DOJ eyes closer ties with legal sector for global push

RTHK - Nov 8, 2026

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam on Sunday said the government hoped to work closely with the legal sector to help practitioners better navigate the changing international environment and strengthen external exchanges. Speaking on a Commercial Radio programme, Lam stressed that collaboration was a central theme of this year’s Legal Week, which concluded on Friday, demonstrating the government's drive to take the initiative. "The Department of Justice often plays a leading role. We hope that more of our local friends from the legal sector will participate, understand the latest environment, and make new connections — whether from the mainland or overseas. Internally, we must collaborate, but more importantly, we need to collaborate with partners outside Hong Kong," he said. For Hong Kong to truly live up to its reputation as an international legal centre, the justice secretary stressed the SAR needs to strengthen relationships with external legal institutions and engage in more direct communication. Describing it as “symbolic”, Lam noted that the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law held its centenary celebration in Hong Kong during Legal Week while concurrently hosting the opening ceremony for its Asia-Pacific Liaison Office. He stressed that Hong Kong secured the institution's first office outside its seat in...

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Korea Drag Pageant to select Miss Femme Supreme 2026

Eight drag queens actively performing in Seoul are gearing up to compete for the inaugural title of Miss Femme Supreme 2026 at the first-ever Korea Drag Pageant. The event was created to celebrate artistic excellence in drag performance, connect Korean performers with the international drag community and contribute to the growth and visibility of drag culture in Korea. "At the heart of it, I want someone who has dreamed of becoming a pageant queen to have a real opportunity to pursue that dream here in Korea," said Leah Taylor, the founder of Korea Drag Pageant, an independent organization dedicated to developing professional drag pageantry in Korea through competitions, educational initiatives and international collaboration. "I want the contestants to feel that their work has been taken seriously and that they have a stage worthy of their preparation and ambition. For audiences, I hope the event offers a fuller understanding of the performance, fashion, craftsmanship and dedication involved in drag." Her ambitions with the pageant are also looking further into the future. "I also hope t

Korea Drag Pageant to select Miss Femme Supreme 2026

[TEST DRIVE] Audi Korea's A6 returns as dynamic sports sedan

The new Audi A6 flagship sedan makes its strongest impression through a firm, planted ride that balances sharp handling with long-distance comfort. After a seven-year wait for a full redesign, the German automaker’s flagship combustion-engine sedan returns with a clearer sense of purpose, positioning itself between BMW’s agility and Mercedes-Benz’s emphasis on ride comfort. Driving the A6 45 TFSI quattro S-line across Seoul’s urban streets and surrounding highways over three days, covering about 300 kilometers, the sedan felt more than composed and reassuring at speed without sacrificing everyday usability. The first thing that stood out was how firmly the car held the road. Its suspension absorbed bumps without allowing the body to feel loose or unsettled, while steering inputs translated into predictable movements. The ride was noticeably taut, giving the sedan a sporting character without making it excessively harsh. Rather than chasing the razor-sharp responsiveness associated with BMW or the softer isolation favored by Mercedes-Benz, Audi has found a middle ground that shoul

[TEST DRIVE] Audi Korea's A6 returns as dynamic sports sedan

University of Seoul professor emeritus explores Korean architecture at Harvard symposium

Kim Sung-hong, a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Seoul, delivered a keynote address at the 2026 Korea Architecture Symposium at Harvard University last month. The University of Seoul said KoreaGSD, a Korean student organization at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, hosted the symposium under the theme “+82+82: From Independence to Acceleration” on Oct. 17. The event was organized to examine how Korean society has adopted, tested and transformed architectural and urban institutions and forms over the past eight decades, using speed as a framework for exploration. The symposium brought together theorists, architects and researchers working in Korea and abroad to reassess contemporary Korean architecture and explore its potential for transformation. In his address, titled “Contextualizing Korean Architecture,” Kim examined contemporary Korean architecture in its historical and social context, focusing on how rapid social change has shaped the country’s urban and architectural landscape. The lecture drew on his book, “Seoul Urban Architecture

University of Seoul professor emeritus explores Korean architecture at Harvard symposium

