The Korea Times

Most gov't agencies deny using VirusTotal, deepening questions over presidential data leak

Most government agencies told The Korea Times they do not use VirusTotal, the malware analysis platform where the personal information of the first couple was exposed for about five months, deepening questions over how the leak occurred. The paid platform had hosted sensitive personal information of 168 people aboard the presidential jet during President Lee Jae Myung’s trip to Europe in June. Those affected included not only the president and first lady but also high-ranking officials, including then-chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, current Prime Minister Han Seong-sook and several Cabinet members, as well as senior officials from Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, security personnel and reporters traveling with the presidential delegation. VirusTotal, a web service owned by Google, scans uploaded files and URLs simultaneously using more than 70 antivirus engines and security tools. Files submitted through its public interface are shared with participating security vendors and can be accessed by organizations that subscri

7h agoBy Park Ung

Most gov't agencies deny using VirusTotal, deepening questions over presidential data leak

Society

A year after streamer crackdown, Bucheon's chaos eased but not gone

BUCHEON, Gyeonggi Province — Park Hye-ran, 47, a mother of a 6-year-old son, often finds it unsettling to walk around her neighborhood in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, a city known for its many online streaming creators airing outlandish broadcasts. “I’m worried about being filmed, and the broadcasting makes me uncomfortable. As early as the afternoon, many people are streaming around the food alley near Bucheon Station,” Park said, adding that it can’t be good for children to see. Last year, Bucheon made headlines for streamers who vied for viewer donations with attention-grabbing stunts such as dancing shirtless, singing loudly in public and mocking police officers called to the scene. Things turned violent when a YouTuber in her 30s was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after stabbing a man in his 30s with a weapon during his livestream. In response, the city announced a crackdown on streamers in September 2025, citing broadcasts that seriously damaged its brand image and harmed merchants and residents. It applied crime prevention strategies using environmental design

2d agoBy Park Ung

A year after streamer crackdown, Bucheon's chaos eased but not gone

Society

Gov't tightens grip on illegal foreign delivery riders amid nearly 17-fold surge in cases

The government is moving to tighten enforcement against foreign delivery riders working illegally and the delivery company systems that let them slip through, amid a nearly 17-fold surge in the number of violators caught. Last week, the Ministry of Justice said it held talks with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the National Police Agency and the Korea Coast Guard on a joint government response to illegal delivery work by foreign nationals. To root out the practice, the justice ministry plans to step up joint crackdowns with the police agency and expand cooperation in investigating related offenses, such as organized illegal hiring and brokering by delivery agencies, unlicensed driving and the unauthorized use of accounts registered under other people’s names. The justice ministry also plans to work with relevant agencies to build an identity verification system for riders, improve systems for managing and inspecting delivery agencies and encourage the industry to prevent illegal practices. The transport ministry is set to receiv

Nov 2, 2026By Park Ung

Gov't tightens grip on illegal foreign delivery riders amid nearly 17-fold surge in cases

Others

K-water signs MOU with Austin to share AI water management technology

Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-water) signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday with Austin, Texas, to cooperate on artificial intelligence (AI) water management, meeting with a delegation led by Michael Rogers, the city’s assistant city manager. The pact aims to share data-based smart water management solutions in response to the climate crisis and the growth of advanced industries, while strengthening a sustainable global water cooperation network. Key areas include sharing best practices and technologies, holding joint seminars to build smart water management capabilities, and identifying and implementing joint proof-of-concept projects for local application. Discussions began in January at CES 2026, when the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce expressed interest in K-water’s technologies. Following exchanges that included K-water’s August attendance at the Central Texas-Korea Summit, the Austin delegation’s Korea visit and the signing of the agreement have laid the groundwork for substantive cooperation. Austin Water, the city’s water utility, has recently shown

Oct 29, 2026By Park Ung

K-water signs MOU with Austin to share AI water management technology

Society

'Doctor X' faces petition to halt airing over Gwangju Uprising depiction

The Korean medical drama “Doctor X: Mafia in White” has become the latest target of political controversy over how fictional works portray history, after a National Assembly petition demanded a halt to its airing over its depiction of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. The petition, posted Saturday on the National Assembly’s petition website, calls for a review of the drama’s production and a halt to its broadcast. It has gathered the 100 supporters required to be made public. The petitioner said Episode 6, which aired Saturday, depicted the 1980 pro-democracy movement in Gwangju despite its having no connection to the plot. “The uprising remains a political issue, with the ruling and opposition parties and the left and right divided on some aspects,” the petitioner said. “Broadly, no one would dispute that it is a painful chapter of history, but it is hard to accept a drama abruptly using the uprising, which is still politically contested in its details.” The episode featured a character suffering the effects of a gunshot wound to the head sustained during the uprising, along w

Oct 27, 2026By Park Ung

'Doctor X' faces petition to halt airing over Gwangju Uprising depiction

Health

1 in 10 Korean adults used obesity drugs in 2025: report

One in 10 adults in Korea used or was prescribed obesity drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro in the past year, with younger generations reporting higher usage and one-third of respondents saying they would use such drugs in the future. According to the “2026 Korea Wellness Report” released Sunday by KB Financial Group, 10.3 percent of the 2,000 men and women aged 25 to 69 who were surveyed in July and August said they used or were prescribed GLP-1 obesity drugs in the past year. The drugs mimic hormones that regulate appetite and blood sugar to aid weight loss. By generation, Generation Z, born after 1995, had the highest usage rate at 16.5 percent, followed by millennials at 14.2 percent, Generation X at 7.7 percent and baby boomers at 2.9 percent. Usage was higher among men at 11.6 percent than women at 9 percent, but women were more aware of the drugs at 83.1 percent than men at 73 percent. Asked about future use, 33.9 percent of respondents said they would use obesity drugs if circumstances allowed, with the share rising to 39.7 percent among Gen Z, who cited “appearance and bod

