2023 VAPORESSO CARE ECO GO GREEN - Global Carbon Neutral Program Kicked Off

The number of inmates released on parole before serving 60 percent of their full sentence has increased due to prison overcrowding, a lawmaker said Sunday. A total of 634 inmates who had served less than 60 percent of their full sentence were granted early parole in the January-August period, Rep. Joo Jin-woo of the main opposition People Power Party said, citing justice ministry data. The figure is around 3.7-fold bigger than the annual total of 172 in 2025, according to the lawmaker. The number of inmates who were released before fulfilling 60 percent of their sentence remained below 40 between 2022 and 2024 but sharply jumped last year. The increase was attributed to overcrowding at prisons across the country. As of the end of August, correctional facilities were operating at 126.2 percent of their capacity, compared with 122.1 percent in 2025, the data showed, according to Joo. To lower the rate, the justice ministry has been expanding early paroles for elderly and sick inmates who were deemed to have a low risk of reoffense. The ministry has said it plans to increase the number of ear

Police have apprehended a Kazakh man suspected of carrying out an ambush-style attack on a car at night in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, in an incident captured on dashcam footage that went viral recently. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency and Icheon Police Station said Saturday that they detained the suspect, 21, on suspicion of aggravated intimidation and property damage. He and a fellow Kazakh national, 25, allegedly pursued and blocked a car carrying a driver in his 30s and a passenger on a road in Majang township on July 29. They allegedly left their own vehicle to threaten the occupants and kick the front of the vehicle. The case drew public attention after the footage was featured on the YouTube channel Han Moon-chul TV last month, garnering hundreds of thousands of views. As the footage spread, politicians such as Rep. Na Kyung-won of the opposition People Power Party questioned the state of public safety and called on police to mobilize all available investigative resources to catch the suspects. Police reopened the probe last month, and forensic specialists recovered som

Students from Jeonbuk National University’s Department of Sociology won top honors in an academic presentation competition for projects examining urban history, youth anxiety and changes in university life from a sociological perspective. The department said Friday that Kim Min-seo and Jang Eun-seong won the grand prize in a presentation competition organized by the Korean Sociological Association for supporters of the 2027 ISA World Congress of Sociology. Organized by the International Sociological Association (ISA), the congress will be held in Gwangju from July 4-10 next year. Two other teams received excellence awards. They were Bae Sol and Seon Hwa-pyeong, and Kim Se-jeong and Kim Yong-man. The grand prize-winning team explored the theme “How We Remember Gwangju,” examining the city’s history and urban spaces through a sociological lens to highlight the significance of hosting the World Congress of Sociology in Gwangju. The team examined a diverse range of historical sites and everyday spaces, including the former South Jeolla Provincial Office and Jeonil Building 245, artist

SINGAPORE, LONDON, SEOUL — Artificial intelligence (AI) is rewriting the rules across industries and higher education is no exception. While Korean universities are racing to establish AI departments and expand enrollment in advanced technology fields, some of the world’s leading institutions are taking different approach in adapting to the rapidly evolving technology. Rather than focusing solely on expanding AI-related education, these universities are rethinking the fundamentals of higher education, from what students should learn and how their abilities should be assessed to which academic strengths will remain valuable as AI takes on tasks once performed exclusively by humans. At Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, AI education is no longer limited to engineering and computer science majors. The university is working to make AI part of learning across every discipline, including the arts and humanities. The university aims to integrate AI into 40 percent of courses across all 52 undergraduate degree programs by 2030, up from just 5 percent today. Under the initiat

President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday reaffirmed his opposition over ending the livestreams of Cabinet meetings, saying he is open to all opinions exchanged during the meetings. Lee's remarks came just days after he wrote on his X account that he disagrees with a need to end the livestreams, calling a recent new report on alleged calls from Cabinet members to end them a "false claim." "It is difficult to understand why they are pressing against disclosing part of the Cabinet meetings by even lying that 'Cabinet members cannot speak up because the meetings are public,'" the president wrote in a message on X. He also shared a YouTube broadcast opposing such calls and introducing cases in which Lee embraces opposing opinions from Cabinet members during the meetings. "I have intentionally increased the number of participants by a significant number to listen to various opinions regarding state affairs," Lee said. "I have always liked debates and especially respected people who propose opposing views," he said, adding he has always emphasized the role of people with opposing views to prevent probl

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Choo Mi-ae faces growing backlash over derogatory remarks portraying firefighting as a drain on provincial finances, with her subsequent apology drawing further criticism for lacking sincerity after a firefighter died battling a factory blaze in a city in the province. Choo’s repeated attempts to explain her intentions have only backfired as they were seen as lacking sincerity, with the opposition demanding a clearer apology and some members of her own party urging a disciplinary measure against her. The controversy began on Tuesday during a National Assembly audit of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, when Choo mentioned the burden of firefighters’ personnel costs on local finances. “Firefighting seems to be the biggest headache, like a straw sucking up our finances,” she said, seeking to highlight that local governments still have to pay firefighters’ salaries even though they are now national government employees. But her analogy sparked anger for appearing to treat people who risk their lives to protect the public as a budgetary burden. Amid the row,

