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  • Law & Crime

    Q&A Korea's 'fake news' law is in force — what you need to know

    Korea’s revised Information and Communications Network Act, also dubbed the “fake news” law, came into force on Tuesday, reshaping how unlawful information is handled online. Under the new rules, “false or manipulated” information is defined as content whose whole or partial substance is untrue, or altered in a way that misleads audiences into believing it is factual. The revision also introduced a new category of illegal hate or discriminatory expression which covers posts that incite violence, discrimination or hatred against individuals or groups based on traits such as race, nationality or gender. Amid concerns over vague legal definitions and potential conflicts with constitutional free-speech protections, the state-run Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) provided answers to frequently asked questions to address key issues. Q. What should I do if I suffer harm from false or manipulated information? A. Anyone who encounters information suspected of being false or manipulated can file a report with a large online service provider, including the location of the c

    3 MIN READBy Jung Min-ho
    [Q&A] Korea's 'fake news' law is in force — what you need to know
  • Law & Crime

    Special counsel seeks arrest warrant for ex-presidential security aide over alleged role in martial law

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Special counsel seeks arrest warrant for ex-presidential security aide over alleged role in martial law
  • South Korea

    Korea's Earth observation satellite successfully put into orbit

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea's Earth observation satellite successfully put into orbit
  • Law & Crime

    N. Korea-born ex-lawmaker's son faces 5-year prison demand over crypto fraud

    2 MIN READBy Baek Byung-yeul
    N. Korea-born ex-lawmaker's son faces 5-year prison demand over crypto fraud
  • Others

    Gyeonggi Province launches generative AI portal to help immigrants

    2 MIN READBy Lee Kyung-min
    Gyeonggi Province launches generative AI portal to help immigrants
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Politics

Seoul to appoint Korean Peninsula peace envoy

The Ministry of Unification said Friday that it is moving to appoint a special envoy for peace on the Korean Peninsula, as the Lee Jae Myung administration seeks new diplomatic channels to revive dialogue with North Korea amid prolonged tensions. The plan was outlined during the ministry’s policy briefing to the president, where officials said the envoy would be tasked with engaging key countries and international partners to explain Seoul’s peace initiatives and explore ways to restart talks. This reflects the government’s intention to play a more proactive role as a direct stakeholder in efforts to ease inter-Korean tensions. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said South Korea should play a more active role in shaping discussions on the Korean Peninsula, emphasizing that Seoul must not remain on the sidelines of diplomacy concerning its own future. “The Korean Peninsula issue is ultimately our own problem, and we need to strengthen our role as a direct party in pushing the process forward,” he said during the briefing. He added that the proposed peace envoy would help to

Dec 19, 2025By Bahk Eun-ji
Seoul to appoint Korean Peninsula peace envoy
Society

Daejeon-South Chungcheong merger proposal raises concerns over sidelining residents, deepening urban‑rural divides

The Daejeon-South Chungcheong Province merger initiative is poised to become the starting point of the Lee Jae Myung administration’s response to Korea’s demographic decline and deepening regional imbalance. However, civic groups and experts warn that the rushed, top-down push risks sidelining residents and lacks sufficient social consensus and legal safeguards for integrating two very different regions — one largely urban, and the other more rural. Lee made the suggestion at a meeting with ruling Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers from Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province, Thursday. He said the merger "could open the way to solving overconcentration and achieving balanced growth." While acknowledging that it is not easy for local governments to merge, he suggested the merger take place before the June 2026 local elections so that voters in the region can choose the head of the integrated municipality. The push revives earlier "megacity" and "super-regional cooperation" plans floated by previous administrations, as population and infrastructure remain heavily concentrated in Seo

Dec 19, 2025By Lee Hae-rin
Daejeon-South Chungcheong merger proposal raises concerns over sidelining residents, deepening urban‑rural divides
Society

