Questions arise over constitutionality, conflict of interest in special counsel probe design

The Korea Times - Nov 9, 2026

A special counsel law passed by the National Assembly on Friday is drawing questions over conflicts of interest and whether its investigative powers are consistent with the government’s prosecution reforms. The legislation calls for an investigation into allegations that prosecutors and other state agencies fabricated evidence or brought politically motivated charges under former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Its 12 areas of investigation include cases involving President Lee Jae Myung, including alleged election law violations, involvement in development scandals and illicit money transfers to North Korea. An earlier version of the bill, introduced by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) in April, would have allowed the special counsel to take over pending prosecutions and decide whether to maintain them, prompting opposition accusations that it was designed to clear Lee of criminal charges. The DPK came up with a revised version after Lee asked lawmakers in September to remove the provision. But the appointment process remains contentious. Three parties — the DPK, the main oppositi

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Hoban's rise gives Delta more leverage in Hanjin KAL power battle

Hoban Group’s rise as Hanjin KAL’s largest shareholder is giving Delta Air Lines greater leverage in the power struggle over Korean Air’s holding company as Chairman Cho Won-tae seeks to retain control. Hoban and its affiliates held a 20.69 percent stake in Hanjin KAL as of Wednesday, narrowly surpassing Cho and related parties at 20.58 percent. Cho has agreed to purchase another 325,000 shares for 37.05 billion won ($27 million), which could lift his side’s stake to 21.06 percent and restore its position as the largest shareholder. The increasingly close shareholding structure, however, has heightened the importance of major shareholders outside the two rival camps. Delta owns 14.9 percent of Hanjin KAL, while the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) holds 10.58 percent. Together with Cho’s stake, the three parties account for about 46 percent of Hanjin KAL. Excluding KDB from consideration for any future Korean Air deal due to its unique status as a public financial institution, Delta is emerging as an unexpected beneficiary of the renewed power struggle between Cho and Ho

Hoban's rise gives Delta more leverage in Hanjin KAL power battle

Battery materials firms ramp up LFP capacity amid rising demand

Battery materials makers are accelerating their expansion into lithium iron phosphate (LFP) materials, as growing demand for energy storage systems (ESS) and non-Chinese supply chains in North America fuels competition to secure production capacity. LFP cathode supply commitments between domestic battery cell makers and materials suppliers are estimated to exceed 210,000 metric tons, according to industry estimates, prompting manufacturers — POSCO Future M, L&F and EcoPro BM — to step up investments. POSCO Future M is expanding its LFP capacity by converting part of its existing high-nickel cathode production lines at its Pohang plant. The company plans to increase annual capacity from about 20,000 tons to as much as 105,000 tons by the end of next year. It also plans to utilize up to 50,000 tons of capacity from CNP New Material Technology, a joint venture with CNGR and Fino. Following a 1.07 trillion won ($784.5 million) LFP cathode material supply deal with SK On in September, POSCO Future M signed another long-term supply contract worth about 6 trillion won with Samsung SDI last

Battery materials firms ramp up LFP capacity amid rising demand

Innospace to launch upgraded suborbital rocket in Brazil on Nov. 29

Korean space startup Innospace said Monday it plans to launch its upgraded multipurpose suborbital rocket, Sebit, in Brazil on Nov. 29, following an unsuccessful maiden test flight in August. The company has secured a 26-day launch window from Nov. 16 to Dec. 11 at the Alcantara Launch Center in Brazil, in coordination with state-owned aerospace company ALADA, the Brazilian Air Force and the Brazilian Space Agency. The final launch date and time will be determined based on weather conditions, launch readiness and other operational factors. Sebit is a multipurpose suborbital rocket designed to provide commercial testing and validation services. The single-stage rocket is powered by a 4-ton-class hybrid engine and measures 8.7 meters in length and 0.7 meters in diameter. The upcoming flight will mark Sebit's second test launch following a series of technical upgrades aimed at improving its propulsion and flight stability. The improvements include increasing engine thrust from the 3-ton class to the 4-ton class and redesigning the flight control algorithm. The upgrades follow an unsuccessful

Innospace to launch upgraded suborbital rocket in Brazil on Nov. 29

Sogang University tops university category in service quality index for 13th straight year

