South Korea survey urges fixes to overly polite public language and common errors The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Institute of Korean Language on Wednesday released results of a public survey on “public language that needs improvement.” The survey was conducted from Dec. 24-30, 2025, of 3,000 people nationwide ages 14 to 79. It was based on 30 difficult words and incorrect expressions frequently encountered in media that influence everyday language use, including broadcasting, news outlets and social media. The item most respondents said should be changed was excessive honorific wording, such as “That product is sold out” phrased with an honorific ending and “Your coffee has come out,” another over-polite service expression. A total of 93.3% said such wording should be replaced. Many also said confusion between the Korean forms equivalent to “do” and “does” should be corrected (90.2%). Other items cited as needing improvement included misuse of the expression meaning “keep in mind” (74.8%) and confusion between two similar verbs meaning “to guess correctly” (71.2%). More than 70% also said hateful or discriminatory expressions should be improved, including the derogatory suffix “-chung” (87.1%) and the phrase “suffer from a disability” (78.7%). More information on the selected expressions and recommended usage is available on the National Institute of Korean Language website and the “Let’s Use Easy Korean” website. The ministry and the institute said they will launch a public awareness campaign based on the “30 public-language items that need improvement,” including producing and distributing short-form videos such as Shorts and Reels to promote proper Korean usage, especially among younger people. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-12 08:57:00

Hyundai Motor offers up to 1 million won coupon bonus for certified used-car sellers Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it will continue a customer promotion starting this month that offers “The Dream” coupons to users of Hyundai Certified Used Cars. The coupon can be used when customers use the platform’s “sell my car” service. Eligible models will change each month and can be checked on the Hyundai Certified Used Cars website. Depending on the vehicle, the coupon can raise the final appraisal price by up to 1 million won when selling to Hyundai Certified Used Cars. Eligible vehicles are accident-free Hyundai and Genesis models that meet both requirements: one to four years in service and 5,000 to 100,000 kilometers (about 3,100 to 62,100 miles) of mileage. For February, Hyundai will provide 500,000 won for the Avante, Sonata, Grandeur, Casper, Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6. Genesis will provide 1 million won for the GV60, the electrified GV70 and the electrified G80. Hyundai also launched an “All-in-One Care” service that links the full process from used-car purchase to resale and provides integrated guidance on customer benefits. The company said it will notify customers of available benefits at each stage — purchase, use and resale — through text messages and other methods. Hyundai said customers will be able to more easily track benefits including converting 0.1% of the purchase amount into membership points, a one-year/20,000-kilometer warranty, and a “trade-in” discount when buying a new Hyundai vehicle after selling a used car. A Hyundai official said Hyundai Certified Used Cars is working to provide a used-car experience customers can trust, based on a philosophy that “the maker cares for it to the end,” and said the company will continue to run customer support programs to improve the customer experience.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-12 08:48:00

Korean Air Says It Successfully Tested 5-Meter Satellite Antenna Deployment System Korean Air said Wednesday it has successfully completed a development test of a large, satellite-mounted antenna deployment system in partnership with the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology in Defense. The company said it plans to expand the work into a core technology for next-generation satellites tied to national security, aiming to strengthen competitiveness in the space industry. Korean Air said it carried out a successful test last month at the CAMTIC Institute of Technology in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, involving a 5-meter-class antenna deployment system. The test was conducted as part of a defense core-technology project led by the defense technology institute, titled “Deployable large satellite-mounted antenna deployment system,” with participants from the institute, CAMTIC, Steplab and Korea Aerospace University, among others. The key to the technology is minimizing volume at launch by storing the large antenna folded inside the launch vehicle, then deploying it to full size after reaching the target orbit. Because the antenna must deploy precisely without error in the space environment, the system is considered a major factor in determining satellite performance. Korean Air said the test confirmed that a 5-meter satellite antenna deployment device operated as designed. The company said the results showed stable deployment while maintaining the antenna’s shape in extreme space conditions, resolved mechanical interference in the complex deployment structure, and maintained high precision through repeated deployment cycles. Korean Air said the outcome also validated the effectiveness of its independently designed and manufactured “antenna deployment mechanism.” The company said it will use the test data to accelerate development of its final goal: a large antenna deployment system. Korean Air said it will continue pursuing technologies for the future space era, including ultra-high-resolution Earth observation satellites capable of distinguishing objects as small as 10 centimeters on the ground and 6G satellite communications technology, and that it aims to play a key role in next-generation satellite development linked to national security. “As a leading company in South Korea’s aerospace industry, we will continue to do our best to advance national space assets and help the country move toward becoming a major space power, based on the technological capabilities we have built,” a Korean Air official said.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-12 08:42:49

