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  • Politics

    Soon-to-be PM 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. Han is now just one step away from officially taking office, with her appointment to be finalized once the National Assembly approves the confirmation motion at a plenary session. 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 ($6.3 billion) for AI this year and public-private plans to build four new semiconductor plants in southwestern Korea to m

    2 MIN READBy Yi Whan-woo
    Soon-to-be PM Han carries high expectation for AI transformation
  • Society

    What’s new in Korea in 2nd half of 2026: 1-week parental leave, unified rail app and more

    2 MIN READBy Jung Min-ho
    What’s new in Korea in 2nd half of 2026: 1-week parental leave, unified rail app and more
  • Society

    AnalysisKorea's 'fake news' law set to redraw online speech rules

    4 MIN READBy Jung Min-ho
    Korea's 'fake news' law set to redraw online speech rules
  • Society

    InterviewThe Catholic University of Korea says faith is its strength in AI race

    4 MIN READBy Jung Da-hyun
    The Catholic University of Korea says faith is its strength in AI race
  • Defense

    Defense minister backs push for unified military academy as fundamental reform for future

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Defense minister backs push for unified military academy as fundamental reform for future
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South Korea

Korea exports anti-corruption model to Ethiopia in new training push

Korea is taking its anti-corruption playbook abroad this week, hosting Ethiopian officials for an intensive training program aimed at exporting what it calls a proven governance model. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said Tuesday it began a five-day training program for nine officials from the Ethiopian Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. The program, which runs through Friday, is conducted in partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency. The initiative follows a memorandum of understanding signed in June 2024 between the two countries to strengthen cooperation on anti-corruption policies. Ethiopian officials requested the program to learn from Korea’s legal and institutional frameworks, the commission said. The curriculum focuses on key laws, including the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act for public officials, as well as Korea’s structured anti-corruption education system. Sessions also cover training programs designed for future generations, the commission said. The agency said Korea has drawn

Apr 28, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea exports anti-corruption model to Ethiopia in new training push
South Korea

Korea, Australia to discuss AI education, Korean language programs at joint committee

The Ministry of Education is dispatching a delegation to the seventh Korea-Australia Joint Education Committee meeting in Canberra Wednesday to discuss cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) education, international student exchange, research collaboration, and Korean language programs. The bilateral committee, established under a memorandum of understanding on education cooperation signed in 2008, convenes at the director-general level every two years, rotating between the two countries. At this session, the two sides will share updates on their respective education policies and discuss cooperation in future-oriented fields. A central focus will be strategies to expand AI education in schools and strengthen teacher expertise, including opportunities for Korean and Australian educators to share AI and digital teaching practices and develop online exchange programs. Discussions on higher education will cover student exchange, dual and joint degree programs and joint curriculum development. The ministry said it plans to improve the quality of international cooperation frameworks betw

Apr 28, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea, Australia to discuss AI education, Korean language programs at joint committee
South Korea

Korea rolls out tourism drive to woo holiday travelers from Japan, China

Korea is racing to turn a looming holiday travel surge into a nationwide tourism boost, rolling out discounts, events and targeted campaigns to draw visitors from Japan and China, despite rising airfares. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Tuesday that it is launching a series of initiatives with the Korea Tourism Organization timed with Japan’s Golden Week, which began Tuesday and runs through May 6, and China’s Labor Day holiday, which begins Thursday and runs through May 5. Officials expect between 180,000 and 200,000 visitors from the two countries during the period, including 80,000 to 90,000 from Japan and 100,000 to 110,000 from China, the ministry said. The campaign aims to spread tourism beyond Seoul by highlighting regional destinations and offering incentives tailored to different traveler groups. For Japanese tourists, particularly families, the government is working with airlines including Jin Air and Air Busan to offer airfare discounts of 1,000 to 2,000 yen per person and additional baggage allowances of up to 5 kilograms. Discount vouchers for duty-free

Apr 28, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea rolls out tourism drive to woo holiday travelers from Japan, China
Politics

Lee says will resolve 'pending issues' with allies through mutual respect

Issues between close allies should be resolved based on mutual respect and fundamental principles, President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday. Lee made the remarks during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, stressing that "cooperation with traditional allies should also be developed." "(We) need the wisdom to build healthy, future-oriented relations with traditional allies, while resolving pending issues based on mutual respect, common sense and principles," he told the meeting. "(I) will also devote myself to diplomacy aimed at building genuine friendship with allies, with confidence as a sovereign nation," the president added. The president did not provide the specific background, but the remarks came amid diplomatic frictions over Washington's reported complaints about Seoul's handling of a massive information breach at Coupang, a U.S.-listed e-commerce firm, and the disclosure by a Seoul minister that Kusong may be a North Korean uranium enrichment site. Earlier reports suggested that Washington has partially suspended information sharing on North Korea's nuclear facilities with Seoul over

Apr 28, 2026By Yonhap
Lee says will resolve 'pending issues' with allies through mutual respect
Society

