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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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Politics

PM calls for discussions on prosecution reform based on principle of no investigative rights

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has instructed officials to hold discussions on demands that the prosecution's right to conduct supplementary investigations should be kept intact even under a push to reform the prosecution, but with the stance in mind that its investigative right should be scrapped altogether, officials said Wednesday. Kim issued the instruction to a task force set up under the prime minister's office to hash out details of the prosecution reform legislation that calls for reducing the current massive prosecution service into a new agency handling only indictment and court proceedings without any power to conduct investigations on its own. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)-led legislation, which passed a Cabinet meeting in March, represented a dream come true for the ruling bloc that has long accused the prosecution office of abusing its investigative power to harass liberal politicians, including late former President Roh Moo-hyun, who killed himself amid a prosecution probe into corruption allegations. They say current President Lee Jae Myung is also a victim, ac

May 6, 2026By Yonhap
PM calls for discussions on prosecution reform based on principle of no investigative rights
Society

Presiding judge of ex-first lady's appeals trial found dead

The presiding judge of former first lady Kim Keon Hee's appeals trial on corruption charges was found dead near a Seoul court early Wednesday, officials said. Police discovered judge Shin Jong-o's body on a flower bed near the Seoul High Court compound in southern Seoul at around 1 a.m. after receiving a report about an hour earlier. A suicide note was apparently found at the scene, with police investigating the exact cause of his death, including the possibility of Shin jumping to his death. Shin presided over the appellate trial of Kim, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, at the Seoul High Court following her conviction by a lower court in January. Last month, the appellate court raised her sentence to four years from 20 months in prison, finding her partially guilty of involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme and guilty of accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church.

May 6, 2026By Yonhap
Presiding judge of ex-first lady's appeals trial found dead
Politics

Lee reaffirms commitment to curbing overheated housing market

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday reaffirmed his commitment to reining in the overheating housing market, calling the normalization of the real estate market a key national policy. Lee wrote the remarks on his X account, sharing a news article forecasting a downward trend in house prices, citing predictions by real estate experts and agencies. "The normalization of the real estate market is an inevitable trend of the time, as well as a key policy task for the country that must be accomplished," the president said. "Invincibility of real estate? There will no longer be such a myth," he warned. Reining in runaway real estate prices has been a key policy priority for the Lee administration, with the president listing his privately owned apartment in Seongnam, south of Seoul, for sale in February, in a demonstration of his commitment to curbing the housing market.

May 6, 2026By Yonhap
Lee reaffirms commitment to curbing overheated housing market
Global Community

'Witnessing Gwangju' author compares 5.18 to Yoon's martial law

Paul Courtright is back in Korea, and although he has revisited the country many times since his first time here as a Peace Corps Volunteer 45 years ago, there have been some significant developments since the last time he was here in October 2024. A couple months after that visit, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. "My first reaction to hearing about Yoon’s martial law declaration was of shock," Courtright told The Korea Times. "Was this going to be a reenactment of 1980?" Courtright is no stranger to such crises, as he received more than his fair share of experience while living in South Jeolla Province from 1979 to 1981. In his first year, the strongman leader of the country, Park Chung-hee, was assassinated on Oct. 26, 1979. A short time after, on Dec. 12, Maj. Gen. Chun Doo-hwan seized control of the military in a violent coup and spent the next few months amassing power. Students protested across the nation, but it was in Gwangju, then the capital of South Jeolla Province, where the situation became especially violent on May 18, 1980. Courtright arrived by bus in Gwangju

May 6, 2026By Jon Dunbar
'Witnessing Gwangju' author compares 5.18 to Yoon's martial law
Politics

PHOTO Children's Day at Cheong Wa Dae

President Lee Jae Myung, accompanied by first lady Kim Hea kyung and presidential aides, walks with children in the main building of Cheong Wa Dae during a Children's Day tour, Tuesday. About 200 children and their guardians were invited to the presidential compound to mark the annual celebration. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog

May 5, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
[PHOTO] Children's Day at Cheong Wa Dae
Politics

Lee pledges respect for children's dignity

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday vowed to build a society that treats children with dignity in a message marking Children's Day. "Many things will change depending on how we perceive and treat children," Lee wrote in a Facebook post. "I pledge to respect children not merely as subjects of protection or cute beings but as individuals with dignity and humanity." Lee also said he will do his best to build a society where every day of the year feels like Children's Day. Lee marked the national holiday by inviting a group of children and their parents to Cheong Wa Dae and giving them a tour of the presidential compound.