Wolves held 0-0 at Nottingham Forest as Hwang Hee-chan sits out, winless streak hits six Wolverhampton Wanderers, without key forward Hwang Hee-chan, drew 0-0 at Nottingham Forest. Wolves and Nottingham played to a scoreless draw in a 2025-2026 English Premier League Round 26 match at the City Ground in Nottingham, England, on Wednesday. The result extended Wolves’ winless run to six league matches. Wolves added one point but stayed bottom of the table with nine points. Hwang was left out of the matchday squad after he was substituted with calf pain in a loss to Chelsea on Feb. 8. Nottingham controlled the game, outshooting Wolves 35-7. But Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa made several standout saves to preserve the draw. Nottingham, despite dominating, collected only one point and remained on 27 points, failing to build momentum to move clear of the relegation zone. 2026-02-12 08:39:00

Kakao's profit jumps 48 percent in record year, plans AI push in 2026 SEOUL, February 12 (AJP) - South Korea’s Kakao Corp. said Thursday its annual revenue exceeded 8 trillion won for the first time last year, with operating profit surging on stronger platform performance and improved cost efficiency. In a regulatory filing, the company said consolidated revenue for 2025 rose 3 percent from a year earlier to a record 8.1 trillion won, while operating profit jumped 48 percent to an all-time high of 732 billion won. Fourth-quarter revenue increased 9 percent year-on-year to 2.13 trillion won, marking the highest quarterly sales in the company’s history. Operating profit more than doubled, rising 136 percent to 203.4 billion won, exceeding 200 billion won for a second consecutive quarter. Platform revenue in the October–December period climbed 17 percent from a year earlier to 1.22 trillion won. Within the segment, Talk Biz revenue grew 13 percent to 627.1 billion won, driven by a 16 percent increase in advertising sales to 373.4 billion won and a 19 percent rise in business messaging revenue. Display advertising revenue advanced 18 percent. Other platform revenue, including mobility and payment services, jumped 30 percent to 523.9 billion won. Kakao said its mobility unit recorded double-digit growth as taxi operations remained stable while parking and quick-delivery services expanded. Kakao Pay also posted balanced growth across payments, financial and platform services. Content revenue totaled 910.6 billion won in the fourth quarter, largely unchanged from a year earlier. Music and media revenue rose 12 percent and 30 percent to 525.1 billion won and 95.8 billion won, respectively, while story content revenue slipped 5 percent to 191.8 billion won. This year, Kakao said it will focus on artificial intelligence and KakaoTalk to drive growth. In the first quarter, the company plans to launch its on-device AI service, “Kanana in KakaoTalk,” on both Android and iOS, while continuing development of its in-house large language model. Chief Executive Jeong Shin-a said restructuring efforts to concentrate resources on core businesses were reflected in the company’s performance. “We will demonstrate progress through improved earnings and deliver tangible results that support Kakao’s mid- to long-term growth outlook,” Jeong said. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2026-02-12 08:36:58

