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  • Korean Animation Expands Audience with Hits Like Hachuping and Agaami
    Korean Animation Expands Audience with Hits Like 'Hachuping' and 'Agaami' 영화 '사랑의 하츄핑: 고래보석의 전설'이 '오디세이', '스파이더맨4' 등 할리우드 흥행 대작 사이에서도 누적 관객 70만 명을 넘어서며 뚜렷한 존재감을 드러내고 있다. 가족 단위 관객을 극장으로 이끌며 한국 애니메이션의 상업성을 다시 한 번 보여준 셈이다. '하츄핑'이 성공적인 흥행력을 보여준 가운데 한국 애니메이션은 '관객층 다변화'라는 다음 단계를 향해 나아간다. 애니메이션은 유아동을 위한 콘텐츠라는 고정관념을 넘어 다양한 관객층이 찾는 주류 장르로서 외연을 넓히려는 움직임이다. 이에 하반기 개봉하는 한국 장편 애니메이션들은 서사의 깊이와 기술력을 무기로 본격적인 관객층 확장에 나선다. 영유아 타깃의 캐릭터 중심 기획에서 벗어나 베스트셀러 소설과 동화를 원작으로 삼아 서사를 강조하고 과감한 연출 방식을 도입해 작품의 영화적 완성도를 끌어올리는 시도들이 이어지고 있다. 다음 달 9일 개봉하는 안재훈 감독의 장편 애니메이션 '아가미'는 구병모 작가의 동명 소설이 원작이다. 아가미가 생겨난 아이 '곤'을 통해 삶과 생존에 대한 어두운 은유를 그린다. 정해인, 강하늘, 이청아 등 대중적인 배우들이 성우진으로 합류했다. 원작의 묵직한 정서를 회화적인 2D 작화로 풀어낸 이 작품은 프랑스 안시국제애니메이션영화제 등에 초청되고 유럽, 일본 등에 선판매되며 해외에서 먼저 작품성을 인정받았다. 전 연령층의 공감을 이끌어낸 베스트셀러 동화 '긴긴밤'(루리 작가) 역시 풀 3D 애니메이션으로 제작돼 국제무대에 섰다. 마지막 남은 흰바위코뿔소와 버려진 펭귄을 통해 상실과 연대라는 깊이 있는 철학적 주제를 던진다. 언리얼 엔진 기반의 실시간 렌더링 기술을 통해 대자연과 동물의 감정선을 입체적으로 구현해 냈다. 이 작품은 한국 장편 애니메이션으로는 2013년 연상호 감독의 '사이비' 이후 13년 만에 제51회 토론토국제영화제 센터피스 부문에 공식 초청되는 성과를 거뒀다. 깊어진 서사를 온전히 묘사하기 위한 연출 방식의 진화도 눈여겨볼 대목이다. 19일 개봉하는 오성윤, 이춘백 감독의 창작 애니메이션 '길 위의 뭉치'는 국내 업계에서 이례적인 '선녹음 후작화' 방식을 도입했다. 178명의 제작진이 14만 5440장의 프레임을 그린 이 작품은 도경수, 박소담, 박철민 등 배우들의 실제 호흡과 연기를 캐릭터에 그대로 이식해 실사 영화에 버금가는 생동감을 극대화했다. 거장 봉준호 감독과 이동진 평론가로부터 "한국적 애니메이션에 대한 또렷한 응답"이라는 호평을 이끌어낸 바 있다. '사랑의 하츄핑'의 성공으로 극장용 애니메이션의 상업성을 충분히 확인했다. 남은 과제는 유아동 중심 소비 구조를 넘어 다양한 관객들을 끌어모으는데 있다. 문학 원작의 묵직한 주제 의식과 한층 진일보한 연출 기법을 들고나온 하반기 신작들의 성과가 향후 한국 애니메이션의 경쟁력을 가늠할 시험대가 될 전망이다.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-08-19 15:00:00
  • Korea Exchange Faces Turmoil Over Management Evaluation Drop
    Korea Exchange Faces Turmoil Over Management Evaluation Drop The Korea Exchange is currently facing significant internal unrest following the recent notification from the Financial Services Commission regarding its 2025 management evaluation results. Historically, the exchange has received top ratings of S or A, but this time it was downgraded to a B, marking its first drop in ten years since 2016.The impact of this downgrade is substantial. Employee bonuses have been cut from 200% to 100% of their base salary, and the salaries of executives have also been reduced by millions of won. Employees, who have already been struggling with stagnant wages due to government controls on inflation since 2021, are expressing frustration, stating, "We are already constrained by government oversight, and now our bonuses have been halved, leaving morale at an all-time low." What led to this situation?◇ 12 Years of Financial Services Commission ControlCurrently, the Korea Exchange operates as a private corporation rather than a public enterprise, with major securities firms and financial institutions as its shareholders. However, in 2009, during the Lee Myung-bak administration, the government designated the exchange as a quasi-government agency, citing mismanagement. This designation imposed various regulations and restrictions on the exchange. After years of demands for deregulation, the exchange was officially removed from the public institution list in 2015.The issue lies in the conditions attached to this deregulation. The Financial Services Commission required the exchange to sign a separate 'management agreement' that, while labeled as an agreement, effectively allowed the commission to control the exchange's budget, employee salaries, and overall operations.Internal dissatisfaction stems from the perception that the exchange is merely a facade of a private company while still being subject to significant control. In fact, during the high inflation period in 2021, the exchange faced a wage freeze due to the commission's oversight. One employee remarked, "There seems to be a negative perception from the Financial Services Commission towards the exchange as a 'high-salary organization.' It would be strange if the government controlled Samsung Electronics' salaries. It's frustrating to be bound by a hierarchical relationship defined by this agreement."