This is quite a high number of Koreans who choose to live alone, the article says that South Korea aging population is the main driver of this:
South Korea’s demographic structure is shifting at its fastest pace yet, with the share of single-person households surpassing 36 percent for the first time last year and the senior citizen population crossing the 10 million mark, new government data showed Sunday.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s statistics yearbook on social security, the number of single-person households reached a record high of nearly 8.05 million last year. This marks a sharp rise from 5.2 million households in 2015 to 6.64 million in 2020, with the figure first exceeding the 30 percent threshold.
If the current pace continues, the ministry projects single-person households will reach 8.55 million by 2027, 9.71 million by 2037 and nearly 10 million by 2042, cementing the model as the country’s dominant living arrangement.
You can read more at the link.
President Lee wants more penalties for data breaches, but maybe South Korea should stop hiring Chinese since the Coupang data breach was an inside job perpetuated by a former Chinese employee who fled to China:
President Lee Jae Myung called Tuesday for strengthening penalties and implementing the punitive damages system in the event of data leaks similar to the massive breach at e-commerce giant Coupang.
Lee issued the call during a Cabinet meeting days after the company said the personal information of nearly 34 million customers had been stolen, including names, addresses and phone numbers.
“We must swiftly determine the cause of the accident and strictly demand accountability,” he said during the meeting at the presidential office, expressing shock that the company had been unaware of the breach for five months. (……)
Police said Monday they are tracking down the suspect behind the data breach after securing the Internet Protocol (IP) address that was used.
The breach began in June, and a former employee, a Chinese national who has since left South Korea, has been identified as the perpetrator, Coupang said.
You can read more at the link.
To restore communications with North Korea will require South Korea to make concessions of some kind. When Lee uses wording such as “shared growth”, that is likely code for whatever monetary concessions the ROK government plans to give to North Korea to restore these communcations:
President Lee Jae Myung proposed restoring communication channels with North Korea on Tuesday, saying it will serve as a starting point for “peaceful coexistence” between Seoul and Pyongyang.
Lee made the remarks during an event to mark the launch of the 22th Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, stressing that unification is a path that must be taken regardless of whether it takes decades or even a millennia.
“The historic task given to us is to end hostility and confrontation between the two Koreas, and to build a new inter-Korean relationship based on peaceful existence,” Lee said, suggesting the Koreas begin by restoring their dialogue channels that have been suspended for seven years.
He stressed the need for “shared growth” that benefits both Seoul and Pyongyang, and called for gradual efforts to start cooperation in areas of global interest, such as climate and environmental issues, disaster, safety, and public health.
You can read more at the link.
South Korea continues to make strides in their efforts to add a space industry to their economy:
Arirang 7, South Korea’s multipurpose satellite, has successfully entered orbit after lifting off from a space center in South America, the country’s space agency said Tuesday.
Also known as the Korea Multipurpose Satellite 7, the satellite was deployed from the Vega-C rocket 44 minutes after launching from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana at 2:21 p.m. Monday (French Guiana time), or 2:21 a.m. Tuesday (Korean time), according to the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA). The rocket is operated by France-based Arianespace.
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the developer of Arirang 7, confirmed the satellite’s condition when it made contact with Russia’s Antarctic ground station at 3:30 a.m. (Korean time).
KARI also verified its successful orbital insertion through data from Arianespace.
Arirang 7, equipped with an ultra-high-resolution electro-optical camera and an infrared sensor, is expected to provide high-quality imagery for environmental and disaster monitoring, and urban heat island analysis.
You can read more at the link.
It was a big day recently for the Lee family that founded the Samsung group:
Founding family members of the Samsung Group gathered on Friday to witness the commissioning of Lee Ji-ho, the eldest son of Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong, as a Navy officer following his completion of an 11-week officer candidate course.
The commissioning ceremony was attended by Chair Lee, his mother, Hong Ra-hee; the honorary director of Samsung’s Leeum Museum of Art; and his sister Lee Seo-hyun, the president of Samsung C&T.
Lee Ji-ho’s mother and Chair Lee’s ex-wife, Lim Se-ryung, was also in attendance.
Lee served as the flag representative for the 139th class of officer candidates, a role the Navy says is given to those who show exemplary conduct by cooperating closely with fellow trainees and actively participating in drills.
The 139th class consists of 84 candidates, including Lee.
Born in the US in 2000, Lee held dual citizenship, which he renounced to enlist and serve in the Navy.
Lee’s decision to enlist has been viewed as significant, given how uncommon it is for members of the Samsung family to complete military service.
Chair Lee’s eldest son is expected to serve for a total of 39 months, including 36 months of mandatory duty after three months of training. The officer service period in South Korea is 39 months across all branches, compared to 18 months for Army enlistees, 20 months in the Navy and 21 months in the Air Force.
You can read more at the link, but good on Lee Ji-ho for doing his mandatory service. He could of easily gotten out of it by remaining an American citizen, but instead decided to commission as an officer and do extra time in service.
