The Seoul city government on Friday blamed policies pursued under late former Mayor Park Won-soon for weakening the foundation for long-term housing supply in the capital. The municipality made the assessment in a report analyzing the city's housing policies over the past 20 years, as recent shortages in the capital have contributed to sharply rising home prices. The report said that between 2012 and 2020, while the late Park served as mayor, 389 of the 683 areas designated for city improvement projects were canceled, eliminating the opportunity to supply roughly 430,000 homes. Park, who was a member of the now ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), prioritized "urban regeneration" projects that focused on preservation over large-scale redevelopment or reconstruction. The report comes as current Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party has faced criticism from DPK lawmakers over his private-led housing supply policy. The city government under Oh plans to break ground on about 310,000 housing units by 2031 through redevelopment and reconstruction projects to respond to t

Korea is considering expanding the operating area of its Cheonghae anti-piracy unit from the Gulf of Aden to the Gulf of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz, as it prepares to seek parliamentary approval to extend its deployment. The government is also reviewing a proposal to add a maritime patrol aircraft to the unit, according to local media reports. No decision has been made on either proposal. Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul told lawmakers Thursday the ministry was reviewing various options concerning the unit’s mission and deployment extension. The current parliamentary authorization expires Dec. 31. The Cheonghae Unit, deployed off Somalia since 2009, escorts commercial vessels and helps protect shipping routes. Its current deployment consists of a 4,400-ton destroyer, a helicopter, up to three rigid-hull inflatable boats and no more than 320 personnel. One option under consideration is deploying a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to expand surveillance coverage. The review comes after Washington requested military contributions from allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz am

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Friday criticized the government over what it called apparent differences between South Korea and the United States on the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), calling it a "serious diplomatic blunder." The criticism came after U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson said earlier this week that "conditions have changed" and that calls for new standards in the OPCON transfer, citing North Korea's recent missile launches. During a parliamentary audit of military courts on Thursday, Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said that the requirements for the OPCON transfer remained unchanged and that Seoul has conveyed its concerns to Washington. "Instead of reviewing the warning, the Lee Jae Myung administration and the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) made a series of intimidating remarks directed at the USFK commander," Rep. Kim Tae-kyu, the PPP's chief floor spokesperson, said in a commentary. Rep. Kim also criticized the defense ministry's spokesperson for saying at an official press briefing that the transfer would never

Former opposition lawmaker Yoo Seong-min and three university officials have been referred to the prosecution for possible indictment over allegations of preferential treatment in the hiring of Yoo's daughter as a professor by Incheon National University (INU), police said Friday. The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency said Yoo, INU President Lee In-jae and two INU professors were sent to the prosecution without detention on charges of obstruction of business. Lee and the two professors were also charged with violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. The four are suspected of obstructing the university's recruitment process when Yoo's daughter, Yoo Dam, 32, was hired as a faculty member in its trade department in the second semester of last year. Lee and the two professors are also suspected of receiving improper solicitations concerning the hiring of Yoo's daughter, although investigators found no evidence that they had accepted money or valuables, the police said. The police announcement came after an investigation that began in November last year. They also questioned Yoo's d

Artificial intelligence (AI) models developed by a research team led by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) professor Nam Ju-han made their debut at one of Korea’s leading jazz festivals, performing improvised jazz alongside human artists. According to the university Friday, the team showcased human-AI music collaboration technology that analyzes the flow of human performances in real time, allowing AI to take over performances or generate improvised accompaniment during the 23rd Jarasum Jazz Festival, held in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, from Oct. 9 to 11. A total of 12 human jazz artists participated in the event, collaborating with AI in 26 pieces across 12 performances. The technology is different from existing music AI services as it enables collaboration with human musicians in jazz, a genre characterized by improvisation. Jazz musicians often change the tempo or create new melodies based on how they feel in the moment. Because the same piece can be performed differently each time, musicians must listen to one another and adjust their playing accordi