Court halts Seoul City’s Mount Nam gondola project

A court has halted the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s plan to build a new gondola on Mount Nam, ruling that officials unlawfully changed park administrative rules to circumvent height limits on construction in protected green space. The Seoul Administrative Court on Friday ruled in favor of Namsan Cable Car, the longtime operator of the cable there, in a suit seeking to revoke the decision to alter land‑use designations to make the construction of another gondola line possible. For that project, city authorities removed part of the area from the urban natural park zone and reclassified it as a “neighborhood park,” a category with looser building regulations. “Under the current Urban Parks and Green Spaces Act, it is not permitted to install any building or structure exceeding a height of 12 meters within an urban natural park zone. The defendant maintains this height cap does not apply when installing track facilities, and therefore that it is permissible to install supports exceeding 12 meters in height, but this argument is difficult to accept,” the court said. The verdict

Dec 19, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Court halts Seoul City’s Mount Nam gondola project
South Korea

Why South Korea is becoming China's new bargain travel hotspot amid Japan spat

HONG KONG — As Chinese tourists pull back from visiting Japan amid a diplomatic row, a slumping won is positioning South Korea as the new bargain destination for mainland travellers, analysts said. The Korean won has become Asia's worst-performing currency in the second half of the year, weighed down by an interest rate gap with the United States and sustained equity outflows to the U.S. market. In October, South Korea's real effective exchange rate plunged to a 16-year low — falling even further than it did after former president Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law last December — according to data from the Bank for International Settlements. The Chinese currency gained 9.4 percent against the won between July 1 and Dec. 16, with the won weakening to 0.0048 against the onshore yuan — a shift with the potential to reshape regional travel flows. "The weaker won has made South Korea a better-value destination for Chinese travellers at the same time Japan has become politically 'expensive'," said Subramania Bhatt, CEO of the travel marketing and technology firm China Trading Desk. Chi

Dec 19, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo and Ralph Jennings
Why South Korea is becoming China's new bargain travel hotspot amid Japan spat
Global Community

Vietnamese lead surge as Korea’s foreign resident population hits record-high 1.69 mil.

Korea’s foreign resident population has climbed to an all-time high, driven by a sharp rise in young migrants and a particularly strong influx from Vietnam, according to new data. The 2025 Immigrant Residence and Employment Survey, published Thursday, shows that as of May, the number of foreign residents aged 15 or older exceeded 1.69 million, up from 1.56 million a year earlier, an increase of approximately 8.3 percent. The figure accounts for about 3.3 percent of Korea’s total population of roughly 51.8 million. It is the second-fastest annual increase since 2017. The growth is mainly concentrated among younger age groups. The population of foreigners aged 15 to 29 expanded by 12.8 percent (59,000 people), while those in their 30s grew by 7.8 percent (34,000). In contrast, the number of foreign residents in their 50s fell slightly, by 0.4 percent (1,000). By nationality, ethnic Korean Chinese nationals remain the largest foreign resident group, with 506,000 residents. Vietnamese rank second at 270,000, but they are growing far faster than any other major ethnic group. The survey sho

Dec 19, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Vietnamese lead surge as Korea’s foreign resident population hits record-high 1.69 mil.
Health

Do hangover IV drips really sober you up faster?

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. Following allegations that comedian Park Na-rae received illegal medical treatment from a so-called “injection aunt,” public attention has quickly shifted to the IV nutrient drips she was reported to have received. While IV infusions are commonly marketed for fatigue recovery or skin care, interest has spiked in so-called hangover IV drips, given Park’s well-known drinking habits. Online communities have been flooded with questions like, “After seeing the Park Na-rae case, I’m curious if a hangover IV really sobers you up immediately?” and “Are hangover drips actually that effective?” Despite the name, hangover IV drips are not fundamentally different from standard glucose infusions used to combat fatigue. Many local clinics mix glucose solutions with electrolytes and vitamins and promote them as “hangover injections” or “hangover recovery drips.” A product often nicknamed the “licorice injection,” Hishiphagen-C, is also frequently used for this purpose and is widely promoted for fatigue relief and liver function s

Dec 19, 2025By Kormedi.com
Do hangover IV drips really sober you up faster?
Health

