C-democracy, or political participation through wagering, sprouts in polarized Korea SEOUL, December 02 (AJP) - "C-democracy" — where wagering meets political motive — is emerging in South Korea, as bets on former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment odds illustrate how fandom-driven political participation is evolving into fortified camps amid deepening polarization, a media scholar said at a forum in Seoul. "The fandom-engaged, interest-based model of democracy is shifting into a fortress-centered one — a fragmented, hybrid structure marked by ideological defense," said Park Han-woo, a professor of media and communication at Yeungnam University, speaking at AJP’s first-anniversary forum titled "Extremism, Polarization and the Role of Media in the Digital Transition." Park contrasted today’s digitally driven rallies with the hierarchical and closed protests under the 1970s–80s military regime. Contemporary participation, he noted, spans K-pop–style collective action seen in impeachment demonstrations, seniors expressing political views through YouTube, and teenagers mobilizing both online and on the streets through smartphones, livestreaming and social media. "Modes of participation are diversifying across generations," he said. Drawing on Australian media scholar Axel Bruns’s framework, Park pointed to a broader shift toward "individual publics," "issue publics," and "networked publics." These digitally connected groups can accelerate information flow, he said, but also amplify distortion and misinformation. The impeachment period revealed the interplay of "strong publics," capable of organized political action, and "weak publics," driven more by emotional affiliation. Both can broaden democratic debate, Park said, but also heighten social conflict. A new layer is emerging in the form of what Park describes as "financialized publics," a concept from his recent research. Studying overseas users who place bets on Korean political outcomes through the blockchain-based prediction platform Polymarket, Park found that political messaging often diverged from actual wagering behavior. "Emotional expression is intense, but financial risk-taking moves on a separate track," he said, calling this a new hybrid of political and economic participation. Park warned that rising news avoidance, algorithm-driven information consumption, and deepening emotional polarization are creating conditions in which "even basic facts fail to gain consensus." Trends such as election denial and the spread of conspiracy theories, he noted, have become visible in both South Korea and the United States. With democratic norms under strain, Park emphasized that rebuilding public trust is essential. He called for transparent communication, stronger civic empathy, and institutional structures that can bridge increasingly segmented publics. "Media must help rebuild trust at a moment when traditional value systems are shaking," he said. 2025-12-02 16:49:36

More subway workers threaten strike SEOUL, December 2 (AJP) - More subway workers are expected to go on strike next week if their demands for increased staffing are not met. The Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union (KPTU), which operates Line 9, separately from Seoul Metro (which manages Lines 1 through 8), held a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday, threatening a potential partial strike on Dec. 11. The action would maintain train schedules but involve operational slowdowns such as delayed door closures, reduced train speeds, and refusal to perform non-essential tasks. KPTU's union members say last year's agreement to hire more than 55 additional staff has not been fulfilled. They argue that insufficient staffing leads to a higher risk of accidents. Meanwhile, unionized workers of Seoul Metro have launched a similar strike, with a full-scale walkout planned for Dec. 12. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-02 16:30:49

PHOTOS: Korea's year-end tradition of sharing warmth through kimchi SEOUL, December 02 (AJP) - As the calendar year draws to a close, a heartwarming tradition is unfolding across South Korea: mass kimchi-making events, known locally as gimjang. The time-honored custom sees communities, volunteers, and local organizations gather to prepare large quantities of the fermented cabbage. While gimjang is traditionally a family affair, these widespread annual events focus on collecting and distributing the kimchi to those in need — particularly the elderly, low-income families, and isolated individuals. 2025-12-02 16:30:11

