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  • Justice Ministry Launches Virtual Reality Therapy in 11 Correctional Facilities
    Justice Ministry Launches Virtual Reality Therapy in 11 Correctional Facilities A next-generation psychological therapy program that helps inmates reflect on their criminal actions and the situations of their victims through virtual reality (VR) will be officially implemented in correctional facilities nationwide.On July 30, the Justice Ministry announced the successful completion of a pilot operation for its VR-based psychological therapy program, developed to improve cognitive distortions and reduce aggression among inmates. The program will begin full operation in 11 correctional facilities across the country starting at the end of July.The newly introduced VR therapy utilizes content tailored to the characteristics of different types of crimes. Inmates will enter virtual environments that simulate the scenes of their offenses, allowing them to experience the fear and pain felt by their victims in a realistic manner. This approach aims to help them objectively recognize and improve their erroneous thoughts and behaviors.The program is designed to maximize therapeutic effects by combining immersive VR experiences with traditional group therapy, which previously relied on lectures and discussions.The Justice Ministry has developed specialized VR content for major crime types, including six types of sexual violence, four types of stalking, four types of child abuse, and four types of domestic violence. Following this, a pilot operation was conducted with 392 inmates across nine correctional facilities to compare the effectiveness of the new method with existing treatment approaches.Results from the pilot operation showed that the group of inmates who participated in VR therapy exhibited significant positive changes in key evaluation metrics compared to those who only received traditional group therapy.The improvement rate for cognitive distortions that justify criminal behavior was notably higher across all categories: 18.1% for sexual offenders (up from 9.0%), 17.2% for stalkers (up from 7.6%), and 17.1% for child abusers (up from 15.0%).Aggression and acceptance of violence also saw substantial reductions. The aggression reduction rate for sexual offenders was 14.2%, far exceeding the previous method's 2.4%, while child abusers showed an 11.2% decrease (up from 4.1%).There was also a significant increase in empathy. Inmates who had previously shown slight decreases in empathy during traditional group therapy—such as stalkers (-0.6%), child abusers (-0.2%), and domestic violence offenders (-2.2%)—demonstrated increases of 7.8%, 2.2%, and 4.4%, respectively, after participating in the VR program.One inmate remarked, "The scenes were so vivid that it felt like I was back on that day, and it was embarrassing and difficult to confront my past self."Another inmate convicted of child abuse expressed, "Experiencing the abuse scene made me feel deep remorse for how I treated my son and the fear he must have felt."Building on these results, the Justice Ministry will officially introduce VR psychological therapy in 11 correctional facilities at the end of July and will continue to analyze operational outcomes to further enhance content tailored to specific crime types.Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho stated, "VR-based psychological therapy is a new technique that allows inmates to objectively reflect on their distorted thinking and vividly experience the victim's perspective, leading to genuine behavioral change. We will continue to expand scientifically grounded psychological therapy programs to ensure the healthy reintegration of inmates into society and prevent recidivism." 2026-07-30 15:28:00
  • Microsoft Surges While Meta Struggles Amid AI Investment Outcomes
    Microsoft Surges While Meta Struggles Amid AI Investment Outcomes Microsoft and Meta both reported revenues that exceeded market expectations. However, while Microsoft absorbed the burden of significant artificial intelligence (AI) investments backed by strong cloud growth, Meta faced deteriorating profits and free cash flow due to soaring costs, leading to mixed market evaluations of their AI investment returns.On July 29, Reuters reported that Microsoft’s revenue for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year rose 18% year-over-year to $90 billion, surpassing the market estimate of $87.62 billion.The quarterly earnings per share (EPS) also exceeded expectations at $4.74, compared to the forecast of $4.24. However, this EPS figure included a $3.2 billion gain from its investment in AI company Anthropic.The cloud business drove the performance growth, with the Intelligent Cloud segment, including Azure, generating $39.31 billion, a 31.6% increase from the previous year. Azure's revenue growth rate increased from 40% in the previous quarter to 43%, and annual Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time. The number of paid users for the AI service 'MS 365 Copilot' also exceeded 30 million.Quarterly capital expenditures surged 69% year-over-year to $41 billion due to expanded AI infrastructure investments. Free cash flow decreased by 23% to $19.64 billion, but Azure's rapid growth and substantial profit flow alleviated concerns