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Paichai High School baseball team suspended 6 months over 'Tank Day' chant against Gwangju school
The Paichai High School baseball team has been suspended from national tournament play for six months after a chant evoked Starbucks Korea's controversial "Tank Day" promotion during a national tournament match against a school from Gwangju. The Korea Baseball Softball Association held a sports fair play committee meeting Wednesday to review the incident and imposed the suspension after determining the chant violated the spirit of sportsmanship and disrupted order on the field. During Monday's match against Gwangju Jeil High School at the 81st Cheongnonggi National High School Baseball Championship in Seoul's Mokdong Baseball Stadium, some Paichai players repeatedly chanted “Let's go, let's go, let's go to Starbucks” in unison. One student even shouted “Tank Day.” The chant was a direct reference to Starbucks Korea's "Tank Day" promotion launched on May 18 — the 46th anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising — which used the phrase in a reference widely condemned as denigrating the pro-democracy movement. The backlash at the time drew responses from consumers and politicians alike
2 MIN READBy Park Ung

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Korea seizes 657 kilograms of drugs in sweeping overseas crackdowns

Korea’s customs authorities have intercepted a growing volume of illicit drugs before they reach the border, seizing 657 kilograms in a coordinated overseas crackdown that underscores the expanding reach of transnational trafficking networks. The Korea Customs Service said Thursday it conducted joint enforcement operations with its counterparts in Thailand and Cambodia from January through March, uncovering 32 drug trafficking attempts involving methamphetamine, cannabis and etomidate. Officials said the amount seized was enough for roughly 1.81 million doses. The operations are designed to stop narcotics at the source, with authorities sharing intelligence in advance and tightening inspections of passengers and cargo bound for Korea. Officers from both countries worked side by side to identify high-risk shipments and exchange information in real time when drugs were detected. In Thailand, the two sides conducted their fifth joint operation, code-named “Trident,” seizing 651.4 kilograms of drugs — the largest haul since cooperation began in 2022. Over the five rounds, authoritie

Apr 23, 2026By Lee Kyung-min

Korea seizes 657 kilograms of drugs in sweeping overseas crackdowns

Court issues arrest warrant for truck driver for running into people at rally

A district court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for a truck driver who drove into a group of rallygoers in the southeastern city of Jinju this week, killing one and injuring two others. On Monday, the 2.5-ton truck struck participants of a cargo worker rally under the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union near a CU convenience store logistics center in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province. The Jinju branch of the Changwon District Court issued the warrant for the driver, a non-union member in his 40s, citing risk of flight and destroying evidence. Police have applied a murder charge against the driver after determining he acted recklessly. Authorities believe the collision happened as rallygoers tried to block the vehicle from exiting the site. The fatal incident sparked outcry from the union, with one of the members driving into a police barricade outside the logistics center, injuring a police officer. The court also granted a warrant for the arrest of the union member, a man in his 60s. Unionized cargo workers had staged the rally to call for negotiations with BGF Retail,

Apr 23, 2026By Yonhap

Court issues arrest warrant for truck driver for running into people at rally

PPP Rep. Joo Ho-young says will not run for Daegu mayor after court upholds party cutoff

Rep. Joo Ho-young, a six-term lawmaker of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), announced Thursday he will not run for mayor of the traditional conservative stronghold of Daegu after a high court dismissed his injunction request to suspend the party's cutoff decision. His announcement came nearly a month after the PPP excluded the heavyweight from the nomination process, prompting him to file for a court injunction challenging his exclusion. The Seoul High Court dismissed his injunction request Wednesday, upholding an earlier ruling by a district court. "I believed that continued disputes over my candidacy would do more harm than good to the election," Joo said during a press conference at the National Assembly as he announced his decision not to run in the June 3 election. He also ruled out the possibility of running as an independent. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea named former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum as its candidate early on, as the liberal party seeks to hold the upper hand in the elections by fielding one of its heavyweights in Daegu, long considered an unwavering

Apr 23, 2026By Yonhap

PPP Rep. Joo Ho-young says will not run for Daegu mayor after court upholds party cutoff

Government taps 20 universities to expand AI education nationwide

Korea’s education ministry unveiled a sweeping plan to embed artificial intelligence (AI) into the core of university education, selecting 20 educational institutions to lead a new national curriculum effort aimed at every student, regardless of major. The Ministry of Education said Thursday that the schools had been chosen for the “2026 University AI Basic Curriculum Development Support Project.” The initiative is designed to ensure that all university students acquire fundamental AI competencies as the use of the technology becomes ubiquitous. The ministry said the program also seeks to narrow disparities in AI education across regions and institutions. A total of 80 universities applied. Following document reviews and on-site evaluations, 20 were selected — including six in the capital region and 14 elsewhere. Participating universities will develop foundational liberal arts courses covering AI literacy, including ethics and critical thinking, as well as smaller specialized programs that apply AI to fields outside of engineering. They will also strengthen faculty capabilities

Apr 23, 2026By Lee Kyung-min

Government taps 20 universities to expand AI education nationwide

Mother sentenced to life for brutal abuse, death of 4-month-old son

A woman who brutally beat her four-month-old son and left him to die in a bathtub was sentenced Thursday to life imprisonment in a child abuse case that stunned the nation. The Suncheon branch of the Gwangju District Court ruled that the mother, in her 30s, had "cruelly" abused her child for half of his short life before ending it. The woman was indicted for indiscriminately beating her son and leaving him in a running bathtub at their home in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, on Oct. 22. The infant died of multiple fractures and internal bleeding. The court also sentenced the child's father to four years and six months in prison on charges of neglecting the abuse and threatening a witness in the case. "Despite the defendants having the infinite responsibility of raising their child safely as parents, the child died 133 days after being born due to the abuse from his own parents, who should have been the world to him," the court said. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for the mother and a 10-year term for her husband. Investigators earlier determined that the woman had abused her child on