Sogang University has ranked No. 1 in the university category for the 13th consecutive year in the Korean Standard-Service Quality Index (KS-SQI) survey conducted by the Korean Standards Association (KSA). The university said it earned an overall score of 86.5 points in this year's survey, maintaining its top position in the category since 2014. It received particularly high scores in accuracy, friendliness and social value. The second-half survey covered 238 organizations across 58 general and platform service industries. The 2026 KS-SQI certification ceremony was held on Wednesday at the Grand Ballroom of Signiel Seoul in Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul. It drew about 200 attendees, including representatives of award-winning organizations. The KS-SQI is a service quality measurement model jointly developed by the KSA and Seoul National University’s Institute of Management Research. Designed to reflect the characteristics of Korea’s service industry and consumers, the index serves as a comprehensive measure of service quality nationwide. Since 2000, the KSA has conducted the surve

Sogang University tops university category in service quality index for 13th straight year

Community Closet event in Itaewon offers free medical check-ups, clothing donations for foreign residents in need

Itaewon Global Village Center will offer free internal medicine check-ups for all foreign residents this Saturday as part of its Community Closet event. The check-ups will cover only seasonal illnesses such as fever, colds, coughs, the flu and related issues, and medicine will be provided free of charge in partnership with CCC AGAPE, a Korean medical service group. Marking its eighth edition, the Community Closet event, held twice a year in spring and autumn, is built around a simple but powerful principle: foreigners helping foreigners. Since 2023, the initiative has continued to grow, helping residents access essential items while encouraging a culture of sharing and reuse. Designed as a more dignified way to share, it is a free shopping event that allows foreign residents in need to receive donated clothes and household items in a welcoming environment. “For foreign residents navigating life in South Korea, finding a sense of belonging can be just as important as finding practical support," Katherine Ann Corteza, the center’s director, told The Korea Times. Originally from the Phi

Community Closet event in Itaewon offers free medical check-ups, clothing donations for foreign residents in need

Kookmin University biotechnology professor named to World's Top 2% Scientists list

Kwak Su-ryang, a professor in Kookmin University’s Department of Integrative Biotechnology, has been named to the 2026 World’s Top 2% Scientists list jointly released by Stanford University and Elsevier. The list recognizes the top 2 percent of researchers in their respective fields based on a comprehensive assessment of research performance, including citation metrics and publication output, using data from Elsevier’s Scopus database. Kwak’s research focuses on designing functional microorganisms and biomaterials using synthetic and computational biology, and evaluating their potential applications in precision medicine through multi-omics approaches. His notable achievements include a study published in Microbiome in 2020 that identified the effects of fecal microbiota transplantation on the gut microbiome and resistome, or the collection of antibiotic resistance genes in the human digestive system. Another study, published in Biomaterials in 2022, used metabolic engineering to identify and enhance the prebiotic properties of oligosaccharides in yeast cell walls. “I am gratefu

Kookmin University biotechnology professor named to World's Top 2% Scientists list

University of Seoul holds admissions information session in Vietnam

The University of Seoul held an admissions information session at the University of Languages and International Studies of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Oct. 30, as part of its efforts to attract talented students from overseas. The University of Seoul said the event drew approximately 360 participants, including students enrolled in Korean language departments at local Vietnamese universities. The information session was organized to introduce local students firsthand to the university’s academic strengths and admission procedures, while expanding its efforts to attract talented international students. Faculty members from six colleges and the university’s Korean Language and Culture Program engaged with local students and provided one-on-one consultations for students interested in studying in Korea. The six colleges were the College of Government and Economics, the College of Business Administration, the College of Humanities, the College of Natural Sciences, the College of Artificial Intelligence and the College of Engineering. By having its faculty members directly introduc

University of Seoul holds admissions information session in Vietnam

President Lee's approval rating falls to 35.9%: poll

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell to 35.9 percent last week likely due to an intense political standoff over legislation and stock market volatility, a pollster said Monday. Positive assessments of Lee's job performance dropped by 1 percentage point from the previous week in the poll conducted on 2,528 adults from last Monday to Friday, according to Realmeter. Negative assessments rose by 0.5 percentage point to 60.6 percent, while 3.4 percent of respondents said they were not sure. Realmeter attributed the lower approval rating to last week's standoff between the ruling and main opposition parties over a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into alleged fabricated indictments targeting the president and others. The bill passed the National Assembly on Friday, led by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). The pollster also attributed the decline to last week's sharp fall in the KOSPI stock market index to below 5,000 points and other volatility in the financial sector. Meanwhile, support for the two largest parties came to 36.5 percent for the DPK and 39.7 per