◇ Unclear Reasons Behind the DowngradeA more pressing concern is the ambiguous circumstances surrounding the downgrade from S to B.Reports indicate that the Financial Services Commission cited infrastructure stability issues, including a system failure in March 2025 that led to a seven-minute trading halt and the suspension of certain stocks, as a reason for the downgrade. However, many within and outside the exchange question whether a two-tier downgrade is justified given that the exchange reported a 67% increase in net profit to 708.9 billion won compared to the previous year.There are also speculations in the financial investment community that the controversy over single-stock leverage, which emerged earlier this year, may have influenced the evaluation. Critics argued that single-stock leverage involving companies like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix increased volatility in the domestic market, leading the Financial Services Commission to feel pressured and significantly reduce the qualitative evaluation score of the exchange.The issue revolves around 'temporal consistency' and 'accountability.' This evaluation pertains to the performance of 2025. If the controversy over single-stock leverage, which arose in 2026, was retroactively factored into the evaluation, it raises concerns about the integrity of the assessment. Moreover, the introduction of single-stock leverage was not a unilateral decision by the exchange but a policy initiative approved by the Financial Services Commission and the Securities and Futures Commission.Some argue that while the financial authorities collaboratively established the policy, they are now placing the blame for the negative public sentiment and subsequent evaluation downgrade solely on the exchange. The Financial Services Commission maintains that the single-stock leverage and the downgrade are unrelated, emphasizing a blind evaluation process, but the lack of transparency regarding specific reasons for the downgrade has only fueled rumors and distrust.◇ "Global Competition is Fierce, Yet We Are Handcuffed"In the past, when the exchange held a 100% monopoly over the domestic market, the government's strong oversight and regulation may have been justified. However, the landscape has changed dramatically.With the launch of NextTrade, a multi-party trading company, in March 2025, the domestic exchange market has entered a phase of intense competition. Additionally, the battle for leadership in artificial intelligence, data, and derivatives with global exchanges in San Francisco, Tokyo, and Singapore is fierce. In a time when attracting top talent and adapting organizational structures is crucial, the exchange finds itself constrained by an outdated management agreement and opaque evaluation processes.The exchange's labor union has also called for the revision or abolition of the management agreement, arguing that it undermines financial competitiveness, but the barriers to change remain high. 2026-08-19 14:56:00
  • Finance minister denies discrimination against US firms amid business concerns
    Finance minister denies discrimination against US firms amid business concerns SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yun-cheol said Wednesday that the South Korean government would never discriminate against foreign companies, stressing that businesses investing in the country should be treated the same as South Korean firms, regardless of where they are headquartered. At a luncheon meeting in central Seoul hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) in central Seoul, Koo made the remarks amid ongoing concerns in Washington over alleged "discriminatory treatment" of U.S. companies in South Korea including scrutiny of e-commerce giant Coupang and broader complaints involving major tech firms such as Apple, Google and Meta. U.S. lawmakers have argued that the country's regulatory actions may unfairly target American firms, while Seoul has consistently rejected the claims, saying all investigations are conducted in accordance with relevant laws regardless of nationality. Koo repeatedly emphasized the point throughout his speech, thanking foreign investors for their contributions to the South Korean economy. "We absolutely do not discriminate against companies," he said, adding that investors should be seen as "true Korean patriots." He also joked that AMCHAM "should be KOCHAM," arguing that companies operating in South Korea should be considered part of the domestic economy regardless of origin. Koo also outlined the government's so-called "3-4-5 Vision," which aims to raise the country's potential growth rate to 3 percent, make it one of the world's top four exporters and increase per capita income to US$50,000. The strategy is backed by three major initiatives focused on semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and physical AI. Koo also rejected concerns that Seoul was deliberately delaying its investment commitments to the U.S., saying there was "absolutely no intention" of doing so. AMCHAM Chairman and CEO James Kim said South Korea's growing global economic standing and the increasing prominence of companies such as Samsung and SK hynix underscored its potential to become a leading hub for investment, innovation, finance and business. Kim said realizing that potential would require continued efforts to address South Korea-specific regulatory barriers and bring its rules more closely in line with global standards. He also said AMCHAM's recent meetings in Washington showed that the next phase of the U.S.