New elementary school enrollment to drop below 300,000 for 1st time amid low birth rate

The number of children entering elementary schools in Korea is expected to fall below 300,000 for the first time next year amid the country's low birth rate, data showed Sunday. The number of first graders, born in 2020, entering elementary school for the 2027 academic year, is expected to fall short of 300,000, just three years after dropping below the 400,000 mark, according to data compiled by the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) and the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI). The decline comes as only 272,337 babies were born in 2020, down 10 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. A total of 301,442 students enrolled as elementary school freshmen this year, barely surpassing the 300,000 mark and marking the lowest level since 1964, when the ministry began compiling related data. The figure is expected to fall further next year to roughly one-fourth of the 1.05 million recorded in 1968. The shrinking school-age population has raised concerns over school closures, particularly in rural areas, and a widening education gap bet

New elementary school enrollment to drop below 300,000 for 1st time amid low birth rate

Korea reviewing plan to expand label-free mandate to foreign-produced bottled water

The government is reportedly reviewing plans to expand the label-free mandate for domestically produced drinking water to include bottled water brands imported from overseas, officials said Sunday. The plan was discussed in a recent meeting with importers of foreign-produced bottled water, according to the officials from the environment ministry. The meeting was a routine consultation with industry officials, and the ministry is still undecided on whether to apply the mandate to offshore brands, they added. Korea has required all bottled water produced and sold domestically to be label-free starting early this year, replacing physical labels with QR codes on bottle caps and external packaging. The mandate is expected to reduce the country's annual plastic usage by 2,270 metric tons, according to the ministry of climate, energy and environment. Bottled water produced overseas, however, is excluded from the mandate and is sold with traditional labels. Domestic producers have raised equity concerns, arguing that competing products in the same market should be subject to the same standards. As

Korea reviewing plan to expand label-free mandate to foreign-produced bottled water

Jeonbuk National University tops regional peers in environmental engineering rankings

Jeonbuk National University’s Department of Environmental Engineering ranked No. 1 among regional flagship national universities in Korea in both the U.S. News and QS global university rankings released this year. The university said Friday that the rankings reflect the department's international research competitiveness. The department ranked 137th globally (tied) and fifth nationally in environmental engineering in the 2026-2027 U.S. News Best Global Universities Rankings, climbing 29 places from the previous year. It also maintained its fifth-place national ranking and No. 1 position among regional flagship national universities for the third consecutive year. In the 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject for environmental sciences, the department placed in the 251-300 band globally and tied for eighth nationally, earning the highest ranking among Korea’s regional flagship national universities. U.S. News places emphasis on research indicators, including publication volume, citation impact, the proportion of highly cited papers and international research collaboration. QS, me

Jeonbuk National University tops regional peers in environmental engineering rankings

Kookmin University research team develops AI model to predict properties of mixtures

A Kookmin University research team has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that predicts the properties of mixtures based on the proportions of their chemical components. The university said Thursday that the team was led by Joung Joon-young, a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the university’s Graduate School. The team included Kim Ji-hwan, a student in the university’s integrated master’s and doctoral program, and Kim Chan-joong, an undergraduate student. The findings were published in the Chemical Engineering Journal under the title “Encoding composition-dependent intermolecular interactions into learned molecular representations.” Most chemical products people encounter in everyday life are mixtures of multiple substances rather than single compounds. Common examples include industrial solvents, electrolytes in batteries, automotive fuels, and cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations. The properties of a mixture depend not only on which substances it contains but also on the proportions in which they are combined. These changes, however, do not necessar

Kookmin University research team develops AI model to predict properties of mixtures

Samsung Electronics to become 1st local firm with cash assets of over $146.6 bil.: data

Helped by the artificial intelligence-led (AI) chip supercycle, Samsung Electronics is poised to become the first Korean company with cash assets of over 200 trillion won ($146.6 billion), industry data showed Sunday. Cash and cash equivalents at the chip giant are estimated to have reached 214.8 trillion won as of the third quarter, up 24.8 trillion won from 190 trillion won recorded three months earlier, according to the data. The amount is also nearly double from the 108.5 trillion won recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2025. Total assets owned by the company reached 791.8 trillion won as of end-September, up 32.4 trillion won from three months earlier. Market watchers estimate Samsung's current cash assets are enough to fully fund the top-line payout in its landmark shareholder return policy announced in August. The chip behemoth said about 90 trillion won to 110 trillion won will be available for shareholder returns in 2026. Investments into chipmaking infrastructure and research and development are expected to reach a historic high of over 100 trillion won this year, too, w

