News

PPP launches filibuster on contentious bills at plenary session on Monday

2025/08/04 19:37

Indeed the main opposition People Power Party has responded by launching a filibuster at today's plenary session. Convening shortly after 2 PM the parties processed non-contentious bills ahead of the high-profile bills that the PPP has strongly opposed including amendments to broadcasting and commercial acts as well as the so-called "Yellow Envelope Bill" that limits employer action on striking union members. With a filibuster in action only one bill the broadcasting reform bill is likely to pass before the current extraordinary session ends on Tuesday as current parliamentary law guarantees at least 24 hours of debate. The remaining bills will likely carry over to the August session.

Ruling DP’s new leader pushes reform of prosecution, media, judiciary

2025/08/04 19:37

Four-term lawmaker Jung Chung-rae is taking the helm of the ruling Democratic Party and has vowed tangible reforms as his priority including those for the prosecution. Our political correspondent Shin Ha-young covers his intentions. The ruling Democratic Party's newly elected leader has begun swiftly driving reforms to the prosecution, media, and the judiciary. DP leader Jung Chung-rae announced on Monday that the party has launched special committees dedicated to reforming these three sectors. "The three major reforms have already got clear direction and public support, especially in the wake of the recent insurrection. If the special committees set a comprehensive course and push forward, I believe we can fulfill our promise to complete the reforms before the Chuseok holiday." The four-term lawmaker Jung vowed in his acceptance speech following his election to swiftly push ahead with these reforms. Jung won 61-point-7-4 percent of the vote at the party's convention on Saturday, defeating rival candidate Park Chan-dae , the DP's former floor leader. During the press conference, Jung said he is unable to work with the main opposition People Power Party as it still includes members who support former President Yoon Suk Yeol. "We're at war with the insurrection. It's not about ruling and opposition parties." The PPP urged the DP leader to respect the opposition as a partner in governance, saying it was the only way to serve the people. "With a new leader in place, the Democratic Party is expected to use its majority to push through contentious bills rather than work with the People Power Party a move that could further heighten political tensions. Shin Ha-young, Arirang News."

President Lee begins five-day summer vacation

2025/08/04 19:36

President Lee Jae Myung began his five-day summer break today. According to the Presidential Office he's spending his holiday on Jeodo Island in Geoje City, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, and plans to reflect on national affairs and to recharge by reading books and watching films. The top office has also activated an "emergency reporting system" as the President intends to continue monitoring key issues including those related to people's livelihoods.

SME's exports rise for 7th straight quarter in first half of 2025

2025/08/04 19:36

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has shared its export data for the first half of this year. Small and mid-sized businesses exported products worth over 78 trillion won or some 56 billion U.S. dollars posting seven straight quarters of on-year growth. Cosmetics led the shipments abroad at around 4 billion U.S. dollars up 19 percent. Used cars stood second with an over 70 percent surge to 3-point-9 billion dollars driven by demand in the Middle East.

Impact of Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon starting to show

2025/08/04 19:35

The government's consumption coupons may have boosted sales at small businesses. Findings by the Korea Credit Data on this Monday show these businesses saw sales jump.. 2-point-2 percent on week during July 21st and the 27th. By shop sales at eyewear stores surged over 56 percent while clothing climbed 28 percent and restaurants for noodle and sushi soared 20 percent. Also according to the Interior Ministry 90 percent of all eligible recipients have applied for the consumption coupons as of July 31.

Gov't thanks companies, vows to minimize impact of U.S. tariffs

2025/08/04 19:35

South Korea's recently sealed trade deal with the U.S. has eased uncertainties for the nation's exporters. This is according to Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan who reaffirmed on Monday the government's efforts to minimize the impact of U.S. tariffs on local industries. The minister pledged to hammer out additional measures to help Korean businesses sharpen their edge especially in strategic sectors including shipbuilding, automobiles and semiconductors. He also shared gratitude to the business community for its support with top corporate leaders actively involved in efforts to secure a trade deal.

