창간 80주년 경향신문

Democratic Party expels Jindo County mayor over discriminatory remark about “importing unmarried women from Sri Lanka·Vietnam”

On the 9th, the Democratic Party of Korea expelled Kim Hee-su, its member and mayor of Jindo County in South Jeolla Province, who made a discriminatory remark during a live broadcast about the issue of population decline by saying, “let’s import foreign unmarried women.”Park Soo-hyun, the chief spokesperson, said that at a closed-door meeting held at the National Assembly that day, the party’s Supreme Council unanimously approved a measure to expel Mayor Kim.Chief spokesperson Park said, “...

2026.02.09 12:51

‘The Man Who Never Gives Up’ Kim Sang-gyeom···Even did manual labor to keep snowboarding, reaches his first Olympic podium on his fourth try after three misses

Korean skiing looked to the men’s parallel giant slalom held on the 8th for its first medal of the Milan·Cortina d’Ampezzo 2026 Winter Olympics. To be candid, the hopes were pinned on ‘Cabbage Boy’ Lee Sang-ho (Nexen Winguard), who claimed the country’s first-ever snow event medal (silver) at Pyeongchang 2018.However, Lee Sang-ho was eliminated in the round of 16, the first single-heat knockout of the men’s parallel giant slalom held that day at Livigno Snow Park in Italy. Even then, hardl...

2026.02.09 12:51

Overbooking troubles during lodging reservations for BTS concert in Busan… Busan City “proposes system improvements”

Ahead of the BTS concert to be held in Busan this June, a spate of “reservation cancellations” at some lodging businesses has been found to stem from structural limitations of online booking platforms. As users flocked to make reservations at once, “overbooking” occurred.According to Busan City and others on the 8th, as of the 2nd, a total of 129 complaints related to BTS lodging had been filed through the “Price-Gouging QR Reporting System.” Busan City has completed processing 72 of them, i...

2026.02.09 12:50

Kim Jong-un visits the Ministry of National Defense for Army Day… no mention of ‘nuclear forces’ in speech

Kim Jong-un, Chairman of North Korea’s State Affairs Commission, stated that “the five years ahead indicated by the Party’s 9th Congress will be five years in which our military’s irreplaceable, exceptional role will rise further.”In a speech delivered during his visit to the Ministry of National Defense on the 8th to mark the 78th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army (Army Day), he said, “as everyone is prepared for, this year is a grand year of transformation in which o...

2026.02.09 12:50

Price collusion and suspected tax evasion of about 500 billion KRW···National Tax Service launches tax investigations into OB Beer·Daehan Flour Mills·Binggrae

The National Tax Service, following probes into sugar and sanitary pads, has now launched tax investigations into 14 daily-necessities companies including Daehan Flour Mills over collusion in flour prices. This is seen as a comprehensive crackdown on collusion and tax evasion in line with President Lee Jae Myung’s ‘price stability’ stance. The National Tax Service said it assessed back taxes totaling 178.5 billion KRW against food-sector monopoly and oligopoly companies including OB Beer, ba...

2026.02.09 12:02

Will lenient sanctions for conglomerates disappear··· Korea Fair Trade Commission pushes ‘revenue-proportional fines’

The Korea Fair Trade Commission will improve the system by raising fine levels in proportion to company size. The intention is to restructure it so that the larger a company's sales, the larger the fine. It also plans to establish a minimum baseline for the total amount of fines. This is seen as a move to prevent cash-rich conglomerates from treating current fines as a ‘simple cost’ and to secure the effectiveness of corporate sanctions.According to relevant ministries and others on the 9...

2026.02.09 11:00

KOSPI surges 4%, reclaims 5300···Samsung Electronics·Hynix both in the 5% range

As anxiety triggered by artificial intelligence (AI) eased, the KOSPI also rebounded by more than 4%.As of 9:27 a.m., the KOSPI was trading at 5296.16, up 207.02 points (4.07%) from the previous session. During the session, it rose as high as 5317.63, reclaiming the 5300 level.The KOSDAQ was also trading at 1109.14 at the same time, up 28.37 points (2.62%) from the previous session, recovering the 1100 level.With U.S. consumer sentiment improving and Big Tech's expansion of AI investmen...

2026.02.09 09:37

Even if they are old or disabled, we should live well together···empathizing with animals’ ‘birth, aging, sickness, and death’

In a world of social media and short-form videos, the fastest and most efficient form of ‘healing’ is none other than animal videos. Furry animals like cats and dogs enjoy huge popularity, even commanding fandoms, while rare animals draw attention precisely because they are rare. In an era of ten million pet owners, with a Fubao syndrome in full swing and a meme that says it is only polite to attach a photo when mentioning the animal you keep, familiarity and affection toward animals run high....

2026.02.08 21:42

Scapegoat hunting, hiding behind the government… Did the ‘Coupang-style response’ start with the COVID-19 infections?

[Weekly Kyunghyang] “When did the first confirmed case emerge?”, “Which area did that person work in?”At 7 p.m. on May 25, 2020, as COVID-19 began spreading, at Coupang’s Bucheon fresh logistics center in Gyeonggi Province. Workers who were in the middle of their shifts were gathered in one place, and questions poured out at the manager. The manager dodged answers, saying “I don’t know,” “I cannot say because it is personal information.” At that time, anxiety over COVID-19 was high. There ...

2026.02.08 21:39

A documentary on left-wing·right-wing youth taking on politics, and why it is paired with the ‘Everyday Politics Show’

“Was it hard to watch? It was hard for me while editing, too (laughs).”Indie Space in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 3rd. Director Lee Il-ha (52) struck up a friendly conversation with viewers who had just finished watching his documentary film <Youth Politics White Paper - Show Me the Justice>. Laughter rippled through the audience. In a year when, after illegal martial law, voices filled the squares from both left and right, viewers likely accustomed to hearing only the voices of their ‘ow...

2026.02.08 21:39