President Lee's approval rating falls to 35.9%: poll

Samsung Bioepis' Keytruda biosimilar demonstrates equivalence in global Phase 3 trial

Samsung Bioepis said Monday that its proposed biosimilar SB27 demonstrated comparable efficacy and safety to Keytruda, a blockbuster cancer immunotherapy drug that was the world's best-selling pharmaceutical product last year, in a global Phase 3 clinical trial. According to the company, it announced the Phase 3 clinical study results at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Annual Meeting 2026 held in Phoenix, Arizona, from Nov. 4 to 8. Keytruda, developed by U.S. pharmaceutical company MSD, is a cancer immunotherapy drug that binds to programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), an immune checkpoint receptor, helping the immune system attack cancer cells. It was the world's best-selling drug last year, generating approximately 46 trillion won ($31.7 billion) in global sales. The Phase 3 study, which began in 2024, involved 555 patients with metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer across 14 countries, comparing SB27 with the original drug in combination with standard chemotherapy. In the study, SB27 met its primary endpoint by demonstrating an equivalent objective response rate t

Samsung Bioepis' Keytruda biosimilar demonstrates equivalence in global Phase 3 trial

Samyang's employee-led YouTube channel tops 2 mil. views in 3 months

Samyang Roundsquare, the parent company behind the Buldak spicy instant noodle maker Samyang Foods, said Monday its YouTube channel samyangman has surpassed 2 million cumulative views about three months after its launch in August. The channel airs “Fire or Fired,” an original series from BURNT, the company’s spicy food content brand. The show follows Tony, a Samyang employee who struggles with spicy food, as he tries fiery local dishes in New York, Texas, Los Angeles and other parts of the United States. Tony is what Koreans jokingly call a “maepjjiri,” slang for someone with a low tolerance for spicy food. Instead of hiring celebrities or influencers, the company cast its own employee, who interacts with locals on camera. The seven episodes released so far have drawn more than 2.18 million views as of Sunday. The most-watched episode, featuring a visit to Samyang America, the company’s U.S. subsidiary, logged 770,000 views, followed by episodes filmed in Nashville, Tennessee, and New Mexico. Viewers in the United States accounted for about 45 percent of total views, while th

Samyang's employee-led YouTube channel tops 2 mil. views in 3 months

CJ Olive Young to open 5 more US stores by mid-2027, expanding to San Diego

CJ Olive Young, Korea’s largest health and beauty store chain, will open five more stores in California by the first half of 2027, bringing its U.S. total to seven, the company said Monday. The retailer opened its first U.S. store in Pasadena in May and a second at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles in June. Four of the new stores will be in the greater Los Angeles area: Spectrum Center, a lifestyle shopping center in Irvine; Del Amo Fashion Center in the South Bay area; Bloom on 3rd, a shopping complex near the Farmers Market in central Los Angeles; and Brea Mall in Orange County. The fifth will open at Fashion Valley in San Diego, its first outside the Los Angeles area. Opening dates for each store have not been set. Three of the sites — Del Amo Fashion Center, Brea Mall and Fashion Valley — are operated by Simon Property Group, a major U.S. mall owner. The company said the expansion will help small and independent Korean cosmetics brands, collectively known as K-beauty, reach American consumers without their own distribution networks. Olive Young said its stores also introduce

CJ Olive Young to open 5 more US stores by mid-2027, expanding to San Diego

Hanwha Aerospace to conduct ship-based Chunmoo missile tests in US

Hanwha Aerospace said Monday its U.S. subsidiary plans to conduct two test-firings of missiles from its Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher system in the United States as part of its effort to adapt the land-based system for naval use. The missiles will be launched from a vessel off the southern U.S. coast later this month to assess the system's suitability for shipboard deployment. The tests follow an April agreement between Hanwha Defense USA (HDUSA) and Florida-based Magnet Defense to develop a containerized Chunmoo launcher for the H38 medium unmanned surface vessel (MUSV). HDUSA has been expanding its presence in the U.S. maritime defense market. It is in talks to acquire Austal USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Australian shipbuilder Austal, with negotiations under way over key terms of the deal. Last month, HDUSA secured a $269 million contract from shipbuilding management company TOTE Services to build a medium landing ship for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The deal came two years after Hanwha acquired Philly Shipyard in 2024, marking another step in its U.S. shipbuilding expansion.

Hanwha Aerospace to conduct ship-based Chunmoo missile tests in US

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