It looks like Hyundai is understanding that the vast majority of consumers do not want to drive an EV. I have always said the focus should be on plug in hybrid because the range anxiety is a real thing when it comes to EVs:

Hyundai Motor will boost sales of its hybrid cars and SUVs as part of its key strategy to ensure profitable growth amid falling sentiment for electric vehicles (EV), the company said Thursday during a conference call.

The decision came as demand for hybrid vehicles is on the gradual rise, after the global EV industry entered a chasm this year. The company displayed the vision after disclosing a slight fall in its first-quarter operating profit.

In a regulatory filing, the carmaker reported an operating profit of 3.55 trillion won ($2.58 billion) in the first quarter, down 2.3 percent from the previous year, hit by an overall sales fall. The company, however, generated robust sales of 40.65 trillion won, up 7.6 percent during the same period.

The company said it will place its management focus on defending its profitability by widening sales for hybrid vehicles and SUVs, at a critical juncture when the global EV industry shows no immediate signs of a rebound.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

If Korea’ Democratic Party has their way, they want President Yoon’s wife to be in jail with her mother:

The Justice Ministry on Tuesday blocked the early release of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s mother-in-law, who has been serving a one-year prison term for forgery, in its latest round of monthly parole reviews, according to officials close to the matter.

Though Choi Eui-soon, the 77-year-old mother of first lady Kim Keon Hee, was excluded from the latest list of inmates to be released early, she will be reconsidered for next month’s review, under the current law.

Following an hours-long monthly review, the ministry’s Probation and Parole Board decided to “hold off” Choi’s parole, rather than “disallowing” it like they did in February. This allows Choi to be included among the list of inmates eligible for parole review next month, while the previous decision in February had led to her exclusion from the subsequent month’s review held in March.

The ministry has yet to release an official statement on its latest decision.

Choi has been incarcerated at the Dongbu Detention Center in Songpa-gu, southern Seoul since July last year, after an appellate court confirmed her one-year prison sentence for falsifying her bank balance certificate to make it appear as though she had deposited 34.9 billion won ($25.4 million) in the account for a land purchase deal, as well as for purchasing property using other people’s names.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

This sounds like a way for the Korean government to reduce Apple’s marketshare in Korea by imposing this ban because any smartphone is a possible recording device not just Apple phones:

South Korea’s military is considering a comprehensive ban on iPhones in military buildings due to increasing concerns about possible leaks of sensitive information through voice recordings, according to multiple military sources on Tuesday.

The sources, a group of ranking officers who wished to speak on condition of anonymity, said that the Air Force headquarters released an internal announcement on the military’s intranet server on April 11, instructing a complete prohibition on any device capable of voice recording and which do not permit third-party apps to control inherent functions, effective June 1, with “iPhones” cited as items subject to the ban.

According to the document, the decision to ban iPhones in the military came from joint meetings held by the headquarters of the Army, Navy and Air Force, located at Gyeryongdae in South Chungcheong Province.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

If Jimmy Kimmel is shocked by how clean Japan is, he would probably have a heart attack if he visited Singapore:

The late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said observing hygiene standards in Japan drastically changed his perspective of cleanliness in the US and that he’d “never felt dirtier” in his home country.

Kimmel said Tuesday evening on an episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that before going to Japan on a seven-day family trip, he thought the US was “pretty buttoned-up” despite having areas for improvement.

“But now, after traveling to Japan, I realize that this place, this USA we’re always chanting about, is a filthy and disgusting country,” he said.

Kimmel added that he was blown away, in particular, by Japan’s bathrooms.

“Not only did I not encounter a single dirty bathroom, the bathrooms in Tokyo and Kyoto are cleaner than our operating rooms here,” Kimmel said.

The TV star lauded the loos at Japanese truck stops, which he said were “cleaner than Jennifer Garner’s teeth.”