about investment burdens. Consequently, Microsoft’s stock rose more than 8% in after-hours trading.Meta also reported strong revenue figures. Its second-quarter revenue increased 28% year-over-year to $60.8 billion, exceeding the market estimate of $60.17 billion. However, expenses surged by over 55%, leading to an 8% decline in operating income to $18.78 billion and a 14% drop in net income to $15.85 billion. The EPS was $6.18, falling short of the expected $7.22.Notably, due to expanded AI infrastructure investments, free cash flow plummeted 91% from $8.55 billion a year earlier to $784 million. While revenue increased, Meta failed to demonstrate corresponding profits and cash generation, which weighed on its stock. As a result, Meta's shares fell by about 10% in after-hours trading.Mike Proulx, a senior analyst at Forrester, told Reuters, "Meta's AI investments were easy to view positively when profit margins were expanding, but now the cost burden is reflected in performance, making it harder to welcome these investments." This earnings report highlights that the ability to translate massive AI spending into revenue and profits is what differentiates market evaluations. Microsoft has proven the success of its AI investments by maintaining Azure's growth and high free cash flow despite significant expenditures. In contrast, Meta's rising revenue has not translated into profits and cash flow, raising concerns about the return on its investments.Stephen Evans, Chief Investment Officer at Fave Finance, told CNBC, "One company is making substantial investments while increasing profits, but the other is allowing AI investment costs to erode profitability. He added, "Microsoft's results show that concerns about growth slowing were overblown," and noted that while Meta's advertising business remains robust, it must demonstrate better cost control and consistent returns on AI investments to regain investor confidence. 2026-07-30 15:24:10
  • KAIST Develops Technology to Identify AI Vulnerabilities Seven Times More Effectively
    KAIST Develops Technology to Identify AI Vulnerabilities Seven Times More Effectively The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed a safety verification technology that identifies hidden vulnerabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) systems with approximately seven times more diversity than existing methods.On July 30, KAIST announced that a research team led by Professor Kim Jun-mo of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has created a new framework called Stable-GFlowNet, which improves upon the limitations of red team technology used to verify the safety of large language models (LLMs).Red teaming is a safety verification technique that inputs attack prompts to generate AI responses that may be harmful or dangerous, thereby uncovering hidden vulnerabilities in the model. The ability to discover various types of attacks is crucial, as it allows for the preemptive elimination of more vulnerabilities, making both the success rate and diversity of attacks important evaluation factors.While existing red team technology, based on reinforcement learning, achieved high attack success rates, it faced limitations in identifying diverse attack types. In contrast, the generative flow network (GFlowNet) excelled in attack diversity but struggled with unstable learning. The research team successfully applied GFlowNet to LLMs, enhancing learning stability and effectively uncovering a variety of vulnerabilities.To address these challenges, the team developed three key technologies: 'Contrastive Trajectory Balancing (CTB)' to stabilize the learning process, 'Noise Gradient Pruning (NGP)' to eliminate unnecessary information, and 'Fluency Stabilization Device (MKS)' to assist in generating natural attack prompts.As a result, Stable-GFlowNet discovered 134 unique attack types, approximately seven times more than the 17 types identified by previous technologies, while maintaining a high attack success rate of 92%. The defense model trained with this technology effectively defended against various attacks in cross-attack evaluations using different techniques, demonstrating high generalization performance.The research team anticipates that this technology could also be applied in various AI generative fields, such as designing candidate drug molecules.Professor Kim stated, "This technology is significant in that it can reliably identify various vulnerabilities in AI, even in environments with limited data and high noise. It will serve as a foundational technology for developing safe and trustworthy AI by identifying and defending against a broader range of risks before deploying generative AI in real-world applications."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-07-30 15:24:00
  • Two Major Debates: Seeking Conclusions, Not Just Ideas
