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  • Society

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

    A viral YouTube video, a one-star review on a delivery app, a heated post on a parenting community — all of these will fall under the same legal standard starting July 7. Korea's revised Information and Communications Network Act, widely known as the "fake news" law, introduces punitive damages for YouTubers with more than 100,000 subscribers and high-traffic TikTok accounts if they display what authorities define as "unlawful" content, while platforms such as Naver, Kakao, Google and Meta stand to face steep penalties if they fail to police such content. High-traffic influencers targeted The enforcement decree spells out who can be sued for punitive damages over illegal and fabricated information. Individuals on online platforms like YouTube or TikTok who have posted at least three pieces of content over the past three months and either have more than 100,000 subscribers or average more than 100,000 monthly views in that period will fall under the definition of major online information producers. If they are found to have deliberately spread false information that causes harm in order

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

    New PM vows to fast-track Korea's AI push on 1st day in office

    2 MIN READBy Yi Whan-woo
    New PM vows to fast-track Korea's AI push on 1st day in office
  • Defense

    Defense minister says unified military academy necessary to break down silos

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Defense minister says unified military academy necessary to break down silos
  • Law & Crime

    Parliamentary committee to conduct 1st on-site probe into ballot shortages

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Parliamentary committee to conduct 1st on-site probe into ballot shortages
  • Education

    University of Seoul signs academic, student exchange agreement with Université Paris Nanterre

    2 MIN READBy Park Yoon-bae
    University of Seoul signs academic, student exchange agreement with Université Paris Nanterre
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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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Law & Crime

Appeals court sentences former PPP floor leader to 2-year prison term over funds from Unification Church

An appeals court on Tuesday sentenced Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) to a two-year prison term on charges of accepting illegal political funds from the Unification Church. The Seoul High Court handed down the sentence after finding him guilty of accepting 100 million won ($68,000) in January 2022 from a church official seeking favors from the former administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The sentence matched the ruling of a lower court in January. "This case is far more serious than typical violations of the Political Funds Act, making severe punishment inevitable," a judge at the sentencing hearing said. "Even though the charges were corroborated by various evidence, he denied the crime from the investigation stage." The court also ordered Kweon to forfeit 100 million won, in line with the lower court ruling. Kweon, a five-term lawmaker once known as one of Yoon's close confidants, had argued he met the church official for a meal but did not receive money. His lawyers had also claimed the case did not fall under the mandate of special counsel Min

Apr 28, 2026By Yonhap
Appeals court sentences former PPP floor leader to 2-year prison term over funds from Unification Church
Society

S. Korea identifies remains of another soldier killed during Korean War

South Korea's military has identified the remains of another soldier killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, raising the number of such service members to 273, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The ministry's Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification and the 21st Infantry Division recovered the remains of late Cpl. Kim Pan-seong near Yanggu, Gangwon, in 2024, according to the ministry. KIA stands for killed in action. Kim, who joined the military service in May 1951, died while fighting against North Korean and Chinese forces on Mount Baekseok, near Yanggu County, in October the same year. He was 21. South Korea has so far identified the remains of 273 service members killed in the conflict since it launched the excavation project in 2000.

Apr 28, 2026By Yonhap
S. Korea identifies remains of another soldier killed during Korean War
Campus

University of Seoul professors selected for technology commercialization project

Two University of Seoul professors have been selected for a government-led support program for technology commercialization, the university said Monday. The two are Professor Song Oh-sung of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor Lee Seung-hwan of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The program, part of the “2026 Technology Management Promotion Project” run by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Commercialization Promotion Agency for R&D Outcomes, aims to support professors and researchers in commercializing technologies they have developed. Song and Lee are expected to receive support under the “IP Star Scientist Support Program,” which is designed to help researchers put their outstanding research outcomes and intellectual property (IP) into practical use. The university said the two professors will carry out the full process of technology commercialization in collaboration with private sector agencies specializing in commercialization. The program also aims to promote further development of intellectual property by researchers, lead

Apr 28, 2026By Park Yoon-bae
University of Seoul professors selected for technology commercialization project
Politics

96 Korean lawmakers blast US for 'infringing on judicial sovereignty' over Coupang probe

A total of 96 Korean lawmakers on Tuesday condemned what they described as U.S. political pressure over a local investigation into e-commerce giant Coupang, calling it “an infringement on judicial sovereignty” and “interference in domestic affairs.” Rep. Park Hong-bae of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and other lawmakers held a press conference at the National Assembly, saying 96 legislators had signed a joint protest letter to be delivered to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul later in the day. The figure represents roughly one-third of the 300-member Assembly. The move follows a recent letter sent by 54 House Republican lawmakers, who claimed Korean government and law enforcement authorities' investigation into Coupang's massive data breach case is discriminatory against the U.S.-headquartered company. The 54 signatories account for about a quarter of the 217 Republican members in the 435-seat House of Representatives. A media report also said Washington asked Seoul to legally guarantee the safety of Coupang founder Kim Bom-suk, also known as Bom Kim, otherwise it would not p

Apr 28, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
96 Korean lawmakers blast US for 'infringing on judicial sovereignty' over Coupang probe
Campus

Kookmin University to start collaborative project on mobility design with UK firm

Kookmin University has unveiled a plan to launch an industry-academia collaboration project with PriestmanGoode (PG), a London-based design firm, in the field of mobility design. The university said Monday that the Department of Automotive and Transportation Design at the College of Design will work with PriestmanGoode on mobility design research. A school official said the project aims to develop mobility solutions that can help Seoul address challenges related to urban expansion and severe traffic congestion in its metropolitan area. The initiative focuses on building a user-centered mobility ecosystem aligned with the city’s 2050 Seoul Grand Plan. Kookmin explained that both parties will jointly analyze changes in mobility environments and transportation issues resulting from urban sprawl, a phenomenon widely observed in major cities around the world. The project seeks to propose innovative solutions to these challenges. Over the course of the one-year collaboration, the two sides will conduct in-depth research on user travel experiences and service systems, with a particular focus

