Category: Korea-General Topics

A smartphone is kind of a weird gift to give considering the security threat it poses which Lee made fun of:

President Lee Jae Myung has received a set of Xiaomi smartphones and traditional Chinese calligraphy tools from Chinese President Xi Jinping following their first summit talks, as the two leaders shared a lighthearted exchange about communication security.

As the two sides exchanged their gifts on Saturday, Xi presented Lee with two smartphones made by Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, noting that the displays on the phones are Korean-made.

“Is the line secure?” Lee quipped. Xi replied through an interpreter, “You can check if there is a backdoor.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Trump already signed a trade deal with Japan so we will see if South Korea decides to follow Japan’s lead or not and sign a trade deal as well:

Hosting the APEC summit for the first time in 20 years gives Lee a rare opportunity to welcome the U.S. and Chinese leaders on his home turf after less than five months in office. 

Lee is scheduled to hold summit talks with Trump on Tuesday and with Xi on Saturday. Consultations are under way to arrange a meeting with Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday.

The stakes are particularly high for Lee’s meeting with Trump as Seoul and Washington are in intense negotiations to narrow gaps over South Korea’s US$350 billion investment pledge, aimed at finalizing a trade deal that would reduce U.S. tariffs on Korean goods. 

Whether the two sides can clinch an agreement in time for the summit remains uncertain as negotiations continue over key sticking points, including the financing of the investment package. 

Wednesday’s summit will mark Lee and Trump’s second in-person meeting following their August talks at the White House.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

People should really watch the documentary Pink Ribbons Inc. This documentary shows how these breast cancer fundraisers raise little money for breast cancer research. Instead the money that is raised is used to sustain the breast cancer fundraiser industry. It additionally allows celebrities and businesses to virtual signal to the female demographic while doing little to nothing for breast cancer research. It is good to see that people are calling out this behavior in South Korea:

Charity galas are meant to blend glamour with goodwill. But when the spotlight shifts too much toward spectacle and the funds raised fall short, public criticism often follows.

That is what happened to W Korea.

On Sunday, the magazine issued a public apology after its annual breast cancer awareness campaign, Love Your W, was criticized for feeling more like a celebrity party than a charity event, especially given the modest amount it raised.

The company apologized four days after Wednesday’s event in Seoul sparked backlash online.

“Since 2006, Love Your W has focused on raising awareness about the importance of early detection of breast cancer,” the magazine said in a statement. “However, we recognize that the format and atmosphere of this year’s event did not reflect the purpose of the campaign, and we take these concerns seriously.”

“Most importantly, we deeply apologize to breast cancer patients and their families for any discomfort or hurt we may have caused. We also apologize to those who participated with good intentions and were affected by the controversy. We are reflecting on our shortcomings,” it added.

W Korea said it plans to review how the event is organized and managed to prevent similar issues in the future. The magazine has also deleted all posts related to the event from its Instagram account.

However, the apology left many questions unanswered, particularly about how much money was raised.

Many questioned how a campaign that has been running for nearly two decades, supported by top celebrities and luxury brands, had reportedly raised only about 300 million won ($210,000) in total. This amount was revealed by data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Rep. Lee Soo-jin of the Democratic Party of Korea.

In response, W Korea reportedly clarified that total donations from 2006 to 2024 amount to around 960 million won, not 300 million. The smaller figure referred only to direct contributions made under the magazine’s name. Including this year’s planned donation of 150 million won, the total comes to about 1.1 billion won over 20 years — still a disappointing sum to many.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

South Korea has a well respected education system that has provided workers for some of the world’s greatest companies, but the current education minister wants to make major changes:

Korea’s education system is at a turning point, facing both a declining student population and the pressures of a highly competitive academic environment, with Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin calling for greater diversity to drive innovation in higher education.

“Diversity in the student body positively affects creative thinking and learning outcomes. It goes beyond equal opportunity — it plays a decisive role in improving the quality of university education,” Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin told reporters Monday at Government Complex Sejong. 

The press conference, held a month after Choi took office, outlined the ministry’s vision and priorities for higher education under the Lee Jae Myung administration.

Citing examples from overseas, he noted that many foreign universities have established dedicated committees to promote diversity across race, gender and socioeconomic background.

“Some Korean universities are also making such efforts, which is an encouraging sign,” he said. “Expanding diversity should be a key direction for the future of Korean higher education.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It is pretty clear that this woman must be completely crazy and unsafe to return to society:

A local court on Monday sentenced a teacher to life in prison for murdering a 7-year-old student at their school in Daejeon in February.

The Daejeon District Court handed down the sentence to Myeong Jae-wan, 48, after convicting her of stabbing the girl, Kim Ha-neul, to death.

“Murder is a crime that takes away the life of a human being, and an unprecedented case occurred where an elementary school teacher brutally murdered a victim aged only seven at the school where she worked,” the bench said.

“She committed a cruel case of a child not being protected at school, where she should have been safest, even though as an elementary school teacher she was in a position to protect the victim.”

Myeong is accused of luring Ha-neul to a classroom in the afternoon of Feb. 5, when the girl was leaving an afterschool care program, by offering her a book and then stabbing her there with a weapon she had prepared in advance.

Myeong was also charged with kicking and damaging a school computer and assaulting another teacher who had asked to leave work together, several days before the murder.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if any of these people knew there were going to be arrested as soon as they got on the airplane:

South Korean nationals who had been detained in Cambodia arrive at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, under police escort on Oct. 18, 2025. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

 A total of 64 South Koreans who had been detained in Cambodia over alleged online scams arrived home early Saturday on a chartered flight and most of them would face criminal probes as suspects, police officials said. 

The large-scale repatriation came after the torture death of a South Korean college student who was lured to work by a criminal ring in Cambodia that triggered public outrage in South Korea. 

The Korean Air plane carrying them arrived at Incheon International Airport at 8:35 a.m., about five hours after leaving Techo International Airport near Phnom Penh.

Their arrival came days after a South Korean government response team was dispatched to Cambodia to assist the Korean nationals implicated in online scams run by local crime organizations.

The South Korean nationals were reportedly placed under arrest once they boarded the plane and were set to be taken to police stations nationwide for investigations about their alleged involvement in criminal activity.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but it appears these Koreans are suspected of helping the Chinese gangs to lure Koreans to Cambodia to be exploited. Their defense will probably be that they were forced to it by the gangs. This is definitely a mess for the ROK authorities to figure out.

It makes sense that both these leaders would want to make official visits with President Lee since they will both be in Gyeongju for the APEC summit:

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are both likely to pay state visits to South Korea during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering later this month, diplomatic sources said Thursday. 

Seoul is in talks with Washington and Beijing over the arrangements for the highly anticipated trips by the two leaders and is fine-tuning details to host both with a state visit, the sources said.

A state visit is the highest form of diplomatic visit by a foreign head of state, during which the host country extends the utmost ceremonial protocol, including an elaborate official welcome with military honors and a state banquet.

If realized, their visits would take place in Gyeongju, the host city for APEC in southeastern South Korea, rather than Seoul, possibly in a simplified manner in terms of the protocol, considering the schedules coinciding with the multilateral gathering, the sources said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.