An Uzbek man who spent more than 16 years behind bars serving a life sentence for robbery-murder and other charges was released Thursday after a court granted him a retrial, citing serious problems with the police investigation that led to his conviction. Bozorov Akmal, 37, walked out of Changwon Prison Thursday evening, after the Changwon District Court suspended the enforcement of his sentence pending a final ruling in the retrial. He tearfully reunited with his father, who was waiting outside the prison. “I have suffered greatly, feeling that I was wrongfully imprisoned. But at the same time, I am truly sorry for the great pain this could cause the victim’s family,” said Akmal. “I will speak truthfully throughout the remaining court proceedings.” The case dates back to March 24, 2009, when a taxi driver in his 50s was found murdered inside a taxi parked in an alley in Myeongseo-dong, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. On July 6 that year, police arrested three people, including Akmal, then 19, in connection with a separate taxi robbery. Police subsequently identified Akma

A crackdown on cheating using artificial intelligence (AI)-powered smart glasses is raising concerns over mounting pressure on teachers tasked with detecting the devices, with the college entrance exam just a month away. The Ministry of Education plans to require exam supervisors to inspect all test takers wearing glasses before each session of this year's College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), or Suneung, as part of efforts to prevent AI-assisted cheating. Under the rules, even possessing smart glasses without using them will be considered cheating. Violators will have their exam results invalidated and be barred from taking Suneung the following year. The tougher measures come amid a series of cheating cases involving AI glasses during recent university entrance exams. On Oct. 10, a student was caught wearing smart glasses during an entrance exam at Yonsei University. Although exam supervisors had checked students before the test began, the student reportedly switched glasses afterward, evading detection until later in the test. A similar case was reported at the University of Seoul on

Only about half of Korean adults wash their hands with soap after using the restroom, a survey showed, while the average time spent washing hands fell far short of the recommended 30 seconds. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on Thursday announced the findings of its survey on infection prevention practices for the first half of 2026, conducted jointly with the National Medical Center. The survey observed the hand-washing behavior of 4,560 adults at 120 public restrooms nationwide from May 28 to June 30. Exit interviews were also conducted with 1,800 of the participants. The survey found that 86 percent of people washed their hands after using the restroom, up 1.9 percentage points from 84.1 percent last year. The proportion who washed their hands with soap rose 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier to 46.7 percent. Another 39.3 percent washed their hands with water only, while the remaining 14 percent did not wash their hands at all after using the restroom. The amount of time people spent washing their hands was also notably short. The average total hand-washing

Gender Equality Minister Won Min-kyong on Friday called for abolishing a legal provision that bars punishing perpetrators of domestic violence if the victims do not wish punishment. Under the current law, authorities cannot punish domestic violence offenders if victims express opposition to punishment. Critics have said the provision has led offenders to pressure victims to settle cases. "Since the policy briefing in December last year, I have consistently called for abolishing the clause on domestic violence as a crime not punishable against the victim's will," Won said in a YouTube interview. She added that President Lee Jae Myung shares her view. Stalking crimes had previously not been punishable against the victim's will but a legal revision abolished the provision in June 2023.

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday appointed a new vice industry minister and a new deputy chief of the Financial Services Commission (FSC). Park Dong-il, a senior official at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, was named vice minister, while Shin Ji-chang, a senior FSC official, was appointed the commission's vice chairman, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said. Kang described Park as an industry policy expert with extensive experience in planning and coordinating industrial policies, expressing hope that he would play a role in spearheading the country's push to achieve unrivaled leadership in future strategic industries. The presidential spokesperson portrayed Shin as a career official well versed in the financial and industrial sectors, with expertise in financial programs for low-income people and small merchants, as well as the housing market.