-Korea economic partnership should be built on tangible investment in strategic sectors, deeper technology cooperation and greater regulatory alignment, particularly in the digital economy. He added the bilateral relationship was increasingly being defined not only by the security alliance but also by investment, innovation, technology and public-private cooperation. Koo reiterated that foreign companies would continue to be treated equally. "The South Korean government views AMCHAM member companies not as foreign companies, but as members of the South Korean economy," he said. 2026-08-19 14:54:32
  • Ansan Mayor Im Min-keun Promotes Improved Administrative Services for Foreign Residents
    Ansan Mayor Im Min-keun Promotes Improved Administrative Services for Foreign Residents Im Min-keun, the mayor of Ansan, emphasized on the 18th that "Ansan is promoting improvements in administrative services using digital technology so that foreign residents can access necessary services without language barriers." On that day, Mayor Im held a kickoff meeting for the development and demonstration of a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) based administrative solution for foreign residents in the city hall's first conference room. The mayor has initiated the development of administrative services for foreign residents utilizing artificial intelligence (AI). This project is expected to be part of the "2026 GovTech Startup AI Demonstration and Commercialization Support Project" promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA). Mayor Im plans to establish administrative services based on RAG technology, utilizing over 100,000 pieces of consultation data from foreign residents. Additionally, AI-driven interactive services (chatbots) and unmanned kiosks supporting 26 languages will be developed to make it easier and more convenient for foreign residents to access necessary administrative information. During the meeting, the mayor shared the project plan, demonstration schedule, and collaboration details with city departments, foreign support organizations, and representatives from Hello Friends Co., the executing agency. Citizens believe that the AI administrative services supporting 26 languages will reduce inconveniences caused by language barriers and enhance administrative accessibility for foreign residents. In particular, there is high anticipation that the quick provision of necessary information based on consultation data will improve not only the experience for foreign residents but also the efficiency of administrative operations. Meanwhile, Mayor Im stated, "As a representative intercultural city in South Korea, Ansan is working to improve administrative services using digital technology so that foreign residents can access necessary services without language constraints." He added, "Through this project, we aim to present a new model of administrative services for foreigners utilizing AI technology and implement an administration that residents can truly feel."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-08-19 14:48:20
  • Jung Jeom-sik Invites Park Geun-hye to National Assembly Workshop
    Jung Jeom-sik Invites Park Geun-hye to National Assembly Workshop Jung Jeom-sik, the floor leader of the People Power Party, met with former President Park Geun-hye on August 19 to express gratitude for her support during the June 3 local elections and to invite her to a party workshop scheduled for the end of the month.During their approximately 30-minute meeting at Park's residence in Daegu, Jung told reporters, "I visited to thank her for actively supporting our party during the recent local elections and for helping to unite conservatives."He added, "Despite suffering significant pain after falling the day before her visit to the Chungcheong region, she still campaigned with strong painkillers. She mentioned that her health has deteriorated significantly as a result."Jung also noted that Park expressed her motivation for supporting the campaign, saying, "I couldn't bear to see conservatism crumbling, and I thought that if I could contribute even a little, it might help our party revive."He extended an invitation for Park to attend the People Power Party's workshop for lawmakers on August 27-28, hoping she would share her insights on the party's direction. Park reportedly responded, "I will consider it."Additionally, Jung mentioned that Park emphasized the importance of party unity, stating that even though the party is small, if they work together to instill hope in the public, they could receive more support in upcoming elections.Joining Jung during the visit were Yoon Yong-geun, the floor leader's secretary, and lawmaker Yoo Young-ha.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-08-19 14:48:20
