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  • Politics

    Soon-to-be prime minister Han carries high expectation for AI transformation

    Han Seong-sook, Korea’s soon-to-be prime minister, arrives at the post with high expectations that she will leverage her technological expertise to help accelerate the country's artificial intelligence (AI) transformation. The parliamentary confirmation hearing committee approved a report Tuesday clearing Han as qualified for the post, with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leading the approval after she was nominated on June 7. The DPK was expected to bring Han's confirmation motion to a vote at a plenary session later in the day. The process leading to Han’s likely appointment comes as President Lee Jae Myung pushes to position Korea among the world's top three AI powers alongside the United States and China. The blueprint has become increasingly concrete since Lee outlined the vision last year, with initiatives such as the government's allocation of a record 9.9 trillion won for AI this year and public-private plans to build four new semiconductor plants in southwestern Korea to meet surging AI demand. “Under the circumstances, it is only natural that expectations will

    2 MIN READBy Yi Whan-woo
    Soon-to-be prime minister Han carries high expectation for AI transformation
  • Law & Crime

    Outgoing North Chungcheong governor raided over bribery allegations

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Outgoing North Chungcheong governor raided over bribery allegations
  • Education

    Kookmin University student wins 2nd place at IBM Bob Hackathon

    2 MIN READBy Park Yoon-bae
    Kookmin University student wins 2nd place at IBM Bob Hackathon
  • Defense

    Ukrainian outlet's critique exposes gaps in Korea's counter-drone strategy

    3 MIN READBy Bahk Eun-ji
    Ukrainian outlet's critique exposes gaps in Korea's counter-drone strategy
  • Society

    The Korea Times launches K-universities, global platform for Korean higher education

    1 MIN READBy Jung Da-hyun
    The Korea Times launches K-universities, global platform for Korean higher education
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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

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South Korea

Young fans pack Seoul park for glimpse of ILLIT

Under a brilliant spring sky, the manicured lawns of Seoul Children’s Grand Park were transformed earlier this week into a sprawling, pastel-hued arena of pop culture fervor. What was billed as a traditional Children’s Day celebration evolved into a high-octane showcase for ILLIT, the latest breakout quintet from the HYBE hit-making machine, as an estimated 24,000 fans converged for a festival that felt more like a coronation. The air was thick with the scent of street food and the rhythmic, sugary basslines of "It’s Me," the title track from the group’s fourth mini-album, MAMIH LAPINATAPAI. From the early morning hours, the park’s quiet pathways were swallowed by a sea of families and young enthusiasts, many of whom had spent hours queuing at interactive booths that snaked across the central plaza. The scene offered a vivid snapshot of the cross-generational magnetism that has become the hallmark of the Belift Lab label. While toddlers in sun hats clutched lightsticks, their parents were frequently caught in the fray, humming along to the group’s hook-heavy melodies with a

May 6, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Young fans pack Seoul park for glimpse of ILLIT
South Korea

Gov't eases digital authentication process to government websites for Koreans abroad

For millions of Koreans living abroad, the digital link connecting them to their homeland has long been a source of bureaucratic frustration and unnecessary expense. To access essential government services, overseas Koreans were often forced to maintain a “ghost” mobile phone subscription in Korea or embark on daylong treks to the nearest consulate. That era of digital exile is ending. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Overseas Koreans Agency announced Wednesday the launch of the “Overseas Korean Certificate,” a digital authentication system that decouples government access from domestic telecommunications providers. The shift addresses a persistent hurdle in Korea’s highly digitized society: the “I-PIN” and carrier-based verification systems. Historically, accessing government portals required a one-time password sent to a Korean SIM card. For the roughly 2.4 million overseas Koreans with residency registration numbers, this necessitated paying monthly fees for “budget” phone plans they rarely used, solely to receive occasional text messages for identit

May 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Gov't eases digital authentication process to government websites for Koreans abroad
Society