“It’s like the whole country is Disneyland, and we’re living at Six Flags. I’ve been home 36 hours. I’ve never felt dirtier,” he said.

Kimmel added that he was impressed by how Tokyo residents didn’t litter despite the lack of public trash cans, which were removed by local authorities in the wake of the 1995 sarin gas attacks.

“They’re like, OK, no more trash cans. Everybody clean up after yourselves. And guess what? They clean up after themselves,” Kimmel said.

“We are like hogs compared to the Japanese. I can’t imagine what they must think of us,” Kimmel said. “Oh, the garbage people. Yes, the Americans. Garbage. Yes.”

Yahoo News

You can read more at the link, but I think his criticism is mostly correct, but in most smaller towns in the U.S. I still find to be very clean, but larger cities due to all the homeless, drugs, and crime have turned into absolute dumps. I believe if homelessness, drugs, and crime issues are improved the cleanliness of cities would improve with it.

The defense industry continues to be a major growth sector for the South Korean economy:

South Korean defense firm Hanwha Aerospace Co. is expected to export an additional batch of Chunmoo multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) to Poland, a deal estimated at around 2.2 trillion won (US$1.6 billion), multiple sources said Tuesday. 

A Polish delegation, led by Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Bejda, plans to observe a test-firing of the K239 Chunmoo MLRS at the state-run Agency for Defense Development’s Anheung testing site in Taean, 109 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Wednesday. 

A successful test of the system, modified to fit a Polish military vehicle, is expected to lead to a deal, sources familiar with the issue said. 

As Poland committed to buying 288 units of the Chunmoo and signed a contract to purchase 218 units in November 2022, the anticipated deal is likely to cover the remaining 70 units, they noted.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Apparently the endangered Korean gorals are having a mass die off:

A dead goral is seen on the side of Misiryeong Road in Seorak National Park on April 4. Courtesy of the National Park Conservation Network

The long-tailed goral, a species both classified as endangered and recognized as a national treasure, has faced significant mortality issues over the past five years, with six out of 10 deaths attributed to exhaustion and starvation.

This issue is especially severe in the regions of Hwacheon and Yanggu in Gangwon Province, near the demilitarized zone, where approximately 80 percent of goral deaths have occurred, with 77.4 percent dying from starvation.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but apparently increased fencing around the areas Gangwon province where they live has made it difficult for these animals to find food.

Just imagine the outcry from the American media if people protested building a mosque like this in the U.S.:

A Korean Muslim YouTuber’s plan to build a mosque in the western port city of Incheon has been stopped in its tracks as a land purchase contract he signed has been canceled upon the request of the landowner amid a backlash from local residents.

According to real estate industry officials, Sunday, YouTuber Daud Kim, or Kim Jae-han, agreed with the property owner the previous day to cancel the contract, signed on April 11.

The property owner asked for the contract cancelation, citing that he did not know about Kim’s plan to build a mosque, according to local media reports.

Kim, who garnered over 5.52 million YouTube subscribers and 3.5 million Instagram followers from posts about living as a Korean Muslim, purchased 284.4 square meters of land on Incheon’s Yeongjong Island for 189.2 million won ($136,500). On April 13, he said in YouTube and Instagram posts that he paid a deposit of 20 million won in advance and was to pay the remainder next month.

“Finally with your help, I have signed a contract for land to build Masjid in Incheon. I can’t believe this day has come. I plan to build a prayer place and Islamic podcast studio for D’awah to Koreans,” he said.

Kim also shared his bank information online, asking for donations from subscribers.

However, Kim’s plan immediately triggered objections within the local community, which protested the construction of the religious facility on land that is near schools and residential areas.

Korea Times

I wonder if this is the reason that Kim converted to being a Muslim:

The backlash against Kim grew as local news media reports resurfaced a sex crime he committed in 2019. Kim was referred to the prosecution for attempting to rape a foreign woman.

You can read more at the link, but of course he was punished for attempted rape because he apologized.