Special counsel appeals Seoul mayor's acquittal in political funds case

The Korea Times - Oct 30, 2026

A special counsel team said Friday it has appealed the acquittal of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in a political funds case linked to the 2021 mayoral by-election. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team said it filed the appeal with the Seoul High Court earlier in the day, a week after the appellate court overturned a lower court ruling to acquit the mayor of violating the Political Funds Act. Oh had been indicted on charges of having a political supporter make payments totaling 33 million won ($24,700) for opinion polls he allegedly received on 10 occasions from self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 2021 election. The lower court found him partially guilty of the charges and sentenced him to a 10 million-won fine, which, if finalized, would have stripped him of his mayoralty. But the appellate court reversed the conviction, ruling that the only direct evidence for the allegations was Myung's testimony, which it said could not be fully trusted. "Denying the credibility of Myung's testimony was unlawful, as it exceeded the bounds of the principle of free evaluation of evidence," t

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Seoul converts underused section of subway station into sports lounge

Seoul converts underused section of subway station into sports lounge

Seoul has turned an underused underground subway concourse into a recreational hub where outdoor runners can change clothes and store gear before hitting nearby riverside trails, while park golf enthusiasts can play indoors regardless of the weather. The facility — the ninth in a municipal network curiously named "Fun Stations" — opened Friday on basement level 1 of Shinmokdong Station on Line 9, offering direct access to the adjacent Anyangcheon stream running paths. The facility, located near exits 1 and 2 on the station's basement level, features a 213-square-meter runner support area and a 228-square-meter indoor park golf center equipped with six screen-based hitting bays. The runner facilities include three changing rooms for men and women each, along with 14 lockers in each section, and are available free of charge. Lockers cost 3,000 won ($2.10) for four hours, while vending machines offer running essentials such as shower wipes and energy gels. The runner support area operates from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., covering subway service hours. The indoor park golf center operates from 8

Kookmin University researcher, student win Global Youth Award

Kookmin University researcher, student win Global Youth Award

A researcher and a student from Kookmin University have each received an award at the 2026 Sustainable Smart City Champions Session, the university said. The event was part of Smart Life Week 2026, co-hosted by the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO) and the Seoul Metropolitan Government at Coex in southern Seoul from Oct. 6-8. Ra Min-su, a researcher at the university’s Global Development Cooperation Institute, and Ji Ye-jun, a senior at the Kookmin International Business School, won the 2026 WeGO Global Youth Award on Oct. 7. Ji is also a student supporter of the university’s HUSS (Humanities and Social Sciences) Global Symbiosis Project. WeGO is an international organization that promotes smart and sustainable urban development through cooperation among local governments, businesses and other relevant organizations around the world. Through its Sustainable Smart City Champions program, launched in 2022, the organization provides educational programs and international exchange opportunities in smart cities, digital governance and sustainable development to nurture the

Appellate sentencing in Yoon's high-stakes election law case to be broadcast live

Appellate sentencing in Yoon's high-stakes election law case to be broadcast live

Next week's sentencing hearing for former President Yoon Suk Yeol over election law violation charges will be broadcast live, court officials said Friday, a high-stakes ruling that could force the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) to return nearly $30 million in reimbursed election expenses. The Seoul High Court decided to allow broadcasters to air the sentencing scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday, officials said. Yoon was sentenced by a district court in July to a 18-month prison term, suspended for three years, for making false statements during the campaign ahead of the March 2022 presidential election that he ultimately won as the PPP's candidate. Yoon was charged with falsely claiming during a December 2021 press event that he had never introduced a lawyer to a former tax official, who is the older brother of former senior prosecutor Yoon Dae-jin, a close associate of Yoon from his time in the prosecution service. He also faces charges of lying in a January 2022 interview by claiming a party official had introduced him to shaman Jeon Seong-bae, while denying that he and his wife,

Sejong University professor to co-organize int'l workshop on AI chip technologies in Athens

Sejong University professor to co-organize int'l workshop on AI chip technologies in Athens

Park Gi-ho, a professor in the Department of Computer Sciences and Engineering at Sejong University, will co-organize the Eighth International Workshop on Domain Specific System Architecture in Athens, Greece, Sunday. The university said the workshop is part of the 59th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Microarchitecture (MICRO 2026), which is scheduled to run from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 in Athens. The workshop aims to share the latest research advances in artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors and domain-specific system architecture and promote research collaboration among experts from academia and industry worldwide. Key topics will include systematic design methodologies for AI accelerators, programming environments for next-generation neural processing units and memory technologies for robotic foundation models. The workshop is co-organized by Park, professor Sim Jae-woong of Seoul National University and professor Kim Hye-soon of the Georgia Institute of Technology. The International Symposium on Microarchitecture is a conference with a 59-year history in computer systems and proce

Sungkyunkwan University President Yoo reappointed for second term

Sungkyunkwan University President Yoo reappointed for second term

Sungkyunkwan University President Yoo Ji-beom has been reappointed for a second four-year term. The university's board of trustees approved Yoo's reappointment at a meeting Thursday. His new term will run from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2030. The board credited Yoo with strengthening the university's research capabilities and global competitiveness, particularly through improvements in international university rankings. It also highlighted his vision for advancing institutional innovation in the artificial intelligence era. The university rose 19 places to 68th among 2,297 institutions worldwide in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, released earlier this month. It ranked third in Korea and first among private universities, extending its streak of annual improvements in the rankings to four consecutive years. The university also ranked among the top five universities in education, research and graduate outcomes in The Korea Times University Rankings. Yoo graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in metallurgical engineering in 1982 and later earned a master

Defense minister says Hegseth dismissed talk of alliance strains as 'fake news'

