This is something that people can expect to see more of in Korea as the technology continues to improve:

Dilly, a self-driving delivery robot developed by food delivery service Baemin’s operator Woowa Brothers, crosses a road while en route to deliver food on Teheran-ro in southern Seoul’s Gangnam District, which has been specially designated for robot delivery, Nov. 7. Courtesy of Woowa Brothers

Robots are gradually becoming part of daily life in Korea, as the country’s recent amendment to the act governing the use of robots has allowed outdoor autonomous robots to drive on sidewalks for delivery, patrols and other purposes.

This change has opened new avenues for related industries, as various advantages are expected for companies utilizing robots such as labor cost reduction, increased efficiency in last-mile delivery and improvement in safety, industry officials and experts said Thursday.

On Nov. 17, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the National Police Agency implemented the revised Act on Development and Supply of Intelligent Robots. Previously, robots were not permitted to operate on sidewalks, but the revised law allows for new businesses to utilize robot delivery and patrols in outdoor environments.

These outdoor self-driving robots are required to comply with the Road Traffic Act, just like pedestrians. Jaywalking or walking on roadways is illegal, and operators of these robots who violate the regulations will be fined 30,000 won ($23). Additionally, businesses seeking to use outdoor autonomous driving robots are obliged to have insurance coverage.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It appears the removal of the leadership of the NIS this week had nothing to do with ideological differences with the Yoon administration and instead it was simply people in the NIS not being able to get along:

This Nov. 1 photo shows Kim Kyou-hyun, director at the National Intelligence Service, attending an audit at the National Assembly in Seoul. Kim, a former diplomat who became the first chief of the spy agency under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, resigned, along with its first and second deputy directors, Sunday. Yonhap

After returning from an overseas trip on Sunday, the first thing President Yoon Suk Yeol did was to accept the resignations of the chief of the National Intelligence Agency (NIS) and his two deputies. Yet given the deep, long-running tensions between top agents over the past year, few believe their departure was voluntary.

Despite rising security threats from North Korea, which claims to have successfully launched its first reconnaissance satellite last week, Yoon took the risk of leaving the spy agency’s top post ― held by Director Kim Kyou-hyun ― empty for the time being. Meanwhile, Hong Jang-won and Hwang Won-jin, veteran NIS agents, replaced Kwon Chun-taek and Kim Soo-youn as first and second deputy directors, respectively.

Speaking to The Korea Times on Monday, insiders refused to disclose details of how the infighting and feud within the NIS started and apparently aggravated under Kim’s watch. But one said the bone of contention had nothing to do with ideological differences suspected by some.

Conflicts over personnel affairs are known to have largely caused and deepened the division among NIS leaders ― particularly between Kim, a former vice foreign minister who became the first NIS director under Yoon, and Kwon.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

From a national security perspective this is not good news because it means a smaller population of young men to conscript to defend the country. Hopefully North Korea, China, and Russia are not even greater threats than they are now in the next 30 years towards the ROK:

The number of young South Koreans is forecast to halve in 30 years amid a rapid aging trend and a record low birthrate, the statistics agency said Monday.

The number of people aged 19-34 came to 10.21 million in 2020, and the figure is forecast to tumble to 5.21 million in 2050, according to the analysis by Statistics Korea.

The proportion of the young population out of the country’s total came to 20.4 percent in 2020, but it is expected to fall to 11 percent in 2050, it added.

The number of young people has been on a steady decline over the past decades from 13.85 million in 1990, accounting for 31.9 percent of the total, to 12.88 million in 2000, 10.97 million in 2010 and 10.21 million in 2020.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

No surprise here, hopefully South Korea in response reimplaces all of their guard posts and fortifications that were removed during the Moon administration to better secure the DMZ:

North Korean soldiers are spotted near a guard post inside of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in this photo provided by the South Korean defense ministry on Nov. 27, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

North Korea has begun rebuilding guard posts and bringing heavy firearms along the border with South Korea after effectively scrapping a 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction deal, the defense ministry said Monday.

Ministry officials disclosed photos showing North Korean troops installing temporary guard posts, carrying what appeared to be recoilless guns and standing guard at night inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.

These moves came after the North said last week it would restore all military measures halted under the 2018 tension reduction deal. That decision came after South Korea suspended part of the agreement in protest of the North’s successful launch of a military spy satellite.

“Before destroying the GPs, there were observation posts and they are presumed to be rebuilding them. It was made of white wood and painted with a camouflage pattern,” a senior military official told reporters on background, referring to a guard post seen in a photo released by the defense ministry on Monday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I am not sure what they are going to talk about because China is not going to stop their provacative activities in the region no matter what the ROK and Japan tell them:

Foreign Minister Park Jin departs from Incheon International Airport in Incheon, southwest of Seoul, on Nov. 14, 2023, to attend a ministerial meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco, in this file photo provided by the foreign ministry. (Yonhap)

Top diplomats of South Korea, China and Japan were set to hold talks in the southeastern port city of Busan on Sunday, with discussions on resuming the long-stalled three-way summit of the three countries’ leaders expected to be in focus. 

The trilateral meeting among Foreign Minister Park Jin, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa also comes after about a four-year hiatus as the three neighboring countries seek to deepen the tripartite cooperation despite many pending bilateral issues. 

Wang and Kamikawa arrived in Busan on Saturday.

Park is joining the two ministers the day after returning from a trip to London and Paris, where he accompanied President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

As more FCEV’s hit the road in Korea, more hydrogen production facilities will have to be built that will hopefully reduce the vulnerability from one plant having a maintenance issue:

The recent shortage of hydrogen for vehicles in Korea has prompted a controversy about the country’s readiness to popularize hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), cars that run on electricity genreated by using oxygen from the air and compressed hydrogen, according to industry officials, Sunday.

Since a malfunction last week at hydrogen production facilities at Hyundai Steel’s Dangjin factory in South Chungcheong Province, charging stations in interior parts of Korea have faced difficulties securing hydrogen. As a result, FCEV drivers have had to line up for several hours to fuel their cars.

Earlier this month, passenger cars and buses using hydrogen had engine troubles after fueling from a charging station in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, because of impurities in the station’s hydrogen supply. In August last year, an oil price hike reduced hydrogen production, forcing a maximum on hydrogen purchases of 1 kilogram per driver at each station.

The series of problems caused skepticism about switching from diesel-powered buses and trucks to hydrogen-powered vehicles, as well as over Hyundai Motor’s plan to launch the next version of the NEXO, its hydrogen passenger car.

“The government’s rapidly changing roadmap for the hydrogen economy has caused confusion, delaying the private sector’s investments,” Korea Energy Economics Institute research fellow Kim Jae-kyung said in a recent forum.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.