Foreign workforce hits record high amid rising manufacturing demand SEOUL, September 2 (AJP) - South Korea's foreign resident population rose 6.3 percent from a year earlier to more than 2.9 million as of July, while the number of foreign workers living and working in the country reached a record high. A total of 287,424 foreign workers holding E-9 non-professional employment visas were staying in South Korea as of July, according to data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor released on Wednesday. The figure has steadily increased from 1 September 2, 2026

Securities firms lead in six-figure salaries SEOUL, September 2 (AJP) - Employees at South Korea's top 500 companies earned an average 54.99 million won (US$40,100) in the first half of this year, according to an analysis by corporate tracker CEO Score and released Wednesday. The figure was up 3.63 million won or 7.1 percent from 51.36 million won a year earlier, based on its analysis of 345 of the country's top 500 companies. Six-figure salaries were most common among employees at securities firms. Of th September 2, 2026

Train tickets for Chuseok to go on sale this week SEOUL, September 2 (AJP) - Early booking for train tickets for Chuseok or Korean Thanksgiving begins this week, KORAIL said on Wednesday. Tickets for KTX bullet trains and other trains for the country's biggest holiday, which falls from Sep. 24 to 27 this year, can be purchased online through KORAIL's website. People aged 65 and older, people with disabilities, pregnant women and those with national merits can reserve tickets online or by phone during the first two days o September 2, 2026

Korea's education race costs babies - study SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - South Korea's nascent fertility rebound could get a further boost if parents were freed from the country's relentless competition over children's education, according to an international study that puts a surprisingly large number on the demographic cost of the education arms race. A model calibrated to South Korean households found that women would have had 28 percent more children in the absence of what researchers call a "status exter September 2, 2026

S. Korea builds armored ambulance for combat evacuation SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - South Korea has completed development of an armored ambulance built to reach wounded soldiers in areas its current field ambulances cannot enter. Hyundai Rotem said Tuesday it had finished system development of the vehicle under a program run by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Design, prototype construction, and test and evaluation were carried out with domestic technology over about two years beginning in 2024. The program cost 1 September 2, 2026

S. Korea denies Korea-owned tanker hit in Hormuz SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - A tanker struck by rockets in the Strait of Hormuz was not owned by South Korea's Sinokor Merchant Marine and had no Korean crew aboard, a South Korean shipping industry group said Wednesday, disputing an earlier Financial Times report that described the vessel as South Korean-owned. The Korea Shipowners' Association said in a statement that the Senegal Prosperity, which was recently attacked while transiting the strategic waterway, was wholly ow September 2, 2026

Oil and bond jitters send KOSPI, Nikkei 2% lower SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - The global runup in interest rates and oil shock on renewed tensions in the Middle East that knocked Wall Street lower on Tuesday landed hard on oil-dependent Korea and Japan. The KOSPI, the benchmark index of the Korea Exchange, shed 186.82 points or 2.7 percent to 6,648.98 in early trade on Wednesday. The selloff panned out on a similar scale in Tokyo, also weighed down by bond and oil market jitters. Chipmakers, carmakers and power equipment nam September 2, 2026

Pulmuone's shelf-stable food sales jump 25.5% in first half SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - South Korea's Pulmuone Foods announced Wednesday that first-half sales of its ambient products rose 25.5 percent from a year earlier to a record high, as the company known for chilled and frozen fare pushes to diversify its portfolio. The ambient line, foods that require no refrigeration, has become a central growth target for Pulmuone Foods, the company's total food revenue climbing to 13 percent in the first half from about 7 percent a year earl September 2, 2026

Italy at Frieze spotlights Korean-Italian art ties SEOUL, September 01 (AJP) - The Italian Embassy in Seoul opened a joint exhibition of Korean and Italian art Tuesday as part of its Frieze week program, highlighting growing cultural ties between the two countries. "Italy at Frieze: The Golden Trace" pairs Korean artist Yeesookyung with Italian artist Andrea Francolino at the Italian ambassador's residence in Hannam-dong, central Seoul. Now in its third Seoul edition, the show runs alongside the fifth Frieze Seoul th September 1, 2026

Korean and Italian artists showcase at 'Italy at Frieze' exhibition in Seoul An exhibition titled "Italy at Frieze: The Golden Trace" is underway at the Italian ambassador's residence in Seoul, on Sep. 1, 2026. Held in conjunction with Frieze Seoul, the exhibition brings together works by Korean artist Yeesookyung and Italian artist Andrea Francolino. September 1, 2026