Hyundai Glovis to Use AI to Plan Car-Carrier Loading, Cutting Time in Half Hyundai Glovis said Wednesday it will introduce its in-house “AI-based ship loading plan” technology on its car carriers. A loading plan is a pre-departure design for where cargo should be placed to improve transport efficiency and safety. Hyundai Glovis said its AI algorithm automatically generates optimized loading positions after users enter information such as the types and number of vehicles to be loaded and the ports for loading and unloading. The system considers port-call order as well as cargo weight and height. A single car carrier typically transports thousands of vehicles bound for multiple destinations. If the plan is wrong, vehicles that must be unloaded at an intermediate port can be blocked by vehicles headed to later destinations. That can force crews to unload large numbers of vehicles and reload them, causing delays and additional costs. The company said the AI-based planning can prevent such inefficiencies in advance, reducing wasted time and expense. For heavy, oversized cargo such as construction equipment, planners must also account for each deck’s height and load limits and place cargo lower in the ship to distribute weight evenly. Seaworthiness — the ability to maintain safe balance while sailing — is a key factor in loading plans. Hyundai Glovis said the algorithm runs on its proprietary data-design technology, for which it has completed a patent application. The company said it created a data model that breaks a car carrier’s interior into detailed decks and zones to represent structural characteristics and possible movement routes, allowing the AI to judge vehicle paths and feasible placement locations. Because car carriers differ in internal structure and cargo mixes change each voyage, the company said it has been difficult to apply a single standard. It also said more than 6,000 vehicles can be loaded for one trip, requiring many specialists and significant time to produce a plan. A Hyundai Glovis official said loading and unloading based on the AI-generated plan showed safety and efficiency similar to plans designed by specialists, while planning time fell by about half from the previous level of about 27 hours. The official said the company expects the reduction to exceed 90% as the technology advances. Hyundai Glovis said it will apply the technology sequentially across all of its car carriers in operation.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-12 08:36:00

Air Busan Delivers Lunar New Year Care Kits to Residents Near Gimhae Airport Air Busan said Wednesday it held a Lunar New Year sharing event Tuesday for residents living in noise-mitigation areas near Gimhae Airport. Air Busan employees visited senior centers and homes in the area, delivering essential-goods kits to about 100 older residents and spending time talking with them. The kits included daily necessities such as shampoo, detergent, toothpaste and toothbrushes. The airline said the effort focused on neighborhoods near Gimhae Airport designated for noise countermeasures, giving employees a better understanding of residents’ inconvenience and living conditions. Air Busan has carried out other community programs centered on areas near the airport, including providing a food truck on Jan. 30 for older adults at a welfare center in Gangseo District, Busan. “As an airline operating with Gimhae Airport as our hub, we will continue efforts to coexist with the local community and fulfill our social responsibility, based on deep understanding and empathy for residents affected by airport noise,” an Air Busan official said.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-12 08:27:00

James Van Der Beek of 'Dawson's Creek' Dies at 48 Actor James Van Der Beek, best known for playing Dawson on the hit U.S. TV drama “Dawson’s Creek,” died Tuesday, local time. He was 48. His family said on his official Instagram account, “Beloved James Van Der Beek passed away peacefully this morning,” adding that he “never lost courage, faith and kindness until the very end.” The New York Times reported that Van Der Beek had been battling stage 3 colon cancer since being diagnosed in 2024. Born in 1977 in Cheshire, Connecticut, he moved to New York to pursue acting and began his career on Broadway in the play “Sand.” He rose to stardom in 1998 as Dawson, a high school student in “Dawson’s Creek.” The series followed the love, friendship and growing pains of teenagers in Massachusetts and helped launch young stars including Katie Holmes and Jason Behr. It also aired in South Korea and was popular there. Van Der Beek later appeared in NBC’s “Mercy” as a womanizing doctor and played an FBI agent in the “CSI: Cyber” series. He continued acting through recent years, including a role in the romantic comedy film “Sidelined: QB and Me.” Van Der Beek married Heather McComb in 2003; they divorced in 2010. He later married Kimberly Brook, and they have six children.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-12 08:21:00

