Beijing and Manila blame each other over South China Sea medical mission

South China Morning Post - Oct 9, 2026

China and the Philippines have traded accusations over a medical evacuation near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, as Manila reports a near-doubling of Chinese military and coastguard vessels around contested South China Sea features in September. The latest exchange centred on the evacuation on Thursday of an injured Filipino serviceman from the BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine naval vessel grounded on Second Thomas Shoal decades ago. Known as Renai Jiao in China and Ayungin Shoal in the...

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Lee hails Korean writing system as 'face' of country on 100th Hangeul Day

Lee hails Korean writing system as 'face' of country on 100th Hangeul Day

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday hailed the Korean writing system – Hangeul – as the "face" of the country as he marked the 100th anniversary of Hangeul Day. "Writing is the face of the country and language is its heart," Lee wrote on Facebook, using South Korea's official name. "The strength of our language and writing is the competitiveness of the Republic of Korea." Hangeul was invented by King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) in 1443 and promulgated three years later to augment the existing writing system based on the Chinese script. Hangeul Day was established in 1926 by the Korean Language Society as Koreans sought to preserve their language and writing system under the brutal 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule of Korea. "A century ago, our ancestors devoted all their efforts to preserve our language and writing system," Lee wrote. "It was a determination that even though they had lost their country, they could not lose our spirit and identity." Lee said the writing system is now learned by people across the world, noting that King Sejong Institute, which teaches Korean lan

Lee's approval rating remains at 37%: poll

Lee's approval rating remains at 37%: poll

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating held steady at 37 percent this week, with disapproval falling to 51 percent, a poll showed Friday. Positive assessment of Lee's performance remained unchanged from the last poll conducted three weeks earlier, according to the Gallup Korea survey conducted from Tuesday through Thursday on 1,000 people aged 18 and older. Lee's disapproval rating fell 5 percentage points from 56 percent in the previous poll. Among those who positively assessed Lee's performance, 24 percent cited foreign affairs, followed by economic and livelihood issues at 14 percent. Among those who negatively assessed his performance, 18 percent cited his real estate policies, followed by defense, security and North Korea policy at 15 percent. Support for the ruling Democratic Party fell 5 percentage points from the previous survey to 35 percent, marking the lowest since the launch of Lee's administration in June last year. Support for the main opposition People Power Party fell 1 percentage point to 26 percent. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points

Industry ministry denies report of Lutnick's dissatisfaction with spy agency

Industry ministry denies report of Lutnick's dissatisfaction with spy agency

The industry ministry on Friday formally dismissed a local news report alleging U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had voiced dissatisfaction with South Korea's spy agency during bilateral negotiations on strategic investment projects. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources issued the denial in response to a local newspaper article claiming Lutnick had conveyed Washington's discontent with South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS). "We clearly state that the claim that Commerce Secretary Lutnick expressed distrust of the NIS to Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan during negotiations on strategic investment projects in the U.S. is not true," the ministry said. The ministry called on the newspaper to report accurately to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and confusion. The NIS issued a similar notice to the press, saying it had received no information regarding the alleged remark by Lutnick. Washington has partially restricted Seoul's access to intelligence on North Korea-related technology since April in protest against the unification minister's disclosure of information

N. Korea revs up festive mood ahead of party founding anniversary

N. Korea revs up festive mood ahead of party founding anniversary

North Korea has held a series of events marking the upcoming founding anniversary of the country's ruling party, state media reported Friday, revving up a festive mood ahead of this week's celebration. The General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea and the Socialist Women's Union of Korea held separate concerts Thursday in celebration of the 81st anniversary of the Workers' Party, which falls on Saturday this year, according to the Rodong Sinmun, one of the North's most-widely read newspapers. China's Ambassador to Pyongyang Wang Yajun also delivered a flower basket to the North's ruling party on behalf of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on Thursday to mark the anniversary, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). A separate flower basket from the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang was also delivered alongside those from other foreign missions in the country, including Vietnam, Iran and Cuba. The U.S.-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that preparations for a possible celebratory event for the anniversary appear to be under way at Mirim Airport in Pyongyang,

PM vows efforts to uphold value of Hangeul in AI era

PM vows efforts to uphold value of Hangeul in AI era

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook on Friday pledged to make efforts to uphold the value of the Korean writing system, Hangeul, even in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). Han made the remarks during a ceremony celebrating the centenary of Hangeul Day, which commemorates the Korean script created by King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) in 1443 and promulgated in 1446. "The government will do its best so that Hangeul is loved not only by our people but people around the world and so that its value is maintained even in the era of artificial intelligence," she said. Han, a former chief executive of online portal giant Naver, said the value of language has become increasingly more important, noting its role connecting people with AI. She shared plans to increase the number of types of Korean language corpora used to train AI from the current 174 to 340 by 2030 so that the technology better understands the language. Han also noted the country plans to expand the number of King Sejong Institutes, which teach the Korean language overseas, from the current 273 to more than 350 by 2030. M

