Author: Jae young

July 14, 2025SEOUL – A growing number of South Korean users are demanding answers from Meta after their Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended without clear reason.Some were even flagged for violating policies related to sexual exploitation of minors, allegations users say are not only false but deeply damaging to their personal reputations.Meta Korea has acknowledged a technical error, but frustration continues to grow. Accounts remain locked, and users say there’s no direct way to appeal or receive help.“I never uploaded anything illegal,” said one user during a recent closed-door session with lawmakers. “But now people around me are suspicious.…

July 14, 2025SEOUL – After nearly a year and a half away from their classrooms, South Korean medical students have declared an unconditional return to school, signaling a possible end to one of the most drawn-out standoffs in medical education and health care in Korea.The Korean Medical Student Association announced Saturday that all students would return to school in a joint statement with the Korean Medical Association and National Assembly health and education committee chairs.“We trust the National Assembly and the government, and by returning to school in full, we will commit ourselves to normalizing medical education and the broader…

July 14, 2025SEOUL – The creative team behind Netflix’s record-breaking animated hit “K-pop Demon Hunters” pulled back the curtain on their demon-slaying spectacle in a new behind-the-scenes video released Friday.Directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, alongside voice stars Arden Cho, May Hong, Yoo Ji-young and Ahn Hyo-seop, dished on everything from character design to cultural representation in the clip, which details the meticulous world-building that went into the project.“I’ve always wanted to make an animated movie set in Korea that really showcased our culture and our mythology,” said Kang, noting how demons provided the visual spectacle while K-pop became “the…

July 11, 2025SEOUL – Former President Yoon Suk Yeol skipped his insurrection hearing Thursday, just hours after being detained over evidence-tampering concerns in a separate case, prompting a sharp dispute over the legitimacy of his sudden health-related absence.The special counsel team urged the Seoul Central District Court to take appropriate measures against Yoon so that the former president does not miss his criminal trial hearing in which he was supposed to appear as a defendant. It also decided to summon the arrested former president at 2 p.m. on Friday.“The defendant was absent without a valid reason. We request that the…

July 11, 2025SEOUL – A wave of artificial intelligence certifications has flooded the market in South Korea over the past two years.But according to government data, most of these tests exist only on paper, and have never been used by a single person.As of Wednesday, there were 505 privately issued AI-related certifications registered with the Korea Research Institute for Professional Education and Training, a state-funded body under the Prime Minister’s Office.This is nearly five times the number recorded in 2022, before tools like ChatGPT captured global attention. But more than 90 percent of those certifications had zero test-takers as of…

July 11, 2025SEOUL – Amid Washington’s pressure for a tariff hike on most South Korean goods, the presidential office appears to be open to widening the scope of the tariff negotiations with the US by adding elements that could reshape the two countries’ alliance.Signaling that the ongoing negotiations would not only encompass “tariff and non-tariff issues” but also other elements such as investment, purchases of US goods and regional security, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said he “proposed that (Seoul) take a comprehensive stance in (the handling of) the package (deal).”“Tariffs and non-tariff (issues) are important, but they are part…

July 11, 2025SEOUL – G-Dragon’s “Ubermensch” world tour stop in Bangkok has been canceled, fueling growing frustration among fans over the disorganized rollout of the singer’s highly anticipated comeback tour.G-Dragon’s Bangkok show cancellation notice posted by concert promoter, AEG Presents Asia, Thursday. PHOTO: AEG PRESENTS ASIA’S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT/THE KOREA HERALDConcert organizer AEG Presents Asia announced Thursday that the show, originally scheduled for Aug. 2 at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok, had been called off due to “unforeseen circumstances.”The promoter issued an apology for the inconvenience and disappointment, but failed to provide a specific reason for the cancellation.The sudden change has…

July 10, 2025SEOUL – South Korea’s one-time cash grants — part of a 31.8 trillion-won ($23.1 billion) supplementary budget that will provide every Korean citizen with at least 150,000 won starting July 21 — are not as free as they seem.They come with strings attached, as they are only allowed for use at small businesses, traditional markets and mom-and-pop stores with annual revenue below 3 billion won. As the government puts it, these restrictions are meant to prevent “misuse” and are intended to support small business owners, though some argue this only deepens divides in the retail landscape.The restrictions are…

July 10, 2025SEOUL – At Seoul National University, long regarded as the pinnacle of South Korea’s higher education system, an unsettling pattern has emerged. Over the past four years, 56 professors have left for academic posts overseas, a quiet but steady migration to institutions offering not only higher salaries but also more generous research funding and fewer bureaucratic hurdles.The symbolism is hard to miss: Even South Korea’s most prestigious university struggles to retain talent in an era when intellectual capital moves easily across borders.The numbers point to a deeper problem. Most of the departing professors headed to the United States,…

July 10, 2025SEOUL – The world is bracing for another tariff storm from US President Donald Trump. Delayed initially to take effect on July 9, the new tariff regime has now been postponed again until August 1, giving countries a few more weeks to negotiate. The delay was not a gesture of goodwill but a tactical maneuver. Trump’s initial negotiation timeline was unrealistically short, virtually guaranteeing failure. Yet after the bruising experience of the first round, almost no country can claim to be caught off guard this time. Twenty days may be short by regular standards, but qualitatively, they offer…