Medical schools short of teaching faculty after increase in admission quotas

Medical schools failed to hire enough teaching faculty following a large increase in admission quotas for 2025, the state audit agency said Tuesday. The Board of Audit and Inspection announced the results of an audit into what measures medical schools took to ensure quality education after their aggregate admission quotas rose by about 1,500 to 4,567 for the 2025 school year under a decision by the then government of ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Of the 30 medical schools given larger quotas, 18 fell short of meeting their hiring plans as of February last year, with Soon Chun Hyang University in the central city of Cheonan topping the list with a shortage of 92 teachers. Only 59 percent of newly added teaching positions were filled at 30 medical schools between March 2024 and February 2025, and the situation was worse at schools outside of the Seoul metropolitan area due in part to lower wages and poorer living conditions in provincial areas. The audit agency said government budgets were also allocated to medical schools solely based on increased quotas without taking the specif

Apr 28, 2026By Yonhap
Medical schools short of teaching faculty after increase in admission quotas
Society

Regulatory blind spot leaves students passing by adult-content livestream studio on way to school

An adult-content livestreaming studio located next to an elementary school in Seoul’s Gangnam district has sparked controversy over its potential impact on students’ learning environment. A joint inspection by district authorities, launched after a series of complaints from parents, found that no concrete action could be taken under current law, further fueling the dispute. According to Gangnam District Office on Monday, the studio at the center of the controversy is located in the basement of a commercial building about 100 meters from an elementary school in Cheongdam-dong. Officials said the space is used by female online streamers who produce what are called “Excel broadcasts,” a kind of livestream in which viewer donations are displayed on-screen in a spreadsheet-like format. The format often features multiple streamers at once, with some using provocative gestures or revealing outfits to encourage viewers to compete with one another in sending donations. Citing their structure and sexually explicit content, the National Tax Service last year described such broadcasts as

Apr 28, 2026By Hankookilbo
Regulatory blind spot leaves students passing by adult-content livestream studio on way to school
Law & Crime

Court orders partial cancellation of corporate taxes for Netflix Korea

A Seoul court on Tuesday ordered authorities to cancel 68.7 billion won ($ 46.6 million) in taxes levied on the local unit of U.S. streaming giant Netflix. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled partly in favor of Netflix Services Korea after the company filed a lawsuit seeking to nullify corporate tax and other levies imposed by local tax authorities in November 2023. In 2021, the National Tax Service slapped approximately 80 billion won in taxes on Netflix following an audit amid controversy that the company was paying relatively low corporate tax compared to the volume of its sales. The streaming service firm challenged the measure, seeking a cancellation of around 76.2 billion won of the levied taxes. At the center of the controversy is whether the payments made by Netflix's Korean unit to a Dutch affiliate should be treated as "copyright royalties" or "business profits." Tax authorities have argued that the money transferred to the Dutch affiliate should be regarded as copyright royalties, which are subject to taxation. The local unit of Netflix, however, claimed that payments under su

Apr 28, 2026By Yonhap
Court orders partial cancellation of corporate taxes for Netflix Korea
South Korea

Early-response gaps leave migrant women in Korea vulnerable to abuse: report

Violence against migrant women in Korea often begins long before victims come into contact with government support services, according to a report released Tuesday that pointed to persistent gaps in early intervention and access to protection. The Korea Institute for Healthy Family said it reviewed 16,300 counseling cases involving violence against migrant women from a total of 236,728 consultations handled by the Danuri Call Center in 2025. In 77.1 percent of those cases, the reported abuse involved domestic violence, making it by far the most common category. The findings suggest that violence frequently unfolds within intimate or family relationships and reaches public authorities only later, through police involvement, counseling services or outside referrals. The Danuri Call Center, which operates around the clock, provides counseling, interpretation and translation in 13 languages for migrants and multicultural families. It also offers crisis assistance, support during investigations and court proceedings, referrals to shelters and follow-up care. Demand for such services continued

Apr 28, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Early-response gaps leave migrant women in Korea vulnerable to abuse: report
South Korea

Arts Council Korea names new chairman

The Arts Council Korea has named Lee Beom-heon, a special professor at Shinhan University, as its new chairman. The council, a state-run body tasked with leading the national arts agenda, said Lee was elected as its ninth chairman through an internal vote during a meeting on Monday. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also appointed eight new board members during the meeting. Lee and the new board members will serve a three-year term. The meeting was attended by all 11 board members, including three continuing members whose terms run through July 31, 2027. Lee majored in East Asian painting at Hongik University and received a master’s degree from the same institution. He previously served as the 24th chairman of the Korea Fine Arts Association from 2017 to 2020, a cultural arts adviser to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education from 2019 to 2024 and the 28th chairman of the Federation of Korean Artistic and Cultural Organizations from 2020 to 2024. He currently serves as a special professor at Shinhan University, a non-tenure-track position typically reserved for prominent f

Apr 28, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Arts Council Korea names new chairman
Society

Seoul opens int'l student support center in Sinchon

Seoul city government has launched Seoul Global Student Center in the Sinchon university area, offering a one-stop platform in the northwestern neighborhood for foreign students seeking employment, startup support and settlement assistance, the city announced. The center, which begins full operations in May, is located near several major universities to maximize accessibility for foreign students. It complements the existing Seoul Global Center in Jongno, central Seoul, which serves the broader foreign resident population, by focusing specifically on the needs of international students. The number of foreign students in Korea has nearly tripled over the past decade, rising from roughly 90,000 to approximately 250,000, according to 2025 data from the Korean Educational Development Institute. Regardless of their multilingual skills, multicultural awareness and global networks, systematic support for these students remains inadequate, with critics pointing to a widening gap between policies aimed at attracting foreign students and those designed to help them find employment and settle in t

Apr 28, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul opens int'l student support center in Sinchon
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