Defense minister says Hegseth dismissed talk of alliance strains as 'fake news'

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said Friday that U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had dismissed recent speculation about strains in the Korea-U.S. alliance as “fake news” during their meeting earlier this week. Kang made the remarks to reporters as he arrived at the defense ministry in Seoul after attending the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in the Philippines. Asked whether the two sides had any disagreements, Kang said there were none. “Secretary Hegseth dismissed all the talk going around as ‘fake news,’” Kang said. “And I agree with him.” “I don’t believe such talk can shake the strength of the Korea-U.S. alliance, nor should it,” he added. Kang and Hegseth held their first face-to-face meeting Wednesday in Cebu, Philippines, on the sidelines of ADMM-Plus. The meeting lasted about 40 minutes, longer than the 15 minutes initially scheduled. Their talks came amid concerns about the state of the alliance, including the postponement of the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), differences over the timeline for transferring wartime operatio

Newly designed buildings to supply 8% of electricity in Seoul

Newly designed buildings to supply 8% of electricity in Seoul

Newly approved buildings across the capital of Korea are expected to generate 3,811 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy annually, driven by city mandates requiring solar facades and geothermal heating in building designs. According to data released Friday by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the projected clean energy output — stemming from architectural plans reviewed between 2022 and 2026 — will equal roughly 8 percent of the city’s total electricity consumption once construction is complete. The output from these upcoming structures is 1.5 times the annual capacity of the Seoul Thermal Power Plant, the city’s historic energy anchor, and represents 85 percent of all renewable energy capacity installed in the capital over the previous 17 years combined. The push comes as Korea works to expand its clean energy mix, where renewable sources currently account for around 9 to 11 percent of national power generation — leaving urban centers like Seoul, which relies heavily on power drawn from outside regions, under pressure to boost local self-sufficiency. The shift reflects a broade

President Lee's approval rating falls back to 39%: poll

President Lee's approval rating falls back to 39%: poll

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has slipped to below 40 percent following a brief rebound last week, a poll showed Friday. The survey, conducted by Gallup Korea from Tuesday through Thursday on 1,000 people aged 18 and older, showed that positive assessments of Lee's performance fell 1 percentage point from a week earlier to 39 percent. Negative assessments also fell 1 percentage point to 49 percent. Lee's approval rating had remained below 40 percent in Gallup polls since early September, before rebounding to the 40 percent mark in the previous survey. Among those who positively assessed Lee's performance, 17 percent cited diplomacy, followed by economic and livelihood issues at 14 percent, and communication at 8 percent. Real estate policies and economic concerns were among the main reasons cited by those who disapproved of Lee's performance at 19 percent and 17 percent, respectively. Another 10 percent cited concerns over security and policies on North Korea. Support for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea fell 2 percentage points to 35 percent, slipping back to its lowest le

Excessive cutting of support columns blamed for deadly Ulsan power plant collapse

Excessive cutting of support columns blamed for deadly Ulsan power plant collapse

The deadly collapse of a boiler tower at a power plant in Ulsan last November was caused by excessive cutting of support columns ahead of its planned demolition by explosives, according to a probe result released Friday. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport released the findings of an investigation committee into the deadly accident at the Ulsan Thermal Power Plant, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul. A 63.4-meter-tall boiler tower at Unit 5 of the plant collapsed during preparations for demolition, killing seven workers and injuring two others. Investigators found that too many support columns had been cut due to flawed structural assessments, leaving them unable to support the weight of the upper structure. To prevent similar accidents, the committee suggested stricter on-site inspections, new technical standards for demolition work and tighter oversight of high-risk demolition projects.

President Lee extends deep condolences over death of veteran actor Choi Bool-am

President Lee extends deep condolences over death of veteran actor Choi Bool-am

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday extended "deep condolences" over the death of popular veteran actor Choi Bool-am, calling him the "father of our era." Choi died the previous day at the age of 87 at a hospital, where he was receiving treatment. Since beginning his television career in 1967, Choi had been known for his portrayals of paternal characters in popular TV series. "You will long remain in the hearts of people as a detective who safeguards justice and a loving father," Lee wrote on his X account, referring to the TV roles that made Choi widely loved. The president quoted Choi's remarks, "Becoming a good actor starts with becoming a good person," lauding the exemplary, heartwarming care Choi had shown for people and the world. "We will engrave in our hearts your will to look into the shadowy places of society and care for the wounds of neighbors," Lee noted. "We will remember you, who had stood by the people for a long time as the father of our era," he added, wishing him to rest in peace.

Korea's indigenous KF-21 fighter jet conducts 1st formation flight with US aircraft

Korea's indigenous KF-21 fighter jet conducts 1st formation flight with US aircraft

Korea's indigenous KF-21 fighter jet has made its first formation flight with U.S. aircraft over the West Sea, Seoul officials said Friday. The KF-21 Boramae, assigned to the 156th Fighter Squadron, 16th Fighter Wing, conducted the joint aerial formation flight with U.S. Air Force jets last Friday, according to military officials. The U.S. side deployed the U-2S Dragon Lady, a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, and the F-35 and F-16 fighter jets, whereas the Korean Air Force mobilized its F-35, F-15K and FA-50 fighter jets, along with the KF-21 Boramae. It marked the first time the KF-21 Boramae has flown in formation with U.S. air force assets. The formation flight came shortly before the allies launched their biannual combined air drills, dubbed Freedom Flag, on Monday, aimed at enhancing the joint interoperability of their forces. A Korean Air Force official explained that the flight was aimed at accumulating experience for the KF-21 ahead of the Freedom Flag drills. "The Friendship Flight demonstrated the combined interoperability and combat readiness of the U.S. Air Force and ROKA

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