Policy & regulation, Society, Energy
363 storiesPresident Lee vows to keep pledge to end “real estate speculation republic”
President Lee Jae-myung said on Oct. 5 in a post on X that his government will keep its promise to escape the “real estate speculation republic,” saying the country cannot be made to face a “lost 30 years” from real-estate bomb-passing even…
Two Gyeongbuk public institutions win top grade in provincial evaluation
The Gyeongbuk Credit Guarantee Foundation and the Gyeongbuk Women's Policy Development Institute received the highest grade in Gyeongbuk province's evaluation of its public institutions, according to three local outlets. The reports gave no…
Gulf producers keep Hormuz ‘shuttle’ crude exports; volumes said to top pre-war levels
Gulf oil producers including Saudi Arabia are still exporting crude through the Strait of Hormuz via high-risk “shuttle” runs, loading very large crude carriers inside the strait and transferring the oil to ships waiting outside, according …
Trump signs order allowing tax-free red-dyed diesel on highways
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday temporarily allowing off-road red-dyed diesel to be used for highway driving and deferring the federal excise tax on that fuel through the end of 2026 without interest or penalties.…
Daejeon beekeeper Park Heon-ui becomes city's first agriculture master
Daejeon announced that Park Heon-ui, head of the Daedeok-gu branch of the beekeeping research group under the Korea Rural Leaders Daejeon Metropolitan City Federation, passed the beekeeping category of the 7th Agriculture Master designation…
China Marks Long March 90th Anniversary With Holiday Exhibition Crowds
China News Service reported that exhibitions marking the 90th anniversary of the Red Army’s Long March victory drew large crowds across China during the National Day holiday. Beijing’s Military Museum received more than 320,000 visitors by …
Actress Jun Won-ju, 87, says she gifted half her assets to prevent inheritance dispute
Actress Jun Won-ju, 87, said she gifted half of her assets to her two sons and their wives in advance so they would not fight over her estate, speaking on MBC’s “PD수첩” episode “2026 Inheritance War: Time of the Family Left Behind,” which ai…
South Korea weighs ending military service exemptions for athletes and artists
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said on October 6 that it is considering tightening or abolishing the military service exemption granted to athletes and artists, after some Asian Games gold medalists said exemption mattered more to them than…
Kilmar Ábrego Garcia back in court as US seeks deportation to Liberia
Kilmar Ábrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March 2025, was due back in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Tuesday in his fight against deportation to Liberia. The government is asking U.S…
South Korea culture ministry issues director-level personnel notice
South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism released a personnel appointment notice on 5 October 2026, carried by Newsis, Yonhap, Seoul Economic Daily, Asia Economy, Kyunghyang Shinmun and Hankook Ilbo. Yonhap's summary described …
ABC asks federal judge to block FCC early review of its broadcast licenses
ABC asked a federal judge in Washington on Tuesday to block the FCC from conducting an early review of its broadcast licenses, calling it retaliation for content President Trump dislikes. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan did not rule immed…
South Korea's Lee orders CPTPP talks restarted from the beginning amid farm concerns
President Lee Jae-myung instructed at a cabinet meeting on Oct 6 that the government should not fix a conclusion on joining the CPTPP and should “restart dialogue from the beginning,” saying the pact's strategic value is cited alongside ver…
Japan transport ministry sets four-level flood risk plan for underpasses
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism published guidelines on October 6 classifying underpasses nationwide into four flood-risk levels and calling for remotely operated or automatic barriers at the most dangerous s…
Russian government approves bioeconomy development strategy to 2036
Russia's government approved a bioeconomy development strategy running to 2036, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting with deputy premiers, according to official and business outlets. The strategy defines priority areas for bio…
FBI Director Kash Patel and country singer Alexis Wilkins announce engagement
FBI Director Kash Patel, 46, and country singer Alexis Wilkins, 27, announced their engagement on Sunday in social media posts. Wilkins posted a black-and-white photo showing her ring with the caption “Went and got the law involved,” and Pa…
Busan’s ‘Bukkangi’ shark confirmed as endangered heuksangeo, a 3-meter female
The National Institute of Fisheries Science said on Oct. 6 that the shark nicknamed Bukkangi, which has stayed in an artificial channel at Busan North Port’s waterfront park since Sept. 18, is a heuksangeo, a species classified as Endangere…
South Korea to guarantee one-third of jeonse deposits for fraud victims from Nov. 13
South Korea's cabinet approved an enforcement decree amendment to the special act on jeonse fraud victims on Oct. 6, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, with the measure taking effect on Nov. 13. Victims whose total rec…
Chungnam and Korea Forest Service sign pine wilt control MOU, plan nationwide expansion
Chungcheongnam-do Province and the Korea Forest Service signed an MOU in Taean County on Oct. 5 on “industrialized pest control” for pine wilt disease, under which damaged trees are removed using private logging capacity and usable trees go…
Survey: 41% of Korean nurses faced rights violations; 76% took no action
A Korean Nurses Association survey of 2,105 nurses at medical institutions found 41.0% experienced human rights violations in the past year, most often verbal abuse, according to Newsis and Yonhap. Of those affected, 76.4% took no action, a…
Macron convenes emergency meeting over French student protests
French President Emmanuel Macron convened an emergency meeting with ministers on the evening of 6 October over nationwide student protests, with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and education minister Édouard Geffroy taking part. The protes…