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Korea's rice output declined for the fifth consecutive year in 2026 amid changing dietary habits, data showed Friday, with the cultivation area also reaching a new low. Rice production decreased 0.9 percent year-on-year to 3.5 million tons this year, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marked the fourth-lowest level since the government began compiling the data in 1965. The combined area of rice paddies in the country fell 1.1 percent year-on-year to 670,000 hectares, the smallest on record. Despite the decline in overall production, output per 1,000 square meters increased 0.2 percent year-on-year to 524 kilograms this year, according to the ministry. Rice remains a staple food in Korea, but consumption has steadily fallen in recent decades amid shifts in dietary preferences. The decrease in production also came amid the government's efforts to manage output while encouraging farmers to switch to other crops. By region, South Jeolla Province and Gwangju together produced 736,000 tons of rice, followed by South Chungcheong Province with 681,000 tons and Nor

The defense ministry said Friday it is surveying military cadets on the proposal to integrate the Army, Air Force and Navy academies as the government seeks to revise the plan amid pushback from alumni groups and key stakeholders. The online survey, running from Friday through Tuesday, will poll 2,350 cadets across all four class years, excluding about 143 naval cadets set to be deployed for rotational training, a ministry official told reporters. The ministry is pushing to merge the three institutions into a unified military academy, but the plan has drawn fierce opposition from cadets and alumni who say it could erode the distinct identity and specialized capabilities of each armed service. The ministry is now reportedly weighing the option of relocating the military academy of the Army out of Seoul as planned while retaining the two others, a move seen as backtracking from its original merger plan. "The survey aims to evaluate the current military academies and collect cadets' opinions as part of broader efforts to gather input from various sectors to refine the plan for establishing

Oh Hyun-joo, former third deputy director of the presidential National Security Office, has been named to head the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the foreign ministry said Friday. Oh will formally take office on Monday to lead the agency, which is affiliated with the foreign ministry and responsible for the government's official development assistance (ODA) programs. After entering the foreign service in 1994, Oh held various posts in development cooperation and multilateral diplomacy, including deputy chief of mission at South Korea's U.N. mission. She became South Korea's first female ambassador to the Holy See in January 2023 and was appointed third deputy director of the National Security Office in June last year. "Oh is expected to actively realize KOICA's vision of becoming a leading global development cooperation agency that pursues universal values and shared national interests, while strengthening its role as an integrated platform for South Korea's grant aid programs," the ministry said in a statement. The KOICA president serves a three-year term and is selected

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday reiterated his commitment to capital market reform, pledging to address what he has called "undervaluation" of Korean stocks by boosting market confidence and cracking down on market irregularities. Lee made the pledge during a policy discussion on the capital market held at the Korea Exchange, which brought together experts, corporate representatives and government officials. "Normalizing the capital market is our government's unwavering policy direction and commitment," the president said. The president described the undervaluation of Korean stocks as an "unreasonable abnormality," reaffirming his administration's commitment to reforming the capital market and the broader financial market to boost investor confidence. Lee's remarks came amid significant volatility in Korea's stock market in recent months, with the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) trading in the mid-5,000-point range on Friday, after reaching an all-time closing high of 9,114.55 points in late June. The president cited investor confidence as the most important value in

The government promised Friday to exercise zero tolerance against cheating using artificial intelligence (AI) glasses in next week's nationwide college entrance exam after suspicions of such cheating arose over an unrealistic score in this year's certified tax accountant exam. The suspicions emerged following revelations that the highest scorer in the tax accountant exam received a near-perfect score, missing only one question out of the 160 on the first-round test, earning 397.5 points out of a possible 400, a score many test-takers view as unrealistic. That has raised concerns that AI cheating can be used in the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), set for Thursday. "The government views cheating using AI smart glasses as a serious issue that infringes upon fair opportunities for students who have worked diligently, and takes people's concerns regarding this matter very seriously," the Office for Government Policy Coordination said in a statement. "The government will take a zero-tolerance approach toward any cheating that compromises the fairness of examinations and will make sure

Credit card users will be able to convert their dormant reward points into regional cash vouchers starting May next year, officials said Friday, as part of efforts to boost consumption and breathe vitality into local economies, The government announced the measure after President Lee Jae Myung instructed officials in late June to allow the conversion of "various hidden or dormant points into local currency to boost consumer vitality and revitalize traditional markets and neighborhood shops," officials said. The Office for Government Policy Coordination under the prime minister's office has since worked with the interior ministry, the Financial Services Commission and the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute to come up with details, officials said. Credit card points will be the first to be allowed for the conversion. Accumulated card points amount to 2.1 trillion won ($1.57 billion) and such points already have well-established systems for conversion into cash, officials said. Once the conversion service begins in May, card users can use "account info" or "regional c

