A special counsel team said Thursday that six additional local election commissions have been found to have falsely entered voter turnout data during the June 3 local elections, bringing the total to 36 commissions. Special counsel Lee Tae-han's team has been investigating various suspicions surrounding the National Election Commission (NEC), the state election watchdog, after unprecedented ballot shortages were reported during the local elections, forcing some voters to turn back without casting their votes. In a press release, Lee's team said that following last week's disclosure of 30 local commissions that falsely entered voter turnout figures, it identified six more through searches, analysis of seized items and questioning of officials. The six were the local commissions in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province; Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province; two districts in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province; Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province; and Gangneung, Gangwon Province.

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday renewed calls for the government to resume loudspeaker broadcasts along the inter-Korean border to protest against recent mine blasts in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and to replace top security officials here over the incident that left three South Korean soldiers injured. The PPP accused President Lee Jae Myung of failing to take action over the Sept. 21 blasts, which the South Korean military determined to have been caused by mines planted "deliberately" by North Korea. "The president has described North Korea's nuclear weapons as a 'last resort of defense,' even when the North has explicitly stipulated preemptive nuclear strikes under its law on nuclear forces policy," PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sig wrote on Facebook. "How can we even consider retaking wartime operational control (OPCON) when the commander-in-chief cannot even tell the difference between an attack and defense, or between a land mine provocation and an 'unfortunate accident?'" he added. Rep. Jeong called for the immediate resignation of Unification Minister Chu

The deputy commander of the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) has stressed the need for a "careful and transparent" planning and communications in addressing incidents along the inter-Korean border, following last month's land mine blast that injured South Korean soldiers. Lt. Gen. Scott Winter made the remarks on a podcast Wednesday (London time), as tensions have heightened since the Sept. 21 mine blast inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas injured three South Korean troops, with two of them severely. Seoul and Pyongyang have since been locked in a fiery tit-for-tat exchange of barbs, with the South blaming the North for the incident in violation of the Armistice Agreement governing the fortified border, while the North has accused Seoul of fabricating its investigation to pin the blame on the regime. "My response from a United Nations Command perspective is to double down on the importance of us being careful and transparent and robust in our planning and transparent in our communications to avoid any incident occurring in the first place," Winter said on

South Korea said on Thursday it would take a “proportionate measure” if North Korea resumes operating propaganda loudspeakers along the border, without providing details about such measures. In a wider response to the border tension that resulted from the explosion of North Korean mines, which injured South Korean soldiers, Seoul said it would send a letter to the president of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to explain that the mine planting was in violation of the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement and call for U.N.-level actions. "If North Korea takes action, we believe there should be a proportionate measure," Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Chung Binna said when asked if Seoul will set up and operate its own propaganda loudspeakers. But she added nothing has been decided. The remarks came as Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has said in two statements since Tuesday that Pyongyang will resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts against South Korea, claiming that Seoul wrongfully accused North Korean troops of crossing the border. S

South Korea plans to send a letter to the president of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) calling on North Korea to apologize for last month's land mine blast and take responsibility for its violation of the Korean War Armistice Agreement, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The South Korean military concluded the Sept. 21 blasts in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) were caused by North Korean mines planted south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). The incidents injured three South Korean soldiers, two of them seriously. "The letter will explain that the blast was caused by land mines planted by North Korean troops in violation of the Armistice Agreement, demand an apology and responsible action from Pyongyang, and call for dialogue to prevent further escalation and restore trust," ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said during a regular press briefing. The letter will also seek to "draw attention to Pyongyang's recent attempts to characterize South Korean troops' legitimate military activities along the MDL as provocations and shift responsibility for rising tensions onto South Korea," P

