news highlight

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  Korea's first homegrown obesity drug to launch SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) - South Korea's first domestically developed GLP-1 obesity drug will become available at some clinics from Oct. 29, just three weeks after winning regulatory approval. Hanmi Pharmaceutical's Eppe, or efpeglenatide, reduced body weight by an adjusted average of 9.02 percent after 40 weeks in a Phase 3 trial, compared with 0.89 percent for a placebo, according to prescribing information approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. About 75 per October 23, 2026
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  Korea's obesity drug race meets an appetite for thinness SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - In appearance-conscious South Korea, medicines developed to treat obesity are finding an audience beyond patients seeking better health as they appeal to people whose goal is to become thin and stay thin. Lee Sun-young, a 34-year-old office worker, said her body mass index was within the normal range before she started taking Wegovy. “Just once in my life, I want to be thin,” she told AJP. Her experience raises a question as South October 22, 2026
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  Black Eagles turn Sacheon's sky into a canvas SACHEON, October 22 (AJP) - A giant white starfish spread across Sacheon’s blue autumn sky on Thursday as the Black Eagles broke formation, each jet drawing a long arm of smoke toward a different edge of the heavens. Their dark silhouettes tipped the widening trails, yellow undersides catching the sunlight as they swept overhead. Behind them, crisp white lines thickened and feathered at the edges, leaving the sky streaked with the paths they had flow October 22, 2026
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  Call of Duty's fictional Korean war hits close to home SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - North Korea’s preparations to resume propaganda broadcasts and its recent missile tests have renewed tensions on the Korean Peninsula, alongside accusations that it planted a border mine that wounded three South Korean soldiers. For South Koreans watching the destruction in Ukraine and the Middle East, the prospect of similar devastation reaching their own streets carries a particular dread. For those who survived the 1950–53 Korean War, it also October 22, 2026
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  Busan shark returns to canal hours after being guided out SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - A 3-meter shark that spent more than a month trapped in an artificial canal at Busan's North Port returned behind a containment barrier Thursday, hours after authorities had guided it toward open water. The female dusky shark, nicknamed Bukang, was spotted Thursday morning swimming between two barriers near the canal entrance. Authorities had moved her out of the waterway at around 6 p.m. Wednesday during their third rescue attempt. Bukang apparent October 22, 2026
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  Foreign arrivals near 2025 full-year total by September SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) -Foreign arrivals in South Korea reached 17.11 million through September, closing in on last year’s full-year total, while tourist spending grew at more than double the pace of arrivals. Tourism-related card spending jumped 47.7 percent from a year earlier to 15.94 trillion won in the first nine months, while foreign arrivals rose 21.5 percent, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday. The visitor count was 1.83 million short of the October 22, 2026
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  Yonsei University data breach affects over 10,000 people SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - More than 10,000 people, including students and alumni of Yonsei University in Seoul, have had their personal information exposed in a cyberattack on the institution's online portal, the university announced Thursday, marking the latest in a series of data breaches across South Korea. In a notice issued on Thursday, the university's Office of Information and Communications confirmed that unauthorized external access to its Yonsei Portal Service ha October 22, 2026
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  Seoul's soaring property tax bills overlook graying homeowners SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - Seoul’s property tax bills have shot up alongside home values, squeezing graying homeowners with little or no income to pay levies on gains they have yet to realize. The growing burden could pose another test for President Lee Jae Myung’s administration as his approval ratings slide, adding to discontent among traditionally conservative homeowners in Seoul’s affluent districts. The number of taxpayers assessed more than 5 million won ( October 21, 2026
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  Ex-justice minister's sentence reduced to 9 years in martial law-related appeals case SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - An appeals court on Wednesday sentenced former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae to nine years in prison over his involvement in disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law debacle in 2024. The Seoul High Court found Park guilty of playing a key role in Yoon's botched Dec. 3 martial law declaration but overturned some of the charges against him including those related to abuse of power, citing insufficient evidence. The court sentenced hi October 21, 2026