Journalist

Woo Joo-seon
  • Korea National Railway Authority to Hire 127 New Workers in First Half
    Korea National Railway Authority to Hire 127 New Workers in First Half The Korea National Railway Authority said Monday it will hire 127 new employees to help energize the job market and strengthen young people’s practical work skills. The hiring will include 110 youth interns in an experiential program, one driver in a skilled position, 13 field staff members — 11 for protection of nationally important facilities and two for facility management in Gangwon — and three contract workers: two transport equipment vehicle maintenance workers and one commissioned researcher for a national R&D project. The youth internship program will run from the appointment date through the end of the year to provide hands-on experience and help participants build career credentials. Graduates with strong performance will receive a document-screening waiver and additional points when applying for future regular positions, the authority said. Applications will be accepted online through the authority’s recruitment website from May 4 to May 11. After document screening, written tests and interviews, final successful candidates will be announced in June. “This recruitment will be a valuable opportunity for young people to gain meaningful job experience and plan their future,” said Lee An-ho, acting chairman of the Korea National Railway Authority, urging qualified applicants to apply.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-27 14:42:57
  • GS E&C Joins Korea National Arboretum, WWF for Hands-On Environmental Volunteer Event
    GS E&C Joins Korea National Arboretum, WWF for Hands-On Environmental Volunteer Event GS E&C said Sunday it held a hands-on environmental volunteer program with the Korea National Arboretum and the World Wide Fund for Nature at the arboretum in Pocheon, Gyeonggi province. About 80 people, including CEO Heo Yun-hong and employees and their families, took part. Participants attended a lecture by the arboretum’s director on forest ecosystems and the importance of protecting biodiversity. They also joined interactive programs including forest activities, creating a biotope and visiting the Forest Museum, the company said. The program followed the arboretum’s ESG initiative, aiming to help companies and employees’ families learn about and spread the value of ecological conservation. It was also designed to move beyond donation-centered efforts and put into practice a “donate-participate-spread” approach through direct employee involvement. GS E&C said it also delivered a donation to WWF Korea late last year. A GS E&C official said the event was organized to deepen understanding of biodiversity conservation and expand environmental ESG values within the organization. The official said the company will continue to carry out its social responsibility through ESG volunteer activities built around a “donate-participate-spread” cycle.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-27 11:22:06
  • Korail Ranks No. 1 Among State-Owned Firms in 2025 Public Awareness Survey
    Korail Ranks No. 1 Among State-Owned Firms in 2025 Public Awareness Survey Korea Railroad Corp., known as Korail, said Sunday it ranked first in the state-owned enterprise (SOC) category in the Ministry of Finance and Economy’s “2025 Public Institutions Public Awareness Survey.” Korail scored 72.2 points overall, 6.9 points higher than the average for state-owned enterprises, which was 65.3. It also topped the SOC group average of 67 by 5.2 points. The survey measures public perceptions of public institutions, including public value, social responsibility and service quality, based on responses from the general public and local residents. It is used to gauge satisfaction with an institution’s overall operations. Korail received 94.1 points in local-resident awareness, reflecting strong marks for communication and cooperation with communities. The company said the result was driven by positive views of its contribution to local economies, delivery of everyday services and expanded collaboration with local partners. Korail President Kim Tae-seung said the company will continue to innovate so the public can feel improvements in rail service, and will more fully carry out its mission as a public railway operator supporting balanced national development and shared growth with regions. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-27 10:57:14
  • GS E&C Wins $2.1 Billion Seongsu 1 Redevelopment Contract, Tops $4 Billion in 2026 Orders
