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Park Ung

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

I cover a wide range of stories about Korean society — one of the most dynamic places in the world. To me, journalism means being on the ground, uncovering untold stories and amplifying marginalized voices, especially in an era when AI is reshaping the media landscape. That’s why I’m always here to listen. Tips and stories are welcome — feel free to reach out via email. Before becoming a journalist, I traveled through 24 countries over 702 days, served two years as a military police officer in the Republic of Korea Air Force and later studied filmmaking at the Korea National University of Arts.

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Society

Military duty alternative revives for large conglomerates after 14 years amid AI drive

The assignment of expert research personnel to large conglomerates is expected to resume for the first time in 14 years, this time in the artificial intelligence (AI) field, helping prevent research career interruptions and the outflow of workers abroad. According to data submitted by the Ministry of Science and ICT to Rep. Hwang Jung-a of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday, the ministry recommended LG Electronics, HD Hyundai Robotics, Samsung Medison and Samsung Electronics to be designated for hosting expert research personnel, with their nine research institutes needing 81 personnel. The expert research personnel program lets science and engineering graduates with master's or doctoral degrees work at research sites for three years instead of serving 18 to 21 months in the regular military, depending on the branch. However, new assignments to large conglomerates were suspended in 2013 to secure research and development personnel for small and medium-sized enterprises, closing off the path to military service at large conglomerate research institutes and drawing criticism f

Sep 20, 2026By Park Ung
Military duty alternative revives for large conglomerates after 14 years amid AI drive
Society

Condoleezza Rice, Lee Kyung-chul receive inaugural Lee Hong-koo Diplomacy Award

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Lee Kyung-chul, special representative for Middle East peace at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have been named the inaugural recipients of the Lee Hong-koo Diplomacy Award. The Seoul Forum for International Affairs (SFIA), a private diplomatic think tank, announced it has rebranded its Youngsan Diplomat Award, which recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Korean diplomacy, in honor of former Prime Minister Lee Hong-koo. Lee Hong-koo, who died in May at the age of 91, served as the founding chairman of SFIA. The awards were presented Wednesday at FKI Tower in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District during an event marking SFIA’s 40th anniversary. About 100 guests from Korea and abroad attended, including former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Rice served as national security adviser under former U.S. President George W. Bush before becoming U.S. secretary of state from 2005 to 2009. She is now director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Lee Kyung-chul was appointed Korea's special representative fo

Sep 17, 2026By Park Ung
Condoleezza Rice, Lee Kyung-chul receive inaugural Lee Hong-koo Diplomacy Award
Society

Korea plans abortion pill rollout as doctors, women's groups clash over access

As Korea prepares to introduce abortion pills, women’s rights groups and doctors are welcoming the move but remain divided over how broadly the drugs should be made available. Women's rights advocates are calling for wider eligibility and eased prescription rules, while doctors are urging tighter medical oversight, reflecting a broader debate over how to balance reproductive autonomy with patient safety. The government on Wednesday announced a plan to allow the use of abortion pills for pregnancies of nine weeks or less, as early as the first quarter of next year. The move follows a prolonged legislative vacuum since the Constitutional Court ruled in 2019 that the criminalization of abortion was unconstitutional. Lawmakers have remained gridlocked over the deeply divisive issue, leaving follow-up legislation on matters such as permissible gestational limits stalled for years. Amid that vacuum, abortion pills have circulated illicitly, fueling calls for their formal introduction. President Lee Jae Myung instructed officials to discuss allowing Mifegyne during a Cabinet meeting in July. M

Sep 17, 2026By Park Ung
Korea plans abortion pill rollout as doctors, women's groups clash over access
Others

Korea inks 35 deals with Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, covering critical minerals, halal markets

Korea signed a combined 35 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOU) with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday, spanning energy, investment, security and cultural cooperation, as Seoul hosted the first Korea-Central Asia Summit this week. President Lee Jae Myung met Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, where the two leaders signed 17 agreements to expand textile, chemical and machinery exports and lay the groundwork for cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI) and digital industries. The agreements deepen ties in railways, transportation and logistics, as well as intellectual property, energy and industrial safety. The two sides also moved to explore cooperation on critical minerals and the green transition. The agreements also strengthen customs and police cooperation against transnational crime, while expanding exchanges in personnel administration, anti-corruption efforts and education. "Korea and Tajikistan have steadily developed cooperation since 1992, and I find it deeply meaningful that this visit has allowed our two countries to establish

Sep 16, 2026By Park Ung
Korea inks 35 deals with Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, covering critical minerals, halal markets
Society

Seoul Cyber University chairman receives Kazakhstan's Order of Dostyk

Lee Sang-kyun, chairman of Seoul Cyber University (SCU), received Kazakhstan's Order of Dostyk, recognizing his contributions to expanding online education and promoting friendly cooperation between Korea and Kazakhstan. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who visited Korea this week for the first Korea-Central Asia Summit, personally presented the order to Lee on Monday. The Order of Dostyk is one of Kazakhstan's highest state honors, awarded to figures at home and abroad for contributions to peace, friendship, international cooperation and social harmony. "I am deeply honored and it means a great deal to receive Kazakhstan's prestigious Order of Dostyk," Lee said. "I will continue working to expand educational and cultural exchanges between the two countries and to lay the groundwork for cooperation that allows future generations to grow together." SCU maintains deep ties with Kazakhstan. In 2021, a bust of Kazakh national poet Abai Kunanbaev (1845-1904) was erected on its campus in Seoul's Gangbuk District to mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Kaz

