Technology, Autos, Games, Policy & regulation
307 storiesNC's Aion 2 tops 400,000 concurrent players on global launch day
NC began global service for its MMORPG Aion 2 on 5 October through Steam and its own Purple platform, and the company said peak concurrent players passed 400,000 on the first day. Early access had run from 30 September for five days for buy…
AMD CEO Lisa Su to visit Korea Oct. 7 for Gamer Day; AI chip talks expected
AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su will visit Korea on Oct. 7, about seven months after her March trip, to attend an “AMD Gamer Day” event at 2 p.m. at Dragon City in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, AMD said. Su and senior vice president Jack Huynh will attend, …
South Korea re-designates 92 population decline regions, adding Busan Geumjeong, Dongducheon and Tongyeong
South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety re-designated 92 cities, counties and districts as population decline regions on Oct. 7, up from 89 in the first designation five years ago. Busan's Geumjeong-gu, Gyeonggi's Dongducheon and …
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.…
Hyundai launches 2027 Sonata The Edge with new Black N Line trim
Hyundai Motor launched the facelifted 2027 Sonata The Edge on Oct. 7, adding a Black N Line design trim based on the top Inspiration grade, with a black Hyundai emblem, black name lettering and 19-inch matte black wheels. The S trim gains a…
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 …
Land minister says Gangnam, Yongsan home prices have turned negative
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Hong Ji-seon told a National Assembly audit on Oct 7 that home prices in Seoul's Gangnam three districts and Yongsan have turned negative, and said price growth should ease with the market stabili…
Asian Games gold row widens as parties in South Korea seek exemption review
South Korea beat Japan 1-0 on October 3 to win a fourth consecutive Asian Games men's football gold, a result that exempts most of the squad from military service. A locker-room photo of Park Seung-su in a discharge hat, captain Lee Ki-hyuk…
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…
Inaugural Suwon major crimes investigation chief begins duties
Kim Hyeong-geun began official duties on 6 October as the first chief of the new Suwon District Central Investigation Office for Major Crimes, saying the office would overcome the limits of existing investigative agencies while inheriting t…
President 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…
Defense minister: arts, sports military service exemption to be cut and abolished
South Korea's defense minister said on Oct 7 that the goal is to gradually reduce the arts and sports military service exemption and ultimately abolish it, after controversy over remarks by Asian Games football gold medallists about the exe…
Asian Games exemption row: Ahn Cheol-soo urges review, defense ministry regrets remarks
People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo said on 7 October that the military service exemption for Asian Games gold medalists should be reviewed for abolition starting with this tournament, noting the rule is a presidential decree that Pre…
S. Korea farm minister says minor farmland survey violations won't be punished
Agriculture minister Song Mi-ryung told a parliamentary audit on Oct 7 that most ordinary, customary violations found in the government's full farmland survey would not be punished, and that the government has no plan or reason to confiscat…
BMW Korea electrified sales top 10,000, a first for a premium import brand
BMW Korea said it sold 10,335 electrified vehicles — battery-electric and plug-in hybrid — in the first nine months of the year, becoming the first premium import brand in Korea to pass 10,000. Battery-electric sales rose about 56% on the y…
South Korea refers 170 scalping suspects to police under new ticket law
The Culture Ministry said on Oct. 7 that it had referred 170 people suspected of ticket scalping to police, the first such referrals since revised performance and sports laws took effect on Aug. 28. The suspects, 121 in professional sports …
Netherlands proposes civilian reserve of 150,000 for emergencies
The Netherlands has proposed creating a civilian reserve for crises, with RTL reporting a target of 150,000 reservists for emergency situations, according to TASS. The reported roles include drivers, security guards and mechanics. RBC repor…
Suzuki to launch kei EV e SKY on Nov 16 from ¥2.12 million, Japan's cheapest kei EV
Suzuki said on Oct 6 that it will launch the e SKY, its first kei-class passenger electric vehicle, on Nov 16, with prices from ¥2.12 million including tax — the lowest for a kei EV in Japan, according to Nikkei, Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri S…
Korea tightens monitoring of cross-border crypto transfers in FX decree
South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance gave public notice on October 7 of a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, a follow-up to the law revised in June. The draft would define a regist…
Hoban Construction develops AI design tech to auto-apply per-unit buyer options
Hoban Construction said it developed AI-based design technology that automatically reflects apartment buyers’ option contract choices in each unit’s building information model (BIM). The technology was developed jointly with building and in…