Some Samsung Electronics employees have drawn criticism from online users after appearing to welcome a nearly 9 percent plunge in their company's share price on an anonymous workplace community. Posts written by Samsung Electronics employees on the company's board on Blind, an anonymous community for office workers, spread across online communities and social media Thursday. Blind requires users to verify their employment through their company email addresses, and displays the name of their employer alongside their usernames. According to the Korea Exchange, Samsung Electronics closed Thursday's regular trading at 210,000 won ($147), down 9.48 percent, or 22,000 won, from the previous session. One person believed to be a Samsung Electronics employee posted on Blind under the title, "Please let the stock plunge to 100,000 won." Another employee wrote a post titled, "Isn't a falling stock price actually better for Samsung Electronics employees?" The employee said, "From the Device Solutions (DS) division's perspective, a higher stock price only increases the risk associated with OPI2," ref

Eighteen professors at Kwangwoon University have been named among the World’s Top 2% Scientists, highlighting the research excellence and international academic influence of the university’s faculty. The World’s Top 2% Scientists list for 2026 was recently released by Stanford University and Elsevier, a global provider of academic information. It evaluates researchers’ scientific impact using data from Elsevier’s Scopus database. The list comprises two categories: Career-long citation impact, which measures a researcher’s cumulative impact throughout their career, and single-year scientific impact, which reflects citation impact in 2025. The 2026 edition uses citation data through the end of last year. Ten Kwangwoon University professors were named in the career-long category. They include Kim Young-hun (chemical engineering), Kim Tae-kyun (mathematics), Park Myun-joo (electronics convergence engineering), Park Jae-yeong (electronic engineering), Park Chul-hwan (chemical engineering), Lee Sang-shin (electronic engineering) and Jang Min (environmental engineering). Fourteen pro

A man accused of injuring eight people in a knife attack at a commercial complex in Incheon earlier this week attended an arrest warrant hearing on Friday. The hearing began at 2 p.m. at the Incheon District Court after prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for the suspect on charges of attempted murder and carrying weapons in public spaces. The 59-year-old man is suspected of attempting to kill 10 people with knives attached to both of his hands at the shopping complex in Incheon, just west of Seoul, on Tuesday. The attack left eight people injured, including one who remains unconscious after suffering cardiac arrest. The two others escaped unharmed. The suspect reportedly has 10 prior convictions, two of them attempted murder. "I am sorry," the suspect said while walking toward the court for his hearing, noting he has made a serious mistake. According to police, the man has cited his frustration over his medical treatment at a local hospital as the motive for the attack. He had staged a one-man protest in front of the hospital for 2 1/2 months since August. During those protests, the

Sungkyunkwan University said it has recruited world-renowned scholars in key fields, including medicine, biotechnology, energy and semiconductors, as distinguished professors to lead international collaborative research with its faculty. The scholars include Peter J. Park of Harvard Medical School, Gerbrand Ceder of the University of California, Berkeley, and Konstantin Novoselov, who shared the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics. Harvard University physicist Philip Kim will also participate in the initiative as an international research collaborator. The initiative goes beyond nominal affiliations, enabling researchers and students to work directly with leading scholars on joint research projects. Sungkyunkwan University plans to establish a framework that integrates research collaboration with talent development through joint projects, researcher exchanges, campus visits by the scholars and joint supervision and mentoring of students. “Close collaboration with world-renowned scholars will help Sungkyunkwan University establish itself as a global research hub in cutting-edge fields of science

A high-risk pregnant woman whose water broke was airlifted about 240 kilometers from Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, to a university hospital in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, after emergency responders were unable to find a nearby hospital capable of treating her and her baby. Paramedics in Gyeonggi Province contacted about 18 hospitals in surrounding areas, including South Chungcheong Province, but were unable to secure a facility capable of providing neonatal intensive care. According to the South Chungcheong Fire Headquarters on Thursday, its emergency responders were dispatched after receiving a request for assistance from Gyeonggi paramedics at around 4 a.m. on Oct. 8. The woman, who was at an obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Pyeongtaek, was transported by a firefighting helicopter to a university hospital in Changwon. The woman had gestational diabetes and was less than 35 weeks pregnant when her water broke. The fetus was also in a breech position, requiring urgent medical care. A fire official said the baby was expected to require treatment in a neonatal intensive care u