Naver, Upstage, SK, NC, and LG picked as 5 finalists for bold gov't backing on AI creation

2025/08/04 19:35

The Lee administration's plan to place South Korea among the world's top three AI powerhouses is taking shape given the selection of five teams to compete in the development of South Korea's own AI model. Our economic correspondent Kim Do-yeon explains. The South Korean government on Monday unveiled five AI creation teams to lead the country's push for AI sovereignty. Naver Cloud, Upstage, SK Telecom, NC AI, and LG Group's AI team will now enter a high-stakes competition to develop the "Proprietary AI Foundation Model Project" worth 200 billion won or approximately 150 million U.S. dollars. "The latest selection evaluated each team's technological capabilities and development experience, the scale of their development goals and strategies, as well as their potential impact and plans to contribute to the broader AI ecosystem." Initially, 15 entered the race with the first round in July cutting down five to have 10 groups give presentations. The final five, while big-name groups, are teamed up with universities and other tech companies to form consortia. These five will now face a survival-style competition, with phased evaluations every six months—ultimately narrowing down to just two final teams by 2027. The goal is to create domestic models that achieve at least 95 percent of the performance of the latest global AI models launched within the past six months. The project also emphasizes "from-scratch" capabilities — including model architecture design and pretraining from the ground up not just adjusting existing foreign models. This initiative is part of President Lee Jae Myung's core pledge to build an "AI for All" society and realize Korea's ambition to become one of the world's top three AI powerhouses. The final five will now receive government backing, including access to high-performance GPUs. First, until mid-2026, private-sector GPUs will be leased using 157-point-6 billion Korean won allotted from a recent supplementary budget. Later, the government will provide up to a thousand GPUs per team from a pool of 10-thousand units purchased by the government. Data support: Each team will also receive 10 billion won annually for data support, with an additional three to five billion won allocated for data construction and processing. "A bold new challenge begins. We believe in the strength of Korea's AI companies and institutions—and the government will stand with them every step of the way." Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.

S. Korea-U.S. summit will be held within August: FM Cho Hyun

2025/08/04 19:34

The first summit between President Lee Jae Myung and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump will take place within this month. The upcoming agenda was reaffirmed by Foreign Minister Cho Hyun this past Sunday upon his arrival from Washington, D.C. but he refrained from disclosing a date. With regard to security he added that he and his U.S. counterpart Marco Rubio touched upon the commitment to the combined defense posture of their two countries and to extended deterrence.

S. Korea to work with U.S., Japan to manage relations with "somewhat problematic" China: FM

2025/08/04 19:33

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun says U.S. soldiers will stay stationed on the Korean peninsula and that Seoul will work with Washington and Tokyo to navigate relations with Beijing. In an interview with the Washington Post Seoul's top diplomat brushed aside concerns of a potential U.S. troop reduction adding that he had secured assurances against any such plan from American senators during his trip to D.C. last week. With regard to regional matters Cho observed that China was becoming quote "somewhat problematic" for its neighbors given its maritime actions. However he also highlighted the importance of seeking to engage China instead of simply seeking to contain it while working with partners like Japan to uphold international law.

S. Korea to invest over US$ 85 mil. to upgrade joint command system with U.S.

2025/08/04 19:33

South Korea will invest roughly 1-hundred-18 billion won or over 85 million U.S. dollars by 2029 to enhance its joint command system with the U.S. According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration Seoul will upgrade the Allied Korea Joint Command and Control System which is used in joint drills like the Ulchi Freedom Shield. The upgrade includes AI-based automation cloud servers and new auto-translation as well as video conferencing tools. This latest investment follows recent remarks by Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back regarding the potential transfer of wartime operational control from U.S. to South Korea.

TARIFF DEAL ON BILATERAL ALLIANCE

2025/08/04 18:34

Hope your workweek is off to a good start. It's Monday August 4th here in Seoul. I'm Min Sunhee. The recently sealed trade deal between South Korea and the U.S. is poised to go into effect starting Thursday this week that is August 7th. That being said on Press Perspective today we REVISIT the trade deal and its broader implications on the bilateral alliance and more. For more I have Celio Fioretti with French daily La Croix. Celio welcome back. I also have research fellow Peter Lee from the Asan Institute for Policy Studies with the pundit's take on the day's discussion. Peter it's good to have you here again. Celio, last week, South Korea and the U.S. signed their deal on tariffs and trade. Let's start by walking through the broad agreement between the two countries. Peter, speaking within your capacity as a researcher, what aspects of the deal do you applaud, and what aspects are you slightly apprehensive about? And Celio, what has been the various reactions to the deal sealed between Seoul and Washington? Peter, first, I'd like you to play for you a soundbite from the White House that claims the trade deal offers "historic market access to American rice" into South Korea. Do take a listen. "will pay a 15% tariff rate, including 15% on autos, while providing historic market access to American goods like autos and rice. Korea will purchase $100 billion in American energy by 2028, and the centerpiece of this deal is that South Korea has agreed to invest $350 billion at the president's direction to revitalize American industry." Peter, officials here have said there has been no change with regard to South Korea's import of American rice as well as its beef. What are your thoughts regarding these remarks by the White House? And Celio, within the agriculture arena here, farmers have not hidden their intentions to respond strongly to any South Korea concession to Mr. Trump with regard to rice and beef. Do tell us more. Peter, contrary to initial expectations, defense cost-sharing was not included in the latest trade deal between Seoul and Washington. Do you expect this topic to emerge during the summit between President Lee Jae Myung and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at the White House this month? Celio, staying with security. Top defense officials of Seoul and Washington recently held talks on the phone. Do tell us a bit about what was discussed and its broader implications. Peter, what are the potential consequences of a shrink in size in U.S. troop presence here in South Korea? Celio, over in Washington, D.C. last week, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun sat down with his U.S. counterpart Marco Rubio. Again, do fill us in on their talks and your takeaways. Peter, the two diplomats reportedly reaffirmed their commitment to denuclearization of North Korea. Some pundits are claiming nuclear weapons control would be a more realistic alternative. How do you respond? All right.