South Korea's daily inflation nears 3% in November on steep won weakening SEOUL, December 02 (AJP) - South Korea’s inflationary pressure strengthened in November, with daily living costs hovering near 3 percent as a sharply weaker won pushed up fuel and import prices while discouraging overseas travel and spending, government data showed Tuesday. According to the consumer price index (CPI) released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics, headline inflation rose 2.4 percent from a year earlier, matching October’s on-year gain. Fuel prices jumped 5.9 percent on year and 3.5 percent on month, reflecting the dollar-won exchange rate lingering at crisis-level territory. The dollar climbed as high as 1,475.2 won last month — nearly 7 percent higher than two months earlier. Diesel prices rose 10.4 percent and gasoline gained 5.3 percent. Although Dubai crude fell about 4.5 percent — from $66.2 per barrel in late October to $63.2 in late November — domestic petroleum prices nevertheless increased to 1,718.1 won per liter from 1,663.2 won a month earlier due to the weaker won and the gradual phase-out of fuel-tax cuts. Processed food prices rose 3.3 percent on higher import-input costs, while prices of agricultural, livestock and fishery goods surged 5.6 percent on poor weather conditions. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, eased to 2.0 percent from 2.2 percent in October as service-sector prices softened on weakening demand. Housing rents — including jeonse lump-sum leases and monthly rentals — continued their upward trajectory, rising 0.9 percent on year. The Cost of Living Index (CLI), which tracks 144 frequently purchased items, accelerated to a 2.9 percent on-year increase from 2.5 percent in October. Expected inflation for the next 12 months remained in the mid-2 percent range. Following the release, the Bank of Korea said it was monitoring price trends “with vigilance,” noting that overall inflation has stayed in the mid-2 percent range for a second consecutive month while daily living costs have spiked. In the bond market, the 3-year Treasury yield closed the early Tuesday session 2.0 basis points lower at 3.025 percent, while the 10-year yield slipped 1.4 basis points to 3.373 percent. The central bank kept its policy rate unchanged at 2.5 percent at its final meeting of the year on Nov. 27, citing a policy bind created by foreign-exchange volatility and housing-market vulnerabilities. 2025-12-02 16:23:28

INTERVIEW: KEAD chief aims to expand job opportunities for disabled in emerging industries SEOUL, December 2 (AJP) - Dec. 3 marks the UN's International Day of Persons with Disabilities, highlighting the importance of employment opportunities for the disabled amid rapid changes in the labor market. The Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities (KEAD) is at the forefront of this effort. Lee Jong-seong, KEAD's head, is focused on creating jobs for the disabled. "The expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital industries is reshaping the job market," Lee said. "We aim to uncover new roles in future industries to provide more opportunities for the disabled." KEAD is prioritizing job development in new industries, expanding digital training, and supporting companies in adopting new roles. Challenges remain such as low employment rates for the severely disabled and insufficient diversity in the job market. Lee said the government plans to raise the mandatory employment quota for people with disabilities to 3.5 percent by 2029, emphasizing KEAD's role in helping companies comply through tailored consulting and promoting best practices. Lee highlighted the need for improved perceptions of disabled workers, despite several years of mandatory workplace education. KEAD is enhancing experience-based programs and utilizing various media channels to help change these perceptions. Despite an overall rise in employment, the employment rate for people with disabilities declined from 50.4 percent in 2022 to 48.4 percent in 2024. KEAD aims to reverse this trend by expanding quality jobs and relevant support services including AI-driven job-matching systems. Lee aims to improve workplace practices by offering higher subsidies for additional hires and supporting marketing efforts for small businesses. "Our goal is to transform lives and enhance social diversity and sustainability," Lee said, urging continued support and attention. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI. 2025-12-02 15:57:41

KAI strengthens space portfolio with new satellite launch SEOUL, December 02 (AJP) - Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) said Tuesday the country's new multipurpose satellite was successfully launched at 2:21 a.m. local time from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana aboard a VEGA-C rocket. KAI played a key role in the mission, jointly developing and assembling the satellite with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). Officials said the launch significantly strengthens South Korea’s precision earth-observation capabilities, enabling stable acquisition of high-resolution imagery of the Korean Peninsula and other strategic regions. The satellite is equipped with an ultra-high-resolution electro-optical camera capable of capturing images at 0.3-meter resolution. The data is expected to support land management, disaster response, environmental monitoring and urban planning. The mission follows last month’s successful launch of a medium satellite. KAI said it intends to build on the momentum to expand the nation’s satellite development capacity and accelerate the shift toward greater private-sector leadership in space projects. “As a leading space company in South Korea, we will continue contributing to the nation’s space ambitions by leveraging our 30 years of experience across satellite and launch vehicle programs,” said Kim Ji-hong, head of KAI’s Future Convergence Technology Institute. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-02 15:52:53

