■ [Disappeared People] More than 20 people with developmental disabilities go missing every day… The non-discovery rate is also high
It has been revealed that more than 8,000 reports of missing persons with developmental disabilities are received every year. That's over 20 people a day. People with developmental disabilities often have limitations in cognitive ability and communication, but because they have the appearance of adults, it is difficult to receive help from those around them when they go missing. It is pointed out that fingerprint registration and missing person notification systems that can quickly hand over to guardians when discovered need to be further improved.
View full text: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260829036900004
■ [Nepal Flood] “Very vulnerable to floods and landslides”… Report ‘Warning’ from 4 months ago
While most of Nepal's Upper Trishuli (UT)-1 hydroelectric power plant, which was being built by Korea South-East Power and Doosan Energy, was destroyed by a major flood, it was found that the area's vulnerability to natural disasters was pointed out during the construction of the power plant. However, industry and experts believe that it would have been difficult to prepare in advance because this flood was not simply an overflowing river, but a disaster of unusual scale accompanied by a large-scale debris flow. According to the industry on the 30th, Nepal Water & Energy Development Company (NWEDC), a local special purpose corporation in which South-East Power Company is the majority shareholder, announced a report on the UT-1 hydroelectric power plant around April.
View full text: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260829044300003
■ Gimbap stores disappearing due to rising wages and prices... Even brand stores can’t survive.
The number of snack bars and specialty brand franchise stores that mainly sell gimbap, a representative food for the common people, continues to decrease due to rising labor and material costs. As the number of stores close to everyday life, where you can get a meal at a low price without having to worry about spending money, is decreasing, even the dining options for ordinary people are decreasing.
View full text: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260830011300030
■ Proclaiming that the people’s livelihood comes first and hitting Cho Hee-dae… Cho is deeply troubled by the approval rating in the 30% range.
The Democratic Party of Korea, a large ruling party with an absolute majority of seats, is shaking on the 30th. As the conservative camp was dealt a crushing blow by two impeachments, there were even predictions that the Democratic Party would move to a 1.5-party system. However, even after the August 17 National Convention, which showed intense factional confrontation, there are still no signs of a reversal in the decline in party approval ratings. As Representative Kim himself diagnosed, for the first time since the inauguration of the administration, we have entered a 'time to be nervous', but the complex situation within the party, coupled with domestic and foreign crises, appears to be making it more difficult to find a breakthrough.
View full text: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260829037000001
■ Basic pension even if you earn 4.68 million won per month... ‘Hahoosangbak’ is in the final stages of reorganization
The government is pursuing a comprehensive overhaul of the selection criteria and income recognition amount calculation method, which are key criteria for determining basic pension recipients. As it was pointed out that the current calculation method does not properly reflect actual income and that even middle-class people with significant income receive basic pension, improvements were made to preserve the purpose of the system and ensure financial sustainability. However, the government's plan to completely revamp the basic pension, which has been uniformly paid to the bottom 70% of income earners among seniors aged 65 and older, to a 'lower-lower, upper-lower' structure, is going through the last minute due to differences of opinion over detailed issues.
Full report: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260829045400530
■ Kang Chang-il "North Korea-US dialogue, passing South Korea is impossible... The United States will talk to Korea for success."
“I believe that the United States will engage in a lot of dialogue with South Korea in order to achieve successful results in dialogue with North Korea. ‘Passing’ South Korea as a party is realistically impossible.” Kang Chang-il, senior vice-chairman of the Advisory Council for Democratic and Peaceful Unification, said in an interview with Yonhap News at the Secretariat for Democratic Peace and Unification on the 28th, "U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un will hold talks." Senior Vice Chairman Kang said, “Nothing will be possible without Korea,” drawing a line on concerns about “Korea exclusion” raised amid President Trump’s recent “courtship” in resuming North Korea-US dialogue.
View full text: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260829031300504
■ Ministry of Education, reviewing introduction of ‘autonomous innovation university’… Loosening regulations on private universities and providing intensive support
The Ministry of Education is examining selective support measures with the goal of fostering globally competitive private universities. Song Geun-hyeon, director of university policy at the Ministry of Education, attended the '2026 Korea Council for University Education Summer University Presidents' Seminar' held at the Lotte Hotel in Jeju on the 28th and announced a higher education policy plan containing these contents in front of university presidents. In the 'Dialogue with the Ministry of Education' program, he proposed the so-called 'autonomous innovation university' as a way to reform the private university system and said, "We will provide unconventional regulatory rationalization and comprehensive financial support to universities above a certain level, and through this, foster them into leading global education and research universities."
View full text: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260829033500530
■ Seoul mid- to lower-class apartment overlooking Jeongojeom… Will the upward trend continue?
While the strength of lower-middle-class regions in the Seoul apartment market continues for a long period of time, prices in some regions are still below their previous highs, so attention is focused on whether the upward trend will continue. According to the Korea Real Estate Board on the 30th, as of the fourth week of August, there are five autonomous districts in Seoul where the apartment sales price index is below the previous highest: Gangbuk-gu (102.7), Dobong-gu (102.1), Nowon-gu (103.0), Eunpyeong-gu (101.9), and Geumcheon-gu (102.3). In these areas, prices rose significantly between 2021 and 2022, when the impact of the enforcement of the two previous rental laws (right to claim contract renewal and monthly rent limit system) was felt. This is because as tenants and non-homeowners turned to buying and selling due to a decrease in jeonse listings and a surge in jeonse prices, demand was concentrated in low- to mid-price areas where the burden of financing was relatively less, and there were many gap investments (purchase of houses with jeonse).
View full text: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260830006900003
■ “Strict disciplinary action” was declared… ‘Reduction or cancellation’ of 354 police complaints over 5 years
Despite the number of cases of police misconduct and poor performance, it was found that in the past five years, there were about 350 cases in which police officers who had received disciplinary action had their disciplinary action reduced, canceled, or invalidated through appeals. Appeal is a special administrative appeal system that allows public officials to request cancellation or change when they receive an unfavorable disposition, such as disciplinary action, against their will. Whenever misconduct arises, the police proclaim "severe disciplinary action," but in reality, dozens of cases of change of disposition are repeated every year, leading to criticism that the "profession of disciplinary action" is nothing more than a way to silence public opinion.
View full text: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260828125300004
■ Is the truth buried with death? Concerns over prosecution's 'right to autopsy' due to amputation of hands and feet during supplementary investigation
In May 2024, 81-year-old man A was found dead at his home in Samcheok, Gangwon-do. About five months later, the police said that Mr. A was presumed to have hanged himself and suggested to the prosecution that the investigation (internal investigation) be concluded before being booked. However, the Gangneung branch of the Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office requested a supplementary investigation from the police, saying that no tools were identified at the scene and that there seemed to be insufficient evidence of suicide.
View full text: https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260829045900004
