Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea

[Hired in Korea]

As more internationals look to build careers in Korea, many find themselves facing practical hurdles — from limited guidance to a lack of firsthand experience. To bridge that gap, the Korea JoongAng Daily talks with professionals who have carved out their paths in diverse fields, offering readers real-world insights on how to start their careers in the country in this series "Hired in Korea."

While taking part in a global business program in Austria, Coral Virginia Ortiz Estevez from the Dominican Republic realized Korea could be the ideal place to build her career.

Drawn to the country's growing influence in advertising and branding, she saw it as the perfect fit for her wide-ranging interests in marketing, media relations and design.

"At the time, in 2018, Korea was already emerging as a global leader in innovation and branding," Ortiz Estevez said in an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily. "So, I thought Korea would be a great place for people who enjoy exploring new things to take on a new challenge."

"Now, I'm glad to be involved in so many different projects and to be part of the industry's growth and development."

The Korea JoongAng Daily sat down with Ortiz Estevez to learn more about her journey, the challenges of building a career in Korea as a foreign professional and her advice for others hoping to do the same.

What kind of company is Picky?

Broadly speaking, Picky is a platform that connects a global community of beauty creators with Korean beauty brands.

One of our main focuses is running campaigns that bring creators and brands together, giving emerging creators and companies opportunities to grow, gain exposure and collaborate in the beauty industry.

Picky also runs a beauty review platform, product discovery app and consumer community.

What is your role there?

I work as the brand manager for Picky Club Magazine, overseeing everything from the magazine's initial concept to its distribution.

My role includes developing editorial ideas, reaching out to creators, directing photo shoots and collaborating with the team on merchandise.

A big part of my job is communicating with creators to better understand their needs. I also research industry trends and the skills creators are likely to need in the future so we can help creators and brands grow together within the beauty industry.

We launched the magazine because we saw a need for a platform where creators could not only showcase themselves to a global audience but also continue learning, growing and gaining a better understanding of what the market is looking for. We wanted it to be both a source of inspiration and a practical resource for creators.

Did you have any additional training, internships or certifications that helped prepare you for your career?

Before coming to Korea, I joined a global business program in Austria.

There were 42 participants from 22 countries, and I think that experience really shaped the way I see the world. It taught me to look at things from an international perspective, understand different cultures, and think about how a brand can succeed in different markets.

It also strengthened my ability to adapt, and I think that's one of my biggest strengths. Many international students and professionals have that same advantage, and it's valuable not only for them but also for companies. That's one of the reasons Picky hires so many international employees.

About half of the team is made up of people from overseas.

Any academic tips?

I think the most important thing is to look at the curriculum and make sure it matches your goals and the way you want to grow.

I chose Chung-Ang University's Master of Business Administration program because the curriculum there seemed more connected to entertainment and media.

When I looked at the syllabus, I felt it aligned more closely with what I was looking for, and I'm really glad I chose that university.

You should also consider whether it is the kind of environment you want to...

Government closure data show that while most dog farms have shut down, an estimated 97 percent of their dogs were sold or distributed rather than rescued.

GANGJIN COUNTY, South Jeolla —Inside a cramped, rust-stained farm in rural Gangjin County in South Jeolla, the air was thick with the mid-August heat and filled with the odor of dog feces and urine. It is one of the few dog farms still operating in Korea as the country counts down to a February 2027 ban on breeding, slaughtering and selling dogs for meat.

Dozens of dogs were kept in cages lined up like prison cells at the farm. Each cage was barely large enough for one dog to move around. And what space they did have was devoid of comfort, composed of ruddy metal bars, soiled wooden flooring and the occasional plastic crate. Some dogs stayed quiet as people approached, while others barked constantly, wary of human presence.

On Thursday, a Korea JoongAng Daily reporter joined a team from Humane World for Animals Korea — a nonprofit animal protection organization that works to end animal cruelty and improve animal welfare — as they moved through the farm, checking on the dogs' condition a day before they were scheduled to receive vaccinations. The vaccinations are the mandatory first step before the animals can clear Korea's 30-day quarantine and, by mid-September, be flown to the United States for adoption.

