The Korea Times

EXPLAINER Lee's push to open Sejong presidential office by 2029

For more than two decades, the Korean government has tried, in fits and starts, to move its center of political power away from Seoul. The effort has produced a new administrative city and dozens of relocated government ministries, but the president has never had a real foothold with them down south. President Lee Jae Myung wants to change that and, on Tuesday, he gave his clearest signal yet that he intends to get it built before his term ends. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting held at Government Complex Sejong, Lee called for ministers to make an all-out push to complete a new presidential office in the city, saying he wants to hold his administration's final Cabinet meeting there. "Accelerate the construction of the presidential office in Sejong and the Sejong branch of the National Assembly and make sure that related infrastructure projects proceed without disruption," he said, describing Sejong as a city that must become a firmly established center of national governance to support balanced regional development. The remarks were the latest and most concrete reaffirmation of his campaig

Aug 12, 2026By Jung Min-ho

[EXPLAINER] Lee's push to open Sejong presidential office by 2029

Law & Crime

Korea moves to criminalize AI-generated sexual content of fictional people

A bill that would criminalize sexually explicit content featuring fictional people generated by artificial intelligence (AI) has recently been referred to detailed review by the Subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The proposal, introduced by Rep. Huh Young and nine other lawmakers of the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), would criminalize the creation, distribution and possession of sexually explicit material made using the technology, even when it does not depict a real person. The amendment to the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes comes in response to the proliferation of sexually explicit content created using AI and other new technologies, while related harm is rising rapidly. A report released last month by the state-funded Korean Women’s Development Institute showed that reported digital sex crimes rose 66 percent over nine years, from 9,385 cases in 2015 to 15,612 cases in 2024. Deepfake sex crimes have increased particularly sharply. They accounted for just 31 cases, or 0.3 percent of all re

Aug 11, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Korea moves to criminalize AI-generated sexual content of fictional people

Foreign Affairs

Activists, foreign ministry clash over approval process for Ukraine trip

Rights activists under police investigation over an unauthorized visit to Ukraine in May say the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked them to secure a recommendation from the unification minister as part of their application for exceptional passport-use approval — a requirement the ministry says it never imposed. Earlier this month, police notified the activists that they were being investigated on suspicion of violating the Passport Act following a complaint by the ministry. Ukraine was designated a travel-ban country for South Korean citizens in February 2022, and entering the country without exceptional passport-use approval is subject to criminal penalties. The activists say they had sought permission well in advance of their visit to meet Ukrainian officials over two North Korean prisoners of war. They say they submitted all documents requested by the foreign ministry but were unable to obtain a recommendation letter before their scheduled May 7-11 visit. One of the six activists, Kang Dong-wan, a professor at Dong-A University, described the alleged request as “unprecedented”

Aug 9, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Activists, foreign ministry clash over approval process for Ukraine trip

Entertainment

Massive Attack's tribute to Seo Taiji draws censorship fight of its own in Incheon

When Massive Attack covered Seo Taiji & Boys' "Regret of the Times" at Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival on Aug. 1, the British band framed it as a tribute to a song that had once defied authoritarian control. Now, a Korean city councilor wants to use a government audit to investigate the band over the performance, a move critics say risks reviving the very dynamic the song was written to resist. "Regret of the Times," released by Seo Taiji & Boys in 1995, was itself once at the center of a censorship battle. The group refused to comply with a government pre-screening requirement for the track, resulting in a standoff that contributed to the eventual abolition of Korea's pre-release music censorship system. Massive Attack's cover, performed partly in the original Korean as homage and partly in English for a wider audience, was explicitly framed by the band as an act of solidarity with that legacy. "'Regret of the Times' took on an authoritarian government and won. In 2026, as corporate absorption and the censorship of artists for political expression looms large again, it resonates as a s

Aug 6, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Massive Attack's tribute to Seo Taiji draws censorship fight of its own in Incheon

Education

Korea considers using AI to grade CSAT essay answers

Korea’s top education policy body is weighing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in order to safeguard fairness in evaluating essay-style answers, as the government moves to overhaul the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). The presidential National Education Commission, which oversees national education policy plans, has started drafting a reform blueprint that would introduce written and essay-type questions across subjects and shift the college entrance exam as well as high school records from relative grading to absolute evaluation. The commission is currently collecting public opinions before finalizing the plan next March. “In fact, when it comes to essay-type assessment, the biggest public concern is fairness and we are reviewing the use of AI as one possible alternative among options to address that,” a senior official involved in the project told The Korea Times. At the commission’s policy briefing held at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Wednesday, Chairman Cha Jeong-in highlighted the problem with the current main test structure based on five-option multiple-choice qu

Aug 6, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Korea considers using AI to grade CSAT essay answers