Construction has begun on about 99,000 homes in greater Seoul so far this year, less than 40 percent of the annual target, with the figure expected to reach only around 80 percent of the goal by year-end, the government said Friday. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Office for Government Policy Coordination released an updated housing supply outlook amid growing concerns over rising home prices, and a tightening rental market in Seoul and surrounding areas. The government earlier announced a broader housing supply plan to begin construction on more than 1.5 million homes in the 2026-30 period to address supply shortages and ease upward pressure on property prices. For this year, the government has set a target of starting construction on 268,000 homes, including 62,000 public housing units. As of the second week of October, construction had begun on approximately 99,000 homes, accounting for just 37 percent of the annual target, according to the ministry. Despite the sluggish pace, the government projected that between 218,000 and 235,000 units would break ground

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Kyu-ha has called for the deployment of robots and drones for dangerous missions in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), saying he raised the idea with the top U.S. commander in Korea, following a land mine explosion that injured three South Korean soldiers last month. Kim said Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, agreed that unmanned systems could help keep troops out of harm’s way, although both commanders recognized the risks of operating them near the inter-Korean border. “After the incident, I told Gen. Brunson that sending our personnel into the DMZ involves dangers and difficulties, and that robots and drones should go in instead,” Kim said at an Army policy briefing at the Yangpyeong General Training Ground in Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. “He agreed,” Kim said, adding that they also shared the view that the systems must be thoroughly tested before deployment. On Sept. 21, three South Korean service members were injured when a North Korean anti-personnel land mine exploded during an operation near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL)

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said Friday he will seek to transform the Marine Corps into an operations command capable of conducting modern maneuver warfare amid the military's push to restore operational control of the Marines. Kang made the remarks during a visit to the Marine Corps headquarters and the Northwest Islands Defense Command, both located in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the defense ministry. "The Marine Corps is at a historic turning point as it seeks to reinvent itself," Kang said. "We will strengthen the status and capabilities of the Marine Corps and transform it into a force capable of conducting modern maneuver warfare." Under the plan, the military seeks to restore the operational control of two Marine divisions, currently held by the Army, as part of a broader effort to restructure the three-pronged military structure. The move is designed to ensure the independence of the Marine Corps by fully restoring its operational control over its units. The defense chief also stressed the strategic value of the Marine Corps as a national strategic tas

A special counsel team on Friday demanded a 30-year prison term for former President Yoon Suk Yeol in his appeals trial over allegations that he ordered drone incursions into North Korea to provoke Pyongyang in an attempt to use potential North Korean provocations to justify his declaration of martial law. Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team also sought a 30-year prison term for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun on charges of benefiting the enemy and abuse of power in the same appeals trial at the Seoul High Court. The team additionally requested a 20-year prison term for Yeo In-hyung, former commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, and a five-year term for Kim Yong-dae, former head of the Drone Operations Command, on the same charges. Yoon was convicted by a lower court in June and sentenced to 30 years in prison for ordering the Drone Operations Command in October 2024 to send drones to Pyongyang in an attempt to provoke a military clash that could provide a pretext for his declaration of martial law in December that year. Former Defense Minister Kim was also given a 30

Michael Jordan’s Steak House, the only location of the U.S. restaurant brand outside the United States, has been named “Korea’s Best Hotel Restaurant 2026” at the World Culinary Awards. INSPIRE Entertainment Resort in Incheon, which houses the restaurant, said Friday that the steakhouse received the award at a ceremony held Wednesday in Jamaica. The awards recognize outstanding restaurants and culinary destinations through votes cast by industry professionals, experts and consumers. The event is a sister event of the World Travel Awards, described as the “Oscars of the travel industry.” The restaurant opened in Incheon in 2023 as the brand’s first and only location outside the U.S., bringing a selection of steaks that had proved popular in its home market. Cornerstone Restaurant Group oversees the brand in partnership with basketball legend Michael Jordan, with two U.S. locations in Chicago and Connecticut. The Incheon restaurant also received a Best of Award of Excellence in June from Wine Spectator, a U.S. wine publication, as part of its annual Restaurant Awards. “This

