Rocket debris hitting US homeland is ‘embarrassing’ for China, says astronomer

South China Morning Post - Oct 23, 2026

A scorched hunk of metal that turned up in a US farmer’s cornfield may have handed China an awkward moment and technically an “international incident”, according to a British astronomer who has tracked rocket launches for more than 30 years. The farmer found the bowl-shaped object, measuring about 3.35 metres (11 feet) across, while harvesting corn in west-central Minnesota on October 14. Online, some residents joked that aliens had landed, while Chinese internet users said it looked like a...

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Science minister vows to come up with pan-ministerial measures to regulate smart glasses

Science minister vows to come up with pan-ministerial measures to regulate smart glasses

Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said Friday his ministry will make efforts to devise measures to address problems caused by smart glasses, vowing to speed up related guidelines already under preparation. Bae made the remarks during a parliamentary audit held at the National Assembly when a lawmaker asked whether the ministry is planning to deal with concerns over covert filming and privacy violations caused by such devices. "We will swiftly come up with response measures from a pan-ministerial level," Bae said, noting that President Lee Jae Myung pointed out the issue during a recent Cabinet meeting. "We are preparing a guideline but will speed up its progress." Smart glasses are wearable computer frames that integrate digital technology into eyewear, allowing people to film objects with a camera installed on the glasses, or show visual information on the lenses. The technology was brought to the mainstream mostly by Ray-Ban from Meta Platforms Inc. The device has recently face scrutiny in Korea, as a few people have been caught using them to cheat in academic and technical exams or ille

Middle schooler bitten by pet cobra, spotlighting illegal exotic pet ownership

Middle schooler bitten by pet cobra, spotlighting illegal exotic pet ownership

A middle school student bitten by a cobra while trying to trade it illegally has been caught by police, raising concerns about illegal ownership of wild animals. According to the police, a 14-year-old boy in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, was bitten on the back of his hand by a cobra Tuesday, prompting an emergency call to 119. He showed signs of paralysis and was airlifted to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where he received anti-venom treatment. The bite reportedly occurred when he took the cobra out of its cage to sell it to another person. The snake was a forest cobra, which he had obtained through an online community. The species is a designated wild animal under the Wildlife Protection and Management Act, and trading or keeping it is prohibited in principle. Police plan to investigate how the cobra was traded before deciding whether to formally book him. This is the latest case of someone in Korea being caught illegally keeping dangerous wild animals. In July, a crocodile caught in a stream in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, was identified as a Si

Main opposition welcomes Seoul mayor's acquittal in political funds trial

Main opposition welcomes Seoul mayor's acquittal in political funds trial

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Friday welcomed an appeals court's decision to acquit Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in a high-stakes political funds case linked to opinion polls ahead of the 2021 mayoral by-election. Oh, who had been fined 10 million won ($7,500) by a lower court for violating the Political Funds Act and was at risk of losing his mayoral post, was acquitted on appeal. He is affiliated with the PPP. "It is a great relief and at the same time only the right thing that the city administration, entrusted to Mayor Oh Se-hoon by ten million residents of Seoul, can continue without disruption," PPP chief spokesperson Park Choong-kwon said in a commentary. "The ruling shows that the truth always prevails in the end, even if it takes time," he said. Oh had been indicted on charges of having a political supporter make payments totaling 33 million won for opinion polls he allegedly received on 10 occasions from self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 2021 election. Under the Political Funds Act, elected officials are stripped of their seats if they receive

Seoul police step up crowd safety measures for Halloween

Seoul police step up crowd safety measures for Halloween

Police will step up crowd safety measures in major nightlife districts across Seoul for Halloween festivities next week, officials said Friday. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said it will operate a special safety management period from Friday to Nov. 1. During this period, 4,594 police personnel — including 30 riot police units, 120 regional patrol teams, 120 special task force members, 99 detectives and 765 traffic police — will be deployed to Itaewon, Hongdae, Seongsu, Myeongdong and Ikseon-dong, where large crowds are expected to gather. The heightened safety measures come as Seoul prepares for its fourth Halloween since the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush, a tragic incident that claimed 159 lives in a narrow alleyway in the popular nightlife neighborhood. From Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, police will closely manage traffic control in collaboration with local district governments, restricting vehicle access in phases based on crowd density. In major crowd gathering areas like Itaewon and Hongdae, police will also carry out preventive patrols to ease public anxiety caused by a recent s

