The Korea Times is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea, along with The Korea Herald and The JoongAng Daily. It is part of the same newspaper group as Hankook Ilbo, a major Korean language daily. The group also publishes Sports Hankook and Seoul Economic Daily.

Since its inception on November 1, 1950, The Korea Times has seen itself as a gateway to South Korea for English-speaking visitors and the diplomatic corps. Its coverage includes politics, society, business, finance, culture and sports. In recent years, The Korea Times has also published weekly "Foreign Community" section, as well as a weekender on Friday. It also publishes licensed content from the Los Angeles Times World Report and The New York Times.

In May, 2006, "The Korea Times" switched the McCune-Reischauer system to the official Romanization system revised by the Korean government in writing names of Korean places. The switch aims at helping readers wipe out confusion arising from the difference between the two systems.