Sep 16, 2026By Park Ung
Seoul Cyber University chairman receives Kazakhstan's Order of Dostyk
Others

Korea, Kazakhstan elevate ties to strategic partnership

Korea and Kazakhstan signed 13 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on Tuesday, broadening bilateral ties across energy, industry, technology and cultural exchange. The signings came during a bilateral summit between President Lee Jae Myung and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, held ahead of the first Korea-Central Asia Summit set for Wednesday. They included elevating bilateral ties to a future-oriented comprehensive strategic partnership, along with agreements on oil, atomic energy, science and technology skills development and labor mobility under the Employment Permit System. MOUs also covered intellectual property, urban and infrastructure development, advanced air mobility, renewable energy, digital forest restoration, cultural cooperation and the preservation of historic sites tied to Korea's independence movement during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. "Kazakhstan is rich in energy and resources and holds great potential in advanced future-oriented industries, making it a key partner for Korea's economic security," Lee said. "We also believe Korea can help advan

Sep 15, 2026By Park Ung
Korea, Kazakhstan elevate ties to strategic partnership
Others

Korea, Turkmenistan sign 13 deals across investment, energy, security

Korea and Turkmenistan signed 13 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on Tuesday, deepening bilateral cooperation across investment, energy and security. The signings came during a bilateral summit between President Lee Jae Myung and President Serdar Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan, held ahead of the first Korea-Central Asia Summit set for Wednesday. The two countries signed an investment promotion and protection agreement, granting most-favored-nation treatment and establishing procedures for investor-state dispute settlement. The infrastructure MOU is expected to help Korean firms enter major energy, construction and logistics projects, while the water resource management MOU will expand Korean water management technology to Turkmenistan. MOUs were also signed on cooperation in the chemical industry and plants, railway transportation, combating transnational organized crime, and public security. An agreement on customs cooperation and mutual assistance targets crimes such as smuggling, while an MOU on border-level intellectual property protection targets counterfeit goods

Sep 15, 2026By Park Ung
Korea, Turkmenistan sign 13 deals across investment, energy, security
Education

CONFERENCE Lawmaker, envoys call for human-centered education as AI advances

A lawmaker and foreign ambassadors set the tone for The Korea Times Global Conference in Seoul, Tuesday, with congratulatory speeches highlighting the importance of education and human capabilities in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. The conference, held under the theme "Beyond AI: Building human-centered leadership for next era," brought together academics and industry representatives at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building to discuss how universities should redefine education and leadership as AI reshapes society. Rep. Kim Hee-jung of People Power Party, chairperson of the National Assembly's Education Committee, said the conference addresses the core themes we should focus on, adding that as technology advances, the answer increasingly lies with people. "Education is what builds human strength," Kim said. "Technologies once unimaginable are now becoming reality, and evolving faster than we ever imagined. To lead that change rather than letting it lead us, we need to think harder and move faster." Kim added that she would listen more closely to voices from the field

Sep 15, 2026By Park Ung
[CONFERENCE] Lawmaker, envoys call for human-centered education as AI advances
Society

Korea closes loophole allowing minors into unmanned vape shops

Minors will be barred from entering or working at unmanned e-cigarette stores, as the government moves to close a regulatory gap that has let them buy e-cigarettes unchecked. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Monday that it will pre-announce legislation aimed at blocking the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes to minors at unmanned stores, during a notice period that will run until Oct. 6. The rule applies to businesses that sell e-cigarette devices and liquids through vending machines without a store owner or staff present. Such businesses must post signs barring minors from entering or being hired and take measures such as checking customers' ages to keep people aged under 19 out. "Because unmanned e-cigarette stores have no salespeople present, it is difficult to stop minors from entering and buying products on the spot," said Yoon Se-jin, the ministry's director of youth policy. "We will work to tighten the system so that minors cannot easily access e-cigarettes." The move follows growing concern that minors could still buy e-cigarettes at unmanned stores even after e

Sep 14, 2026By Park Ung
Korea closes loophole allowing minors into unmanned vape shops
Society

More young workers start in nonregular jobs, widening regular employment gap: study

The gap between Korea's regular and nonregular workers is widening, with more young people starting their careers in nonregular jobs than in previous generations. According to a report by the National Assembly Futures Institute on Thursday, one in three people born between 1989 and 1998 started their careers in nonregular jobs, nearly twice the rate for those born between 1969 and 1978, who entered the labor market around the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The report analyzed the first jobs of 14,241 people born between 1962 and 1998. The share of those who started as nonregular workers rose steadily across generations. The rate stood at 12.7 percent for those born between 1962 and 1968, who experienced Korea's period of high economic growth. That share then climbed to 17.4 percent for the generation that lived through the financial crisis, born between 1969 and 1978, and 28.7 percent for the pre- and post- financial crisis generation, born between 1979 and 1988. It reached 33.5 percent for those born between 1989 and 1998, who came of age as Korea's economic growth slowed. Job stability a

Sep 11, 2026By Park Ung
More young workers start in nonregular jobs, widening regular employment gap: study
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