    Two Major Debates: Seeking Conclusions, Not Just Ideas The real estate market is difficult to navigate, and so are government policies.‘Only once in a lifetime.’ A proposal to limit the capital gains tax exemption for one household to a single instance emerged during a real estate debate. The concern is whether it is fair to continue enjoying tax benefits while profiting from each home sale. President Lee Jae-myung also expressed interest, suggesting that unlimited tax exemptions may pose issues.At first glance, this seems equitable. However, the idea of having only one tax exemption card for a lifetime means it is rational to save it until the largest profit opportunity arises. Those with smaller profits may hesitate to use the card, while those who could afford expensive homes may benefit significantly when they realize substantial gains. This paradox means that a system designed for fairness may inadvertently favor the wealthy. In the United States, capital gains tax exemptions are not limited to a single instance but can be applied repeatedly within certain limits.Kim Yoon-deok, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, expressed a desire to build homes even if it means releasing greenbelt land. However, the third new town project, which includes a significant amount of land released from greenbelt restrictions, has not seen timely construction. Despite being announced 7 to 8 years ago, delays in compensation, permits, construction costs, and financing have stalled groundbreaking and occupancy. If the bottleneck lies not in land but in the construction process, opening new land may not resolve the issue.The same applies to finance. The proposal to eliminate the stress debt service ratio (DSR) for local areas is valid in the context of addressing overheating in metropolitan areas and stagnation in rural regions. However, the stress interest rate margin applied in rural areas is already only a quarter of that in metropolitan areas. Removing safety measures that assess repayment ability could shift the issue of unsold properties to local household debt. Ideas must face counterarguments to become effective policies.That said, these proposals are not without merit. Ideas are inherently rough and can reveal contradictions in established systems, pushing discussions forward. The significance lies in prompting reevaluation of the scope of tax exemptions, the necessity for new land, and the appropriateness of regional financial regulations.All three proposals clearly identify issues. However, to transform these concerns into solutions, they must undergo scrutiny and validation. It is essential to calculate who benefits and who bears the costs, as well as the potential reactions when these policies intersect with others. The moment a president or minister responds to a bright idea, the narrative shifts.Such calculations should already be complete. The two debates chaired by the president and the prime minister lasted nearly six hours. Prior discussions on supply, finance, and tax policy also took place, and as of July 27, 7,153 opinions had been submitted online.The government has gathered enough input to determine a direction. Conflicting options regarding property taxes, transaction taxes, loan regulations, protection for genuine buyers, and revitalization of redevelopment projects have all been presented. Now, the government must reveal its choices to the public. There is ample diagnosis and ideas; now the government must provide solutions.What the public seeks is not another diagnosis of why housing prices have risen. The explanations of supply shortages, capital flowing into real estate, and gaps in loans and tax systems are not new. What is needed is the government’s response regarding how to adjust property taxes, whether to lower transaction taxes simultaneously, how to tighten regulations on jeonse loans, and what steps to take first in terms of supply.Analysis and deliberation by experts and policymakers should have progressed further. They should have confirmed the assumptions and legal and practical feasibility of each proposal, considering the impacts on tax revenue, finances, housing prices, rental prices, transaction volumes, and construction and occupancy rates across various scenarios. The role of experts is to highlight the benefits, costs, and risks of each option, providing a basis for government decision-making. It is the government’s responsibility to choose priorities and determine which side effects to accept based on that foundation.As the government prepares to announce tax reforms and a comprehensive real estate policy, what is needed now is not to expand options further but to explain what has been chosen and why.The public is not waiting for a list of individual measures. If property taxes are increased, how will the issues of locked inventory and tenant burden be addressed? If jeonse loans are tightened, how will the burden on tenants and the decrease in non-apartment supply be mitigated? If redevelopment projects are expedited, where will the demand for pre-leases and monthly rents during the transition and demolition periods be absorbed? The combination and execution order of tax, finance, and supply that answers these questions constitute the solution.Supply must also show not only the quantity but also the order and timeline for deploying administrative power and support for existing public land and new land, as highlighted in the presentation on July 27, which suggested prioritizing the integration of finance, tax, and permits.The interests of renters seeking stable housing costs, homeowners worried about declining asset values, landlords receiving rent, and tenants wanting lower housing costs are inherently different.This is why the government exists. President Lee Jae-myung stated in the first debate that after confirming facts and reconciling interests, if gaps remain, it is the authority of public officials to reach a final conclusion. He also mentioned that accepting the resulting dissatisfaction and criticism is part of their responsibility.Prime Minister Han Seung-soo also noted that while individual cases must be examined carefully, standards must inevitably be established. Determining the criteria for one-homeowners and high-value residential properties is the responsibility of public officials. Conclusions are not answers but coordinates for policy.