May 5, 2026By Yonhap
Lee pledges respect for children's dignity
Society

7 universities chosen for new AI education push

The Ministry of Science and ICT said Tuesday it has selected seven universities from among 10 schools to lead the training of artificial intelligence (AI) talent under a new “AI-focused university” initiative. The selected universities — Gachon University, Korea University, Sogang University, Sungkyunkwan University, Soonchunhyang University, Soongsil University and Yonsei University — will transition from the existing software-centered university program to the new AI-centered model. The initiative aims to upgrade university education systems around AI by leveraging the software education infrastructure already built at participating schools, in response to surging demand for AI talent across industries. Each selected university will receive up to 24 billion won ($17 million) over eight years, or about 3 billion won annually. Under the program, universities are required to establish a presidential-level task force dedicated to AI and AI transformation education, introduce AI convergence bridge courses, provide basic and applied AI education to all students and develop industry-l

May 5, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
7 universities chosen for new AI education push
Law & Crime

Drunk driving again: Monk jailed after 4th offense

A Buddhist monk with a history of drunk driving has been sentenced to prison after being caught driving under the influence for the fourth time. According to legal sources on Sunday, Judge Suh Jin-won of the Suwon District Court sentenced a monk in his 50s to eight months in prison for violating the Road Traffic Act. He was taken into custody immediately following the ruling. The defendant was charged with driving about 200 meters in July last year in Naju, South Jeolla Province, with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.172 percent — more than double the 0.08 percent threshold for license revocation in Korea. Authorities said the monk had been drinking with acquaintances after attending a memorial gathering following the death of a temple’s head monk, before deciding to drive home. This was not his first offense. The monk had previously been fined for drunk driving in 2004 and 2008. In January 2020, he was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for three years, for another drunk driving case. He also had multiple convictions for unlicensed driving between 2009 and 2012, including

May 5, 2026By Hankookilbo
Drunk driving again: Monk jailed after 4th offense
Society

Mount Gwanak's surge in popularity takes its toll

Mount Gwanak, riding a wave of surging popularity, is struggling with growing problems of littering, vandalism and safety as visitor numbers continue to climb. On Monday, photos went viral of a puddle fouled with what appeared to be instant noodle broth and other waste, drawing sharp criticism. Local authorities managing Mount Gwanak moved quickly to respond. After the site was suspected of falling within its jurisdiction, southwestern Seoul's Geumcheon District said Monday it had confirmed that the puddle was located outside its boundaries. That same day, Gyeonggi Province's Gwacheon dispatched workers to clean the puddle. As the mountain is not a national park, it is jointly managed by multiple local authorities, including Seoul's Gwanak and Geumcheon districts and the Gyeonggi Province cities of Anyang and Gwacheon. Improper disposal of waste is not the only concern. Last month, graffiti spray-painted on rocks near a hiking trail prompted Gwanak District to carry out restoration work. The incidents follow a surge in visitors to Mount Gwanak, driven in part by a well-known fortune telle

May 5, 2026By Park Ung
Mount Gwanak's surge in popularity takes its toll
Defense

3 Army officers dismissed from military service; 1 removed over martial law involvement

The defense ministry said Tuesday it has dismissed three Army officers from military service and removed another from service over their involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law declaration. The decision came after the ministry convened a disciplinary committee meeting last month to review the cases of the four Army officers accused of involvement in the Dec. 3, 2024, martial law bid. Brig. Gen. Kim Jeong-geun; Col. An Mu-seong, who had been awaiting promotion to brigadier general; and Col. Kim Se-un were dismissed from military service, the highest level of disciplinary punishment, according to sources. The punishment carries a 50 percent cut in military retirement benefits. Brig. Gen. Kim and An are accused of deploying troops to the National Assembly on the night martial law was declared, while Col. Kim is accused of transporting the troops to the National Assembly building. Col. Kim Sang-yong, former deputy chief of the Defense Ministry's Criminal Investigation Command, was removed from military service, the second-highest level of disciplinary punishme

May 5, 2026By Yonhap
3 Army officers dismissed from military service; 1 removed over martial law involvement
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