Korea unveils 1st defense AI center to power next-generation combat systems

BUSAN — A woman in her 20s sits quietly with her dog along the safety fences of North Port Waterfront Park in Busan, patiently scanning the artificial waterway for any sign of "Bukangi." Kim Yeon-ji, a local middle school student who also visited the site the day before, chatted animatedly with a friend while waiting nearby. "Sometimes you only have to wait 20 to 30 minutes, or at most an hour, before Bukangi appears," Kim said. "This isn't a shark trapped in an artificial facility like an aquarium. When else would we get the chance to see a wild shark up close like this? I come here with my friend almost every day after school just to see Bukangi." When a distinct dorsal fin finally broke the surface, several onlookers gasped in excitement, shouting, "It's here!" Some began running along the perimeter of the channel, keeping pace with the shark's movements. The long queues of spectators waiting for a glimpse of the creature evoked the dedicated fans waiting outside a K-pop idol concert. "I had no idea there would be this many people," said Choi Ho-yoon, an office worker visiting from

The number of Korean content that was illegally distributed overseas reached nearly 500 million cases last year, the highest number since 2022, a lawmaker said Monday. The number of reported cases hit 493.6 million in 2025, up 19.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data submitted to Rep. Jeong Jun-ho of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea by the Korea Copyright Protection Agency. The figure is the highest since 477.1 million in 2022, when the agency began compiling relevant data. Of the total, piracy cases involving webtoons accounted for the majority at 66.5 percent, followed by films and broadcasts at 33.5 percent. By language, 46.6 percent of the reported cases involved content distributed in English, followed by Chinese at 20.4 percent and languages of Southeast Asian nations at 15.7 percent. While the number of content illegally distributed in English fell 17 percentage points on-year, the portion of those distributed in languages of Southeast Asian and European nations, such as Vietnamese, Thai, Spanish and French, rose. Despite a surge in digital piracy cases, the nu

New forms of school violence, including one that forces those bullied into physical fights, are on the rise but many of those responsible for such violence go nearly unpunished, a lawmaker said Monday, citing relevant data from the education ministry. According to the data submitted to Rep. Han Byung-do of the ruling Democratic Party, 490 cases of such violence have been subject to a review by school disciplinary committees between 2024 and August this year. A total of 1,961 disciplinary measures were taken against 1,232 students involved, but 77.7 percent, or 1,523, of those measures taken are those considered "light" as they leave no official records of the incidents or their punishment, according to the lawmaker. Such measures include requiring a written apology and orders to keep a distance from victims. Less than 10 percent, or 193, of the measures involved a suspension or school transfers. The report comes amid an apparent spread of the so-called yacha rule, where victims are pushed into unwanted physical fights under the guise of mutual agreement. "There needs to a detailed guideli

The head of South Korea's military manpower agency voiced regret Monday over South Korean footballers glorying in their exemption from mandatory military service following their win at the recent Asian Games. Military Manpower Administration (MMA) Commissioner Hong So-young made the remarks during a parliamentary audit, after some of the gold medalists gloated about their exemptions in media interviews and on social media, sparking strong public backlash and reigniting calls for policy overhaul. "I deeply regret this unfortunate situation," Hong said. "I take heavily to heart the sense of loss felt by young men serving their military duties, as well as the public's calls for reform." After clinching the gold medal in men's football at the Asian Games on Oct. 3, Yang Min-hyeok, one of the players on the national team, told media he played the match to earn the exemption rather than winning a medal or trophy. Park Seung-soo, another member on the team, uploaded a photo of himself wearing a cap typically worn by men who have completed their military service. Their actions have sparked widesp

When a fire broke out at a military battery storage facility in South Chungcheon Province in August, the building’s advanced fireproofing worked as designed. The reinforced concrete walls and automated sprinklers contained the blaze before the structure was lost. Yet that success created a perilous new crisis. Inside the facility sat roughly 210,000 unexploded lithium batteries. Scorched and baked by extreme heat, the remaining stockpiles lingered on the brink of secondary thermal runaway — a violent chain reaction capable of triggering massive explosions. Heavy treads or four-legged rescue robots, standard tools in modern disaster response, were far too heavy. A single misstep pressing against a delicate cell could detonate the entire room. For nearly two weeks, firefighters could only watch from the exterior perimeter. They were completely barred from entering the hazard zone. Battery safety has become an urgent national focus in Korea following a series of severe industrial fires. The risk was starkly highlighted in June 2024, when a thermal runaway explosion at a lithium battery