[K-Enter] KPop Demon Hunters’ “Golden” Ranks No. 1 in the UK

2025/08/04 16:37

Starting off with some news on "Kpop Demon Hunters." The original soundtrack "Golden" from the Netflix animation "KPop Demon Hunters" has soared to No. 1 on the UK's Official Singles Chart Top 100. According to the latest chart released on Friday, local time, "Golden" climbed three spots from the previous week to reach the top position in its sixth week on the chart. A spokesperson for the charts said, "With Huntr/x's "Golden" becoming the first K-pop track to hit No. 1 in 13 years, Netflix's "KPop Demon Hunters" has become a true phenomenon dominating this week's Official Chart." The last time a K-pop artist topped the UK chart was in 2012, when PSY made history with "Gangnam Style". Meanwhile, the "KPop Demon Hunters" original soundtrack has tied its highest placement yet on the U.S. Billboard 200, reaching No. 2. Now let's move onto Jin from BTS! BTS member Jin successfully completed his solo fan concert tour in the United States, which came to a close last Thursday. The tour began on July 17 in Anaheim and saw him play eight shows in four cities to a total of around 90,000 fans. At Anaheim's Honda Center, Jin attracted the largest audience ever for a Korean artist at the venue. The LA Times praised his performance, calling it "a masterclass in fan interaction." Up next, Jin will kick off his European tour at London's O2 Arena on August 5 and 6. He will be the first Korean solo artist to headline at this iconic venue. Good luck on his next run of concerts! We started off today with an animation, let's end off with one. The K-animation "The King of Kings", has officially surpassed 1 million admissions in Korean cinemas as of Sunday, its 19th day in movie theatres. With this milestone, the film has overtaken "Attack on Titan : The Last Attack" to become the top-grossing animated film of 2025 so far. It also marks the first animated release of the year to cross the one-million-viewer threshold. Furthermore, it now ranks domestically as the fourth highest-grossing Korean animated film in history, following "Leafie, A Hen into the Wild", "Heartsping: Teenieping of Love", and "Speckles: The Tarbosaurus 3D". Thanks for that news Walter. Now we move to Ari our AI anchor for more culture news. Ari.

K-wave AI News

2025/08/04 16:36

Hello and welcome to your AI guide to the latest cultural updates from Korea. Here's our top story. Nearly 700,000 people visited the National Museum of Korea last month alone. The total number of visitors so far this year stands at over 3.4 million, nearly double the figure from last year. The museum attributed the surge to the peak summer holiday season, coupled with the growing popularity of K-content, including the sensational Netflix original "KPop Demon Hunters." Newly appointed Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young visited the museum on Sunday, highlighting that the museum serves as a foundation for sustaining the K-culture boom. He also pledged full support to ensure Korea's traditional heritage drives growth toward the ministry's 300 trillion-won K-culture market goal. A historic fortress built to defend Hanyang, the capital of the Joseon Dynasty, is now vying for UNESCO World Heritage status. The Korea Heritage Service has selected the "Capital Fortress of Hanyang" as Korea's official candidate for inscription. The site consists of multiple historic fortresses that boast a history spanning over 600 years. The administration plans to make a formal application in January next year, with a final decision expected at the 49th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2027. Son Heung-min received a hero's send-off on Sunday, after he played his farewell match for Tottenham Hotspur at Seoul World Cup Stadium. The preseason friendly against Newcastle United, part of the Coupang Play Series, ended in a 1-1 draw, but the spotlight was firmly on Son, who confirmed a day earlier that he would be leaving Spurs this summer after 10 seasons with the club. He bid a tearful farewell to more than 60,000 Korean fans who filled the stadium in the white of Tottenham Hotspur. It's not yet confirmed where Son will play next. That's all from me. Stay tuned to the Kulture Wave.