Culture ministry to audit ex-museum chief over misattributed calligraphy

Culture ministry to audit ex-museum chief over misattributed calligraphy

The culture minister said Friday his ministry will conduct a thorough audit of the former National Museum of Korea chief who resigned over the museum's controversial display of a misattributed calligraphic work from his private collection. You Hong-june stepped down earlier this week after the museum wrongly displayed the calligraphy in an exhibition as the work of a Korean independence activist. The piece was later identified as the work of a prominent pro-Japanese collaborator during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea and turned out to be from You's own private collection. "I think the incident has damaged the reputation and public trust the museum has built over the years," Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young told a lawmaker during a parliamentary audit of the ministry. "The ministry will seek to restore public confidence through a rigorous investigation." The audit will not be limited to the alleged abuse of authority by the former director but will also look into "every procedure involved in the management and authentication of the exhibit at issue," Chae added.

Suspected N. Korean IT worker found at S. Korean firm under false identity for 1st time

Suspected N. Korean IT worker found at S. Korean firm under false identity for 1st time

Police are investigating North Korean information technology (IT) workers suspected of taking jobs at a South Korean company under false identities, the first time authorities have disclosed such a case. The case raises concern that wages earned through such employment are funding Pyongyang’s weapons development, amid a recent large-scale U.S. crackdown on similar remote employment fraud. Police said Thursday that they independently detected one suspected case last year in which a North Korean IT worker fraudulently took a job. The worker was reportedly hired by a private South Korean company and carried out development work. Police are tracing the amount and method of payments while also probing possible organized links. North Korean IT workers are increasingly landing remote jobs at global companies under forged identities and with fast-evolving artificial intelligence (AI) tools, funneling their earnings to Pyongyang. In July, 11 countries, including South Korea, the United States and Japan, issued an alert warning that North Korea relies on a network of skilled IT workers to fund i

Lee appoints special inspector to probe corruption involving first family, aides

Lee appoints special inspector to probe corruption involving first family, aides

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday appointed a former senior prosecutor as special inspector tasked with investigating irregularities involving the president's spouse, close relatives and senior presidential officials. Lee approved the appointment of Choi Kil-su, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said, a day after the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee adopted a confirmation hearing report on him with bipartisan support. The appointment made Choi, a former senior prosecutor, the first presidential watchdog appointed since 2016. Lee earlier nominated him for the post from among three candidates recommended by the ruling and opposition parties, and the bar association. The special inspector is tasked with investigating corruption allegations involving the president's family and relatives, as well as senior presidential aides. The special inspector post was established in 2014 but had remained vacant since its first inspector stepped down in September 2016.

S. Korea proposes military talks with N. Korea over border conflict issue

S. Korea proposes military talks with N. Korea over border conflict issue

South Korea on Friday proposed to hold military talks with North Korea to prevent accidental clashes stemming from unclear border lines in the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). The proposal comes as tensions along the border continue to escalate after three South Korean soldiers clearing a patrol route were injured in a North Korean mine explosion south of the MDL within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) amid Pyongyang's so-called border fortifications. “South Korea's defense ministry is formally proposing official military talks with North Korea. Seoul aims to verify the precise location of the land border, restore military hotlines and discuss measures to prevent accidental clashes in border areas,” Kim Hong-chul, director general for defense policy at the Ministry of National Defense, said in a statement. “The United Nations Command (UNC) can also join the discussion if necessary, with specific dates and venues to be arranged through Panmunjeom." The ministry said it has closely watched North Korean troops construct roads and fences and plant mines and cross the MDL over the course of