Buddhist sect welcomes humanoid robot Gabi with precept ceremony

Under a roof of paper lanterns strung across Jogye Temple in downtown Seoul, a group of monks from the Jogye Order, Korea's largest Buddhist sect, sat across from a postulant awaiting a precept ceremony — except that postulant was the country's first humanoid robot to take part in the ritual. Clad in humble black shoes and the Buddhist order's ceremonial gray and brown robe, the 1.3-meter-tall robot stood in front of Buddhist monks and nuns as it pledged to commit itself to Buddhism in the ceremony held Wednesday, ahead of Buddha's Birthday later this month. The robot folded its hands together and bowed to the monks officiating the ceremony, as one of the monks carefully hung a 108-bead rosary and attached a sticker instead of the original ritual where one has to slightly burn his arms near an incense stick. "Will you devote yourself to the holy Buddha?" one of the monks asked. "Yes, I will devote myself," the robot replied in an audible voice. "Will you devote yourself to the holy teaching?" the monk asked. "Yes, I will devote myself," the robot answered. The monk then laid out five prec

May 6, 2026By Yonhap
Buddhist sect welcomes humanoid robot Gabi with precept ceremony
South Korea

Seoul expands digital reach to connect with residents during Family Month

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's 120 Dasan Call Foundation announced Wednesday it is significantly expanding its smart consultation services throughout May to help residents find information about cultural events and festivals across the city during Family Month. The foundation, which has operated the 120 Dasan Call Center since its launch in September 2007, said it will deploy four integrated digital channels: social media, a chatbot, a digital interactive voice response system and real-time live chat. Together, the center hopes to give residents instant access to event schedules, venues and program details without having to conduct separate searches. Through the "Seoul Talk" chatbot, residents can type the name of an event to receive information immediately. The foundation's official Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and blog will carry curated content covering festival details. Dasan Call Center's digital visual automated response system will display promotional banners and notices allowing users to navigate directly to Seoul's cultural event information pages with a single tap. For

May 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul expands digital reach to connect with residents during Family Month
Campus

KAIST researchers build new kind of computing chip using everyday transistors

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have built a computer capable of solving complex logistical problems using the same humble components found in a common smartphone. The team, led by professors Choi Yang-Kyu and Kim Sang-hyeon, said Wednesday that they have developed an oscillatory Ising machine. The specialist device is designed to solve combinatorial optimization problems — the logistical nightmares of the modern world, such as calculating the most efficient routes for thousands of delivery trucks or balancing trillion-dollar global financial portfolios. For a conventional computer, these tasks are a mathematical quagmire because as the number of variables grows, the time required to solve them increases — potentially stretching into thousands of years in some cases. KAIST's hardware uses electronic oscillators — components that pulse with a rhythmic signal — that are designed to "talk" to one another. Like a field of metronomes eventually ticking in unison, these oscillators synchronize into a state of harmony, allowing the machine

May 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
KAIST researchers build new kind of computing chip using everyday transistors
Law & Crime

Special counsel team inspects border island detention facility in martial law probe

A special counsel team headed to a border island in the Yellow Sea on Wednesday to inspect a detention facility over allegations that preparations may have been made ahead of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid in late 2024 to detain political figures and others there. The team was scheduled to visit the Marine Corps facility on Yeonpyeong Island to check the allegations that largely stem from a notebook belonging to Noh Sang-won, a former head of the Defense Intelligence Command, accused of involvement in martial law planning. In the notebook, Noh reportedly listed now President Lee Jae Myung and others as high-profile detention targets, and mentioned Yeonpyeong Island as a location to hold them. The team believes the notes were referring to the Marine Corps facility. The special counsel team is tasked with reopening investigations into allegations surrounding Yoon, including his failed martial law bid, which have not been fully covered by previous special counsels.

May 6, 2026By Yonhap
Special counsel team inspects border island detention facility in martial law probe
Law & Crime

Tax agency to probe stock market misconduct, with tax evasion at $1.37 bil.

