion won in one-off expenses tied to North American restructuring and the launch of new global groups. "HYBE will need to show earnings leverage next year as BTS resumes group activities," he said. HYBE shares have surged more than 50 percent this year, though still trailing the broader KOSPI's gain of over 70 percent. 2025-11-13 16:24:45 -
Why Korea should benchmark Japan in tweaking retirement age and managing super-aged society SEOUL, November 12 (AJP) - Korea, under strong pressure from labor unions, is moving to extend the statutory retirement age to 65 as it enters a super-aged demographic structure, but the shift could strain public finances and the national pension system if it fails to draw voluntary participation from the private sector, responsible for most hiring. Korea's two largest umbrella unions are urging the progressive government and ruling party to mandate a "blanket, unconditional extension to 65 without wage cuts" within the year. The ruling Democratic Party has proposed raising the statutory retirement age gradually to 65 by 2033, in line with the scheduled rise in the national pension eligibility age. Korea joined the ranks of "super-aged" societies last year, with people aged 65 and older accounting for more than 20 percent of the population. Although the legal retirement age is 60, the national pension does not begin paying benefits until age 63 — a threshold that will rise to 65 by 2033. The gap has left many seniors with insufficient income and pushed labor force participation among those 65 and older to 37.3 percent in 2023, the highest in the OECD. Korea also records the OECD's highest senior poverty and suicide rates. Japan, which encountered rapid aging decades earlier, offers lessons on how to manage the transition. Tokyo began addressing the issue 25 years ago and provided companies with autonomy and time to adjust. The Japanese government implemented a 12-year grace period, first introducing retirement-age guidelines in 1986 as a "non-binding obligation" before making them legally enforceable in 1998. The same gradual approach applied to raising the effective retirement age to 65: in 2000, Japan revised the Act on Stabilization of Employment of Elderly Persons, requiring companies to "make efforts" to ensure employment until age 65. If Korea implements its proposed legislation this year without similar staging, the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) warns that the benefits will accrue mainly to full-time workers at large firms and public institutions with strong unions. The business lobby estimates the additional annual employment cost at roughly 30 trillion won ($20.6 billion) — equivalent to hiring around 900,000 workers aged 25 to 29. Moreover, only 21.8 percent of Korean workplaces currently operate under a mandatory retirement system, meaning gains would disproportionately flow to workers in big corporations and the public sector. This helps explain mounting opposition from younger job seekers. Experience from the 2016 introduction of the current 60-year retirement age also suggests unintended consequences. According to the Bank of Korea, the policy increased employment among workers aged 55 to 59 by about 80,000 by 2024, but reduced employment among those aged 23 to 27 by 110,000. For every additional older worker retained, employment for young workers fell by 0.4 to 1.5. Japan's approach since 2006 gives companies three options: extend the retirement age, abolish retirement limits altogether, or provide continued employment for older workers under new contracts. As of April this year, companies must offer continued employment to anyone wishing to work until 65. Under this system, employees formally retire at the designated age but are rehired with adjusted pay and conditions, allowing firms to retain experienced workers while managing labor costs. Watami Co., which operates restaurant chains such as Subway and TGI Fridays in Japan, recently raised its retirement age to 65 and introduced a program enabling employees to work until 75. The move addresses both labor shortages and the desire of older workers to remain active. As of June 2022, 99.9 percent of Japanese companies with 21 or more employees had adopted one of the three systems, effectively lifting the retirement age to 65 in practice, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. More than 65 percent of companies have either formally extended the retirement age or abolished it altogether. 2025-11-12 17:22:56 -
Sober reckoning on Korea's college entrance ritual as record number awaits test day SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - It's that time of year again in Korea, as the country prepares to solemnly mark "Suneung" — the once-a-year nationwide college entrance exam — on Thursday, when a record 554,174 test-takers will vie for 2026 admissions, clinging to singular hopes despite an increasingly bleak job market for university graduates. On Suneung Day, Korea enters an extraordinary national ritual. Business hours are delayed to clear roads for anxious applicants; air traffic halts during the English listening section; and churches, temples, and chapels of every faith fill with parents and grandparents praying for a smooth, error-free test. Whether or not a household includes a test-taker, the entire country slips into a collective mode of vigilance and supplication. This year's Suneung is a bumper cycle, driven by the unusually large cohort of students born in 2007 — the lunar-calendar "golden pig" year, believed to bring prosperity and luck. That demographic bulge has swelled the senior class, sending candidate numbers up by more than 31,000 from last year. Retakers have also increased sharply as universities expand medical school quotas, intensifying competition across the board. According to Jongro Academy, the nationwide competition rate for early admissions reached 9.77:1, up from 9.42:1 a year earlier. In the Seoul metropolitan area, the ratio soared to 18.83:1, while the Gyeongin region posted 13.08:1 and non-capital regions 6.49:1 — the sharpest jump outside Seoul in years. The pressure does not end with a university acceptance letter. South Korea has topped the OECD in university enrollment for 17 consecutive years; as of 2023, 70.6 percent of Koreans aged 25 to 34 held higher-education degrees, far above the OECD average of 48.4 percent. With seven out of ten young Koreans college-educated, the race for a limited pool of stable, white-collar jobs becomes a zero-sum battle, driving up the number of young NEETs — those neither employed, in education, nor in training. Statistics Korea's September employment data shows youth employment for ages 15 to 29 falling to 45.1 percent, marking a 16-month decline. More than 400,000 young people now describe themselves as "just resting," effectively off the labor force. Japan, by contrast, enrolls far fewer students in higher education — roughly in the 50 percent range — but posts a 98 percent employment rate for new graduates. A Korea Development Institute report underscores the scale of the problem: while the working-age population in their 20s shrank 17 percent over the past two decades, the number of idle youths surged 64 percent, from 250,000 to 410,000. The share of 20s neither studying nor working has doubled, from 3.6 percent to 7.2 percent. Another ranking Korea has long topped is its suicide rate. The country recorded 29.1 suicides per 100,000 people in 2024 — the highest since 2011 — with an average of 40 lives lost each day. Suicide is the leading cause of death among Koreans in their 20s. A Korea University medical team analyzing 100,000 suicide cases from 2013 to 2020 found that 22.5 percent stemmed from economic or occupational distress, underscoring the direct link between socioeconomic pressures and mental health. Suneung marks a pivotal moment for today's young Koreans, but its symbolism now extends far beyond a single exam day. Korea must move beyond habitual ceremony and confront the deeper structural strains threatening the future of its youth. 2025-11-11 17:01:45