​​​​​​​This does not mean that all tax rates, loan limits, and supply quantities must be finalized at once. It means that the government must define what policy goals to pursue and the principles and order in which to act. Even if it is not a perfect answer, the government must provide coordinates that allow the public to judge and for the market and various departments to operate.What is needed is not a promise to reduce housing prices by a certain percentage. The public needs to know the direction of taxes, the extent of loan regulations, and what will be initiated and when in terms of supply to make decisions about selling, buying, applying for housing, or moving. During the second debate, concerns were raised that if only the possibility of increasing property taxes was mentioned without clarity on transaction tax direction, anxiety would grow, and a clear direction was requested.While the government’s clarification of direction may not immediately eliminate price instability, it can reduce the uncertainty that leads to speculation about the direction of tax, loan, and supply policies. Establishing a clear direction will also minimize the discord that arises when tax, finance, and supply measures undermine each other.Further discussions and on-site communication are necessary. However, the government should not come to the table empty-handed. It must first disclose the plans and the rationale behind its choices, and validate the anticipated impacts and execution errors. If a significant direction has already been set, the government must explain the basis for its choices. If the fundamental direction has not been established even before the announcement, the policy-making process must be reevaluated.With the two major debates concluded and the announcement of tax reforms and a comprehensive real estate policy imminent, the public has heard enough diagnoses and potential ideas. Now, the government must answer what solutions it will adopt and where it intends to go. What the public is waiting for is not an extension of discussions but solutions and conclusions that allow them to plan their lives again. It is time to put down the microphone and provide answers.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-07-30 15:24:00
  • Han Byeong-do Calls for End to Oppositions Filibuster as Criminal Procedure Bill is Introduced
    Han Byeong-do Calls for End to Opposition's Filibuster as Criminal Procedure Bill is Introduced Han Byeong-do, acting leader of the Democratic Party and floor leader, stated that a bill aimed at abolishing supplementary investigation rights will be introduced in the National Assembly today. He urged the People Power Party to stop inciting support for the prosecution and to join efforts to establish a criminal justice system for the people.During a party meeting, Han noted, "The People Power Party is also planning a filibuster today." He added, "The Democratic Party will work to reform the filibuster system, which has devolved into a tool for political obstruction." A proposal to strengthen the requirements for filibustering is currently under discussion in the National Assembly's operating committee.Additionally, Han mentioned that an agenda to change the fast track, which has become a slow track, will also be introduced in today's session. He pointed out that the current fast track process, which can take up to 330 days, has lost its intended purpose.Meanwhile, today's session will also address a special prosecutor law aimed at investigating the shortage of ballots that occurred during the June 3 local elections. Furthermore, both parties have agreed to extend the special committee for a national investigation, which is set to expire on July 31, for an additional 30 days.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-07-30 15:08:00
  • BOK puts policy, markets veterans in key posts
    BOK puts policy, markets veterans in key posts SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - The Bank of Korea moved monetary policy and financial market specialists into key advisory and operational posts on Thursday, underscoring a push to strengthen policy coordination and its capacity to respond to market volatility. The central bank appointed or reassigned 11 department and regional branch heads and promoted 56 employees, including nine to Grade 1 and 15 to Grade 2. Lee Hwa-yeon, previously head of the Policy Coordination Team at the Monetary Policy Department, was named advisor to the governor, placing an official with experience in monetary policy, financial stability and the Monetary Policy Board Secretariat directly alongside the bank’s leadership. The BOK said Lee had extensive experience in monetary policy formulation and implementation as well as in analyzing financial market