That makes them lucky.

Friday was malbok, the last of this year's boknal — the traditional calendar's three days that marked the beginning, apex and end of the summer's peak heat season. Many diners used to mark those days with a hot bowl of bosintang (dog meat soup), and this was likely the last malbok before the practice becomes fully illegal.

Interviews with animal welfare workers, farmers and officials, along with a review of government data, show that the law meant to end dog meat has not settled the question it was written to answer: What happens to the dogs?

The dogs' cages at the farm in Gangjin County were in poor condition, with rust covering much of the metal. Even the dogs' water bowls were covered in rust. Some dogs stayed together in one tiny cage, leaving them barely any space to move around.

Having spent months in such unsanitary surroundings, many of the dogs also appeared to suffer from skin conditions.

One white dog had visible red sores on his legs.

"You can see how his skin has become like this, right? All of this is from skin disease," Lee Hae-won, a leader from the media and communications department from Humane World for Animals said.

The white dog was among dozens living in poor conditions, waiting for a chance at adoption following the government's move to end the dog meat trade.

Many dogs from these kinds of farms are underweight — not simply because of neglect, but because buyers often reject animals with visible fat.

"[Dogs] have to be sent out as lean as possible for the slaughterhouses to accept them," said Lee Sang-kyung, the group's campaign team lead, as buyers view fat as detrimental to meat quality.

Many rescued dogs also show signs of chronic stress, skin disease and, in some cases, injuries from fighting in overcrowded cages.

Lee said 90 to 95 percent of dogs find permanent homes overseas, while the rest stay in foster care rather than being euthanized.

Domestic adoption remains rare — fewer than a dozen cases total, mostly puppies too young to fly — which Lee attributed largely to Korean law that classifies large mixed-breed dogs as "dangerous," restricting their adoption, along with lingering stigma toward farm-raised dogs.

Korea's Special Act on the Prohibition of Dog Meat took effect Aug. 7, 2024, seven months after the National Assembly passed it unanimously.

It carries a three-year grace period, meaning the full ban — covering the breeding, slaughtering, distribution and sale of dogs for human consumption — does not take hold until Feb. 7, 2027. Under the law, 5,625 businesses — farms, slaughterhouses, distributors and res...

A rare 1910 work by independence activist Ahn Jung-geun returned from Japan and was shown publicly for the first time.

Calligraphy written by Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910) just days before his execution was disclosed to the media Thursday for the first time, following its return from Japan last year.

The work which reads "Manguk Gongbeop Buryeo Daepo" and translates to "International Law Is No Match for Cannons," was written by Ahn in 1910, the year he was executed, in Lushun Prison in China. The words reflect his lament over the powerlessness of international law when his request for a trial, in accordance with the international law, was rejected by Japanese authorities.

Given the rare inscription on the back detailing the work's provenance and route of transmission, as well as its style and structure, experts consider this calligraphy to be among the finest examples of Ahn's works. A total of 31 calligraphic works of Ahn have been designated as national treasures of Korea.

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"Ahn is known to have written numerous calligraphic works in prison, but this piece holds particular value for directly reflecting his insight into the cold realities of international relations," said Park Jeong-hye, secretary general of the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, at a press conference held Thursday at Jungmyeong Hall in Deoksu Palace.

The Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit organization under the Korea Heritage Service tasked with managing Korean cultural heritage located abroad.

"I believe the work embodies Ahn's characteristically powerful brushstrokes, which remained unwavering even in the face of death," Park added.

Ahn was known to be a devoted advocate of international law as laid out in "Elements of International Law," a treatise published by American jurist Henry Wheaton in 1836 that was later widely circulated in China, Japan, and Korea.

After assassinating Ito Hirobumi, Japan's first prime minister, at Harbin Railway Station in 1909, Ahn argued that his act was a justified act of war carried out as a lieutenant general of Korea's independence army, and requested a trial under international law. Japanese authorities rejected his request and instead charged him with murder and sentenced him to death.

