NEW TRIPARTITE POLICY COUNCIL

NEW TRIPARTITE POLICY COUNCIL

[Anchor Lead]
Following criticism of recent policy disarray, the Presidential Office has launched a high-level government-party policy consultation body to address these concerns. The office reiterated its unchanged stance that short selling will not resume unless a reliable system is established.

[Pkg]
The presidential office issued an official apology for the controversy caused by the government's push to introduce a national safety certification mark for goods directly purchased from overseas.

[Soundbite]
Sung Tae-yoon (Nat'l policy director, Pres. office (May 20)): With this lesson, we'll do our best to enhance reliability of government policies.

But in two days, another policy confusion erupted. In the face of public backlash for its plan to introduce conditional driver's licenses for senior citizens, the government explained that it is not a system targeting specific age groups. The opposition bloc immediately demanded that the president acknowledge responsibility and apologize. In response, the presidential office has strengthened procedures to review, in advance, policies that will have considerable impact on the people's daily lives. First, it created a consultative body to boost policy coordination with the ruling party. High-ranking government and party officials, including the presidential chief of staff for policy and the ruling party's chief policymaker as well as the minister of office for government policy coordination, will hold weekly meetings and discuss policy directions in detail. Presidential secretaries' offices will thoroughly examine the feasibility of policies. As part of the efforts, they will operate the so-called "Red Team" that assesses government policies from the perspective of the general public. The ruling party expects that government policies will reflect public opinions more accurately through better communication. Meanwhile, the presidential office said there is no shift in its stance not to resume short selling before a reliable system is established to eliminate illegal practices stemming from the trading.

KIM JONG-UN'S PORTRAIT DISPLAYED

[Anchor Lead]
North Korea has recently unveiled a new building for the central party's training school, where party officials are cultivated. During the inauguration, state media captured the first images of Chairman Kim Jong-un’s portrait alongside those of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. By placing himself alongside his predecessors, Chairman Kim appears to be accelerating his own idolization process.

[Pkg]
A ceremony to mark the completion of a school building for North Korea's ruling party officials. Hung on the outside wall was the portrait of Kim Jong-un right next to those of the late North Korean rulers Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. This is the first time the North Korean media showed the younger Kim's portrait hung side by side with those of his predecessors. The smaller portraits of the three Kims were hung above the classroom blackboard as well. When Kim Jong-un visited the same place just six days ago, the camera had captured only the portraits of his father and grandfather. In a documentary aired ahead of the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party in 2016, Kim Jong-un kicked off his idolization process by displaying his portrait resembling those of his predecessors for the first time. Then, his giant portrait was shown in public for the first time during the Cuban president's visit to the regime in 2018. It was also hung high up on the stage at the party assembly in 2022, the tenth anniversary of his rise to power. His idolization process is moving steadily as a music video for a song praising him was released recently and his portrait was hung in school classrooms. The portrait being exhibited at a public institution like the training school means that it is going to be official in nature. Also, many expect the portrait to crown the idolization movement by being distributed in great numbers to institutions and homes.

[Soundbite]
Kim In-tae (Institution for Nat'l Security Strategy): The portrait is for all buildings, institutions and homes. Just the beginning of ensuring Kim Jong-un is regarded as a great leader of the party and the state.

The South Korean government said it will keep monitoring North Korea's actions while being on the look out for Kim Jong-un's idolization moves.

KOREAN INJURED ON SIA FLIGHT

[Anchor Lead]
A Singapore Airlines flight, en route from London to Singapore, was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, Thailand, after encountering severe turbulence. Among the passengers was one Korean national who is now receiving treatment at a hospital in Bangkok.

[Pkg
One person has died on Singapore Airlines SQ321 flight after severe turbulence rocked the plane. The aircraft made emergency landing at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok where authorities have launched an investigation.

[Soundbite]
Josh Silverstone (Passenger on board Singapore Airlines flight)

The final tally of those injured on board stands at 85. According to the Samitivej Hospital in Bangkok, 58 passengers are currently being treated at multiple different hospitals and 20 of them are admitted to the ICU. It added that 27 patients have been discharged.

[Soundbite]
Josh Silverstone (Passenger on board Singapore Airlines flight)

A Korean passenger not included in an earlier list of casualties is also confirmed to be hospitalized for a minor injury including muscle pain, and is expected to be discharged as early as Thursday. Authorities in Thailand and Singapore are looking into whether the plane's captain responded adequately at the time of the midair event.

[Soundbite]
Dzafran Azmir (Passenger on board Singapore Airlines flight)

The plane is a 16-year-old Boeing model with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board also expected to join the investigation.

SUMMIT TO ENSURE 'AI FOR ALL'

[Anchor Lead]
The second AI Summit was recently held in Korea. The summit focused on safely controlling artificial intelligence and exploring ways for its benefits to be universally enjoyed. Here's more.

[Pkg]
It is hard for a single nation, much less a company, to control artificial intelligence. To ensure AI for all, science leaders from 28 countries, including G7 nations, Australia, and Singapore, gathered in Seoul. Global IT giants such as Google and Samsung Electronics joined in as well. Participants agreed to develop a set of international standards for distinguishing AI products...and to ensure the benefits of AI can be shared with all.