  • Choi Byung-oh Seeks Re-election as KFI Chairman, Aims to Propel K-Fabric Globally
    Choi Byung-oh Seeks Re-election as KFI Chairman, Aims to Propel K-Fabric Globally Choi Byung-oh, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Textile Industries (KFI) and head of Fashion Group Hyungji, is seeking re-election. He highlighted the strengthening of unity within the textile industry and the recovery of its presence over the past three years as key achievements. However, he expressed disappointment over the lack of concrete results despite his extensive engagement in the field.Choi spoke with reporters on August 19 at the Preview in Seoul (PIS) 2026, a global textile sourcing exhibition held at COEX in Gangnam, Seoul. He stated, "The biggest achievement during my three-year term has been the unity among textile professionals and demonstrating that our textile industry is alive." He has served as the chairman of KFI since 2023.He cited specific examples such as the renewal of the textile center, the organization of industry unity events, and the activation of various forums. He also emphasized the expansion of PIS, the country's leading textile material exhibition. Choi noted, "The number of overseas companies and buyers visiting PIS continues to grow. This year, 526 companies participated, including 259 from abroad, and we invited about 1,000 major overseas buyers." This indicates that the domestic textile industry is focusing on expanding overseas markets amid domestic stagnation and intensified global competition.However, he acknowledged that his efforts have not yet yielded sufficient tangible outcomes. Choi remarked, "I have traveled extensively to hear the voices from the industry, but I feel that the results from the field have been somewhat lacking."If re-elected, Choi plans to focus on changing perceptions of the textile industry. He aims to shift its image from a labor-intensive and challenging sector to a future industry that integrates artificial intelligence (AI), advanced materials, and digital technologies. Choi emphasized, "We need to look at the textile industry from various angles. It will be a high-tech industry and a crucial momentum for K-fashion to advance globally."Meanwhile, KFI established a nomination committee during its second board meeting in June, which held three meetings and gathered industry opinions before nominating Choi as the candidate for the 17th chairman.However, at an extraordinary general meeting held on the same day, concerns were raised that the composition of the nomination committee was biased toward specific sectors and did not adequately reflect industry diversity. As a result, KFI decided to reconstitute the nomination committee and restart the process for selecting the next chairman. Consequently, Choi's term, originally set to end on August 18, will be extended for up to six months until a new chairman is appointed. 2026-08-19 14:48:00
  • Amazon Bedrock Emerges as Solution to AI Silos in Companies
    Amazon Bedrock Emerges as Solution to AI Silos in Companies Amazon Web Services (AWS) is gaining attention for its fully managed generative AI service, Bedrock, as a technical solution to the issue of AI silos within organizations. The platform allows departments to freely use their preferred models while maintaining unified security and data standards across the enterprise.On August 19, AWS presented Bedrock as a way to address internal AI silos in companies. Bedrock is an integrated platform that provides access to major foundation models from industry leaders such as Amazon, Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta, Mistral, Cohere, and AI21 Labs through a single API. It operates serverless, requiring only usage-based billing without the need for infrastructure management.Choi Young-jun, head of AWS AI technology, explained, "Bedrock provides access to various foundation models through a single API, integrates scattered internal knowledge, and applies a common responsible AI policy across the enterprise using guardrails and agent cores."The core of Bedrock is to ensure both departmental autonomy and enterprise governance. The 'Managed Knowledge Base' feature connects data scattered across internal documents, databases, and storage, offering fully managed retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). This automation eliminates information silos between departments, allowing the entire organization to share the same