Ahn died by hanging in Lushun Prison on March 29, 1910 at the age of 30.

Ahn was no expert in calligraphy so his works had the tendency of tilting in an upright direction with strong brush strokes.

"International Law is No Match for Cannons," however, balances that tendency, according to the experts.

"Out of all calligraphy work of Ahn found, this work, in terms of style and everything, is extraordinary and near perfection," said literature researcher Park Cheol-sang.

The inscription recorded on the reverse side — rare for Ahn's works — adds to the historical value. Records state that the original owner of the calligraphy was Kurihara Sadakichi and the work was later passed on to an anonymous individual from a family with the surname Pyeong.

Kurihara was a Japanese warden of the Lushun Prison who is said to have shown respect toward Ahn. He requested for the postponement of Ahn's execution and delivered a white hanbok (Korean traditional clothing) to him before the execution, according to historical records.

The anonymous individual wrote on the work's reverse side that one of the reasons for keeping the work was "out of compassion for Ahn's state of mind."

"The fact that this person felt pity for Ahn indicates that maybe when Kurihara passed this on to this person, he may have explained Ahn's story in detail," said Jang Ji-hoon, a professor at Kyonggi University's Department of Korean Painting and Calligraphy.

The ink hand...

The win rounded out the club's league stage play, leaving its hopes of advancing dependent on Thursday's results.

Los Angeles FC (LAFC) have earned a second shootout victory in a continental tournament, with Korean superstar Son Heung-min converting his spot kick.

Son was the second of five successive LAFC players to score their penalties in a 5-3 shootout victory over Club Queretaro of Mexico's Liga MX at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

This was LAFC's third and final match of the opening phase of the Leagues Cup, a tournament featuring 36 teams from MLS and Liga MX. During the league phase, teams play three matches against opponents from the other league. The top four teams from each league will then advance to the knockout stage.

In the first phase, a win is worth three points, a shootout victory is worth two points and a shootout loss is still good for one point.

LAFC, who had a 5-4 shootout win over Chivas de Guadalajara and then defeated Toluca FC 1-0, finished the first round with seven points.

The Los Angeles side are currently third on the MLS side, with the Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake having already qualified. Austin FC and the Chicago Fire each have six points with one match remaining, and results in their final league phase matches on Thursday will determine LAFC's fate.

Queretaro scored the match's first goal in the 12th minute on Ali Avila's header and held LAFC to just one shot on target in the first half.

LAFC drew even a dozen minutes after the restart, courtesy of Denis Bouanga. Then they kept pressing for a go-ahead goal, with Son setting up Bouanga for a shot in the 59th minute and Son himself being denied by goalkeeper Guillermo Allison on a counterattack in the 72nd minute.

Five minutes later, Son then released a left-footed shot from the left side of the box that missed the target to the right.

Leagues Cup matches go directly to penalties without extra time. All five LAFC players scored, but Queretaro's fourth kicker, Daniel Parra, struck the crossbar.

Son has gone goalless in all three Leagues Cup matches so far. He found the back of the net in four consecutive MLS regular season games coming back from the FIFA World Cup 2026 break last month.

The Leagues Cup will continue through early September. The top three teams will qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup, the top regional competition.

Yonhap

The AUBL's Hangzhou tournament brought together teams and students from across Asia as the league moves toward a regular-season format.

HANGZHOU, China — When Yonsei University and Korea University took the court at the Binxing Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China, the familiar chants and rhythmic cheers felt like a home game transported across the West Sea.

The cheering scale may be smaller than the roaring crowds surrounding the historic Seoul rivalry, but the heart and passion remained unmistakably the same.

Yet once the opening tip-off arced upward, it became clear this was more than just a relocated basketball game. Beneath the familiar colors and fight songs, a larger experiment in Asian university sports was quietly taking shape.