Police on Monday apprehended a man in his 60s for allegedly murdering a woman under police protection over stalking and dating violence on the southern resort island of Jeju, officials said. The man was placed under emergency arrest hours after allegedly fatally stabbing the woman in her 40s outside a hotel in Jeju at 1:38 a.m., according to the Jeju Seobu Police Station. During police questioning, the man reportedly claimed the victim was a former lover. The victim was found to have reported the man for stalking in October 2025, and filed multiple reports of dating violence in May. Last month, police issued her a smart watch to alert authorities of emergencies and registered the woman as a subject of protection. She was reportedly unable to use the device during the fatal attack. A restraining order had not been issued against the man as formal cases had not been officially filed during the previous reports. Police plan to file for a warrant for the suspect's formal arrest after further investigation.

It is normal for a president to clash with members of opposition parties, especially those with different political inclinations, over reform measures. President Lee Jae Myung, however, is having an unusual conflict — one against members of his own party and other liberal figures. The conflict is over the nomination of Kim Ji-yong, a former prosecutor, to be the inaugural chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA). The new investigative body was established as part of prosecutorial reform, dividing the prosecutors’ office into SCIA in charge of probing serious crimes and the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) tasked with indicting suspects and prosecuting cases. The nomination on Sept. 8, however, turned the long-awaited prosecution reform into the focus of an increasingly bitter internal conflict, as hardliners from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the minor liberal Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP) and elsewhere in the liberal bloc argue that his record of defending prosecutorial powers makes him unfit to serve as its inaugural chief. They also label Kim a loyalist

President Lee Jae Myung's move to the official presidential residence at Cheong Wa Dae is being planned for this year, an official said Monday. Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung have been living at the official residence used by former President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul's Yongsan Ward while refurbishments take place at Cheong Wa Dae. Yoon relocated the presidential office and residence from Cheong Wa Dae to Yongsan upon taking office in 2022 but Lee decided to return both to the former location following his inauguration last year. Only the presidential office completed its move to Cheong Wa Dae in December. "We are preparing to enable the move within the year after completing building commissioning and moving preparations," the presidential official said. "No schedule has been fixed for the move to the Cheong Wa Dae residence yet."

The unification ministry on Monday appointed a North Korean defector to head the Korea Hana Foundation, an agency affiliated with the ministry to support the resettlement of North Korean defectors, for the first time. Kim Young-hee, 61, who previously headed the North Korea Development Institute, was named president of the foundation for a three-year term, according to the ministry. It marked the first time that a North Korean defector has been appointed to the post since the foundation's establishment in 2010. Kim, who was born in Kilju County in North Hamgyong Province, came to South Korea in 2002, and has since assumed the role of a North Korean economy expert for various government agencies and local governments. The foundation's top post remained vacant for more than 19 months after its previous chief, Cho Min-ho, was dismissed in February last year over allegations he sexually and verbally harassed employees.

The government on Monday finalized a package of measures aimed at preventing suicide in a nation that has outstripped other developed countries in terms of suicide rates for more than two decades. The sixth Suicide Prevention Basic Plan was finalized during a meeting of the suicide prevention policy committee presided over by Prime Minister Han Seong-sook. The measures include reducing motivation for suicide and offering psychological care and counseling. Korea has charted out the suicide prevention basic plan every five years starting in 2004 in an effort to curb suicide rates. The fifth basic plan was announced in 2023 for a period through 2027, but the government came up with the sixth plan earlier than scheduled as suicide rates spiked in 2024. Korea's suicide rate, which refers to the number of suicide deaths per 100,000 people a year, surged to 29.1 in 2024, but fell back to 27.8 in 2025. This year, suicide deaths totaled 7,432 between January and July, down 12.3 percent, or 1,043, from the same period last year. The country has been at the top among the OECD member countries in te

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Monday criticized President Lee Jae Myung's golf outing over the weekend, questioning whether it was appropriate for him to play golf while the collapsed ceiling of a supermarket in Daegu left dozens of people injured. "Is a single line of instruction given while playing golf the right attitude for the head of state responsible for people's lives?" PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok said during a meeting of the party's supreme council. "Is it even possible to receive reports in real time and give directions while playing golf?" In a statement released the previous day, Cheong Wa Dae said Lee immediately issued an order from the golf course for thorough rescue operations after receiving reports about the incident. The incident took place Saturday morning, leaving 38 people injured. PPP chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon also released a commentary, accusing Lee of enjoying what he called an "imperial" round of golf, a term widely used in Korea to describe golf outings that are especially leisurely, unlike ordinary rounds where golfers are usually rush