NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in has begun receiving New Year's policy reports from government agencies. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission were the first agencies to deliver their reports on Thursday. The top office said that through the reports, ministries will pledge to achieve their policy goals and bring clear, palpable changes in 2020.
In an annual policy report on Thursday, the Ministry of Science and ICT unveiled plans to foster more than 1,000 artificial intelligence experts and expand the data technology market from the current nine trillion won to ten trillion won. It will also install free WiFi networks on all public buses within this year in an effort to close a digital divide.
According to the Ministry of Transport, South Korea was home to nearly 24 million registered vehicles as of late last year, suggesting that the ratio of population to vehicles is one car for every two Koreans. The proportion of imported cars has continuously increased to represent ten percent of the total registered automobiles. The number of eco-friendly vehicles on the road has surpassed 600,000.
An Army non-commissioned officer who received a male-to female gender reassignment surgery is now standing at a critical career juncture. The officer is reportedly hoping to stay in the military as a female soldier. However, the Army plans to decide on the officer's career future at a meeting of its board to review on discharges of service members.