    GS E&C Wins $2.1 Billion Seongsu 1 Redevelopment Contract, Tops $4 Billion in 2026 Orders GS E&C has been selected to build the Seongsu Strategic Redevelopment Zone 1 project in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, a redevelopment valued at about 2.1 trillion won. With the deal, the company’s urban renewal orders this year have topped 4 trillion won. According to the redevelopment industry on April 27, the Seongsu 1 redevelopment association approved GS E&C as the contractor at a regular general meeting held April 25. GS E&C was the sole bidder in two rounds of bidding held in February and March. Under Korea’s Urban and Residential Environment Improvement Act, competitive bidding is the rule, but if a tender fails at least twice due to a single bidder, the project can shift to a negotiated contract. GS E&C proposed the complex name ‘RIVENIQUE XI’ (RIVENIQUE XI). The name combines the French word for river, ‘Rivière,’ and ‘Unique,’ meaning something special. The Seongsu 1 redevelopment will build 17 apartment towers, from four basement levels up to 69 stories, with 3,014 households and ancillary and welfare facilities on a 194,398-square-meter site in Seongsu-dong 1-ga. The construction cost is 2.154 trillion won, the largest among Seongsu districts 1 through 4. GS E&C previously secured contracts including the Songpa Hanyang 2nd reconstruction project in Songpa-dong, Songpa-gu (685.6 billion won) and the Gaepo Woosung 6th reconstruction project in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam-gu (215.4 billion won). With the Seongsu 1 deal, its order total for this year reached 4.0259 trillion won. 2026-04-27 08:24:19
  • South Korea Vice Transport Minister Meets Google to Discuss AI Mapping, Smart City Cooperation
    South Korea Vice Transport Minister Meets Google to Discuss AI Mapping, Smart City Cooperation The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said First Vice Minister Kim Yi-tak met with Cris Turner, Google’s vice president for government affairs (Knowledge · Information), at the National Land Development Exhibition Hall in Seoul to discuss cooperation on AI-based geospatial information and in urban and transportation fields. The meeting was arranged at Google’s request to expand cooperation between South Korea and Google based on maps and data, following a government decision in February to approve Google’s request to take map data out of the country. Topics included AI-powered mapping services, mobility optimization and improved traffic safety using public data, and cooperation on smart city infrastructure. Kim said he hoped Google would work with South Korean companies by leveraging its technology and global competitiveness, and that such cooperation would support industrial growth in areas including AI and mobility. Turner thanked the government, saying the February decision created an opportunity for constructive cooperation with South Korea. He said Google would continue contributing to upgrades of smart infrastructure and traffic optimization based on its data, AI technology and mapping services. Kim also stressed that the meeting should lead to a sustained cooperation network so Google and South Korea’s industry can quickly develop and implement concrete measures, including technology partnerships, support for overseas expansion and increased investment. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-24 17:27:15
  • National Railway Authority Signs Pact to Strengthen Anti-Corruption Cooperation
    National Railway Authority Signs Pact to Strengthen Anti-Corruption Cooperation The National Railway Authority said it is stepping up efforts to support sustainable management, including advancing “RE100” for electric railways and strengthening anti-corruption cooperation. The authority said it signed a four-party memorandum of understanding on Thursday at the Local Finance Hall to improve audit expertise and expand anti-corruption cooperation. The agreement was designed to broaden cooperation among internal audit bodies in the public sector and spread a culture of integrity. Participants included officials from the National Railway Authority, the Korea Local Finance Association, the Private School Teachers’ Pension, and Korea South-East Power, who shared audit strategies and best practices. They also discussed upgrading a prevention- and consulting-focused audit system, training specialists, strengthening the effectiveness of anti-corruption and integrity programs, and improving audit professionalism. “This agreement is a meaningful starting point to share audit capabilities among institutions and further strengthen an anti-corruption cooperation system,” said Yoo Byung-ho, standing auditor of the National Railway Authority. “We will continue working to establish a fair audit system and reinforce internal controls so we can keep growing as a clean public institution trusted by the public.” Separately, the authority said it presented next-generation technology directions for achieving RE100 in electric railways at the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers’ Electrical Facilities Division conference now underway in Daegu. It said it will begin full-scale technology development for research projects to improve railway power supply systems, in cooperation with the Korea Railroad Research Institute and others, aiming to link renewable energy to traction power for electric railways. “By combining renewable energy with advanced technologies such as AI, we will improve the efficiency and stability of railway power facilities and lead the era of eco-friendly rail transportation,” said Lee An-ho, acting chairman of the National Railway Authority.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-24 15:48:23
