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SEOUL, South Korea — A singer’s account of learning belatedly that his mother had died topped South Korea’s Google trending searches on Sept. 27, 2026, alongside interest in professional baseball, holiday banking arrangements and Samsung Electronics.
The rankings reflect the order of Google’s real-time trending list rather than total search volume. Google’s volume figures are approximate.
Singer Kim Ki-tae’s family story
Kim Ki-tae, the winner of the 2022 season of the JTBC singing competition “Sing Again,” ranked first with more than 500 searches after discussing his family history on MBN’s “Kim Ju-ha’s Day and Night.”
Kim said he had not seen his mother since his parents divorced when he was 17. He had hoped she would contact him once he became a well-known singer, but he never heard from her. Kim said he later requested an official family relations certificate while preparing to move and discovered that she had died. His expressions of grief and regret drew renewed attention online.
Veteran singer Kim Yong-man ranked fifth with more than 2,000 searches as fans marked the second anniversary of his death. Kim died at age 89, one month after his wife.
Samsung compensation dispute draws attention
Roh Tae-moon, a Samsung Electronics executive who leads the company’s Device eXperience and mobile divisions, ranked second with more than 1,000 searches amid employee dissatisfaction over performance bonuses.
Reports said Roh planned to speak directly with employees in October. Interest also centered on a union representing Device eXperience workers that planned to continue a protest in Seoul’s Hannam neighborhood during Chuseok, Korea’s major fall harvest holiday. Samsung was also expected to disclose details of a special bonus program for semiconductor employees.
Samsung Electronics itself ranked 10th with more than 20,000 searches. Market attention focused on forecasts that its third-quarter operating profit and memory-chip profitability could reach record levels. Expectations of a prolonged shortage of DRAM memory chips and increased sales of next-generation HBM4 high-bandwidth memory also drove searches.
Baseball fills the sports searches
Major League Baseball ranked third with more than 500 searches after the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Kansas City Royals to win the American League Central. Cleveland secured its seventh division title in 11 years and a first-round playoff bye.
Three matchups from the Korea Baseball Organization, South Korea’s top professional league, also appeared in the top 10. Kiwoom Heroes vs. NC Dinos ranked sixth with more than 1,000 searches after NC starter Mike Clevinger allowed three runs in 2 1/3 innings while seeking his first win against Kiwoom. The result left NC at risk of missing the postseason.
Hanwha Eagles vs. Lotte Giants ranked eighth with more than 5,000 searches. KT Wiz vs. Doosan Bears ranked ninth with more than 2,000 as fans looked for starting pitchers and lineup information ahead of the game in Seoul. Doosan replaced Oh Myung-jin with Kang Seung-ho and placed Ahn Jae-seok in the cleanup spot. The pitching matchup featured KT’s Bae Je-seong, who had a 0.84 ERA in September, and Choi Seung-yong, who was seeking a rebound.
Holiday banking and Asian Games
The Korean word for “balance,” referring to account balances, ranked fourth with more than 2,000 searches as banks announced financial arrangements for the Chuseok holiday. The financial sector planned to make 103 trillion won available, including 62 trillion won for extensions of maturing obligations. Banks also advised customers expecting to make large transfers during the holiday to raise their transfer limits in advance.
Sepak takraw ranked seventh with more than 200 searches. The Southeast Asian sport resembles volleyball but generally requires players to send a woven ball over a net using their feet, knees, chest and head rather than their hands. South Korea’s women’s doubles team defeated India and Japan to secure at least a bronze medal at the Asian Games. The women’s regu team lost to Thailand in the final, earning its third consecutive Asian Games silver medal.
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