Oct 26, 2026By Park Ung

1 in 10 Korean adults used obesity drugs in 2025: report

People & Events

First Chowan chancellor Chris White receives honorary doctorate from Seoul Cyber University

For Christopher White, the first chancellor of Chowan University, nearly five decades in higher education have been guided by a belief that education should create opportunities for everyone, regardless of their background or financial circumstances. That philosophy took root during his childhood in a small town in the U.S. state of Georgia, where he grew up as the son of a small business owner and learned the importance of hard work, honesty, courtesy and respect for others. “I was taught to think big and to pursue big dreams wherever they may take me,” White said, recalling how his family encouraged him to pursue higher education. That encouragement set him on a career path that began as a professor of religion before taking him into university administration, where he eventually rose to senior leadership positions. White holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University in Atlanta and served as vice president of Elon University, 10th president of Gardner-Webb University and 22nd president and first chancellor of Chowan University. He is now senior fellow for international partnershi

Oct 26, 2026By Park Ung

First Chowan chancellor Chris White receives honorary doctorate from Seoul Cyber University

Society

Middle schooler bitten by pet cobra, spotlighting illegal exotic pet ownership

A middle school student bitten by a cobra while trying to trade it illegally has been caught by police, raising concerns about illegal ownership of wild animals. According to the police, a 14-year-old boy in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, was bitten on the back of his hand by a cobra Tuesday, prompting an emergency call to 119. He showed signs of paralysis and was airlifted to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where he received anti-venom treatment. The bite reportedly occurred when he took the cobra out of its cage to sell it to another person. The snake was a forest cobra, which he had obtained through an online community. The species is a designated wild animal under the Wildlife Protection and Management Act, and trading or keeping it is prohibited in principle. Police plan to investigate how the cobra was traded before deciding whether to formally book him. This is the latest case of someone in Korea being caught illegally keeping dangerous wild animals. In July, a crocodile caught in a stream in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, was identified as a Si

Oct 23, 2026By Park Ung

Middle schooler bitten by pet cobra, spotlighting illegal exotic pet ownership

Society

Suspected N. Korean IT worker found at S. Korean firm under false identity for 1st time

Police are investigating North Korean information technology (IT) workers suspected of taking jobs at a South Korean company under false identities, the first time authorities have disclosed such a case. The case raises concern that wages earned through such employment are funding Pyongyang’s weapons development, amid a recent large-scale U.S. crackdown on similar remote employment fraud. Police said Thursday that they independently detected one suspected case last year in which a North Korean IT worker fraudulently took a job. The worker was reportedly hired by a private South Korean company and carried out development work. Police are tracing the amount and method of payments while also probing possible organized links. North Korean IT workers are increasingly landing remote jobs at global companies under forged identities and with fast-evolving artificial intelligence (AI) tools, funneling their earnings to Pyongyang. In July, 11 countries, including South Korea, the United States and Japan, issued an alert warning that North Korea relies on a network of skilled IT workers to fund i

Oct 23, 2026By Park Ung

Suspected N. Korean IT worker found at S. Korean firm under false identity for 1st time

Society

Vanished without a trace: Korea's most mystifying unsolved missing person cases

Of the roughly 70,000 adults reported missing in Korea every year, nearly all are found within weeks. But a small fraction vanish without a trace, and some stay missing for decades. According to data from the National Police Agency submitted in August to Rep. Chung Choon-saeng of the Rebuilding Korea Party, the share of missing adult cases resolved within 30 days has stayed near 99 percent over the past five years. It stood at 98.8 percent in 2022, 98.9 percent in 2023, 98.8 percent in 2024, 99 percent in 2025 and 99.4 percent through July 2026. For the slim remainder, however, investigators run out of leads. Here are some of Korea’s most baffling adult missing person cases that remain unsolved. Veterinary student Lee Yun-hee (2006) Lee Yun-hee, a veterinary student at Jeonbuk National University in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, went missing 20 years ago and has never been found. On June 5, 2006, she attended an end-of-semester gathering with professors and classmates at a restaurant roughly 1.5 kilometers from her studio apartment. She returned home around 2:30 a.m. the next day. Lee

Oct 23, 2026By Park Ung

Park Ung

Read more

Most gov't agencies deny using VirusTotal, deepening questions over presidential data leak

A year after streamer crackdown, Bucheon's chaos eased but not gone

Gov't tightens grip on illegal foreign delivery riders amid nearly 17-fold surge in cases

K-water signs MOU with Austin to share AI water management technology

'Doctor X' faces petition to halt airing over Gwangju Uprising depiction

1 in 10 Korean adults used obesity drugs in 2025: report

First Chowan chancellor Chris White receives honorary doctorate from Seoul Cyber University

Middle schooler bitten by pet cobra, spotlighting illegal exotic pet ownership

Suspected N. Korean IT worker found at S. Korean firm under false identity for 1st time

Vanished without a trace: Korea's most mystifying unsolved missing person cases

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