Yonsei and Korea University, along with teams from China, Taiwan, Japan, Mongolia, the Philippines and Australia, convened in Hangzhou for the Asian University Basketball League (AUBL), a competition designed to establish a continental platform for men's collegiate hoops.

At the second edition of the tournament, which ran from Aug. 2 through Tuesday, Yonsei, champion of the league's 2024 pilot season in Hong Kong, and Korea University, winner of five consecutive domestic University League championships from 2021 to 2025, brought their familiar intensity to the international hardwood before a pan-Asian audience.

This year's tournament proved more challenging for the Korean contingents.

Both teams advanced from the group stage but were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Defending champion National Chengchi University (NCCU) edged Yonsei 72-67, while Korea University lost 78-71 to Waseda University of Japan, which eventually finished in third place.

A consolation matchup that would have seen the two Korean rivals face each other in a seventh-place game was ultimately called off as Typhoon Dolphin approached Hangzhou on Aug. 9.

Both teams packed up and left early, anticipating flight cancellations and worsening weather conditions.

Though many might assume that Asia's university-level basketball lacks opportunities to compete on the international stage, it's not entirely new to it.

The Asian University Sports Federation has been running the Asian University Basketball Championship since the first edition was launched in 1998 in Manila. The competition has been staged periodically in various Asian cities over the years, including Manila, Cebu and Bangkok.

The AUBL, however, seeks to build on that existing framework with a different model: Rather than bringing teams together for an international tournament once every few years, it aims to make cross-border competition a regular part of the university basketball calendar.

Its planned home-and-away format is designed to give teams repeated opportunities to play one another throughout the season, with a centralized postseason to follow.

Backed by sports figures including Joseph Tsai, David Blitzer, Marc Lasry and Chinese basketball icon Yao Ming, the league aims to develop a sustainable continental platform for university basketball.

"We want to build a competition platform among Asian universities that doesn't just belong to a single market," Jay Li, CEO of the AUBL, said in an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily. "For a long time, university teams in Asia developed within their own domestic systems, which only allowed limited opportunities to compete internationally without a home-and-away format."

"What we are trying to do here is to break down the walls and create a very inclusive global sports ecosystem," Li added.

The league's geographic reach is expected to continue expanding as it moves toward a regular-season format, with the goals of including more universities from more countries and visiting more Asian cities for future tournaments, according to the AUBL CEO.

For players, students studying abroad and spectators alike, the international experience is not limited to competition.

The tournament offered them an opportunity to experience culture...

New U.S. rules and proposals are prompting Korean students and families to rethink study and work plans in America.

When Park first moved to New York for college from Korea, she loved the sense of open-ended possibility her education offered.

She graduated from a competitive international school in Korea where about 95 percent of her class went on to study in the United States, and she pictured a future built around career freedom and doing things on her own terms.

Three years later, the soon-to-be-junior, who is studying communications and asked to be identified only by her surname, is living in a different reality — one shaped by quiet self-censorship and mounting anxiety under U.S. President Donald Trump's shifting policies toward international students.

"People have gotten really quiet," Park told the Korea JoongAng Daily. "There's a hush-hush feeling among students when it comes to talking about politics or immigration. Everyone's warning each other to be careful on social media — even telling friends not to post things that could be risky."

As Washington rolls out new policies that could affect international students' prospects of studying — and finding jobs after graduating — the caution now comes with real financial and legal stakes attached.

F-1 visas cover most international students enrolled full-time at U.S. colleges and universities, including many completing internships during their studies through a separate work authorization called Curricular Practical Training (CPT).

Under a federal rule taking effect Sept. 15, F-1 status will no longer grant an open-ended "duration of status" (D/S). Instead, visa admissions will carry a fixed maximum period of four years.

For students moving on to Optional Practical Training (OPT) or extended-STEM OPT after graduation, this shift means they will often need to file a separate Extension of Stay application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

OPT work can't legally start until that application is approved, creating a real chance of a gap between finishing school and being cleared to work, adding friction to a hiring process many employers already found slow and unpredictable.