Daewoo Engineering & Construction (E&C) is expanding artificial intelligence (AI) and digital management systems across its construction sites, deploying translation tools and quality-control software to reduce administrative workloads and improve communication with foreign workers. The construction firm rolled out AI translation and tablet-based training systems across its domestic construction sites last month. Its AI-powered translation system supports 16 languages, converting site managers' spoken Korean instructions into text and speech in foreign workers' native languages in real time. The company said the system recorded 94.6 percent accuracy in Korean speech recognition during preliminary testing. It is designed to reduce communication errors on construction sites, where clear instructions are essential for workplace safety, particularly as the number of foreign workers continues to increase. Daewoo E&C has also introduced a tablet-based system for safety training and related paperwork, such as worker registration, health screenings and training reports. The company is also develop

Combined vehicle sales by Korea's leading automaker Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia fell 1.7 percent in Europe last month from a year earlier, amid a lack of new models, industry data showed Thursday. Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 96,258 vehicles in the common market in September, down from 97,907 in the same one-month period in 2025, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). "The lack of new models, particularly electric vehicles, in Hyundai Motor's lineup affected its sales performance for the month," a company spokesperson said by phone. Hyundai Motor's sales fell 17.5 percent to 39,821 units from 48,253 a year earlier, while Kia's sales rose 13.7 percent to 56,437 units from 49,654. As emissions regulations in Europe become increasingly stringent, the two automakers are focusing on expanding sales of environmentally friendly vehicles, including the gasoline hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of Hyundai's Tucson, its all-electric Kona, and Kia's pure electric EV3 and Niro plug-in hybrid. Last month, Hyundai and Kia together accounted for 7.

JB Financial Group is expanding into Central Asia through the planned purchase of two Kyrgyz financial firms, broadening an overseas business portfolio built largely around Southeast Asia, the company said Thursday. JB Woori Capital, its consumer finance subsidiary, has agreed to buy Korky Credit and Korky Leasing from their parent, Epoche. The deal covers all shares in both companies and is expected to close before year-end, subject to regulatory approval and registration in Kyrgyzstan. The acquisitions would give JB Financial a presence in a fifth overseas market. Its existing businesses include commercial banking in Cambodia, microfinance in Myanmar and securities services in Vietnam. The group also secured Indonesian regulatory clearance in September to purchase an 85 percent stake in KB Bukopin Finance, a local financing company. JB Financial’s interest in Kyrgyzstan is driven primarily by the country’s young population and rapid economic growth. About 70 percent of its population is reportedly under 40. Its economy expanded 11.1 percent last year, according to the Internationa

The Korean government has issued a nationwide security alert to businesses and website operators over critical vulnerabilities in PHP, a programming language widely used to build websites and web services, as the flaws spark widespread alarm across the globe amid concerns that they could rank among the most severe software vulnerabilities in history. Experts warned that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individual business owners operating websites without dedicated cybersecurity personnel could be particularly vulnerable. They strongly recommended prompt security updates, noting that a vulnerability in one company's website could also affect other businesses whose websites are hosted on the same server. In a statement released Thursday, the Ministry of Science and ICT urged domestic companies and institutions operating PHP-based websites to immediately apply security updates. “The latest PHP vulnerabilities could affect a vast number of websites in Korea. An extremely urgent response is required as exploit code is already publicly available," Deputy Prime Minister and Min

The Seoul government held off on responding Thursday to remarks by the U.S. Eighth Army commander suggesting that American troops stationed here should be prepared for missions beyond countering North Korean threats. Cheong Wa Dae, the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) did not comment when asked about Lt. Gen. Joseph Hilbert’s email interview with the South China Morning Post on the Eighth Army’s readiness for broader regional operations. According to sources familiar with the South Korean military, the lack of comment reflected a reluctance to publicly interpret Hilbert’s remarks, rather than an articulated government position on a broader U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) role. The sources noted whether deployments beyond the Korean Peninsula would require prior consultation between Seoul and Washington has yet to be clarified. In an email interview published by the South China Morning Post on Wednesday, Hilbert said it would be “irresponsible to focus myopically” on threats within the Korean Peninsula or assume that being stationed in South Korea preven