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Seoul schools roll out AI-powered college guidance for migrant-background students

As the number of students from migrant backgrounds continues to grow in Korea’s classrooms, Seoul education officials are expanding efforts to help them navigate a college admissions system that can be difficult even for native-born students to understand. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Monday that it will broaden customized career and college admissions support for students with migrant backgrounds through a series of information sessions, consulting programs and career fair services. The initiative is designed to provide practical admissions information while strengthening the college and career planning capabilities of students, parents and teachers. A major admissions briefing will be held Tuesday at the education office’s main auditorium. The session will introduce special admissions pathways, including social integration admissions, opportunities for students from multicultural families and admissions programs for foreign nationals. Officials will also present successful admission cases tailored to different student groups, including late-arrival immigrant stude

4h agoBy Lee Kyung-min
Seoul schools roll out AI-powered college guidance for migrant-background students
Law & Crime

AI-fabricated witch hunt against Kim Soo-hyun may be 1st of many

Of the several false allegations made against actor Kim Soo-hyun, the most damaging came with the release of an audio recording purportedly featuring the voice of the late actor Kim Sae-ron, whose relationship with Kim Soo-hyun had become the focus of the controversy. “We began dating when I was in middle school and broke up after I entered college. The first time we had sex was during winter break in my second year of middle school. Looking back now, I realize I was taken advantage of.” The recording later turned out to have been generated using artificial intelligence (AI). It was among the false materials cited in the case against YouTuber Kim Se-eui, who was taken into custody on charges of spreading false information about Kim Soo-hyun. In retrospect, things might have unfolded differently had the accusation been presented in another form. Had it been made in a written statement or delivered in person by Kim Se-eui, himself already a controversial figure, the public would likely have reacted with caution and demanded verification. But it came in the form of an audio recording pu

6h agoBy Hankookilbo
AI-fabricated witch hunt against Kim Soo-hyun may be 1st of many
South Korea

Seoul's Jung District launches AI platform for Dongdaemun fashion merchants

Jung District in central Seoul said Monday it has launched PROMAX, a free artificial intelligence (AI) image generation prompt platform developed specifically for merchants in the Dongdaemun fashion market, in what officials say is the first initiative of its kind by a local government in Korea. The platform, developed by the district's Dongdaemun Buyer Lounge, provides ready-made text prompts that merchants can copy and feed into generative AI tools with photos of their clothing to produce professional-quality virtual model images. Prompt writing, the process of composing detailed text instructions to guide AI image generators, had been a significant barrier for the merchants, who found trial and error too time-consuming. The Dongdaemun Buyer Lounge, a multi-purpose fashion community space on the fourth floor of Dondgaemun Design Plaza Fashion Mall, began offering one-on-one AI training to merchants in September last year. After seeing that merchants were interested in AI but struggled with actually using it, the district began platform development in May and ran a pilot before the offi

7h agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul's Jung District launches AI platform for Dongdaemun fashion merchants
South Korea

2 Korean-operated vessels exit Strait of Hormuz following US-Iran deal

Two Korean-operated vessels have exited the Strait of Hormuz following last week's ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran that reopened the strategic waterway, the maritime ministry said Monday. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said the vessels are sailing normally after passing through the strait, but they have yet to completely leave the high-risk part of the passage. No Korean crew members are on board the vessels, and they are not bound for South, the ministry said, declining to disclose further details due to safety concerns. Under the ceasefire agreement reached with Washington, Tehran has agreed to allow vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz without any fees for 60 days following the signing of the deal. With the departure of the two vessels, the number of Korean-linked ships remaining in the strait has fallen to 22. The ministry said 135 Korean sailors remain in the Persian Gulf, including 102 aboard Korean-operated vessels and 33 serving on foreign-flagged ships.

8h agoBy Yonhap
2 Korean-operated vessels exit Strait of Hormuz following US-Iran deal
K-universities

Kookmin University research team’s paper accepted for presentation at international robotics conference

A Kookmin University research team has developed a new technology that helps artificial intelligence (AI) better understand 3D environments when objects are hidden from view or visual information is limited. The university said Friday that a paper detailing the technology has been accepted for presentation at the 2026 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) set for Sept. 27 to Oct. 1 in Pittsburgh. The team was led by Lee Seong-won, professor at the university’s School of Electrical Engineering. The team included Kim Jun-ho, a senior majoring in electrical engineering. Kim is the first author of the paper titled “RayOcc: Occlusion-Agnostic Ray Occupancy Estimation via Gaussian Mixture Intensity,” which proposes a robust AI-based method for estimating the occupancy of 3D spaces, helping overcome visibility limitations in complex environments. The university noted that the technology addresses challenges in 3D spatial understanding — essential for autonomous driving and robotics systems — and demonstrates the potential to overcome uncertainties