"My parents have told me to look into options abroad more broadly — not to just assume it has to be the United States — and to check out places like Canada or Australia," Park said.

Park's experience is not an unfamiliar one across the U.S. higher education pipeline.

As the U.S. back-to-school season approaches, Korean international students are grappling with a series of policy moves from Washington — with more potentially still to come.

In addition to the finalized rule scrapping duration of status in favor of a four-year visa cap, reports revealed that the Trump administration is weighing a $100,000 fee on OPT, the postgraduation work permit that allows international graduates to work in the United States for one to three years.

Neither policy singles out Korean students, but the timing has landed hard in a country that sends more students to U.S. universities than almost anywhere else — Korea was the third-largest source of international students in the United States in the 2024/25 academic year, behind only India and China, according to the Institute of International Education.

On "Mijunmo," a Naver online community used by Koreans to trade advice on living in the United States, posts titled "Worried about OPT" have piled up by the day.

"A huge cost burden makes companies reluctant to hire us, and that makes it harder to hold onto our legal status here," said Hong, who is entering his third year at an American university and asked to be identified only by his surname. "Massive fees turn into corporate hiring avoidance. It makes you ask: Is it really worth insisting on staying in the United States at that kind of cost and uncertainty?"

The hesitation reaches students before they even set foot on a U.S. campus.

One student accepted into a UCLA graduate program starting this fall — iden...

After his deal-filled trip to the United States and South America, President Lee Jae Myung must now confront falling approval ratings, market turmoil and backlash over his administration's legal reforms.

President Lee Jae Myung returned home Monday from his tour of the United States and South America, but the news upon coming back to Korea was hardly welcoming. A Realmeter poll showed that 50.5 percent of respondents disapproved of his performance — the first time his negative rating has surpassed 50 percent since he took office. His approval rating also fell to a record low of 45.9 percent.

During his seven-night, 11-day trip, the longest overseas tour of his presidency, Lee secured cooperation worth some $950 billion between Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and global technology giants, while also expanding agreements with Brazil, Chile and Argentina on critical minerals and energy supply chains. Yet there was little time for celebration. Just three hours after returning home, Lee convened a meeting to review the real estate and stock markets. The problems at home have reached a critical point, leaving little room to recover from the grueling diplomatic schedule.

The housing and stock markets are showing unprecedented signs of instability. The benchmark Kospi plunged 22.19 percent in July, its steepest monthly decline since the 23.13 percent drop during the global financial crisis in October 2008. After surpassing 9,000 in June, the index at one point fell below 6,000. The introduction of single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds has been cited as one factor behind the heightened volatility, and Kim Yong-beom, the presidential policy chief who spearheaded the measure, was sued on Monday on allegations including abuse of authority.

The government has been seeking solutions to the housing crisis through a series of public debates, but Seoul apartments continue to experience a "triple rise," with sales prices, jeonse (lump-sum deposit) and monthly rents all climbing simultaneously. The tax reform announced on Monday, which focuses almost entirely on raising taxes, also risks creating further distortions.

The ruling Democratic Party's public briefing on Monday on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act was another case of putting the cart before the horse. The ruling party has pushed through sweeping changes to a criminal justice system that had remained in place for 72 years without sufficient deliberation and is now trying to sell the public on a supposedly "better" system. The backlash from victims and even some members of the ruling party underscores the deep divisions the legislation has created.

President Lee must squarely face the reality that his government and ruling party are causing public anxiety and confusion, and make his position clear. Controversial proposals, including a constitutional amendment to allow presidential re-election and an expansion of grounds for dismissing criminal cases inserted into the procedural law, will not be put to rest without a clear stance from the president.

With polls showing that more than 60 percent of the public opposes the criminal procedure amendments, the case for a presidential veto is growing stronger. This is the time for President Lee to demonstrate that he takes his constitutional duty to protect the safety and property of the people seriously.