Tax authorities said Wednesday they will launch an investigation into unfair practices in the stock market, with suspected tax evasion estimated to reach 2 trillion won ($1.37 billion). A total of 31 companies will be subject to tax audits, including eight firms listed on the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and 15 on the secondary KOSDAQ market, the National Tax Service (NTS) said. The alleged violations include stock price manipulation, tunneling and the operation of illegal stock advisories through online chat rooms, the NTS said. "No one will be able to make a single benefit through unfair trading in the stock market, and such actions will only result in a heavier tax burden," said Ahn Deok-soo, a senior NTS official. He added that the agency will take a leading role in helping the domestic market restore what is known as the "Korea premium." The investigation comes as the KOSPI index surpassed the 7,000 mark for the first time ever Wednesday, driven by gains in big tech stocks amid expectations of rising demand for high-end chips. The NTS said it will thoroughly ex

May 6, 2026By Yonhap
Tax agency to probe stock market misconduct, with tax evasion at $1.37 bil.
Society

Nat'l Fire Agency launches nationwide effort to speed up emergency care for mothers, babies

The National Fire Agency unveiled a nationwide integrated transport system designed to shatter provincial boundaries in emergency medicine, a move aimed at ensuring that critical patients — particularly high-risk mothers and newborns — reach life-saving care within the golden hour. The new framework, managed by the Central 119 Emergency Medical Services Control Center, acts as a high-stakes air traffic controller for the country’s ambulances and helicopters. By pairing a central command with a national dispatch operation, the agency can now coordinate hospital selection and transport methods in real time, often bypassing local facilities that are at capacity or ill-equipped for specialized crises. Recent cases illustrate the system’s clinical precision. In late April, a mother in Namyangju, a city in the northeast part of Gyeonggi province, suffering from a suspected amniotic fluid embolism — a catastrophic delivery complication — was stabilized by paramedics and whisked across the city line to a tertiary center in Seoul through central coordination. Days later, a foreign n

May 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Nat'l Fire Agency launches nationwide effort to speed up emergency care for mothers, babies
Law & Crime

Investigators raid Unification Church sites over leader's alleged embezzlement

Investigators on Wednesday launched a raid on more than 10 sites affiliated with the Unification Church over allegations its leader Han Hak-ja embezzled church funds, legal sources said. The prosecution-police team, which has been tasked with investigating corrupt ties between religious and political circles, found indications of Han's embezzlement while tracking the church's cash flows. The team suspects Han may have used the money to create a slush fund and has sent investigators to Cheon Won Gung and Cheon Jeong Gung, the church's sacred sites in Gapyeong, about 55 kilometers northeast of Seoul, as well as its Seoul headquarters and other locations. Han has been under arrest since September pending a trial on bribery charges linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee.

May 6, 2026By Yonhap
Investigators raid Unification Church sites over leader's alleged embezzlement
Environment & Animals

Seoul's air clears as fine dust drops 40% over 2 decades

Seoul's fine dust levels have dropped significantly over the past two decades, marking a hard-won turnaround even as ozone is emerging as the capital's next air quality threat. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that the annual average concentration of ultrafine dust, or PM2.5, fell 40 percent from 30 micrograms per cubic meter in 2006 to 18 micrograms in 2025. Fine dust, or PM10, dropped 47 percent over the same period, from 60 micrograms to 32 micrograms. Days with poor PM2.5 levels, defined as concentrations at or above 36 micrograms per cubic meter, fell from 108 in 2006 to 32 last year, while days with clean air, at or below 15 micrograms, more than doubled from 73 to 182 over the same period. The city credited the gains largely to the de-dieselization of its bus fleet. Between 2006 and 2014, Seoul converted about 8,900 diesel buses to compressed natural gas and other cleaner alternatives. The shift has continued since, with electric buses now making up about 23 percent of the city's fleet. Fitting aging diesel vehicles with particulate filters and subsidizing early sc

May 6, 2026By Park Ung
Seoul's air clears as fine dust drops 40% over 2 decades
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