South Korea holds world's first contest to counter AI hacking SEOUL, December 02 (AJP) - South Korea has wrapped up the world’s first AI Hacking Defense Contest (ACDC), an event designed to test emerging cybersecurity threats and defense techniques in the era of artificial intelligence. The competition was hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and organized by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) in partnership with the Korea Information Security Industry Association (KISIA). The contest examined three major domains: AI security applications, AI safety assurance and AI platform security. Preliminary rounds were held over two days beginning Oct. 31, with 20 teams advancing to the finals on Dec. 1 at COEX in Seoul. The final stage combined traditional capture-the-flag (CTF) challenges with AI-based attack-and-defense exercises. The Ministry of Science and ICT team — comprising members from Singularity, Superblock, Viva Republica and Toss Securities — won the top honor, the Minister of Science and ICT Award. “This contest was a great opportunity to highlight the importance of AI security, which is often overlooked,” said Joo Kyu-hwan, leader of the winning Ministry of Science and ICT team. “I enjoyed the competition from the preliminaries through the finals and appreciate the efforts of my teammates and the organizers.” In the general category, the GYG team, representing Toss and Theory, won the KISA President’s Award. The student division was topped by Pwngrad, a joint team from KAIST and Soongsil University, which received the KISIA President’s Award. Special awards were presented to the 78RL78 team (78ResearchLab) and the “Do You Know Ucando” team (Yonsei University), who received the LG Uplus CEO Award, and to the RHCP team from POSTECH, which earned the Korea Institute of Information Security & Cryptology President’s Award. KISA said it plans to expand the ACDC into an international event next year. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-02 15:42:47

Four injured in explosion during military training in Paju SEOUL, December 2 (AJP) - Four people were injured in an explosion at an army training site in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday. The accident occurred during anti-aircraft shooting drills when a 30-mm shell became stuck in a launcher. According to military authorities, the injured included three non-commissioned officers and one civilian employee. They were airlifted to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in the province with injuries such as shoulder wounds and tinnitus, but are reportedly in stable condition. A military official said, "The exact cause of the accident is under investigation." * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-02 15:22:28

BLACKPINK's Jennie sets new milestone with four RIAA certifications SEOUL, December 2 (AJP) - K-pop girl group BLACKPINK's member Jennie has earned another "gold" certification for a song from her first full-length solo-debut album. According to the U.S. Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)'s latest list released this week, "ExtraL" from her album "Ruby" received the honor. This brings Jennie's RIAA certifications to four, the most among K-pop solo artists, including three tracks from "Ruby." Previously, she received a "platinum" certification for "One Of The Girls," a collaboration with Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd and French-American actress Lily-Rose Depp, as well as “gold” certifications for "Mantra" and "Like JENNIE." The RIAA awards certifications based on album sales - gold for 500,000 units, platinum for 1 million, multi-platinum for 2 million, and diamond for 10 million. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-02 15:06:33

Korea's only commercial small-satellite platform firm targets global growth with planned IPO SEOUL, December 02 (AJP) - Nara Space Technology, South Korea’s only commercial provider of small-satellite platforms, is preparing to list on the KOSDAQ market as it seeks to scale its global business on the back of growing demand for earth-observation data. At a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday, CEO Park Jae-pil said the company aims to become a world-class small-satellite developer, leveraging the “space heritage” it has accumulated through successful launches and in-orbit operations ahead of its IPO. The company plans to issue 1.72 million shares at a price range of 13,100 to 16,500 won, raising an estimated 22.5 billion to 28.4 billion won. Institutional bookbuilding closes on Dec. 2, with retail subscriptions scheduled for Dec. 8–9. The company aims to complete its listing within December. Samsung Securities is acting as lead underwriter. “We are the only company in South Korea capable of providing small-satellite cluster services,” Park said. “Funds raised from the listing will be used to expand internationally and speed up satellite launches.” Founded in 2015, Nara Space Technology has grown into the country’s sole commercial supplier offering end-to-end capabilities spanning satellite design, manufacturing, launch, mission operations, imaging and data analytics. The company secured its space heritage after successfully launching and communicating with its Observer-1A satellite in November 2023 and its Observer-1B in 2025. It now operates two satellites in orbit. Nara Space Technology’s recent payload launch on South Korea’s Nuri rocket, and its contract to fly again on Nuri’s sixth mission in 2027, have strengthened its credibility. The firm is working with major Korean companies including Samsung Electronics, KT and Hanwha Systems. Its cluster-based observation platform shortens revisit intervals compared with single-satellite systems, offering applications in disaster response, carbon-emission monitoring and smart-city management. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-02 15:06:03