developments. Choi Young-joo was appointed director general of the Financial Markets Department after serving as head of the Office of Sustainable Growth, while outgoing markets chief Choi Yong-hoon moved to become director general of the Strategy & Coordination Department. Choi Young-joo spent much of her career in the Financial Markets and Monetary Policy departments and has participated in a range of market stabilization measures, according to the bank. Choi Yong-hoon’s experience spans the Financial Markets Department, the Reserve Management Group, parliamentary liaison and the Monetary Policy Board Secretariat, positioning him to coordinate internal strategy, external relations and major institutional projects. The moves effectively place a market specialist in charge of market operations and analysis while shifting an official with broader organizational and external-relations experience to the bank’s central planning arm. Lee Ah-rang, the outgoing advisor to the governor, was appointed head of the Office of Sustainable Growth, where she will oversee work related to green finance, climate change and coordination with domestic and overseas institutions. Baek Kyung-hoon, formerly head of the Audit Planning Team, was named head of the Office of Property, while Chae Hee-kwon moved from the bank’s Daejeon, Sejong and Chungnam branch to become director general of the Currency Department. Lee Hwa-yeon, Lee Ah-rang and Baek were all appointed to department-level leadership positions while remaining Grade 2 officials, reflecting the bank’s stated emphasis on performance and expertise rather than seniority alone. The promotion list also favored officials involved in the central bank’s core forecasting, financial stability, market operations and foreign-exchange functions. Kim Min-sik, who led revisions to the bank’s economic outlook reports and forecasting framework, was among nine officials promoted to Grade 1. Lim Kwang-kyu, director general of the Financial Stability Department, was promoted while retaining his current post after overseeing assessments of household debt, property-market risks and broader vulnerabilities in the financial system. Lee Dae-geon was promoted after helping develop the BOK’s climate-risk models and joint climate stress-testing framework for the financial sector. Nam Sun-woo was recognized for work on expanding foreign-exchange swaps with the National Pension Service, establishing local-currency transaction arrangements and supporting foreign-exchange market stability. Choi Wan-ho, previously compliance officer at the Reserve Management Group, was promoted for his role in overseas reserve management and the expansion of investment strategies. Women and externally recruited specialists each accounted for three, or 12.5 percent, of promotions to Grade 2 or above, compared with one, or 3.3 percent, in the first-half reshuffle. The appointments do not change the composition of the Monetary Policy Board and are therefore better viewed as an effort to sharpen policy execution and coordination than as a direct signal on the future path of interest rates. 2026-07-30 15:04:52
  • Supreme Court Upholds Fine for Dealer Refusing Reinstatement After Unlawful Dismissal
    Supreme Court Upholds Fine for Dealer Refusing Reinstatement After Unlawful Dismissal The Supreme Court ruled that employers must comply with reinstatement orders from labor committees, even if the original contract period has ended. Refusing reinstatement on the grounds of contract expiration is deemed illegal.According to legal sources on July 30, the Supreme Court's second division, led by Justice Eom Sang-pil, upheld a lower court's decision to impose a fine of 1.5 million won on Jo, the representative of a car dealership, for violating labor laws.Jo notified sales representative A of contract termination just one day before the contract was set to expire in January 2019. The local labor committee deemed this an unfair labor practice and ordered Jo to reinstate A immediately. Jo contested the ruling and filed an administrative lawsuit but lost, with the reinstatement order being finalized in June 2022.However, Jo claimed that reinstatement was impossible since the service contract with A had already ended and refused to comply with the order. He also imposed preconditions, such as requiring the submission of a surety bond, and failed to provide the necessary sales codes for A to resume work, leading to his prosecution.Ultimately, both the first and second courts imposed a fine of 1.5 million won on Jo. They ruled that if there had been no unfair labor practice, the contract would have continued, and Jo could not unilaterally impose preconditions or evade reinstatement based on contract expiration while disregarding the finalized order.The Supreme Court also stated, "The reinstatement order due to unfair labor practices assumes that the employer's refusal to renew the contract is invalid. Even if the original contract period has expired, the obligation to reinstate exists, and failure to comply constitutes a violation of the reinstatement order."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-07-30 15:00:10
  • KT Fined $40 Million for Data Breach and Unauthorized Charges