Korea’s infamously difficult CSAT English section to get AI makeover

Society

Labor minister says chip megacluster deregulation plan still not finalized

Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said that a much-discussed labor deregulation package for Korea's planned chip megacluster in the southwest is “still under review,” as business groups and unions closely track the government's next move. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Kim said controversial policy ideas such as easing the 52-hour workweek cap and extending fixed-term contracts in the “mega special zone” have yet to be finalized as President Lee Jae Myung presses ahead with plans to fast-track the large-scale chip investment. “There is nothing finalized yet within the government regarding the chip megaproject as we are still in the process of maturing the discussions,” Kim said. “I expect there will be further coordination among relevant ministries. In particular, the two major umbrella unions have proposed a meeting with the president and broader social dialogue on this issue, and as the minister in charge, I will make sure to communicate fully with the labor side so that this can move forward.” The minister’s remarks come amid reports that the government is weighing

Aug 5, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Labor minister says chip megacluster deregulation plan still not finalized

Environment & Animals

Seoul's busiest streets sit empty as heat wave emergency grips city

At lunchtime in Seoul Tuesday, the streets around Gwanghwamun were eerily quiet. The rows of outdoor cafes that usually spill over with office workers and tourists were left with more empty chairs than customers. The city’s white igloo-shaped “Haepiso” cooling shelter offered a brief escape from the sun, but even inside the dome, the air felt closer to warm and stuffy than cool. “It feels warm even in here — it’s probably 26 to 27 degrees Celsius with the air conditioner running,” a city staffer who manages the temporary facility told The Korea Times. “This area is usually crowded with people around this time, but not today.” The Korea Meteorological Administration issued the highest-level heat wave warning for the capital’s northeastern and northwestern districts earlier in the day, expanding the designation that had already been in place for the southeastern and southwestern districts. With the latest upgrade, the entire city is now under the heat wave emergency warning as continued scorching heat pushed its daytime temperature to 38 degrees Celsius. Authorities issu

Aug 4, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Seoul's busiest streets sit empty as heat wave emergency grips city

Politics

Ruling party railroads legislation to rid prosecutors of all investigative powers

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) pushed through a controversial bill on Friday to strip prosecutors of all remaining investigative powers, forcing a vote shortly after cutting off a filibuster by the opposition People Power Party (PPP). This legislation marks a decisive shift in the country’s criminal justice system, as prosecutors lose formal authority to investigate crimes while police and a new government agency will take over all frontline investigative powers, with prosecutors confined mostly to indictment tasks. The vote came minutes after the DPK used its three-fifths majority to terminate a filibuster launched by the PPP the previous afternoon, which had run for 24 hours. PPP legislators had taken turns giving marathon speeches warning of police corruption and investigative blind spots, before it all ended abruptly. The proposal was passed by an overwhelming margin, with 175 votes in favor, two against and one abstention out of 178 lawmakers present. PPP lawmakers boycotted the vote. President Lee Jae Myung, currently on an official trip in South America, will have 15

Jul 31, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Ruling party railroads legislation to rid prosecutors of all investigative powers

Companies

Coupang ordered to pay data breach victims $70 each

Korea’s consumer dispute mediation committee on Friday recognized Coupang’s liability for damages over its massive personal data breach last year and ordered the U.S.-listed firm to compensate affected users. The committee under the state-run Korea Consumer Agency decided that the e-commerce giant must pay 100,000 won ($70) per person, in cash or as Coupang Cash, to 50 consumers who jointly applied for collective dispute mediation. It is the first time a Korean dispute mediation body has formally acknowledged Coupang’s responsibility for damages arising from the large-scale breach of data involving 33.7 million customers. In its decision, the committee pointed out that not only basic personal data such as names, email addresses and home addresses had been leaked, but also highly sensitive information including apartment entrance passwords and order histories, which are closely tied to users’ private lives. The committee also took into account that personal data had been siphoned over a long period, from April to November, and that emails about the leak were sent by the hacker to

Jul 31, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Coupang ordered to pay data breach victims $70 each

Politics

EXPLAINER Why Korea's liberals see prosecutors as political enemy

The ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is pushing through a bill that would strip prosecutors of their investigative authority, seeking an end to years of bruising “prosecution reform” battles and what many in the party view as a politicized, uncontrollable power at the heart of the justice system. Under the new system, investigations and indictments would be split between new agencies, with one dedicated to investigations and the other to bringing charges and shepherding them through trial, effectively dismantling the Prosecutors’ Office's dual role, which was established in 1948. Distrust rooted in trauma Many outside observers find the governing party’s relentless campaign to weaken its own prosecutors puzzling, but for Korea’s liberals, the prosecution has come to embody a long history of politicized investigations. Much of that distrust is rooted in trauma: A probe targeting late former President Roh Moo-hyun, which played a role in his suicide in 2009, cemented an image of prosecutors as political hitmen. Subsequent investigations into key liberal figures, par

Jul 30, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Jung Min-ho

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EXPLAINER Lee's push to open Sejong presidential office by 2029

Korea moves to criminalize AI-generated sexual content of fictional people

Activists, foreign ministry clash over approval process for Ukraine trip

Massive Attack's tribute to Seo Taiji draws censorship fight of its own in Incheon

Korea considers using AI to grade CSAT essay answers

Labor minister says chip megacluster deregulation plan still not finalized

Seoul's busiest streets sit empty as heat wave emergency grips city

Ruling party railroads legislation to rid prosecutors of all investigative powers

Coupang ordered to pay data breach victims $70 each

EXPLAINER Why Korea's liberals see prosecutors as political enemy

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