부정평가 50% 넘은 날 귀국한 이 대통령에게 주어진 과제

이재명 대통령이 미국·남미 순방을 마치고 어제 귀국했지만 그를 마중한 건 달갑지 않은 소식이었다. 리얼미터의 여론조사에서 이 대통령의 국정수행 부정평가가 50.5%로 취임 이후 처음 50%를 넘겼다. 긍정 평가도 45.9%로 최저치였다. 취임 이후 가장 긴 7박11일의 순방에서 이 대통령은 삼성전자·SK하이닉스와 글로벌 빅테크의 1390조원대 협력을 연결하고 브라질·칠레·아르헨티나와 핵심 광물 및 에너지 공급망 협력을 확대하기로 하는 등의 성과를 거뒀다. 하지만 생색도 내지 못하고 귀국 3시간여 뒤 부동산·주식시장 점검 회의를 했다. 숨가쁜 외교 일정의 여독을 풀기에는 내치의 문제가 임계점에 도달한 상황이다.

부동산과 주식 시장은 말 그대로 '역대급'의 불안을 보이고 있다. 7월 한 달간 코스피는 2008년 10월 금융위기(-23.13%) 이후 최대 수준인 22.19% 하락했다. 6월에 9000을 넘겼던 지수가 한때 6000선 아래까지 밀렸다. 변동성 확대 원인으로 단일종목 레버리지 ETF 도입이 꼽혔고, 그것을 주도한 김용범 청와대 정책실장은 직권남용 등의 혐의로 어제 고발당했다. 국민 대토론회를 열어 부동산 정책 해법을 찾아나서고 있지만, 서울 아파트는 매매·...

After his deal-filled trip to the United States and South America, President Lee Jae Myung must now confront falling approval ratings, market turmoil and backlash over his administration's legal reforms.

Opinion Desk

Opinion

Desk

Published

August 4, 2026 - 11:46 a.m.

Modified

August 5, 2026 - 8:32 a.m.

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President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hye Kyung greet officials upon arriving aboard Air Force One at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 3, after completing their trip to the United States and three South American countries.

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President Lee Jae Myung returned home Monday from his tour of the United States and South America, but the news upon coming back to Korea was hardly welcoming. A Realmeter poll showed that 50.5 percent of respondents disapproved of his performance — the first time his negative rating has surpassed 50 percent since he took office. His approval rating also fell to a record low of 45.9 percent.

During his seven-night, 11-day trip, the longest overseas tour of his presidency, Lee secured cooperation worth some $950 billion between Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and global technology giants, while also expanding agreements with Brazil, Chile and Argentina on critical minerals and energy supply chains. Yet there was little time for celebration. Just three hours after returning home, Lee convened a meeting to review the real estate and stock markets. The problems at home have reached a critical point, leaving little room to recover from the grueling diplomatic schedule.

The housing and stock markets are showing unprecedented signs of instability. The benchmark Kospi plunged 22.19 percent in July, its steepest monthly decline since the 23.13 percent drop during the global financial crisis in October 2008. After surpassing 9,000 in June, the index at one point fell below 6,000. The introduction of single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds has been cited as one factor behind the heightened volatility, and Kim Yong-beom, the presidential policy chief who spearheaded the measure, was sued on Monday on allegations including abuse of authority.

The government has been seeking solutions to the housing crisis through a series of public debates, but Seoul apartments continue to experience a "triple rise," with sales prices, jeonse (lump-sum deposit) and monthly rents all climbing simultaneously. The tax reform announced on Monday, which focuses almost entirely on raising taxes, also risks creating further distortions.

The ruling Democratic Party's public briefing on Monday on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act was another case of putting the cart before the horse. The ruling party has pushed through sweeping changes to a criminal justice system that had remained in place for 72 years without sufficient deliberation and is now trying to sell the public on a supposedly "better" system. The backlash from victims and even some members of the ruling party underscores the deep divisions the legislation has created.