    KT Fined $40 Million for Data Breach and Unauthorized Charges The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has imposed a fine of approximately 54 billion won (about $40 million) on KT for a data breach and unauthorized small payments resulting from illegal femtocells. The PIPC evaluated the actual financial damage heavily, while also considering the scale of the breach, the types of information involved, compensation for victims, and corrective measures in determining the fine.On July 29, the PIPC announced in a meeting that it had decided to impose a fine of 53,979 million won on KT for violating safety obligations, along with issuing corrective orders and recommendations.According to the investigation, KT neglected access control to femtocells and its core mobile network, leading to the exposure of personal information for 16,647 users, including mobile phone numbers, International Mobile Subscriber Identities (IMSI), and International Mobile Equipment Identities (IMEI). Among these, 368 users suffered unauthorized payment losses totaling approximately 240 million won.Yang Cheong-sam, the PIPC's secretary general, stated during a briefing, “This incident is serious not only because it involves a data breach but also because the leaked personal information resulted in actual financial harm.”The PIPC reported that hackers extracted certificates from lost KT femtocells and embedded them into illegally manufactured femtocells. They accessed KT's internal network without additional authentication from October 8, 2024, to September 5, 2025, for about 11 months, leaking user personal information.The hackers directed user devices through the illegal femtocells to intercept network transmission information, combining it with separately obtained personal data to attempt unauthorized payments, even stealing payment authentication codes. KT only identified the abnormal access after receiving complaints about unauthorized payments.The PIPC concluded that the incident stemmed from KT's basic negligence in access control and management of its internal mobile network. KT failed to manage the cell IDs that could verify whether femtocells were authorized, resulting in undetected access by unauthorized devices. It was also noted that KT did not restrict the IP addresses of femtocells accessing its internal network.The revenue used to calculate the fine included KT's LTE and 5G wireless communication earnings, as femtocells are LTE-based equipment, but 5G services also utilize LTE networks in some areas.This fine is about 40% of the 134.8 billion won imposed on SK Telecom for a previous data breach incident. While both cases used mobile communication-related revenue as a basis for the fine, the PIPC assessed the severity of the violations and the scale and type of information leaked differently.In the SK Telecom case, the PIPC classified the violation as 'very serious,' while the KT case was categorized as a 'serious violation.' Although the actual unauthorized payment losses in the KT case were heavily weighted, the relatively smaller number of affected individuals and the limited types of leaked information—mobile phone numbers, IMSI, and IMEI—were also considered. No leaks of subscriber authentication information were confirmed in the KT case.Yang emphasized, “The occurrence of secondary damage is a very serious factor. We considered the relatively small scale of the breach, the types of information involved, compensation for victims, and corrective measures comprehensively.”Meanwhile, this fine is limited to the data breach and unauthorized payment incident involving femtocells, and the conclusion regarding KT's malware infection case is still pending.The PIPC found that KT recognized the malware infection on its servers in March 2024 but failed to report the breach to the government and did not conduct a detailed analysis of the personal data processing servers. The PIPC plans to file a complaint against KT for deleting logs from some servers and submitting false materials, as well as for obstructing the investigation by changing statements.The PIPC intends to impose separate penalties regarding the malware infection case if new facts are confirmed through the investigation.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-07-30 15:00:10
  • Court Dismisses Lee Kyu-won’s Constitutional Appeal in Kim Hak-eui Case
    Court Dismisses Lee Kyu-won’s Constitutional Appeal in Kim Hak-eui Case Lee Kyu-won, a former deputy chief prosecutor at the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office, had his constitutional appeal dismissed by the Constitutional Court after he sought to overturn a Supreme Court ruling related to his conviction for creating a false interview report in the investigation of former Justice Ministry official Kim Hak-eui's alleged involvement in a sex bribery scandal.According to legal sources on July 30, the Constitutional Court dismissed Lee's appeal on July 28, stating that he failed to meet the legal requirements for such a claim regarding the conviction for forgery of public documents.A dismissal means that the Constitutional Court concludes the appeal does not meet the necessary criteria without assessing whether there was a violation of fundamental rights.The court determined that Lee did not fulfill the requirement of exhausting all legal remedies available under other laws. It also noted that his appeal primarily contested the outcome of the