Residents of Gyeonggi Province can directly propose the bus routes they need for their commutes, giving them a standing invitation to participate in the province’s route planning. Gyeonggi Province said last week it has opened a proposal board where residents can suggest routes for Gyeonggi Pyeonha G Bus, a reserved-seat rush-hour bus service that connects major hubs in the Seoul metropolitan area. The board is designed to factor actual commute demand data into new route selection and is open to proposals at any time. Each resident can propose one route and may edit an existing proposal if their needs change. Proposals are regularly forwarded to the city or county where each route would start, to inform reviews of new routes. Proposed routes are selected only after cities and counties assess feasibility, draw up business plans, survey demand, secure budgets and consult other relevant local governments. The province will look first at areas such as new towns, where commuting is difficult due to a lack of buses, subways or other transit methods. Areas where demand is concentrated at rush

A six-year-old daughter’s letter to her father, a firefighter killed while battling a factory blaze in Bucheon on Friday, has offered a glimpse into the grief of the family he has left behind. “You passed away yesterday, but I miss you so much,” the daughter wrote in a letter, shared on social media Sunday by Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. “And I know you loved me the most.” Beside the text was a drawing of a fire engine. “Dad, I miss you. Let’s make sure we meet again someday. I’ll probably be grown up by then. I love you, Dad. I miss you,” she added. The firefighter, Kim Jin-seok, was nearing the end of a 24-hour shift and due to finish at 9 a.m. Friday when an emergency call came in at 8:38 a.m. Kim immediately boarded a fire engine and was among the first responders to arrive. Kim and three colleagues entered the factory’s third floor, where rapidly spreading flames trapped him and another firefighter. His colleague was later rescued, but Kim was found about five meters farther inside, already in cardiac arrest. He was later pronounced

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made an offering at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Saturday, bringing to the fore a decades-old sore point with neighboring Korea and China, both of which suffered heavily from Japanese imperial aggression in the first half of the 20th century. The offering came as the shrine’s three-day autumn festival began. Japanese media reported that Takaichi plans to hold off on visiting the shrine personally, a move interpreted as an effort to avoid further diplomatic friction. The shrine honors about 2.46 million people who died in domestic conflicts associated with the 1868 Meiji Restoration and in the subsequent military campaigns launched by imperial Japan. Nearly 90 percent are linked to the Pacific War, Japan’s 1941-45 conflict with the United States and its allies as part of World War II. The religious site also enshrines several Class A war criminals, including wartime Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who was executed in 1948. Korea and China have long protested when Japanese politicians send offerings or visit the shrine, which they see as representing

Sejong University said it is expanding Korean language education and international exchanges through its partnership in operating the first King Sejong Institute in Macao. The university held a signboard unveiling ceremony for the King Sejong Institute Macao at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) on Oct. 9, Hangeul Day. It is the first King Sejong Institute operated in partnership with Sejong University. In June, Sejong University and MUST were selected to participate in the 2026 program supporting the establishment of new King Sejong Institutes. The King Sejong Institute Foundation designates overseas institutions that offer Korean language and cultural education as King Sejong Institutes and supports their operations by dispatching instructors, providing curricula and teaching materials and organizing cultural programs. King Sejong Institutes operate either independently under local institutions or jointly with Korean institutions and overseas diplomatic missions. The program aims to strengthen the foundation for Korean language education abroad and provide local learne

Hwang Ki-yeon, chairman and CEO of the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank), met with Makhtar Diop, managing director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to discuss ways to strengthen strategic financial cooperation between the two institutions, the bank said Sunday. The meeting took place Friday on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand. The two institutions agreed to expand their existing cooperation on infrastructure and energy projects in developing countries into new strategic areas, including critical mineral supply chains and innovative and high-tech industries. Korea Eximbank plans to leverage the World Bank Group's multilateral cooperation platforms and financing instruments to help stabilize global supply chains and strengthen cooperation across the critical minerals value chain. The bank also intends to expand joint financing for innovative and high-tech sectors, including emerging green industries, artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure. "By working closely with global financial institutions, including the

The planned rollout of 5G standalone (SA) services is renewing calls for telecom operators and the ICT ministry to deliver more reliable connections amid concerns that the transition could repeat the shortcomings of the initial 5G rollout unless consumers see tangible improvements in service quality. The Ministry of Science and ICT made the 5G SA adoption a policy priority late last year, requiring telecoms to transition to the technology as a condition for mobile spectrum reallocation. SK Telecom and LG Uplus are targeting commercial launch of 5G SA services by the end of this year, joining KT, which introduced SA support for the iPhone 17 series in March. Unlike earlier 5G networks that rely on a fourth-generation (4G) LTE core, 5G SA uses a dedicated 5G core to reduce latency and support applications such as autonomous driving and physical artificial intelligence (AI). The rollout comes amid lingering concerns over service reliability, with consumers having faced higher bills but limited improvements over LTE during the initial 5G transition. If operators seek to charge more for SA-b