Iced Americano in winter? What Koreans’ habit may reveal about their health

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. Even as temperatures plunge, many people still reach for iced Americanos or chew on ice cubes. In South Korea, the phrase “iced coffee no matter how cold it gets” has become so common that it is often shortened to a popular slang term. But health experts warn that an intense preference for ice-cold drinks in winter may be less about taste and more about what the body lacks. If you find yourself craving ice even in the depths of winter or habitually chewing on it, iron deficiency may be the underlying cause. This behavior is especially common among people with anemia or those who consume iron-poor diets. Anemia occurs when the body lacks sufficient iron to produce red blood cells efficiently. According to a paper published in PubMed, a U.S. medical database, 88 percent of patients with iron-deficiency anemia experience pagophagia, a condition marked by compulsive ice chewing. Researchers say iron deficiency can cause symptoms such as tongue pain, dry mouth and mouth ulcers, and chewing ice may temporarily relieve these discomforts, reinfor

Dec 19, 2025By Kormedi.com
Iced Americano in winter? What Koreans’ habit may reveal about their health
Society

Unionized rail workers to go on indefinite strike Tuesday

Unionized railway workers said Friday they will launch an indefinite strike next Tuesday, claiming disagreements with the government over bonus payments. The Korean Railway Workers' Union announced it would launch the strike at 9 a.m. Tuesday if there is no change in the government's stance. The union shelved a planned strike last week after reaching a tentative deal on key issues with the government but claimed on Friday that the government has failed to keep its promise. One of the key points of contention is changing the current compensation system that caps performance bonuses at 80 percent of base pay. The union argued for performance bonuses to be set at 100 percent of base pay like other public institutions. "The essence of the current situation is an issue of trust, not wages," the union said in a statement. "How can rail workers trust the government and work when even the finance ministry does not keep its promise." Along with the strike, the union plans to hold rallies near the presidential office in central Seoul on Tuesday.

Dec 19, 2025By Yonhap
Unionized rail workers to go on indefinite strike Tuesday
Society

Korea to mandate facial recognition for opening new mobile numbers

Korea will make it mandatory for people to undergo facial recognition when opening a new mobile phone number, as part of efforts to root out illegally registered handsets used for scams, the science ministry said Friday. Under the plan, Korea will require the country's three mobile carriers, SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Inc., along with mobile virtual network operators, to carry out the additional verification step to prevent the activation of new numbers through identity theft. The announcement came after Korea unveiled a set of comprehensive measures to fight voice phishing scams in August, including tougher punishment for mobile carriers that fail to carry out sufficient preventive efforts. "By comparing the photo on an identification card with the holder's actual face on a real-time basis, we can fully prevent the activation of phones registered under a false name using stolen or fabricated IDs," the ministry said in a release. The ministry noted scammers will face more hurdles in activating new phones using information obtained from hacking attacks. The new policy will be of

Dec 19, 2025By Yonhap
Korea to mandate facial recognition for opening new mobile numbers
Politics

Lee's approval rating falls for 3rd week to 55%

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell for the third consecutive week to 55 percent, amid negative public sentiment over a sluggish economy, a poll showed Friday. The survey by Gallup Korea, conducted Tuesday through Thursday on 1,001 respondents aged 18 and over, showed that the positive assessment of Lee's overall performance edged down 1 percentage point from the previous week. The negative assessment rose by 2 percentage points to 36 percent, while 9 percent said they were undecided. Lee's approval rating fell from 62 percent to 56 percent in the second week of December and dipped further in the latest survey. Lee's communication efforts, including his livestreamed policy briefings, were cited mostly frequently as reasons for positive evaluations, at 18 percent, followed by 15 percent who pointed to his diplomacy. Since last week, Lee has been receiving a series of annual policy briefings by ministries and public institutions for the first time under his administration. The briefings have been broadcast live, except for those involving sensitive national security issues. Negati

Dec 19, 2025By Yonhap
Lee's approval rating falls for 3rd week to 55%
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