Jeonbuk National University, KAIST researchers develop soft robot

Jeonbuk National University, KAIST researchers develop soft robot

A joint research team from Jeonbuk National University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed an ionic soft robot called the Ionograsper that can detect nearby objects and grasp them in response to light. The findings were published in the international journal Advanced Materials, and the paper was selected as a cover article. The study is titled “A Multifunctional Ionograsper Enabling Ion-Redistribution Proximity Sensing and Structural-Reconfiguration-Driven Bidirectional Actuation.” Jeonbuk National University said Thursday that the research was led by Kim Yong-min, a professor at its School of Chemical Engineering, and Moon Hong-chul, a professor in KAIST’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. The university noted that the key innovation lies in a single soft material that serves as both a sensor and an artificial muscle. The robot can be activated by brief exposure to low-intensity ultraviolet light and retains its deformed shape for more than 10 minutes after the light is switched off, without requiring further energy i

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon acquitted in political funds case

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon acquitted in political funds case

An appeals court on Friday acquitted Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of political funding charges linked to opinion polls conducted ahead of his 2021 election, overturning a local court conviction that threatened his tenure and political future. The Seoul High Court panel, led by Judge Ku Hoi-geun, reversed a July ruling that fined Oh 10 million won ($7,500) and ordered him to forfeit 21 million won — a sentence that would have cost him his mayoral post had it become final. The case centered on allegations that Oh commissioned opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election and had his supporter, a businessman named Kim Han-jung, pay for them. The charges involved 10 polls and payments totaling 33 million won. The central dispute was whether Oh had requested the polls and knew that Kim was paying for them. “Myung’s testimony is the only direct evidence on the central issue in this case, but it is inconsistent overall and conflicts with objective circumstances on numerous points, making it difficult to believe,” the judge said. “It is diffic

Arrest warrant sought for woman accused of killing own mother

Arrest warrant sought for woman accused of killing own mother

Police said Friday they have sought an arrest warrant for a woman on suspicion of killing her mother at their home in western Seoul the previous day. The suspect in her 40s allegedly killed her mother in her 60s at 8:15 a.m. Thursday at their home in Seoul's Gangseo Ward and voluntarily called the police. Police arrived at the scene and put her under emergency arrest at around 8:40 a.m., according to the Gangseo Police Station. Police filed for a warrant to formally arrest her Thursday night, officials said. Reasons for the suspect's alleged killing of her own mother were not immediately available. When calling the police, the suspect described the victim as her "stepmother" but the victim was confirmed to be her biological mother. The suspect's daughter told police that she heard the suspect saying the victim had attempted to feed her poisoned food, although police have found no relevant evidence. Investigators have also obtained statements that the suspect had previously expressed negative feelings toward her mother, including using abusive language against her. The suspect is denying the

Korean pop artist Rydia trades verses with Dutch rapper on bilingual single 'Saranghaeyo'

Korean pop artist Rydia trades verses with Dutch rapper on bilingual single 'Saranghaeyo'

In Korea, a pop career is supposed to start in a trainee dormitory when one is a teenager. Rydia’s started in Rotterdam at 39. The Seoul-born singer-songwriter, now 41 and six years into life in the Netherlands, put a music career off for most of her adult life before deciding it was never too late to reinvent herself. She officially launched as an independent artist on June 19. Four months and seven releases later, and she’s about to drop her most openly cross-cultural track yet. “Saranghaeyo” (I Love You), out Oct. 23, pairs her with Dutch rapper Jermaine Kool in a back-and-forth where nobody meets anyone halfway on language. He raps in Dutch. She raps in Korean. The two converge on the chorus, an English-Korean hook that professes love for all the pretty girls, and then, to be fair, all the pretty boys. The collaboration came together almost by accident. Rydia signed up for a K-pop and European crossover songwriting camp run by a Dutch studio, where the producer on her team learned she was Korean and mentioned a friend who loved Korea. “It’s actually funny. I only met him

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