More cafes, PC rooms found violating food safety rules

More cafes, PC rooms found violating food safety rules

Internet cafes accounted for three-quarters of food hygiene violations since 2020 at leisure venues popular with children and teenagers, while inspections of kids cafes have fallen by nearly half, according to data from the office of Rep. Seo Young-seok of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Friday. Authorities recorded 782 violations of the Food Sanitation Act at kids cafes, internet cafes, comic book cafes and board game cafes from 2020 through June this year. The figures come from Ministry of Food and Drug Safety data submitted to DPK lawmakers on the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee. Internet cafes, known locally as "PC bang," accounted for 588 cases, or 75.2 percent, followed by kids cafes with 121, comic book cafes with 38 and board game cafes with 35. Failure to complete mandatory hygiene training was the most common violation at 464 cases, or 59.3 percent. It was followed by failure to undergo health checkups at 107, violations of operator compliance rules at 78, breaches of sanitary handling standards at 67 and facility standards violations at 40. Inter

Ambience takes center stage at BIFF opener 'The Table: Day and Night'

Ambience takes center stage at BIFF opener 'The Table: Day and Night'

As director Kim Jong-kwan noted, the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) opening film, "The Table: Day and Night," is dedicated to the beauty of the fleeting little moments in life. The romantic anthology film, starring a solid ensemble of actors including Kim Min-ha, Shim Eun-kyung and Han Sun-hwa, portrays the conversations between four different couples who visit the venue through summer and autumn. Kim marvelously crafts the warm and brisk air of a cafe probably located in a quiet neighborhood in Seoul, spending quite some time capturing the tables, the cups and saucers and the portraits of the diverse customers visiting the venue. Strangers come and go, having conversations on everything from getting loans to finding the right person. Spoken language is not the only means of conversation in the cafe, with a group of lively girls who use sign language appearing to be regulars. The first vignette features "Pachinko" star Kim and Joo Joong-hyuk, as Yoo-jin, a young woman who wears a broken watch gifted by a relative, and Hyeon-oh, a young man fascinated with the small world that e

Police expand financial hacking probe team to 43, add forensic specialists

Police expand financial hacking probe team to 43, add forensic specialists

Police have expanded the team investigating a recent series of hacking attacks on financial institutions to 43 members from the previous 28, adding specialists in digital forensics and international cooperation. The National Office of Investigation, the investigative arm of the Korean National Police Agency, announced the reinforcement Friday. “We are investigating thoroughly, securing relevant data and analyzing the affected systems,” police said, adding that they are also pursuing international cooperation, including blocking the servers used in the attacks. Data leaks have been confirmed at seven financial firms, including major commercial banks, and police opened a formal investigation on Tuesday. The announcement came amid questions over whether the case will be handed to the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (SCIA), which launched Oct. 2 and took over the investigation of major crimes, including cybercrime, from the now-abolished prosecutors’ office. Under the law governing the SCIA, police and other investigative bodies must notify the agency immediately when they judge a c

Spy agency snub raises US alliance concerns in S. Korea

Spy agency snub raises US alliance concerns in S. Korea

A recent snub of Seoul's spy agency during a trilateral meeting with Washington and Tokyo has heightened concerns over possible friction in the South Korea-U.S. alliance, sources said Friday. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) on Thursday acknowledged that it had been excluded from the June meeting on North Korean cyber threats, after a news report said the agency had been left out at Washington's request. While the NIS downplayed the incident, the exclusion has fueled concerns over bilateral ties, with continued reports of friction between the two partners. Earlier in the day, the industry ministry dismissed a local news report alleging U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had voiced distrust of the NIS during bilateral negotiations on strategic investment projects. In light of the reports, a senior ruling bloc insider acknowledged that "various issues" between the two sides have had an impact on overall bilateral ties. "It is not good for bilateral relations to be shaky like this," the official told Yonhap News Agency by phone. "It is never desirable for problems to arise in the

Ex-university student jailed for 7 years for rape, sexual assault and voyeurism

Ex-university student jailed for 7 years for rape, sexual assault and voyeurism

A Hong Kong court has sentenced a former university student to seven years in prison for raping and sexually targeting five women, with some of the crimes taking place at orientation camps. The 31-year-old defendant was sentenced on Friday at the High Court after a jury found him guilty of one count of rape, another of voyeurism and three counts of indecent assault. The five convictions concerned offences committed between January and August 2023. The defendant, identified only by his initials...

Bessent may skip Apec in Hong Kong to focus on Trump’s Shenzhen visit, sources say

Bessent may skip Apec in Hong Kong to focus on Trump’s Shenzhen visit, sources say

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent may skip a meeting of Apec finance ministers in Hong Kong later this month to focus on preparing for President Donald Trump’s historic visit to Shenzhen in November, sources told the South China Morning Post. Bessent is expected to meet Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng in Shenzhen ahead of Trump’s visit – when Trump will again hold talks with President Xi Jinping – as the two sides look to secure a longer extension of the bilateral trade truce, which is due to...

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