[Soundbite]
Lee Jong-ho (Minister of Science and ICT)

They also agreed to set thresholds for AI-caused risks deemed 'intolerable' and to stop developing and deploying AI models when the thresholds are crossed. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong said the tech manufacturer would join efforts to make AI safe and inclusive. Naver, Korea's leading online platform, will release an AI safety framework next month.

[Soundbite]
Ha Jung-woo (Director, Naver Future AI Center)

Britain, the co-host of the first AI summit, proposed cooperating with Korea to set up global AI regulations.

[Soundbite]
Michelle Donelan (British Secretary for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Worldwide discussions on AI will continue at the AI Action Summit set to held next year in France.

STAR DOG TRAINER REMAINS SILENT

[Anchor Lead]
Kang Hyung-wook, a prominent dog trainer, is facing ongoing allegations of engaging in workplace abuse against his employees at his company. Posts related to these accusations continue to surface on job search websites and online communities. Meanwhile, Kang remains silent, not having issued any statement regarding the matter.

[Pkg]
This is a dog training business named "Bodeum Company," operated by the famous dog trainer Kang Hyung-wook. The entrance of the office is tightly locked with mail left unattended to in the mail box. The deserted outdoor training field is covered with overgrown grass.

[Soundbite]
(Neighbor (VOICE MODIFIED)):On Sundays, he was seen with dogs outdoors. It's been a while since I last saw him. You would hear dogs barking but they are rarely heard now.

In January, the company issued a notice of business suspension, citing internal issues. Following the notice, public attention has been reignited over complaints about Kang's alleged workplace abuse, which were posted online. According to the complaints, former
employees that quit due to workplace abuse are now in counseling. Kang is also accused of not treating employees with respect. A commenter claiming to be a former Bodeum employee left a message on Kang's YouTube channel. The former employee shared an experience of receiving warnings from Kang for leaning back on a chair while working. Along with claims that Kang had installed nine surveillance cameras in the office to monitor employees, video footages believed to be from the cameras were also disclosed. As allegations over his workplace abuse are deepening, Kang was expected to reveal his stance via his YouTube channel. But no explanation has been issued thus far. Kang gave no responses to KBS' questions about the allegations either. Kang is also known to have canceled his plan to take part in an event for pet dogs, which is to be held in Jeongseon, Gangwon-do Province this weekend.

AI FIGHTS DIGITAL SEX CRIMES

[Anchor Lead]
A recent case surfaced where altered explicit photos of alumni were circulated at Seoul National University. This is part of a continuing trend of crimes related to online sexual exploitation materials. What's even more alarming is the recent sharp increase in the victimization of children and adolescents. In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has decided to use artificial intelligence to quickly analyze and delete such content.

[Pkg]
The nightmare for this 16-year-old surnamed Kim began with her part-time job in online chatting. The initial condition was she get paid 70 won or around 5 cents per dialogue, but was lured by an offer to earn 50,000 won or around 36 dollars for sending a revealing photo. The perpetrator did not pay, but circulated the photo online. Such crimes of distributing sexually exploitative materials through messenger apps and social media are spreading. The number of cases of support provided to such teen victims surged more than seven fold in one year. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has rolled up its sleeve in clampdown efforts by developing AI technology that can detect materials involving adolescents. By studying over 1,500 pieces of accumulated data, AI identifies the age range of victims featured in the materials. Even if their faces don't appear, AI can analyze their language and surrounding objects to verify damage caused. Such video detection work that took over 2 hours for humans has been shortened to just 90 seconds while the accuracy rate has tripled.

[Soundbite]
Kim Jun-cheol (Seoul Institute of Technology): Materials featuring school uniforms are most likely to be sexually exploitative, so we applied that type of detection method.

Sexually exploitative materials will be swiftly deleted even without the victims request and they can also be used in evidence gathering by law enforcement.

[Soundbite]
Moon Gi-hyeon (Seoul Digital Sex Crime Support Center): With AI, the input of a video or keyword allows comprehensive search of web sites in South Korea, China and Japan, making preemptive removal possible.

The Seoul city government said that along with crackdown efforts, it will also step up preventive monitoring so that children and teens don't end up in dubious chat groups in the first place.

NEWJEANS MV PICKS UP 4 AWARDS

[Anchor Lead]
Now turning to cultural news, group NewJeans has been acknowledged not only in the music industry but also in advertising. Their music video has notably clinched four awards at a globally prestigious advertising festival. This and more in our report.

[Pkg]
The music video for K-pop girl group NewJeans' hit song "ETA" surpassed ten million views in just 4 days of release in July last year. The video garnered particular attention as it was filmed not with a camera but a smart phone. This MV has won four prizes at the 2024 One Show advertising awards held in the U.S. The One Show is one of the top three global advertising awards with a 50 plus year history since 1973. This year, over 20-thousand entries were submitted for competition. NewJeans took bronze in the Branded Entertainment category for music videos...and also received Merit awards in three other categories. The five-member act also made a public appearance in the 2024 Korea On Stage performance held at Seoul's Gyeongbokgung Palace two days ago to promote Korean heritage. Despite the ongoing dispute between their agency ADOR and its parent company Hybe, the members gave an unwaveringly solid performance applauded by the audience.