knowledge source.Security and responsible AI policies are also centrally applied. The 'guardrail' feature implements content filtering, personally identifiable information (PII) masking, verification to prevent hallucinations, and defenses against prompt attacks across all AI applications based on common standards. Additionally, AWS's Identity and Access Management (IAM) system allows for detailed control over who can use which models and data based on roles.Solutions for the agent domain have also been established. Bedrock's 'Agent Core' is an infrastructure platform that accommodates agents developed using any framework, including CrewAI, LangGraph, LlamaIndex, and Google ADK.It supports fully isolated execution environments for sessions of up to eight hours, a gateway that transforms API, Lambda, and MCP servers into agent-compatible tools, policies that define agent behavior boundaries in natural language, and evaluation features that monitor quality based on 13 pre-built criteria.Even if departments independently develop agents, they can operate on a common security, monitoring, and quality management infrastructure, allowing for seamless enterprise-wide expansion without governance gaps.Choi emphasized, "If companies hesitate to adopt AI, productivity gaps will widen, and if each department independently implements AI without a system, models, data, and security standards will become fragmented, making it even more difficult to implement AI agents that cross departmental boundaries. A structure that allows for autonomous innovation in each department while maintaining enterprise governance is the technical solution to AI silos."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-08-19 14:44:10
  • Nearly 90% of Companies Fail to Implement AI Agents Successfully
    Nearly 90% of Companies Fail to Implement AI Agents Successfully Nearly 90% of global companies attempting to implement artificial intelligence (AI) agents have failed, according to a recent survey. The rush to accelerate AI transformation (AX) has led to governance gaps, resulting in AI solutions that do not meet the actual needs of employees.On August 19, McKinsey released findings from its '2026 AI Trust Maturity Survey,' which involved over 500 executives overseeing AI governance, risk management, and investment. As of early this year, only 33% of companies successfully adopted AI agents, with just 14% reaching large-scale production. The remaining 86% either stalled at the pilot stage or failed to implement AI altogether.The primary reason for these failures is the emphasis on speed. Companies have pursued AI agent adoption across departments without adequately customizing solutions to reflect the specific workflows of each area. As a result, expensive AI systems are often rejected by employees, who prefer to use familiar tools, leading to decreased efficiency and security issues.A similar warning was issued in Deloitte's '2026 State of AI in the Enterprise' report, which predicts that 74% of global companies will adopt AI agents by 2027. However, it notes that only 21% of these companies will have the necessary systems in place to manage and operate them safely. While the pace of adoption is increasing, the lack of supporting governance remains a significant concern.In response to these challenges, more companies are adopting 'agentic orchestration,' which involves implementing multiple AI solutions tailored to different job functions under a clear governance framework. Ernst & Young has made its AI platform available as open-source to over 300,000 global experts, continuously updating it to meet the diverse needs of various organizations in tax, audit, and consulting.JP Morgan has also integrated agentic orchestration into its large language models (LLMs), connecting multiple agents under a unified command structure to allow for flexible modifications and applications across departments. Similarly, Salesforce has orchestrated thousands of AI agents in operational environments, consolidating previously scattered agents into a single management system, resulting in an 84% reduction in processing time.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-08-19 14:44:10
  • Four in Ten Workers Use Personal AI Despite Company Offerings