A member of the family that founded conglomerate LG Group has been repatriated from Cambodia eight years after leaving Korea to escape an investigation into stock manipulation charges, police said Friday. Koo Bon-hyun, a nephew of the late LG Group honorary chairman Koo Cha-kyung, was detained upon arriving in the country Monday to undergo an investigation on suspicion of violating the Capital Markets Act, embezzlement and breach of trust, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. The 57-year-old left for the Netherlands in 2018 amid suspicions that he made illegal profits of 14.5 billion won ($10.9 million) by disclosing false information about a KOSDAQ-listed company he had acquired without capital. He is also accused of embezzling 4.6 billion won from the firm, including for entertainment expenses. Police obtained a detention warrant for Koo in 2019 and requested that Interpol issue a Red Notice for him. Cambodian police apprehended him in September and repatriated him back to Korea this week. He was formally arrested Wednesday under a court-issued warrant. In 2012, Koo receiv

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. A practicing surgeon has issued a strong warning about the dangers of soju — a popular traditional Korean alcohol that is now mass manufactured — drawing on his own experience of severe alcohol addiction. Lee Jun-suh, a hepatopancreatobiliary surgeon, appeared on the YouTube channel Doctor Dinho on Tuesday and said, "Soju is a drink that should not exist." "Its alcohol content is far too high for its price, fueling alcohol addiction," he said. Gastroenterologist Kim Tae-kyun agreed, saying, "At that price and concentration, shouldn't soju be considered a drug rather than an alcoholic beverage?" Lee said, "Alcoholic drinks like this type of diluted soju are uncommon. The availability of soju makes it far too easy for people to drink alcohol." Lee, who has overcome alcohol addiction, said he once underestimated the severity of his own dependence even while treating patients with end-stage liver and pancreatic diseases. "Even as I treated terminally ill patients, I thought, 'I'm different from them,'" he said. "At the time, there was a social at

Korea on Friday called on Japan to fully acknowledge the history of wartime forced labor at the Sado mine complex as it held a separate memorial ceremony for Korean victims of forced labor for the third consecutive year. Korean Ambassador to Japan Lee Hyuk made the call during the ceremony held at a hotel on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, with nine family members of the victims attending. "Many Korean workers had been mobilized against their will and forced to work at the mine through government-arranged labor placement and conscription under the involvement of the Japanese colonial government-general," Lee said in his memorial address. "Remembering the pain of the past and sharing our condolences here today will deepen our sense of empathy and healing, and provide an opportunity for everyone to fully understand the entire history of the Sado mine as a World Heritage site," he added. More than 1,500 Koreans were mobilized to work at the Sado mine during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea. Many were assigned to dangerous underground tasks, and some lost their lives in underground

The Korean government said Friday that Google has complied with security requirements imposed as a condition for allowing the transfer of high-precision map data overseas. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said a government-led consultation body reviewed Google's implementation of security measures following its conditional approval in February to export 1:5,000-scale digital map data. The review found that the global tech giant had implemented measures to prevent the exposure of geographic coordinates, as well as sensitive military and security facilities, on its global Google Maps and Google Earth services, including web and mobile platforms. To meet the requirements, Google developed a dedicated control system for Korea and introduced safeguards to block app updates if they risk exposing restricted geographic coordinates. In August, Google also signed an agreement to obtain satellite imagery processed for security purposes by the National Geographic Information Institute (NGII) through a local partner. Google is said to have chosen the local navigation company, TMAP Mo

The Korean government is stepping up efforts to crack down on cheating involving artificial intelligence (AI)-powered smart glasses, as concerns spread beyond the annual college entrance exam to national licensing tests, with even top scorers facing suspicions of misconduct. However, concerns are also emerging that widespread suspicions, even without concrete evidence, could undermine public trust in the fairness of exams. While authorities have pledged zero tolerance for cheating ahead of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), growing allegations involving high scorers in other major exams have prompted the government to seek additional funding for electronic signal detectors and dedicated personnel to prevent high-tech cheating. According to the National Assembly, Friday, Rep. Kim Wi-sang of the main opposition People Power Party has proposed an additional 6.57 billion won ($4.92 million) in next year's budget to crack down on cheating involving AI-powered smart glasses and other high-tech devices in national licensing exams. The proposal comes after the growing use of such device

One in four high school students in Korea gets less than five hours of sleep a night on weekdays, with those sleeping fewer hours reporting higher rates of stress, depression and suicidal thoughts. According to the National Youth Policy Institute on Friday, 27.3 percent of high school students slept less than five hours on average during weekdays, while 59.1 percent got fewer than six hours. The findings were based on responses from 54,170 middle and high school students nationwide. The study found that students who slept less tended to report poorer mental health. Among those getting fewer than five hours of sleep on weekdays, 33.4 percent reported experiencing depression, compared with 18.9 percent of those sleeping eight hours or more — a difference of 14.5 percentage points. Students sleeping less than five hours were also nearly twice as likely to experience high levels of stress, with 57.9 percent reporting frequent stress, compared with 29.2 percent of those getting at least eight hours of sleep. The gap extended to suicide attempts, with 3.9 percent of students in the shortest