Appeals court rejects COVID-19 damages suit by Seoul detention center inmates, families Inmates and their families who sued the South Korean government over a COVID-19 outbreak at Seoul Eastern Detention Center in 2020 have also lost on appeal. According to Yonhap News Agency on Friday, the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Appeals Division 5-1 recently ruled against 33 inmates and family members who sought damages from the state and Choo Mi-ae, the justice minister at the time who oversaw correctional facilities, upholding the lower court’s decision. The panel said April 25, 2026

South Korea’s Kim Min-seok hails Pearl Abyss’ ‘Crimson Desert’ as milestone for K-games Prime Minister Kim Min-seok congratulated Pearl Abyss on its game “Crimson Desert” surpassing 5 million copies sold just 26 days after release. According to Yonhap News Agency on the 25th, Kim wrote the message on social media the previous evening while sharing an article about the sales milestone. Kim said the title won over players worldwide with a “living game world” built with the developer’s own technology, lifelike graphics and active communication with users. He added that i April 25, 2026

Cha&Mom Phytocerin Outdoor Play Sun Stick Offers Gentle, Hygienic UV Protection Sunscreen is a staple in my bag. As the weather warms and outdoor reporting increases ahead of the June 3 local elections, choosing a product has felt more important — and I have become more careful about what I carry. The one I have been using is Cha&Mom’s ‘Phytocerin Outdoor Play Sun Stick,’ from Cha Bio F&C’s family skin-health brand. As the name suggests, it is a stick, so it goes on quickly without getting on your hands. That makes it easier to use hygienically outdoors, wher April 25, 2026

Lee Jin-sook Drops Out of Daegu Mayor’s Race After PPP Cutoff Lee Jin-sook, a former chair of the Korea Communications Commission who was cut from the People Power Party’s primary for Daegu mayor, said April 25 she will not run in the June 3 local election. With Rep. Joo Ho-young also having declared he will not run, the party’s internal turmoil over the Daegu race appeared to ease. Speaking at a news conference at the People Power Party’s Daegu office, Lee said, “Today, I am stepping down from the position of preliminary candidate for Daegu may April 25, 2026

U.S. Envoys Head to Pakistan for Possible Iran Peace Talks; Tehran Denies Meeting Planned As the United States and Iran issue conflicting messages about whether peace talks will resume, reports say delegations from both sides could make contact in Pakistan as soon as this weekend. Yonhap News Agency reported that The New York Times, citing two senior Iranian officials, said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to meet U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s eldest son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in Pakistan this weekend. T April 25, 2026

Microsoft, Meta Layoffs Highlight Paradox of Massive AI Spending Microsoft is moving ahead with a large voluntary separation program for some U.S. employees. The plan primarily targets workers whose age and years of service add up to 70 or more. Some estimates put the eligible group at about 7% of Microsoft’s roughly 125,000 U.S. employees, or about 8,700 people. On the same day, Meta also announced plans for major job cuts and reduced roles. As the race to invest in artificial intelligence intensifies, the paradox of cutting people while spending heav April 25, 2026

US Sanctions China’s Hengli Group Over Purchases of Iranian Oil The United States has added China’s major refining company Hengli Group to its sanctions list over imports of Iranian oil. According to Yonhap, the U.S. Treasury and State departments said on April 24 (local time) they were sanctioning Hengli Group for buying Iranian oil. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said Hengli is among the largest customers, purchasing Iranian oil worth tens of billions of dollars. Treasury said it determined that Hengli and other Chin April 25, 2026

Sunday Forecast: Mostly Sunny Nationwide; Showers for Jeju and Parts of the South Sunday the 26th is expected to be mostly sunny nationwide. The Korea Meteorological Administration said Jeollanam-do, the Gyeongsang region and Jeju Island will see more clouds at times. Jeju is forecast to get 5 to 10 millimeters (0.2 to 0.4 inches) of rain from dawn through daytime hours. Showers are also expected from afternoon into evening in southern Jeollanam-do; inland areas of Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang; and the southern East Sea coast of North Gyeongsang. Forecast rai April 25, 2026

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Seizes Ship It Says Visited U.S. Ports, Citing Maritime Violations Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy has seized a vessel it said was suspected of cooperating with the U.S. military. According to Yonhap News Agency, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that the Guard on Thursday (local time) seized the EPAMINODES, citing violations of maritime regulations. The Guard’s navy said it had monitored the ship for the past six months and confirmed it had visited U.S. ports several times. It said the vessel was seized after it ignored repeated warn April 25, 2026

Debate Grows Over Extending Korea Exchange Stock Trading Hours Disagreement is widening inside South Korea’s market over the Korea Exchange plan to extend stock trading hours. The exchange says longer hours would boost global competitiveness and investor convenience, but securities firms and some retail investors question the benefits and warn of confusion. Even if change is needed, a revamp that fails to win market trust is unlikely to succeed. The exchange had pushed to add a premarket and after-hours session, expanding the trading day from the c April 25, 2026