Digital Civilization Conference: Technology in the Service of Humanity

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday stressed the need to cut the time required for administrative procedures in building homes, calling for all-out efforts to boost housing supply. The president made the call during a Cabinet meeting as runaway housing prices persist despite the government's efforts to cool the market. "Stable housing is the foundation for practical improvements in people's lives," Lee said, citing a decline in housing construction permits and the supply of new land for real estate development over the past three years as reasons for disruptions in housing supply. "In order to resolve the current problems in the real estate market, created by various factors that have accumulated over the years, consistent market management policies and large-scale housing supply measures should be implemented promptly," he added. Lee instructed officials to make all-out efforts to boost housing supply by cutting the time needed to prepare land for development and granting administrative permits for house construction as quickly as possible, "without being constrained by customary practic

President Lee Jae Myung will attend a meeting this week aimed at easing regulations to help nurture advanced industries and ensure balanced development, his office said Tuesday. The second plenary meeting of the regulation rationalization committee will be held Friday following the first session in April, according to Cheong Wa Dae. The upcoming meeting is expected to discuss ways to ease regulations to support the Lee administration's development plan focusing on regional growth, as well as its push to secure absolute global leadership in cutting-edge industries. As part of the discussion, officials will present solutions to regulatory obstacles to advancing growth-engine industries, including robotics, semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, self-driving vehicles and biotechnology, the presidential office said. They are also expected to delve into discussions on rationalizing unnecessary regulations to promote the growth of venture companies. Friday's meeting will bring together officials from Cheong Wa Dae and the finance, science, interior, industry, health, labor,

Police on Tuesday referred a man to the prosecution for allegedly murdering his mother-in-law and kidnapping his wife, officials said. The man, identified as 26-year-old Kim Sung-woo, is accused of stabbing his mother-in-law to death at her home in southern Seoul on Oct. 11 before kidnapping his wife who had been staying there, according to the Seoul Songpa Police Station. Kim allegedly assaulted his wife in the face when she was confined in his vehicle before police rescued her and took him into custody in Yangyang County, about 150 kilometers east of Seoul, hours after the alleged murder. The police station said it recommended charges of retaliatory murder, retaliatory confinement, aggravated assault and violations of laws on stalking and domestic violence against Kim to the prosecution. Kim's wife had applied for divorce mediation in August before withdrawing it to seek an annulment of their marriage. The suspect had stalked his wife on 18 occasions between Sept. 16 to Oct. 11, waiting for her near his in-law's home, the police said. Investigators are putting weight on the possibility t

South Korea’s decade-old debate over female conscription resurfaced during a National Assembly audit this month, amid growing concerns that a shrinking draft-eligible population could undermine military readiness. During a National Assembly defense committee audit on Oct. 12, opposition lawmakers raised the issue, arguing that the time has come for a public discussion as the eligible male population continues to fall. Defense ministry data shows the pool of 20-year-old men eligible for service dropped from 332,000 in 2019 to 257,000 in 2022, and is projected to fall further to 228,000 by 2035 and 120,000 by 2043. Rep. Yoo Yeong-ha of the main opposition People Power Party said, "Now, we must officially put female conscription on the table. This will also require broad societal consensus." Rep. Chun Ha-ram of the Reform Party used the term “gender-equal conscription” — meaning mandatory service for both men and women — to call for a broader discussion on reforming the system. “If we continue wringing a dry towel without even considering gender-equal conscription as an option,

Police on Tuesday apprehended a man in connection with suspected arson at two buildings in southern Seoul that left 19 people injured, officials said. The man in his 70s is accused of starting a fire on the third floor of a building in Seoul's southern ward of Gangnam at 11:54 a.m. before starting another fire on the fourth floor of a nearby building at 12:01 p.m. The fire at the first building forced some 60 people to evacuate and left 11 injured, including one in a state of cardiac arrest. Firefighters extinguished the blaze at 2:20 p.m. The fire at the second building left eight people injured before it was extinguished at 12:35 p.m. Police took the suspect into custody near Dongmyo Station in central Seoul at 4:16 p.m. after he went on the run by taking the subway. A police official declined to provide details as an investigation is ongoing. Authorities dispatched 115 firefighters to put out the fires after receiving a report that someone had started a fire.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) introduced a bill Tuesday to support a major semiconductor cluster in Korea’s southwestern region, drawing opposition from labor rights groups over provisions that would ease working-hour limits and labor protections. The bill, tentatively called the Special Act on Super-Regional Economic Zones, would allow local governments to form a single economic zone and offer faster permitting along with financial, fiscal and tax incentives to businesses. This comes as the liberal administration under President Lee Jae Myung and businesses seek to develop an 800 trillion won semiconductor cluster in the southwestern Jeolla region. DPK floor leader Rep. Han Byung-do said the party would submit another version of the bill — one that does not contain controversial labor exemptions — and develop a final draft through parliamentary deliberations. “We are well aware of the differing views across society on the bill’s key contentious issues, including the proposed working-hour exemptions,” Han said during a meeting at the National Assembly. “We will