President Lee must squarely face the reality that his government and ruling party are causing public anxiety and confusion, and make his position clear. Controversial proposals, including a constitutional amendment to allow presidential re-election and an expansion of grounds for dismissing criminal cases inserted into the procedural law, will not be put to rest without a clear stance from the president.

With polls showing that more than 60 percent of the public opposes the criminal procedure amendments, the case for a presidential veto is growing stronger. This is the time for President Lee to demonstrate that he takes his constitutional duty to protect the safety and property of the people seriously.

The author is a professor of Economics, Sungkyunkwan University

The number of foreign nationals residing in Korea reached 2.91 million as of July and is expected to surpass 3 million by the end of this year. Of the nation's 227 municipalities, 142 now have immigrant populations exceeding 5 percent. About 1.1 million foreign nationals work in small and medium enterprises, agriculture, fisheries and livestock farming — sectors many Koreans avoid. Meanwhile students from immigrant backgrounds now exceed 200,000.

Although immigrants have become vital to easing labor shortages in an aging society, public perception remains slow to change. The Migration Research and Training Center's Immigrant Social Integration Index shows that while many Koreans acknowledge immigrants' economic contributions, they remain hesitant to accept them as full members of society. This gap between a growing foreign population and limited public acceptance raises a crucial question: Is Korean society truly prepared for an era of 3 million foreign residents?

Without careful preparation, marginalization and social conflict could become unavoidable. Korea should closely examine the experiences of Western nations that struggled with isolation and social tensions due to insufficient institutional safeguards during early migration waves. If Korea misses its window to strengthen social integration, it risks repeating the same mistakes.

The first priority must be reforming the governance structure overseeing immigration. While the Ministry of Justice's Korea Immigration Service has fulfilled its role thus far, expanding immigration scope has led to conflicting roles across multiple agencies. To respond effectively, Korea must strengthen overarching policy coordination and grant the agency true central coordinating authority.

In her 15-volume historical narrative series about the Roman civilization, author Nanami Shiono attributed Rome's longevity to its openness and inclusiveness. Crucially, this was not a policy of unconditional acceptance, but a system that integrated newcomers into Rome's established order and structure. How, then, can we expand such openness and inclusiveness? Simply asking the public to embrace the virtues of humanitarianism or universal brotherhood is not enough. People must first come to recognize that immigrants are not free riders but members of society who make positive contributions.

Korea should significantly expand Korean-language education to reduce misunderstandings and conflicts caused by communication barriers. That will naturally require funding. Yet asking taxpayers to shoulder additional costs solely for immigrants is not a realistic solution. A different approach is needed. Relying exclusively on the general budget means immigration programs are often pushed to the bottom of funding priorities because of their specialized nature. Instead, Korea should establish a dedicated funding mechanism using revenues already paid by foreign nationals, such as visa and nationality application fees. Legislation to create such a system has already been proposed in the National Assembly.

Social integration cannot be achieved through language education alone. It also requires stable funding, consistent policies and a national immigration strategy. Immigration should no longer be viewed merely as an extension of welfare or labor policy but as part of the country's long-term growth strategy. Many major economies already use immigration as a national strategy to attract skilled talent and revitalize regional economies. If Korea hopes to recruit entrepreneurs and other essential workers needed by industry, it must first comprehensively overhaul its fragmented visa system to better reflect public sentiment and policy goals. It should also establish an integrated system to project the number of entrants by visa category and manage the overall inflow of foreign workers.

The debate over whether Korea should open its doors to immigration is over. Th...

The Lee Jae Myung administration has held five policy forums on housing supply, finance and taxation, promising to hear a wide range of views from the market. Yet the tax reform plan announced on Monday came down to one thing: higher taxes.

President Lee's pledge that he would "not use taxes as a tool of housing policy" has vanished, as has the Presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom's call to "shut up and just build" more homes. Instead of expanding supply and encouraging transactions, the government has shifted its focus to raising the long-term burden of property ownership and transactions. In the end, it is simply "shut up and just raise taxes."