[K-wave] From 'Exhuma' to 'KPop Demon Hunters': The era of K-shamanism

2025/08/04 16:35

The Netflix original animation "KPop Demon Hunters" is continuing to make headlines, It has become popular worldwide with its abundance of K-culture a strong narrative, and of course its soundtrack. But here's another factor the supernatural powers or practices shown in the movie are sparking growing interest in Korean shamanism. Our Choi Soo-hyung takes a look at how shamanism has become a key part of new K-content. Set in South Korea, "KPop Demon Hunters" follows a popular girl group that protects the human world from evil spirits, while uncovering a boy group of grim reapers, known as "Jeoseung Saja." The Netflix original animation has become the most-viewed original animated movie ever, with its soundtrack also topping the Billboard single charts. Last year, the Korean film "Exhuma" drew an audience of over 10 million at home, and became a hit in Asia and North America, fueled by themes such as feng shui and shamanic rituals. Today, one of the hottest themes in K-content is K-shamanism or K-musok in Korean a traditional belief system incorporating rituals, divination, and faith in spirits and deities. With a thousand years of history, Korean shamanism is a folk tradition where shamans or mudang guide people by praying for good fortune and driving away misfortune. "Shamanism exists in many parts of the world. But in Korea, it is unique because of the strong role of mudang. Their traditional music, costumes and performances have deeply influenced Korean folk arts, giving Korean shamanism a distinct cultural and artistic character." Unlike the Western view that defines the human world as good and the spirit world as evil, Korean shamanism sees shamans as mediators between the two, a belief that gives K-musok its unique power. "Western occult stories focus on exorcists, while 'KPop Demon Hunters' shows a more Eastern view. Rumi, a half hunter-spirit, and Jinu, a grim reaper, reveal human qualities, moving beyond the simple divide of good and evil. Even Hollywood now borrows from Asian values, avoiding absolute dualism, showing how Eastern philosophy is shaping occult content." Korean shamanism's power as occult content comes from its cultural freshness rather than religion. "Korea is not tied to a single religion, allowing shamanism to keep its own identity alongside others. Unlike Japan, where cultural images were long ago exhausted by Japonism, Korea's shamanism remains fresh, offering untapped images that enrich today's content." K-musok content is diversifying and becoming a key icon of K-culture with growing potential. Choi Soo-hyung, Arirang News.

[Short-form] Seoul’s Hidden Gem Libraries

2025/08/04 16:34

Seoul’s outdoor libraries are taking a short break during the peak summer heat. Time to discover the city’s hidden gem libraries!

[Hallyu People] Meet the Seoul representative for a Korean speech contest to take place at APEC

2025/08/04 16:34

In less than three months from now, the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting is being held in Korea's southeastern city of Gyeongju. Several side events are taking place on this occasion. That includes a Korean speech contest for international students. For today's "Hallyu People" segment we are joined by Ndagijimana Frank Aimee Rodrigue who will be taking part in that contest as the representative of Seoul. Hello Frank! 1) Could you please introduce yourself to our viewers? 2) Frank, you major in bioinformatics at Seoul National University and are currently pursuing a doctoral degree. What brought you to Korea and what made you decide to study in that field in Korea? 3) You represent Seoul at the speech contest in Gyeongju , meaning you're the winner of the preliminaries at the contest in Seoul. Congratulations! What made you take part in this event? 4) Following the preliminaries in Seoul, you are now getting ready for the main contest, that's part of the "University Student Mock APEC Summit"? How are you preparing right now? 5) As an international student taking part in this event, you are also promoting the city of Gyeongju. If you had to do a speech on Gyeongju, what keywords would you choose? 6) Is there any specific place you would like to visit or anything you want to experience during your trip to Gyeongju? 7) Do you have a final message wishing for the success of APEC? - What would be a similar historical city to Gyeongju in Rwanda where you are from? -How is Korea being perceived in Rwanda? Are people in your country experiencing the K-wave or hallyu, and if yes to what extent? Thank you very much Frank for sharing your story with us today. Good luck on your contest in Gyeongju! Thank you Walter, see you back tomorrow.