Electric vehicle (EV) charging operator Chaevi has achieved a rare clean sweep in this year's government EV charging facility subsidy program, securing qualifications across all four categories in both network operation and hardware manufacturing. The company was selected as an operator and manufacturer of fast, medium-speed and slow charging facilities under a program overseen by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment. The selection marks Chaevi’s ninth consecutive year as a designated charging facility operator and its first selection in newly introduced manufacturer categories, according to the company. The four categories cover operators of fast and medium-speed chargers, operators of slow chargers, manufacturers of fast and medium-speed chargers, and manufacturers of slow chargers, allowing Chaevi to participate in the government’s subsidy program through 2027. The government revised its evaluation system this year to assess operators and manufacturers separately, with manufacturers facing additional scrutiny of technological development, product quality and charging pe

Power transmission equipment manufacturer Hyosung Heavy Industries opened a new factory in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Friday, doubling its production capacity for extra-high-voltage circuit breakers rated at 420 kilovolts (kV) and above as it prepares for surging global demand for power infrastructure. The facility, covering about 18,996 square meters, will exclusively manufacture circuit breakers rated at 420 kV, 550 kV and 800 kV for export markets, strengthening the company's ability to fulfill large overseas orders. Hyosung Heavy Industries reorganized its existing circuit breaker operations to focus primarily on domestic models, while the new facility handles export products rated at 420 kV and above. The factory integrates component manufacturing, assembly, testing and shipping under one roof, creating a streamlined production system designed to improve efficiency and delivery times. Production capacity for insulation components, which are critical to circuit breaker performance, has also doubled, according to the company, which said it is the only domestic power equipmen

Samsung Electronics said Friday that three of its products have been named to TIME magazine’s list of The Best Inventions of 2026. The U.S. weekly news magazine announced the list Thursday (local time). It picked the Galaxy S26 Ultra smartphone in the Consumer Electronics category, the Bespoke AI Family Hub refrigerator in Household and the Odyssey G8 gaming monitor in Entertainment & Gaming. TIME compiles the list each year from nominations by its editors and correspondents around the world. It rates new products and ideas on originality, efficacy, ambition and impact. The magazine called the Galaxy S26 Ultra “a privacy-focused smartphone,” citing its Privacy Display. The feature effectively blocks people from viewing the screen from the side. Users can choose when it turns on or apply it only to certain content, such as pop-up notifications. TIME said this makes it more flexible than conventional privacy screen protectors. The phone is the top model in the Galaxy S26 series, which was released in March. It has a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera and artificial intelligence (AI) fea

American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) Chairman James Kim received an honorary doctorate in business administration from Korea Aerospace University (KAU) on Thursday in recognition of his contributions to Korea-U.S. economic cooperation. The university recognized Kim for bringing businesses and policymakers from the two countries together to promote trade, investment and cooperation in advanced industries. It also cited his efforts to attract foreign investment to Korea and improve the business environment in the country, drawing on his experience leading global companies. A degree ceremony was held at Vision Hall in the university’s Aerospace Center following a commemorative tree-planting event. KAU President Hurr Hee-young delivered welcoming remarks, while Korean Air Executive Vice President Kenneth Chang offered congratulatory remarks. “It is a great honor to receive an honorary doctorate from a university that has been at the forefront of developing Korea’s aerospace and defense talent,” Kim said. Kim also praised KAU’s efforts to develop talent and strengthen ties

Korea’s first homegrown obesity drug could shake up a market dominated by Mounjaro and Wegovy, an industry official said, as more Koreans travel to Japan to obtain cheaper Mounjaro and bring it home illegally, driven by the high cost of obesity treatments in Korea. Chung Sang-won, director of pharmacy innovation at the Korea Pharmaceutical Association, said the launch of Eppe, Korea’s first domestically developed glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based obesity treatment, could intensify price competition, as seen in China. “The price of Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro fell by as much as 66 percent in China earlier this year, from 1,758 yuan ($262) to 599 yuan. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy also saw a substantial price drop,” Chung said. The price cuts came amid intensifying competition in China, where domestically developed GLP-1-based obesity treatments have entered the market. In 2025, Innovent Biologics’ mazdutide, a dual glucagon and GLP-1 receptor agonist, received approval from Chinese authorities, adding to competition in the country’s obesity drug market. Sciwind Biosciences’ ecnogl