    Four in Ten Workers Use Personal AI Despite Company Offerings Nearly 40% of South Korean workers are using personal AI tools for work, despite their companies providing official AI solutions. The proportion of employees actually utilizing AI agents in their tasks is below 20%, highlighting a growing phenomenon of 'AI silos' where company and personal AI tools operate separately.A survey conducted by Samsung SDS, which included 1,750 employees from various domestic companies, revealed that 38% of respondents are using generative AI at their own expense without company approval. This figure significantly exceeds the 24% who use the enterprise version provided by their employers. Meanwhile, the average daily usage of generative AI has increased, reaching 3.25 hours as of May, with the percentage of those using it for more than two hours rising from 18% to 72% in just six months.AI agents, which are autonomous systems capable of planning and executing tasks, are typically provided by companies due to the high costs associated with server and data integration for individual users. However, only 17% of employees reported using AI agents in their work. The main reasons for not utilizing these tools include a lack of internal guidelines and policies (34%) and the absence of necessary features (33%).This disparity is referred to in the industry as 'agent sprawl' and 'AI silos.' Agent sprawl describes the uncontrolled proliferation of AI agents across departments and individuals without unified governance, while AI silos refer to the use of different AI systems within departments, leading to disconnected data and workflows.Among those already using AI agents, 39% have created their own systems on personal computers or closed company servers (41%) or integrated them with internal systems and databases (40%). The use of unauthorized AI tools has also raised security concerns, such as the risk of training these systems on confidential data. About 47% of respondents indicated that their company's AI security guidelines are insufficient, while 54% reported taking personal precautions to mitigate risks.Conversely, 95% of respondents expressed willingness to actively use a secure and practical enterprise AI agent platform if it were available, suggesting that the avoidance of AI tools is more a result of a lack of company alternatives than a lack of employee initiative.When selecting AI tools, employees prioritize compliance with corporate security policies and data protection (54%) and compatibility with existing internal systems (51%). If the AI provided by the company fails to meet these criteria, employees are likely to revert to familiar external AI tools, regardless of company efforts to promote adoption.This issue of AI silos is not limited to private companies; similar challenges are being observed in public institutions and law enforcement agencies, indicating a widespread problem across various sectors.Even the AI introduced by the Supreme Court has faced rejection from some judges. One judge working in Seoul stated, 'It is at a chatbot level, and the model itself is significantly inferior to global frontier standards, so I do not recommend its use to my colleagues.' Additionally, the 'Police Investigation Support AI (KICS-AI)' introduced last year has been criticized for its poor performance and utility, leading to its neglect internally.An IT industry insider emphasized, 'The use of personal tools poses a significant risk of leaking company secrets or customer data, so companies must urgently develop a strategy for secure enterprise-level GenAI offerings.' 2026-08-19 14:44:00
  • LG Electronics Offers Free Repairs for Flood-Damaged Appliances in Geoje
    LG Electronics Offers Free Repairs for Flood-Damaged Appliances in Geoje LG Electronics is providing free inspections and repairs for flood-damaged appliances in South Gyeongsang Province, regardless of the manufacturer. The company has set up a special service center at the flood site and is also offering on-site services to assist households in recovering their appliances.According to LG Electronics, the special service center in Gohyeon-dong, Geoje, has been operational since August 18. Service managers dispatched to the site are inspecting flooded appliances without regard to their brand.In Geoje and Tongyeong, LG Electronics is also conducting a 'visiting service' to directly assist affected households. Service vehicles are deployed to the area to provide cleaning, repairs, and parts replacement for damaged products.In the past, LG Electronics has expanded its disaster response services by offering free inspections and repairs for flooded appliances, regardless of the manufacturer, in areas affected by typhoons and heavy rains.Households with flood-damaged appliances can receive the same support by contacting LG Electronics customer service or visiting a service center.If the damage from heavy rains expands, LG Electronics plans to further extend its service support areas.Each summer, during the rainy season and typhoons, LG Electronics provides free inspections and repair services to affected customers.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-08-19 14:44:00