8h agoBy Park Yoon-bae
Kookmin University research team’s paper accepted for presentation at international robotics conference
Defense

S. Korea slams N. Korea's expanded border fencing as armistice agreement violation

The South Korean military on Monday denounced North Korea's intensified border fencing as a violation of the armistice agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War, following a report that the fences have been built very close to the inter-Korean border. The JoongAng Ilbo reported that the North has installed barbed wire fences just 80-90 meters from the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) separating the two Koreas, clearing land to plant mines as close as 5-10 meters to the MDL, citing military sources and a lawmaker. After the North's leader Kim Jong-un declared inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other" in late 2023, the North has been fortifying the border since April 2024 by reinforcing barbed wire fences, planting mines and erecting anti-tank barriers along the MDL. "The North Korean military's installation of barriers along the MDL is a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement and our military will continue to respond in close cooperation with the United Nations Command (UNC)," the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement. The JCS said the military

8h agoBy Yonhap
S. Korea slams N. Korea's expanded border fencing as armistice agreement violation
K-universities

Sungkyunkwan University jumps 18 spots to 108th in QS World University Rankings

Sungkyunkwan University ranked 108th in the QS World University Rankings 2027, rising 18 places from 126th last year and reaffirming its global competitiveness as a leading institution. The university said Friday that the rise was driven mainly by enhanced research performance. Research-related indicators, including citations per faculty and research impact, showed significant gains, reflecting the university’s sustained research achievements accumulated over many years. The institution regards the accomplishment as one of the key outcomes of its Vision 2030 initiative. In September 2021, it announced the initiative with the goal of becoming a global leader in creating value for future society through creative challenges and innovation. At the time, the university set four strategic goals: innovating university education, becoming a leading research-centered university, building mutually beneficial partnerships and enhancing the university brand. The university said the rise in the global rankings represents a tangible result of its continued efforts to achieve the goal of becoming a l

8h agoBy Park Yoon-bae
Sungkyunkwan University jumps 18 spots to 108th in QS World University Rankings
Law & Crime

Investigators seek arrest warrant for Shincheonji sect leader Lee Man-hee

Investigators said Monday they have filed for an arrest warrant for the founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a nonmainstream religious sect, over suspicions he forced church members to join the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) ahead of elections between 2021 and 2024. Lee Man-hee is accused of violating the Political Parties Act, which bans forcing people to join or quit political parties. He is suspected of forcing church followers to join the PPP with the intention of swaying the outcome of the party's presidential primary in 2021 and the general election primaries in 2024. A joint investigative team between the police and prosecution, charged with investigating allegedly corrupt ties between political and religious groups, has been investigating the allegations surrounding Shincheonji.

8h agoBy Yonhap
Investigators seek arrest warrant for Shincheonji sect leader Lee Man-hee
Health

Korea to sharpen tobacco warnings with blunter labels

Korea is doubling down on its efforts to curb smoking, announcing Monday a sweeping redesign of the graphic warnings plastered across tobacco products. Starting Dec. 23, cigarette packs will feature more visceral imagery and blunter language, a shift intended to shock consumers out of complacency after a six-month grace period for manufacturers. The overhaul marks the sixth iteration of the nation’s warning system since its inception in 2016. Under Korean law, these public health alerts must be refreshed every 24 months to combat "warning fatigue" — a phenomenon where smokers become desensitized to the graphic images. This year’s update, however, is less of a routine rotation and more of a strategic escalation. For traditional cigarettes, the Ministry of Health and Welfare is pivoting toward harsher realities. Out is the warning for erectile dysfunction. In is a new, stark depiction of kidney cancer. Five existing graphics have also been redesigned for maximum psychological impact. More notable than the imagery is the linguistic shift. The ministry is abandoning polite, conditional

8h agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea to sharpen tobacco warnings with blunter labels
Law & Crime

Ex-defense minister booked over alleged attempt to provoke N. Korea for martial law bid

A special counsel team has booked former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun on suspicion of attempting to use a military intelligence unit to create a pretext for former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law bid, legal sources said Monday. Special counsel Kwon Chang-young has been investigating allegations that the Defense Intelligence Command (DIC) attempted to push for operations against North Korea to foment inter-Korean tensions and establish a justification for Yoon to declare martial law in December 2024. It has been looking into whether anti-North Korea drills conducted by the DIC's covert agents were prepared to provoke Pyongyang for the martial law declaration. Kwon's team believes the exercise cannot be seen as regular training. The team has booked Kim and two former DIC commanders — Noh Sang-won and Moon Sang-ho — as suspects on charges of benefiting the enemy, according to the sources. It questioned former President Yoon over the allegations on June 13. Earlier this month, Kim received a 30-year prison sentence for involvement in orchestrating drone infiltrations into North Ko

9h agoBy Yonhap
Ex-defense minister booked over alleged attempt to provoke N. Korea for martial law bid
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