KAIST takes lab-to-market push to Korea Electronics Show SEOUL, October 12 (AJP) - Research from KAIST laboratories, from thin noise-blocking structures to a robot that clears obstacles out of its own path, goes on offer to manufacturers in Seoul this week as the university tries to move more of its lab work into products. KAIST said Monday it will hold the 2026 KAIST Tech Fair on Tuesday, the opening day of the Korea Electronics Show at COEX. The Korea Electronics Association, which organizes the four-day show, expects 500 exhibitors a October 12, 2026

Former Kookmin president traces human body back to dying stars SEOUL, October 12 (AJP) - Most of the atoms in the human body were forged inside stars that burned out long before Earth existed, a former Kookmin University president told students in Seoul on Oct. 8. Stars make heavier elements by fusing lighter ones in their cores. When the largest stars run out of fuel and explode as supernovas, they scatter oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and iron into space, where the material is drawn into new stars, planets and, eventually, living things. Hydroge October 12, 2026

Nuri-launched DaejeonSAT-1 makes contact on sixth attempt SEOUL, October 9 (AJP) — South Korea’s DaejeonSAT-1 established two-way communication with a ground station on its sixth attempt after five failed contacts, with key satellite systems confirmed to be operating normally. The CubeSat made its first successful two-way contact at around 11:20 p.m. Wednesday and communicated again at about 12:46 a.m. Thursday, according to the Daejeon city government. DaejeonSAT-1 had separated normally from the Nuri rocket and entered i October 9, 2026

Kakao Golf leak hits 34,000; data breach reports near annual record SEOUL, October 9 (AJP) — Personal information belonging to about 34,000 Kakao Golf Reservation users was exposed in the latest breach to hit South Korea as reported data leaks approach last year’s annual record. Kakao VX said it discovered on October 7 that an unauthorized outsider had accessed and removed customer information from the golf reservation service. The breach affected customers who booked domestic golf tour packages between January 2025 and October 2026. October 9, 2026

Homegrown satellite fleet opens new Korea's space era SEOUL, October 07 (AJP) - South Korea's first working satellite constellation reached orbit Wednesday on the country's own Nuri rocket. A university lab and a private company built the small Earth-observation satellites and designed them from the start to fly on a Korean launcher. A satellite constellation is a group of satellites run as a single system. They are spread across different orbits, so between them they pass over the same place far more often than one satellite October 7, 2026

Ground station firm Contec backs 7 satellites on Nuri rocket SEOUL, October 06 (AJP) - A South Korean ground station company will make first contact with seven of the 15 satellites riding the Nuri rocket into orbit on Wednesday. Its job is to confirm each satellite survived the ride and to work out exactly where it ended up. Among the seven are the five satellites that will form South Korea's first satellite constellation. The Korea AeroSpace Administration has scheduled Nuri's fifth launch for a one-hour window opening at 12:23 p.m October 6, 2026

Kookmin University ties overseas training to jobs abroad SEOUL, October 06 (AJP) - Students sent overseas by Kookmin University are turning project work at foreign companies into internships and jobs, as the Seoul school moves its international programs beyond exchange visits and language courses. Kookmin University (KMU) said it has sent about 50 students to Irvine, California, since 2024 under its Global Project-Based Learning program. After internships arranged through the program, some were hired by overseas companies including Z-Or October 6, 2026

Are Korea's financial defenses ready for an AI hacker army? SEOUL, October 06 (AJP) - The chain of security breaches has become a pratfall for South Korea's vaunted IT industry and digital banking sector, raising questions over whether their firewalls and other defenses are ready for hackers armed with autonomous AI agents. The attackers probed the sector's side doors — loan-broker lookup pages, staff support systems and other services outside the main customer-facing platforms. They kept testing until several gave way. At l October 6, 2026

KAIST team films how light flips azobenzene switch SEOUL, October 01 (AJP) - Researchers in South Korea used ultrafast X-rays to film a light-driven molecular switch as it flipped, capturing a motion that chemists have argued over for nearly 50 years. The molecule, azobenzene, changes shape by moving its central hinge like a pair of bicycle pedals while its two bulky rings stay nearly still, a team from KAIST and the Institute for Basic Science reported Wednesday in the journal Nature. The researchers resolved the atomic structure October 1, 2026

Sookmyung student wins KOGO award for AI omics work SEOUL, September 30 (AJP) - A graduate student at Sookmyung Women's University won an excellent poster award at South Korea's leading genomics conference for research on an artificial intelligence platform that helps scientists find drug targets in vast sets of biological data, the prominent university in Seoul said Wednesday. Lee Seung-yeon, a master's student in the university's Department of Biological Sciences, received the award on Sept. 5 at the Korea Genome September 30, 2026