Renault Korea’s Busan Plant Tops 4 Million Vehicles, Expands Role as Global Hub 르노코리아는 지난 2000년 국내 시장 출범 이래 26년 만에 부산공장에서 누적 생산 400만대를 돌파했다고 12일 밝혔다. 르노코리아는 부산공장이 르노그룹 내 D·E 세그먼트 생산을 맡는 글로벌 허브로, 품질 경쟁력을 인정받고 있다고 밝혔다. 부산공장은 국내 약 220만대, 해외 약 180만대 등 총 400만대 이상을 출고했다. 부산공장에서 가장 많이 생산된 차량은 중형 세단 SM5로, 총 95만4000대가 생산됐다. SM3는 80만5000대, 닛산 로그는 58만5000대가 생산됐다. 니콜라 파리 르노코리아 사장은 기념 행사에서 "부산공장에서 400만대 이상을 생산할 수 있었던 가장 큰 원동력은 최고 수준의 품질 경쟁력과 임직원들의 뛰어난 역량"이라며 "이번 400만대 누적 생산을 새로운 도약의 출발점으로 삼아 500만대 생산을 향해 더욱 힘차게 나아가겠다"고 말했다. 르노코리아는 부산공장이 르노그룹의 '인터내셔널 게임 플랜 2027'에서 핵심 생산 거점 역할을 하고 있으며, 그룹의 주요 품질 관리 지표에서도 최상위권을 기록하고 있다고 밝혔다. 또 부산공장은 하나의 생산 라인에서 최대 4개 플랫폼, 8개 차종을 생산할 수 있는 혼류 생산 체계를 구축했다고 밝혔다. 지난해 1월에는 설비 업데이트를 통해 국내 자동차 기업 최초로 내연기관 생산 라인을 전기차 조립까지 가능한 라인으로 전환했다고 덧붙였다. 이를 기반으로 중형 SUV '그랑 콜레오스', 글로벌 플래그십 크로스오버 '필랑트', '폴스타 4' 등 내연기관과 하이브리드, 순수 전기차를 동시에 생산하는 체계를 갖췄다고 밝혔다.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-12 08:18:00

South Korea’s Jeong Seung-gi opens Olympic skeleton bid; women’s curling debuts vs. U.S. South Korea’s top skeleton racer Jeong Seung-gi, often described as the successor to Yoon Sung-bin, begins his push for a first Olympic medal on Thursday night. Jeong is scheduled to compete in runs one and two of the men’s skeleton on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Korea time at the Cortina Sliding Center in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, at the 2026 Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Skeleton standings are decided by combined times over four runs across two days. Jeong finished 10th at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, his first Games. He later won bronze at the 2022-23 world championships and placed second overall in the World Cup standings, establishing himself among the world’s best. He had surgery after a back injury during training in October 2024, but returned successfully and won a World Cup bronze medal this season. Expectations are higher after Jeong placed fifth at the first World Cup event held on the Cortina track that will host the Olympic race. Veteran Kim Ji-su, also of Gangwon Provincial Office, is also entered, returning to the Olympics for the first time in eight years since Pyeongchang. Another South Korean medal hopeful, the women’s curling team from Gyeonggi Provincial Office led by skip Kim Eun-ji, opens round-robin play Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Korea time against the United States at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. South Korea’s challenges in snow events continue as well. Cross-country skiers Lee Ui-jin of the Busan Sports Council and Han Da-som of Gyeonggi Provincial Office are set to race the women’s 10-kilometer interval-start freestyle at 9 p.m. Korea time at the Tesero Cross-Country Ski Stadium. Both failed to finish the opening 10+10 km skiathlon. They were also disqualified in the sprint classic qualifying on Feb. 10 after fluorine-containing wax was detected during an equipment check. The two said they will recheck their gear and try to restore their standing.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-12 07:51:00