Seoul’s defense ministry on Tuesday rejected Pyongyang’s criticism of warning shots and broadcasts along the inter-Korean border, calling them legitimate defensive measures intended to prevent North Korean troops from crossing the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). The ministry accused Pyongyang of shifting responsibility for rising military tensions to Seoul after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, threatened to reinforce weapons deployments near the border and resume loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South. “The warning broadcasts and warning shots carried out by our military near the MDL are legitimate defensive measures aimed at preventing North Korean troops from crossing the line and compelling those who have crossed to withdraw,” a military official said during a background briefing Tuesday. The official expressed serious concern that Kim had criticized operations conducted under the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement while threatening further military action. The ministry urged Pyongyang to stop making “groundless claims” and crossing the

As global appetite for Korean food soars beyond classic barbecued beef into everyday staples like fried chicken and "gimbap," Korea’s agricultural ministry is launching an initiative to ensure diners abroad get authentic, high-quality meals wherever they step into a Korean eatery. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs unveiled a five-year plan, Tuesday, to dramatically expand and overhaul its overseas restaurant certification system, targeting a total of 1,000 official seals of approval worldwide. The strategy comes as global awareness of Korean cuisine climbed to 68.6 percent in 2025, driven by the global fame of Korean pop culture and television dramas. Yet rapid international growth has brought quality control challenges, with some overseas venues trading on the name of Korean food despite lacking culinary expertise or proper ingredients. To bridge that gap, the ministry is overhauling its Excellence in Korean Dining program. Once limited to upscale establishments, the updated system introduces a two-tier rating structure that includes casual neighborhood spots. Resta

A Seoul appeals court on Tuesday again ordered a Japanese company to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor. The appellate division of the Seoul Central District Court ruled that Mitsubishi Materials Corp. must pay a total of 99 million won ($74,500) to five Koreans who were forced to work in Japan during World War II, upholding a lower court's ruling partially in favor of the plaintiffs. Mitsubishi Materials, formerly known as Mitsubishi Mining, was ordered to pay approximately 27 million won to one plaintiff, surnamed Heo, and 18 million won each to the four others. Korean courts have issued numerous rulings ordering Japanese companies to compensate forced labor victims and their families since the Supreme Court upheld two landmark compensation rulings in 2018. The Supreme Court said the 1965 treaty signed between Korea and Japan to settle issues stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula did not extinguish individuals' right to seek damages.

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. Actress Ha Ji-won has revealed how she managed her weight by cutting back on soup broth and seasonings. In a recently released episode of her YouTube channel, Ha took a part-time job at a wine bar alongside a former schoolmate. While chatting with her coworkers after work, she described how she managed her diet. “I didn’t drink broth. If I wanted to eat kimchi, I rinsed it in water. I avoided seasonings altogether,” Ha said. She also revealed the foods she relied on most when managing her weight were eggs, tofu and tomatoes. Cutting back on broth and salty seasonings can help reduce sodium intake. Eggs and tofu are good sources of protein, while tomatoes provide water and dietary fiber. When incorporating these foods into meals, it is also worth paying attention to the amount of oil and sauce used. Cut back on broth and seasonings When eating soups and stews, consuming the broth along with the solid ingredients also means taking in sodium from salt, soy sauce and other seasonings. The same applies to adding extra sauce to heavily seasoned

South Korea vowed Tuesday to take decisive action if North Korea launches any further provocations, pushing back after Pyongyang threatened military escalation over warning shots fired by the South along the fortified border. The defense ministry issued such a statement a day after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, threatened to resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts against Seoul and deploy more tactical strike assets along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, saying the border situation has become "very unstable." "The Ministry of National Defense expresses grave concern over Director Kim Yo-jong's criticism of our military's legitimate operations conducted under the Armistice Agreement, as well as her escalation of tensions through military threats," the released statement said. "We will retaliate decisively should North Korea engage in further provocations using our legitimate measures as a pretext," it added. The ministry urged Pyongyang to cease its far-fetched claims and repeated incursions south of the military demarcation l

JINJU, South Gyeongsang Province — Academics explored how entrepreneurs can turn artificial intelligence (AI)-driven disruption into business opportunities and solutions to social challenges at the 2026 Jinju K-Entrepreneurship International Forum. The fourth session, held Tuesday, the second day of the forum, examined how individuals and organizations can navigate uncertainty and turn technological disruption into opportunities through experimentation, resilience and practical problem-solving. Erkko Autio, chair in technology transfer and entrepreneurship at Imperial College London, pointed out that AI has dramatically lowered the technical and financial barriers to developing products, making the products themselves less effective as a source of competitive advantage. “The bottleneck in entrepreneurship was that it required engineering capacity and money. But now AI has collapsed that constraint because anyone can now build whatever they desire,” Autio said. “So the competitive advantage now comes from the entrepreneurial journey, which takes time, and from the product itself t