[On-point] S. Korea's Lee expected to meet Trump this month in major foreign policy test

2025/08/04 12:37

As we just heard, officials from South Korea and the United States are working to set a date for a summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump which is set to be a key test for Lee's foreign policy. For more on this, we're joined by Professor Robert Kelly, Professor of International Relations at Pusan National University. Security is expected to be at the top of the agenda when they do meet and the United States will likely ask Korea to increase its defense contributions. How do you think the talks will play out? Could the upcoming summit change the role of American forces that are stationed here,.. and could this align with a potential shift in Trump's policy toward East Asian countries, as Washington tries to better counter China? Seoul and Washington also recently struck a trade agreement, setting the tariff rate at 15%. Could there also be further discussions on the details of the deal when Trump and Lee meet? Trump has made it clear he's putting American interests over those of U.S. allies. How do you think the Lee administration should manage its alliance with the United States over the course of its five-year term? Alright, Professor Kelly, thank you so much for your insight today. We appreciate it.

Four-term lawmaker Jung Chung-rae becomes ruling DP’s leader

2025/08/04 12:36

The ruling Democratic Party launched its new leadership at its national convention over the weekend, electing four-term lawmaker Jung Chung-rae as party leader. Our political correspondent Shin Ha-young reports. Four-term lawmaker Jung Chung-rae has been elected as the new leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. At the party's national convention on Saturday, Jung won with 61-point-7-4 percent of the vote, defeating rival candidate Park Chan-dae , the party's former floor leader. In his acceptance speech, Jung said that he would quickly push ahead with prosecution, media, and judiciary reforms. "As soon as the party convention ends, I will launch task forces to reform the prosecution, media and judiciary. I will complete these three reforms before the Chuseok holiday." During the press conference, Jung said he is unable to work hand in hand with the main opposition People Power Party as it still includes members who support former President Yoon Suk Yeol. "We're at war with the insurrection. It's not about ruling and opposition parties." Jung also emphasized that he would make sure the party, government, and presidential office work together as one to support the success of the Lee Jae Myung administration. According to the Presidential Office, President Lee called Jung on Saturday to congratulate him on his win and emphasized the importance of a "one team spirit" and working effectively for the people. Saturday's convention was held to fill the leadership vacancy after former party leader Lee Jae Myung was elected president in June. Jung will serve the rest of Lee's term over the next year and lead the party in next year's local elections. First on his public schedule as the new leader, Jung visited the city of Naju in Jeollanam-do Province on Sunday to help with flood recovery efforts. Meanwhile, following Kim Min-seok's resignation from the Supreme Council after becoming Prime Minister, the vacant seat was filled by Hwang Myeong-seon , the sole candidate, who was elected with a majority of the vote. Shin Ha-young, Arirang News.

Hamas releases videos of Israeli hostages

2025/08/04 12:35

Over in the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to eliminate Hamas and secure the release of hostages after videos of two visibly emaciated Israelis being held by the militant group were released. Lee Seung-jae has more. Palestinian militant group Hamas has released two videos of two Israeli hostages, Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski. The video released by Hamas on Saturday, showed David saying that he hasn't eaten for days and is digging his own grave. "What I'm doing now is digging the grave, the grave I consider is for myself, because every day that goes by, every day that goes by my body is weakening, getting skinnier and weaker. To me it seems that I'm heading towards my own death." The video of Rom Braslavski was released by Hamas on Thursday, showing the 22-year-old pleading for food, water, and rescue. Both men were abducted from a music festival by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attacks. In response to the hostage video, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed to destroy Hamas, adding that Israel is determined to free the hostages. " I am filled with even stronger determination to free our kidnapped sons, to eliminate Hamas, and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to the State of Israel." Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met with families of hostages held by Hamas on Saturday. There, he told the families that Washington is working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza. The envoy also said that the militant group was prepared to disarm in a move to end the war, however, the group has repeatedly said it will not lay down its weapons. Witkoff is currently visiting Israel as the U.S. is facing mounting pressure over the worsening humanitarian conditions in the enclave. Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.

S. Korea-U.S. summit will be held within August: FM Cho Hyun

2025/08/04 12:34

The first summit between presidents Lee Jae Myung and Donald Trump will take place within this month according to Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Sunday. Speaking upon his return from Washington, D.C., Cho said that the final coordination is being made to arrange a summit within August but did not disclose the date. In talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the two sides began preparing for a leaders' meeting in D.C., after Trump declared a meeting within two weeks. Cho added he and Rubio had reaffirmed the combined defense posture of South Korean and U.S. forces, and commitment to extended deterrence. On the matter of "alliance modernization", Cho emphasized Seoul's efforts to strengthen defense amid global uncertainty, while addressing concerns over ties with China.