XCENA, a Korean fabless semiconductor company developing memory infrastructure, said Friday it demonstrated new memory solutions based on Compute Express Link (CXL) technology at the 2026 OCP Global Summit in San Jose, showcasing its shared-memory technology in collaboration with SK hynix. CXL is a high-speed connection standard allowing multiple processors to share and expand memory beyond what is physically attached to them by drawing from a shared pool of memory. It is gaining attention as a key technology for optimizing performance as memory demands grow in workloads such as artificial intelligence (AI) inference. During the event, XCENA demonstrated two AI inference use cases built on MX1, its CXL-based memory controller chip. The first demonstration showed multiple AI inference servers sharing key value cache memory (KV cache) through a CXL memory pool. KV cache stores context a model has already processed so it can be reused when generating responses. Keeping it in a shared pool reduces redundant copies and data movement across servers. The second demonstration showed how MX1 can

Korea’s overseas military deployments have evolved over six decades, from combat operations during the Vietnam War to a broader range of missions focused on peacekeeping, reconstruction and maritime security. The country's history of overseas military deployments dates back to 1964, when it first dispatched medical personnel and taekwondo instructors to Vietnam, followed by combat troops in 1965. The deployment was one of the largest in the country's history, with approximately 310,000 military personnel having served in Vietnam over a decade. The lasting repercussions of the Vietnam War led to a prolonged decline in overseas military deployments until 1991 during the Gulf War, which broke out following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. As a multinational coalition was formed under U.N. resolutions, Korea's National Assembly approved the dispatch of noncombat personnel: 154 medical personnel and 150-member Air Force transport unit equipped with five transport aircraft. Following its accession to the U.N. in 1991, Korea began participating in U.N. peacekeeping operations, starting with the de

“The style of a rich girl who has nothing left to buy, even when she goes shopping at a department store.” That is how social media users have described “Hyunbaek core,” a new trend that has recently emerged among people in their 20s and 30s. The term combines “Hyunbaek,” a shortened name for Hyundai Department Store, with “core,” which refers to the defining concept or aesthetic of a style. The look evokes a wealthy young woman one might encounter at Hyundai Department Store, characterized by an air of indifference toward shopping and an understated yet distinctly luxurious aura. Hyunbaek core pursues quiet luxury, which subtly expresses economic ease through high-end materials like silk or cashmere rather than flaunting wealth with flashy designer logos. It seems similar to the existing "old money" trend — which sought a traditional upper-class vibe — but has some differences. While it emphasizes formality, Hyunbaek Core is marked by a much more relaxed, effortless aesthetic. Previous fashion trends, such as ballet core and poet core, have drawn inspiration from pa

The possible expansion of the Cheonghae Unit’s operations toward the Strait of Hormuz could draw Korea into the Middle East conflict, even without direct combat involvement, a naval security expert warned. The government is reportedly considering extending the Navy unit’s operating area — from the Gulf of Aden to the Gulf of Oman — and adding maritime patrol aircraft. The proposal comes as President Lee Jae Myung has ruled out sending Korean forces to fight in the U.S.-Iran war while leaving open a greater role for the unit in protecting Korean ships. Yu Ji-hoon, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said the distinction between protecting commercial vessels and supporting military operations would depend less on where the unit operates than on what it does. “Formally, this would be an expansion of an existing deployment, but in practice, it would also amount to an indirect military contribution to security around the Strait of Hormuz,” Yu said. He said maritime patrol aircraft could broaden the unit’s work beyond counterpiracy patrols and merchant s

Song Min-ho, a member of K-pop boy band WINNER, will be required to reenlist in the military after a court found him guilty of not showing up for work during his alternative mandatory service, the military manpower agency said Friday. Song was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of failing to appear at his duty station for 102 days during his term as a social service agent between March 2023 and December 2024. The Seoul Western District Court handed down the ruling Oct. 1, and the decision was finalized as Song did not appeal the verdict. The Military Manpower Administration (MMA) said the reenlistment of Song was confirmed as the ruling was finalized without appeal. A defendant has two weeks to appeal a court's ruling. "We plan to comprehensively review the exact period of the reenlistment and his next duty station based on the ruling, and notify Song of the results," an MMA official said.