Apr 28, 2026By Park Yoon-bae
Kookmin University to start collaborative project on mobility design with UK firm
South Korea

Lee vows to prevent industrial deaths with all available means

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday pledged to mobilize all available resources to prevent workplace deaths, marking a state-designated day for commemorating industrial disaster victims. Lee called eliminating industrial disasters and achieving safety-based sustainable growth a "key task" and a core priority of his government on his Facebook account on Industrial Accident Workers' Day. Korea designated the day in 2024 to coincide with International Workers' Memorial Day on April 28, in remembrance and mourning of those who died on duty. "(The government) will mobilize all possible means so that workplaces will no longer be sites of death," Lee wrote. "We still have a long way to go in the face of the heart-rending outcries of those who lost family members and neighbors" to industrial disasters, the president also said, pledging necessary legal and institutional upgrades to prevent workplace deaths. He said signs of positive change had emerged, noting that the number of industrial deaths fell 17.5 percent in the first quarter of this year from a year earlier, "thanks to multifaceted governm

Apr 28, 2026By Yonhap
Lee vows to prevent industrial deaths with all available means
South Korea

Appeals court set to rule on ex-first lady's corruption charges

An appeals court was set to rule Tuesday on corruption charges against former first lady Kim Keon Hee, following a lower court sentence of one year and eight months in prison. Kim, who faces charges of accepting luxury goods from the Unification Church and involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme, was set to be sentenced during a 3 p.m. hearing at the Seoul High Court. The session will be broadcast live. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team has sought a 15-year prison term for the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol after indicting her on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act, the Political Funds Act and a law on the acceptance of bribes for mediation. The team accuses her of manipulating the stock price of Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in South Korea, to make 810 million won ($549,000) in illegal profits from 2010-2012, receiving free opinion poll results from a self-proclaimed power broker ahead of her husband's 2022 presidential election, and accepting two Chanel bags and a Graff diamond necklace from a former Unification Church official requesting favors. The lower co

Apr 28, 2026By Yonhap
Appeals court set to rule on ex-first lady's corruption charges
Society

As Korea cracks down on English kindergartens, Seoul districts open their own for free

Last week, Byun Jae-i, a 5-year-old at Donghwa Kindergarten in southern Seoul's Seocho District, learned that kangaroos come from Australia and pandas from China. The twist is she learned it all in English, a language she is still picking up. “I had learned English at a private institute before, so learning it here became easier,” she told The Korea Times. “Last time at kindergarten, I did an art activity where I made a tiny palm-sized bed and that was the most fun.” The weekly classes, funded by Seocho District, are part of a broader push by some Seoul districts to give young children a friendlier first brush with English, amid a government crackdown on so-called "English kindergartens." In Korea, English kindergartens refer to private academies that teach children mostly in English from around age 3 until they begin elementary school. Monthly tuition at English kindergartens averaged 1.54 million won ($1,042) in 2024 — roughly 3.5 times the average monthly private education spending of 435,000 won per 5-year-old — according to the Ministry of Education. Criticized for fueli

Apr 28, 2026By Park Ung
As Korea cracks down on English kindergartens, Seoul districts open their own for free
Politics

Ruling bloc’s 80 lawmakers to send joint letter on US defense of Coupang

More than 80 lawmakers of the ruling bloc plan to send a joint letter to the U.S. government protesting its defense of e-commerce giant Coupang, arguing it constitutes an infringement on South Korea's judicial sovereignty, political sources said Monday. The envisioned letter, which has reportedly been co-signed by 83 lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), the minor Rebuilding Korea Party and Jinbo Party, will be delivered to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday, following a press conference at the National Assembly. The missive will come in response to Washington's reported complaints against Seoul over what some in the U.S. view as unfair treatment of Coupang, a U.S.-listed firm, amid a probe here into a massive breach of the personal information of more than 33 million of its customers. The plan for the letter was revealed in a request DP Reps. Kim Nam-geun, Park Hong-bae and others sent to fellow lawmakers to ask for their signatures. In the request, they argued the U.S. government recently demanded that Seoul guarantee the personal safety of Coupang Chairman Kim Bom-suk or ri

Apr 28, 2026By Yonhap
Ruling bloc’s 80 lawmakers to send joint letter on US defense of Coupang
2026 local elections

Presidential AI secretary nears decision on run in Busan by-election

Ha Jung-woo, presidential secretary for artificial intelligence (AI) policy and future planning, is nearing a decision on whether to run in the by-election for a National Assembly seat representing Busan's Buk-A constituency, with ruling party officials pointing to a possible announcement as early as this week. The by-election, set to be held alongside the June 3 local elections, has quickly emerged as one of the most closely watched races nationwide. The seat opened after Rep. Chun Jae-soo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) stepped down to run for Busan mayor, but the contest took on a wider dimension when former People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon announced his bid as an independent. Ha's potential candidacy is widely viewed as part of a broader strategy by the DPK to frame the by-elections as a test of the Lee Jae Myung administration's governing agenda. By putting forward a figure closely associated with its flagship AI policy, the party appears to be seeking to highlight its focus on future industries while reinforcing its reform credentials. Party officials sa

Apr 27, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Presidential AI secretary nears decision on run in Busan by-election
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