  • LH Signs Pact to Advance Vietnam’s Bac Ninh New Town Project
    LH Signs Pact to Advance Vietnam’s Bac Ninh New Town Project Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) said Thursday it signed a basic agreement to launch a public-private consultative body to move forward with the Vietnam Bac Ninh Southeast New Town development project. The signing ceremony was held Monday in Hanoi as part of the “Korea-Vietnam Mutual Growth and Development Cooperation Forum” hosted by South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Attendees included Land Minister Kim Yun-deok and Le Anh Tuan, vice minister of Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction, LH said. LH said the agreement follows a preliminary pact signed in 2024 and is intended to strengthen project momentum among 14 public and private companies involved. The Bac Ninh Southeast New Town project is described as the first export of a “K-New Town” model. It is based on a June 2023 memorandum of understanding under the Urban Growth Partnership Program (UGPP) signed by LH and Vietnam’s Bac Ninh province. The plan calls for building a new town on about 8 million square meters of land in Bac Ninh province, about 18 kilometers from the boundary of Hanoi. Phase 1 covers 2.3 million square meters. LH said it is proceeding with local approvals, including the Investment Policy Approval (IPA) process, and plans to step up formation of an investment consortium ahead of an investor tender expected in the second half of this year. Cho Kyung-sook, LH’s acting president, said, “With this agreement as a driving force, LH will serve as a strong bridge so that our companies can enter the Vietnamese market in a stable way and achieve contract wins through the successful 추진 of the Southeast New Town.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-24 14:54:16
  • Lee Jae-myung calls for scaling back tax breaks for nonresident homeownership
    Lee Jae-myung calls for scaling back tax breaks for nonresident homeownership President Lee Jae-myung said April 24 that tax relief tied to long-term homeownership should focus on people who actually live in their homes, not on owners who hold property as an investment. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Lee said that to protect single-home owners, capital gains tax relief based on the period of actual residence is needed. But he said cutting taxes on the sale of expensive homes “just because someone invested for a long time without living there” is not a housing protection policy but “a policy that encourages housing speculation.” “Where there is income, there are taxes,” Lee wrote. “People pay earned income tax on money they work hard to make, so it is natural to pay capital gains tax on housing gains.” He also rejected claims of a “tax bomb,” saying it is abnormal to reduce taxes for those who “speculated for a long time” on homes they did not live in. “To properly protect housing for single-home owners, it would be right to reduce deductions for nonresident holding periods and increase deductions for resident holding periods by that amount,” he said. Lee again criticized what he called forces that promote real estate speculation, saying they appear to be active again after a lull. He pointed to speculation centered on Seoul’s Gangnam area, including the practice known as buying “one best home,” which he said spread speculation and triggered a chain of surges in home prices. He added that a bill proposed by some opposition lawmakers to limit the special long-term holding deduction is unrelated to the government, but is being portrayed “as if it were a bill proposed by the president” and used for attacks. On April 18, Lee rebutted claims by the People Power Party that abolishing the special long-term holding deduction for capital gains tax would amount to a “tax bomb,” calling the argument “a logical contradiction and an obvious false incitement.” He said the deduction sharply reduces capital gains tax “regardless of whether the owner lives there,” while a separate system provides tax relief for long-term residence. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-24 13:46:12
  • Pony Chung Foundation Holds 2026 Academic Workshop, Awards Scholarships to 30