Samsung Electronics to become 1st local firm with cash assets of over $146.6 bil.: data

1st snow arrives early in Seoul, but warmer, wetter winter expected

Seoul recorded its first snowfall of the season Sunday, nearly a month earlier than last year, with light flurries observed in the capital. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), the first snow was observed at the Seoul Meteorological Observatory in Jongno District. The snowfall came 26 days earlier than last year and 12 days ahead of the seasonal average. It marked the sixth-earliest first snowfall since nationwide weather records began in 1973. Seoul's earliest first snowfall on record occurred on Oct. 23, 1981. In Seoul, the official first snowfall is determined when an observer at the central Seoul weather station visually confirms that snow is falling. The designation does not necessarily mean snow fell across the entire city or accumulated on the ground. Despite the early snowfall, KMA expects a warmer, wetter winter than usual, with more frequent rain and snow, as a strengthening El Niño is forecast to continue through the season. El Niño occurs when ocean temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific near the equator rise above normal. It is officially dec

1st snow arrives early in Seoul, but warmer, wetter winter expected

Korea's nuclear submarine project faces hurdles despite key approval

South Korea’s plan to build nuclear-powered submarines has cleared a key domestic hurdle, but securing reactor fuel from the United States remains unresolved, with legal requirements and closer congressional scrutiny threatening to complicate the project. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) approved the basic acquisition strategy for the Jangbogo N program Friday, setting a 2027 start date targeting deployment of the first submarine in the late 2030s. The decision establishes how the project will proceed, not how Seoul will obtain the nuclear fuel it needs. A defense acquisition official said Seoul believes it can secure submarine fuel without needing to revise its existing nuclear cooperation agreement with Washington. Instead, the government is pursuing a separate arrangement under Section 91 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act, which provides for military nuclear cooperation. The official cited the AUKUS partnership, under which the U.S. and Britain are helping Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines, as a precedent for a separate agreement. But negotiations have ye

Korea's nuclear submarine project faces hurdles despite key approval

Gov't weighs tighter social media restrictions for minors, targeting addictive features

The government is considering expanding restrictions on minors’ social media use beyond age limits for account registration to include regulations on recommendation algorithms and platform features to curb excessive use. However, questions remain over how the proposed measures can effectively protect minors from excessive social media use while safeguarding their freedom of expression and access to information. According to the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC), Sunday, it is considering amendments to the Information and Communications Network Act to prohibit children under 14 from creating social media accounts and require platform operators to verify users’ ages. The commission first proposed the measures during a presidential policy briefing in July. The proposed measures also include disabling personalized recommendation algorithms that analyze users’ interests and browsing histories, as well as features such as infinite scrolling that could encourage excessive use, by default for accounts belonging to users aged 14 to 19. It aims to finalize the measures by the

Gov't weighs tighter social media restrictions for minors, targeting addictive features

Defense committee chair says OPCON agreement stands despite US midterm outcome

The United States acknowledged that certain policy-related variables could affect the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) to Seoul, but reaffirmed its commitment to the existing bilateral agreement that the handover will proceed based on agreed conditions, a Korean lawmaker said Sunday. Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), who chairs the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, briefed reporters at the National Assembly on the outcome of a parliamentary delegation’s trip to the United States from Nov. 1 to 5. He said the delegation was granted entry approval only at the last minute, but was still able to proceed with its scheduled visit to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and its subordinate component commands in Hawaii. Asked whether the Democratic sweep in the U.S. midterm elections could affect the OPCON transfer process, Jin said he did not expect any significant changes. "Korea and the U.S. have discussed and reached agreements over OPCON transfer for more than 20 years. A Democratic victory (in the U.S.) would not affect the existing bil

Defense committee chair says OPCON agreement stands despite US midterm outcome

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