Supreme Court ruling rather than addressing specific violations of constitutional rights.Lee was prosecuted for allegedly falsifying interview reports during the investigation of Kim's villa sex bribery allegations while working with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Past Affairs Investigation Team from 2018 to 2019. He was also accused of leaking interview details to specific media outlets for reporting purposes.Prosecutors found that Lee included statements in his report that were not made by the interviewee, Yoon Jung-cheon, who did not claim that former President Yoon Suk-yeol had visited the villa.In March of last year, the first trial found Lee guilty of some charges, imposing a suspended fine of 500,000 won. A suspended sentence allows a guilty verdict while deferring the punishment for two years, after which it can be dismissed if no further issues arise.The second trial added convictions for violations of the Personal Information Protection Act and the Electronic Criminal Procedure Act, resulting in a suspended fine of 2 million won.The Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling on June 11, rejecting Lee's appeal.Following the Supreme Court's decision, Lee argued that the legal nature of the interview report and the implications of the Personal Information Protection Act raised significant constitutional issues. He filed a constitutional appeal with the Constitutional Court on July 7, asserting the need for constitutional review. However, the court ruled that he did not meet the necessary criteria for the appeal, thus not addressing the fundamental rights violation claims.In 2024, while still a prosecutor, Lee ran as a proportional representative candidate for the Justice Reform Party in the 22nd National Assembly elections but was unsuccessful. The Ministry of Justice dismissed him in November of the same year for violating regulations against political activity.Lee has since filed an administrative lawsuit against his dismissal but recently lost in the first trial and is currently awaiting the outcome of his appeal.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-07-30 15:00:00
  • Survey: 70% of Young Employees Would Leave if Deposit Insurance Corporation Relocates
    Survey: 70% of Young Employees Would Leave if Deposit Insurance Corporation Relocates Concerns are rising that a potential relocation of the Deposit Insurance Corporation (DIC) could lead to a significant exodus of young employees. The low willingness of key 4th and 5th level staff to remain, coupled with potential disruptions in collaboration with financial authorities, has raised alarms.Reports indicate that plans are being considered to move the Financial Services Commission and the DIC to Sejong.According to a survey commissioned by the DIC labor union and conducted by the Law Firm Lin's Financial Law Research Center, only 24.1% of the 740 employees surveyed expressed a willingness to continue working after a relocation.Younger employees showed a higher likelihood of leaving. Among the 4th and 5th level staff, who make up 70.2% of the workforce, only 9.5% of the 5th level employees in their 20s and 30s indicated they would stay, while 70% said they would not. For the 4th level employees, who are predominantly in their 30s and 40s, the willingness to remain was only 21.7%. Additionally, only 12% of employees with less than five years of service expressed intent to stay.In contrast, over 55% of managers in their 50s and 52.8% of employees with more than 20 years of service indicated they would continue working. This suggests that younger employees with shorter tenures are more likely to leave if the relocation occurs.The primary concerns for employees revolve around commuting conditions and issues related to their children's education and spouses' employment, with both factors affecting 93% of respondents. The fact that 99.2% of respondents reside in the Seoul and Gyeonggi-Incheon areas likely contributes to these concerns.The potential loss of personnel could weaken the DIC's operational capabilities. About 86.1% of employees believe that collaboration with related agencies, such as the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, would suffer as a result of the relocation. Key tasks that could be impacted include inspections, joint inspections, decisions on handling insolvent financial institutions, risk notifications, and the payment of insurance to depositors.The DIC is responsible for early detection of financial institution failures and coordinating responses with financial authorities. Close collaboration is essential for managing insolvent financial institutions, providing financial support, and protecting depositors. Concerns are growing that the departure of experienced staff, combined with reduced inter-agency collaboration, could slow crisis response times.The research also concluded that the economic impact on the local area would be limited. As the DIC is a non-capital special corporation, its contribution to local taxes is minimal, and its fund management is restricted to safe assets such as government bonds, bank bonds, and deposits, making it difficult to translate into local investments.The labor union plans to use the findings from this research to determine the level of opposition to the proposed relocation. 2026-07-30 15:00:00