    Pony Chung Foundation Holds 2026 Academic Workshop, Awards Scholarships to 30 The Pony Chung Foundation said on the 24th that it held the “2026 Pony Chung Academic Workshop” at the Pony Chung Foundation Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to share research results from foundation-backed scholars and encourage its scholarship recipients. About 50 people attended, including Chairman Chung Mong-kyu and other foundation officials, newly selected early-career researchers Kim Jin-young of Seoul National University (philosophy of science), Park Cho-rong of Ewha Womans University (Korean history) and Lee Kyung-min of Seoul National University (Chinese phonetics), as well as newly chosen and current Pony Chung scholarship recipients, including humanities research scholars, overseas doctoral scholars and Vietnam exchange scholars. In remarks, Chung said it was meaningful to see the achievements of people who “continued their challenges with intense effort,” adding that the foundation would keep supporting more talent so they can focus on academic work and would “fulfill its mission” to advance humanities scholarship in South Korea. During the event, the foundation presented scholarship certificates to 30 people: three early-career researchers receiving academic support, 16 humanities research scholars and eight overseas doctoral scholars. The foundation launched its Pony Chung humanities research scholarship program in 2020, providing funding to master’s and doctoral coursework completers in humanities fields at graduate schools in South Korea and abroad. It supports each recipient annually with 10 million won for master’s students and 20 million won for doctoral students until they complete one graduation thesis, and provides separate support when the thesis is published. In 2021, it created the Pony Chung overseas doctoral scholarship program, selecting graduate students planning to enter doctoral programs at leading universities abroad and providing scholarships during their studies. Students headed to the U.S. and U.K. region receive $120,000 over three years, while those headed to the Europe and Asia region receive $45,000 over three years. Since 2013, the foundation has supported early-career researchers within five years of earning a doctorate through its academic support program, providing 40 million won in research funding for one year and 10 million won in publication support, as it seeks to build a career path for humanities support. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-24 11:15:18
  • South Korea, Vietnam Expand Cooperation on Urban and Transport Infrastructure
    South Korea, Vietnam Expand Cooperation on Urban and Transport Infrastructure The South Korean government said it will step up cooperation with Vietnam on urban and transport infrastructure, including a contract to supply metro rail cars and efforts to identify local infrastructure development projects, following President Lee Jae-myung’s state visit to Vietnam. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Kim Yun-deok, the land minister, met on April 21 with Vietnam’s construction minister, Tran Hong Minh, and asked for strong interest and support from the Vietnamese government for South Korea’s participation in the development of a new town in southeastern Bac Ninh province. Kim said he “deeply sympathizes” with Vietnam’s push to devolve central authority to local governments, adding that he hopes the Korea Land and Housing Corp. and Vietnamese local governments can work together and “grow together” in areas such as new-town development. He also introduced South Korea’s high-speed rail technology and discussed ways to support participation by South Korean companies in Vietnam’s North-South high-speed rail project. The ministry said the two sides also discussed strategic cooperation on infrastructure modernization, transportation and urban development projects at a “Korea-Vietnam Co-Prosperity Development Cooperation Forum” held the same day. On April 22, Kim attended a completion ceremony for a mixed-use complex in Starlake City in Hanoi and encouraged construction officials. The Starlake City project is an urban development venture that South Korea and Vietnam have worked on since 2006. The newly completed complex is a large-scale facility combining offices, a hotel and commercial space, and was developed by South Korean firms including Daewoo Engineering & Construction from planning through operations. On April 23, during a Korea-Vietnam business forum, major government bodies and companies from both countries signed a contract to supply metro rail cars for Ho Chi Minh City’s Line 2, and KIND signed an MOU with the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam and Hana Bank. The ministry said the Ho Chi Minh City Line 2 contract marks the first entry into Vietnam’s rail-car sector. It added that KIND plans to work with BIDV, a key state-owned bank, to identify promising projects in Vietnam and link them to financial support to strengthen the foundation for South Korean companies’ expansion there.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-24 10:53:40