Apr 23, 2026By Yonhap

Mother sentenced to life for brutal abuse, death of 4-month-old son

POSTECH researcher unlocks switchable lens for 2D, 3D displays

A film no thicker than a fingernail could soon transform smartphones into immersive 3D displays, after Korean researchers unveiled what they describe as the first switchable metalens capable of toggling seamlessly between 2D and 3D viewing. The Ministry of Science and ICT said that a joint team led by Professor Rho Jun-suk of Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), working with Samsung Research’s Visual Technology Team, developed the next-generation optical device capable of dynamically controlling light. The study was published on Thursday in Nature, one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals. In a rare feat, Rho is also listed as a corresponding author on a second paper in the same issue, marking the first time a Korean researcher accomplished two such publications simultaneously. Unlike conventional lenses, metalenses are built from nanoscale structures that precisely manipulate the phase, amplitude and polarization of light. At just 1.2 millimeters thick, the lens switches function depending on voltage. Without power, it acts as a concave lens, delive

Apr 23, 2026By Lee Kyung-min

POSTECH researcher unlocks switchable lens for 2D, 3D displays

Samsung heiress's ex-husband serving prison term in deception case

The ex-husband of Lee Boo-jin, the eldest daughter of late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, has belatedly been revealed to be serving a one-year prison sentence for deceiving authorities in a bizarre case involving his shaman girlfriend, legal sources said Thursday. Im Woo-jae, a former consultant at Samsung Electro-Mechanics who was married to Lee from 1999 until their divorce in 2020, was found guilty of obstruction of official duties by deception after he attempted to shield his girlfriend following an elaborate scheme that involved the confinement and assault of a woman in her 80s last year, according to the sources. The case dates back to last April, when the elderly woman was confined and beaten by her grandson in the border county of Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. According to the sources, authorities determined that Im's girlfriend, a shaman in her 40s, orchestrated the assault to force an apology from the grandson's father, with whom she had a falling out over his refusal to follow her advice on land transaction issues. The man at the center of the disagreement was an acquaint

Apr 23, 2026By Yonhap

Samsung heiress's ex-husband serving prison term in deception case

Seoul scrambles to process migrant worker visas as planting season starts

Facing a surge in seasonal labor demand, the Ministry of Justice has moved to clear a growing backlog of visa approvals for foreign farmworkers, seeking to avert disruptions during Korea’s critical planting season. The ministry said it has instructed immigration offices nationwide to accelerate the issuance of certificates of visa issuance, a required step for overseas workers entering the country for short-term agricultural jobs. More than 3,700 applications remain pending, with an additional 2,000 expected by the end of April, underscoring the strain on the system as demand rises. In a sign of mounting pressure, the ministry dispatched a two-member emergency response team to the Jeonju Immigration Office in southwestern Korea, where delays have been particularly pronounced. Officials called for expedited reviews to ease labor shortages in rural areas, where planting activity is now intensifying. The move reflects a broader effort by the government to stabilize agricultural production, as farms grow increasingly dependent on foreign seasonal workers amid a shrinking domestic labor po

Apr 23, 2026By Lee Kyung-min

Seoul scrambles to process migrant worker visas as planting season starts

Jeonbuk National University unveils AI-driven campus transformation model

Jeonbuk National University unveiled a comprehensive transformation model earlier this week driven by artificial intelligence (AI) spanning education, research, administration and employment support, as part of its “AI university transition” initiative. The university hosted an “AI System Sharing Conference” at its International Convention Center to present its integrated AI ecosystem to officials and staff from universities across the country. The initiative integrates academic affairs, administrative operations, research management and career support into a unified data platform, an approach that remains uncommon among Korean universities. Officials said the conference aimed to share implementation cases and explore expansion strategies with other institutions. At the event, the university introduced several core systems, including a next-generation integrated information platform called the Jeonbuk National University Management Platform (JUMP), along with an upgraded learning management system, real-time translation services and an AI-based job platform. It also highlighted

Apr 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan

Jeonbuk National University unveils AI-driven campus transformation model

Prosecution raided over ex-prosecutor general's alleged role in martial law bid

A special counsel team raided the top prosecutors office Thursday over former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung's alleged involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid in 2024. The team, tasked with investigating uncovered allegations surrounding Yoon and his short-lived decree, sent investigators to the Supreme Prosecutors Office in southern Seoul to carry out the search and seizure. Shim is suspected to have played a key role in the failed martial law attempt, which has been ruled by a district court as an insurrection, by reviewing the possible dispatch of public prosecutors to a joint martial law investigation headquarters on Dec. 3, 2024, when Yoon declared martial law. Shim allegedly held three phone calls with then Justice Minister Park Sung-jae at the time, raising suspicions that Park may have instructed him to send prosecutors to the martial law organ. The special counsel team is also investigating Shim over his decision not to appeal a court decision in March 2025 that led to Yoon's release from custody following his arrest in January that sparked a cou

Apr 23, 2026By Yonhap

Prosecution raided over ex-prosecutor general's alleged role in martial law bid

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