Missing buses, lost sales: Ferry terminal closure angers Bulimba locals

Mercedes-Benz Korea has entered the nation's fast-growing luxury van market with the V-Class, intensifying competition in a segment previously dominated by Toyota’s Alphard and Lexus LM. The German luxury carmaker launched Wednesday the seven-seat V-Class as a single-trim model priced at 124 million won ($92,700), targeting customers looking for a premium vehicle that combines passenger capacity with a high level of comfort. The launch comes as demand for high-end vans grows in Korea, particularly among business executives, celebrities and families seeking more spacious and comfortable transportation. Toyota and Lexus have established a strong presence in the segment with their Alphard and LM models, respectively. The two brands have benefited from growing demand for premium multipurpose vehicles that offer more space and comfort than conventional luxury sedans and SUVs. The arrival of Mercedes-Benz is expected to intensify competition by giving consumers another premium option. The V-Class luxury van is only available for a diesel powertrain here. The V-Class is positioned as a more sp

Deutsche Bank said Korea needs to improve financial market accessibility and regulatory predictability to attract more global capital, as its world-class companies continue to underpin the country's investment appeal. In a recent exclusive interview with The Korea Times, Alexander von zur Muehlen, Deutsche Bank's CEO of Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa and Germany, said "few economies have produced such a concentration of globally competitive companies across strategically important industries" as Korea has. "The next step is to make its financial markets as international as its companies," said von zur Muehlen, who is also a member of the bank's management board. "Greater openness, simplicity and predictability can help broaden international participation." Korea has been opening its financial markets to global investors, introducing 24-hour foreign exchange trading in July. The country also allows foreign institutions to participate directly in its onshore foreign exchange market through the Registered Foreign Institution program, with Deutsche Bank among the first participa

President Lee Jae Myung called for unity between the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) as he held a dinner meeting with DPK leader Kim Min-seok and floor leader Han Byung-do on Wednesday, his office said. During the dinner at Cheong Wa Dae, Kim asked the government for bold and swift measures to overcome polarization and boost consumption, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing. In response, Lee stressed the need for the party and the government to "move as one" in order for the people's lives to improve, and asked that the party and the National Assembly extend their active support to get the government's 2027 budget proposal passed, Kang said. Lee also asked his chief of staff, Lim Kwang-hyun, and senior political affairs secretary, Choi In-ho, to closely communicate with the National Assembly at all times. Lim and Choi were among the dinner participants. Though there had been speculation Lee and the party leaders could discuss controversial issues, such as real estate taxes and a special counsel bill on alleged fabricated indictments,

The government is set to prevent incumbent CEOs at financial companies from having an undue influence on appointing their successors, while imposing tougher voting requirements for bank holding company chiefs who seek to extend their tenure, according to financial authorities, Thursday. The measures are part of a long-delayed corporate governance reform package unveiled by the Lee Jae Myung administration and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), aimed at making leadership succession more transparent and strengthening board independence across the financial sector. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) plans to draw up amendments to the Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies within the year. The changes are expected to take effect six months after the legislation is passed. A central focus is to give independent directors greater control over leadership succession and strengthen their ability to hold management accountable. Under the proposed changes, committees responsible for nominating CEO candidates would consist entirely of independent directors. Sitting CEOs wou

Korea will accept its final round of applications this year for foreign worker visas starting Nov. 23, offering 6,699 new permits to help businesses ease persistent labor shortages while introducing incentives for employers who complete human rights and labor law training, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Thursday. The five-day application window, running through Nov. 27, covers nonprofessional employment visas, known as E-9, across five major sectors. Manufacturing accounts for the lion’s share of the quota with 4,510 slots, followed by agriculture and livestock with 954, fisheries with 897, construction with 198 and services with 140. Should employer demand exceed sector caps, officials said they will tap into a flexible reserve pool of 10,000 additional permits. The announcement underscores Korea’s growing reliance on overseas labor to sustain its export-driven factories, farms and fishing fleets amid one of the world’s fastest-aging populations and lowest birthrates. Over the past several years, the government has steadily expanded its Employment Permit System, which

Korea's ramyeon exports are expected to increase 30 percent in 2027 from a year earlier, driven by expanded production capacity, industry sources said Thursday. Ramyeon shipments rose 26 percent to $1.59 billion in the January-October period, already surpassing last year's full-year growth rate of 22 percent and total exports of $1.52 billion, according to data from the trade ministry and other sources. "Major ramyeon makers' investments in production facilities are expected to continue driving export growth next year," an industry official said over the phone. Nongshim, Korea's leading instant noodle maker, began operations last month at its first plant dedicated to exports in the southern port city of Busan. The company currently generates about 40 percent of its total ramyeon sales from overseas markets, including the United States, China and Japan. It operates seven plants in Korea and six overseas facilities — two in the US and four in China — and sells flagship products such as Shin Ramyun, Chapagetti and Neoguri worldwide. Samyang Foods, known for its globally popular Buldak spi

Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are monitoring leadership uncertainty at Nvidia, one of their biggest clients, company insiders said Thursday. As the major suppliers of chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators, the two are assessing potential succession scenarios following reports that Nvidia's board is considering possible replacements for CEO Jensen Huang amid allegations of multiple extramarital affairs. Huang's close ties with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won have raised concerns that his possible departure could affect business relations. "If Huang is removed, it could inevitably affect networking among top industry executives," a company official said, requesting anonymity. "We cannot rule out the possibility that business discussions could slow or existing plans could change." Others, however, said existing supply agreements were unlikely to be affected, noting that the two companies have traditionally worked with Nvidia executives, including Senior Vice President Jeff Fisher, on detailed business plans.

Researchers in Korea have developed an ultrathin optical lens system that keeps digital images bright and legible even in direct sunlight, overcoming one of the main engineering hurdles preventing augmented reality glasses from looking and feeling like ordinary eyewear. The joint team from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) and Samsung Research built a prototype featuring a 1.5-millimeter-thick waveguide—the transparent channel that guides light from a tiny projector into the wearer’s eye—using engineered nanostructures called metasurfaces. The findings were published Thursday in the journal Nature, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. For years, technology giants from Meta and Apple to Google and Samsung have raced to build lightweight smart glasses capable of overlaying turn-by-turn directions, translations and messages onto the real world. However, engineers have struggled with a stubborn trade-off: widening the viewing zone so a user can glance around without losing the image typically causes light to scatter and leak out of the lens, leaving displ

President Lee Jae Myung's disapproval rating rose to 47 percent this week, surpassing his approval rating, a survey showed Thursday. In a survey of 1,001 adults nationwide conducted Monday through Wednesday, positive assessments of Lee's job performance fell 2 percentage points to 44 percent from two weeks earlier, according to the National Barometer Survey (NBS). Negative assessments rose 3 percentage points to 47 percent. Lee's disapproval rating had remained higher than his approval rating for several weeks before the trend reversed in the previous poll. The survey also showed that 51 percent of respondents said Lee should scale back his use of social media to directly communicate with the public on his policy direction, citing concerns that remarks made "without sufficient deliberation" could cause confusion. Another 42 percent supported his use of social media for communication. Support for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea fell 1 percentage point to 35 percent, while that of the main opposition People Power Party remained unchanged at 25 percent. The poll has a margin of error of p

Korea has much to gain from supporting refugees, including making a safer and more stable international environment, according to the United Nations' refugee agency representative in Afghanistan. During an interview with The Korea Times during his visit to Seoul, Tuesday, Arafat Jamal, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) representative in Afghanistan, said supporting countries such as Afghanistan is not simply an act of charity, but an investment in a more stable world. "Korea is a responsible member of the international community. And helping a country like Afghanistan is for global public good. I think that we can only gain if countries are more open and more willing to build international solidarity and to look beyond themselves," he said. Jamal expressed deep gratitude to the Korean government and people for their continued support, urging them "to continue to build solidarity with the world." Afghanistan's strategic location, bordering seven countries including China, Pakistan and Iran, makes its stability a matter of wider international concern, the U.N. official said. A

A police complaint was filed Thursday accusing ruling party Rep. Choi Min-hee of defamation for referring to journalists as "a pack of hyenas." The complaint against Choi of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) was filed with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency a week after the lawmaker made the comment in a KakaoTalk group chat while referring to an image of photo and video journalists covering a general meeting of DPK lawmakers. She also described the journalists as "doing everything to take videos that sow discord." The complainant, Lee Jong-bae, a former Seoul city councilmember affiliated with the main opposition People Power Party, said Choi's comments revealed her perception of the press and exposed a double standard that chants democracy but scorns journalists that cause discomfort. Choi held a press conference at the National Assembly on Wednesday and apologized for her remarks.

A research institute affiliated with Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) hosted policy dialogues in Singapore and Malaysia last week to strengthen cooperation between Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The university said Wednesday that the HUFS Institute for International Strategy (HIIS) organized the dialogues in collaboration with leading overseas universities and policy research institutions ahead of its official launch. The events brought together diplomatic, security and economic experts from Korea and ASEAN member states as part of the International Eminent Persons’ Track 1.5 Dialogue on Foreign Policy Strategy, an initiative led by Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Participants explored strategic responses to the rapidly changing international order and discussed ways to deepen Korea-ASEAN ties. The Singapore Policy Dialogue was held Nov. 2 at Hotel Waterloo Singapore under the theme “Rethinking Foreign Policy Strategies in a Changing International Order: Perspectives from South Korea and ASEAN.” The event drew faculty members of the S