KAIST researchers develop self-adjusting light sensor to improve autonomous driving safety SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology developed a sensor capable of adjusting its own response to light to overcome the limitations of current autonomous driving vision systems, the prominent institute said Tuesday. Standard image sensors primarily detect light brightness, which can make it difficult for autonomous vehicles to distinguish between objects with similar reflectivity, such as water and asphalt at night. The new & May 12, 2026

Jeju Air launches trial route to make Jeju more accessible to international visitors SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - Jeju Air has begun trial operations on a route linking Incheon and Jeju, the low-cost carrier said on Tuesday. The airline will operate the route twice a week for three months on a trial basis to gauge demand, aiming to make it easier for foreign tourists arriving from overseas to reach the southern resort island. The first flight for the route departed from Jeju International Airport at 9:45 a.m. earlier in the day and arrived in Incheon at 11 a.m. Fligh May 12, 2026

Fuel shock pushes Korean LCCs back into pandemic-like survival mode SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - A spike in fuel prices, war-related travel restrictions and passenger jitters are pushing South Korea's budget carriers back into pandemic-era survival mode, forcing them to delay hiring as well as streamlining payrolls and flights as they try to ride out the Gulf crisis. Jin Air, a low-cost carrier under Korean Air, has informed 50 newly hired cabin crew members that they will start work in the fall instead of this week as originally planned, citing " May 12, 2026

Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square gets Korean War memorial garden SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - A memorial garden dedicated to soldiers who died in the Korean War was opened to the public at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, a ceremony celebrating its completion was held, attended by war veterans and ambassadors from the 22 countries that sent troops and provided support during the 1950–53 Korean War. According to the city government, the space dubbed the "Garden of May 12, 2026

Avignon Festival to spotlight Korean language and contemporary performing arts SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - The Avignon Festival, one of the world’s leading performing arts festivals, will spotlight the Korean language and contemporary Korean productions during its 80th edition in July, marking the first time an Asian language has been selected as the festival’s official invited language. The Korean-language spotlight program coincides with the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and France, highlighting the growing cultural e May 12, 2026

Arnault Seoul tour signals Dior reckoning in split luxury market SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - Just 30 centimeters behind LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault during his closely watched Seoul tour walked the executive many luxury insiders believed was carrying the real assignment of the trip: Delphine Arnault, tasked with reassessing Christian Dior’s position in one of the world’s most influential — and increasingly polarized — luxury markets. While cameras followed the world’s most powerful luxury executive through Seoul&r May 12, 2026

Google says it blocked AI-assisted cyberattack plot, warns of North Korean hacking activity SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - Google claimed it had preemptively blocked hackers who were preparing large-scale cyberattacks using artificial intelligence and identified North Korean state-linked hacking activities leveraging AI to refine cyber operations. According to its report published on the Cloud Security blog, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) uncovered a threat actor believed to have used AI in preparations for a “zero-day” attack campaign. Google said May 12, 2026

Nexon reopens revamped Jeju game museum SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - Nexon reopened its museum on Jeju Island after a four-month renovation, recasting Asia's first computer museum as a destination devoted to the South Korean publisher's three-decade catalogue of online games and the players who built its communities. The Jeju City venue, originally launched in July 2013 as the Nexon Computer Museum, has been rebranded simply as Nexon Museum, its grand opening on Tuesday. The overhaul shifts the institution away from a May 12, 2026

ASIA INSIGHT: Iran war story by Seeker of Truth -- Truth, Justice and Freedom Sinokor Chairman Tae-soon Jung’s Breakthrough in the Strait of Hormuz: The Diverging Fate of Korean Shipping, from the Basra Energy to HMM’s Namwoo The waters of the Middle East are burning again. Yet this fire is not confined to a military clash among Iran, the United States and Israel. It is a blaze threatening the arteries of the global economy and shaking the very heart of industrial civilization. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world&r May 12, 2026

ASIA INSIGHT: Soprano and model to anchor fragile US-China Summit SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - In November 2017, inside the amber-hued silence of the Forbidden City, Donald Trump handed a tablet computer to Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan. On the screen, a small, blonde girl sang a folk song and recited ancient poetry in Mandarin. The girl was Arabella Kushner, the American president’s granddaughter. As she watched the video, Peng—a woman whose own soprano voice once stirred the nationalist fervor of a billion people—beamed with the practiced May 12, 2026