The government says it is normalizing property taxes, which are low compared to other major economies, while protecting genuine homebuyers. But the reality is different. The threshold for the comprehensive real estate tax on single-home owners has been raised from 1.2 billion won to 1.4 billion won ($839,500 to $979,5000) in assessed value, while the basic deduction for nonresident single-home owners has been cut from 1.2 billion won to 900 million won.

At the same time, the cap on annual increases in the tax burden will rise from 150 percent to 200 percent, while the fair market value ratio will increase from 60 percent to 70 percent next year. The tax rate on ultrahigh-end homes will nearly double, while rates on homes in the 600 million to 1.2 billion won taxable value bracket will rise from 1 percent to 1.3 percent.

The government is also making it harder to sell homes. Long-term capital gains deductions will be based more heavily on years of residence, while new limits will be imposed on the deduction. This runs counter to the basic principle of a functioning housing market: If property taxes rise, transaction taxes should be lowered to encourage homes to come onto the market.

President Lee had also promised before taking office to expand inheritance-tax deductions so that people would not have to sell their longtime homes because of taxes. That pledge is absent from the latest plan. With neither transaction-tax relief nor expanded inheritance-tax deductions, homeowners will face heavier burdens when they own, sell or pass on their homes. The policy amounts to punitive taxation of homeowners.

The consequences could be severe. The completion rate for Seoul apartments fell 58.4 percent in the first half of this year, while the average jeonse (lump-sum deposit) surpassed 700 million won. Regulatory side effects are spreading beyond southern Seoul into northern districts and the wider capital region, worsening rental-market pressures.

The lessons of the Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in administrations are clear: Housing markets cannot be stabilized by taxes alone. Higher costs will eventually be passed on to tenants.

The solution is equally clear. If property taxes are raised, transaction taxes must be boldly cut. Reconstruction and redevelopment should be encouraged, and housing supply expanded. Only a steady stream of new homes can restore the hope of homeownership, stabilize prices and normalize the market.

By trying to overpower the market, the government is leaving ordinary citizens to bear the burden of a tax bomb.

집값 불안 키운 부동산 정책, 징벌적 과세만 더 강화했다

이재명 정부는 공급·금융·세제 등을 주제로 다섯 차례 부동산 정책 토론회를 열며 시장의 다양한 의견을 듣겠다고 했다. 그러나 정부가 3일 발표한 세제개편안의 결론은 결국 증세였다. "세금을 주택 정책의 수단으로 쓰지 않겠다"던 이재명 대통령의 약속도, "닥치고 공급"을 강조했던 김용범 청와대 정책실장의 호언장담도 자취를 감췄다. 정책의 무게중심은 공급 확대나 거래 활성화가 아니라 장기적인 보유세·거래세 부담 확대에 쏠렸다. 남은 것은 결국 '닥치고 증세'뿐이다.

정부는 주요국보다 낮은 보유세를 정상화하고 실수요자를 배려한 정책이라고 설명하지만 현실과는 거리가 멀다. 1세대 1주택자의 종부세 과세 기준은 공시가격 12억원에서 14억원으로 높였지만, 비거주 1주택자의 기본공제는 12억원에서 9억원으로 낮췄다. 보유보다 거주를 중시하는 방향으로 세제를 바꾸겠다는 취지다. 그러나 동시에 종부세 세부담 상한은 직전 연도 세액의 150%에서 200%로 크게 높이고, 종부세 공정시장가액 비율도 현행 60%에서 내년 70%로 인상한다. 과세표준 12억원(시가 약 45억원) 이상 초고가 주택은 종부세율이 현행보다 두 배 수준으로 높아지고, 과세표준 6억~12억원 구간의 중산층 주택도 세율이 1%에서 1.3%로 오른다.

정부는 부동산 거래의 퇴로도 막고 있다. 양도소득세 장기보유특별공제는 보유 기간 공제를 없애고 거주 기간 중심으로 바꾸는 데 그치지 않고, 기존 장기거주특별공제를 폐지하는 대신 장기거주소득공제를 신설했다. 장기...