The Minute to Read (Weekend) series provides a quick overview of significant events in Korea from the week, conveniently condensed into a one-minute read. Here’s a recap of what happened this week: Feb. 17-21.
Captured soldier exposes brutal reality of North Korean military
The grim reality faced by North Korean soldiers has come to light through an interview with Ri, a 26-year-old North Korean sniper captured by Ukrainian forces after being deployed to Russia’s Kursk region. Ri’s account reveals that most North Korean troops are conscripted in their mid to late teens, equivalent to South Korean middle and high school students, and spend years in isolation from their families, enduring harsh conditions and forced labor. In an exclusive interview with The ChosunIlbo, Ri recounted serving in the North Korean military for a decade before being sent to Russia, just before his scheduled discharge. He enlisted at 16, spending his entire early twenties in military service to complete the mandatory 10-year term. “I only spoke to my parents on the phone and never saw them in person,” he said. Although his unit was stationed in Sinchon, South Hwanghae Province, just 100 kilometers from his home in Pyongyang, he was never granted leave or visitation rights. The North Korean military rarely grants leave, typically only in cases such as the death of a parent. A former North Korean soldier who defected explained, “Only those with wealth or connections can visit their children during service. Most soldiers are limited to exchanging occasional letters or phone calls with their families.”
Ri also described the widespread use of soldiers as forced labor for state projects under near-slavery conditions. He served in the Korean People’s Army Special Operations Force, an elite combat unit frequently mobilized for both military operations and construction work, including Kim Jong-un’s Samjiyon project—a large-scale propaganda initiative near Mount Paektu built between 2018 and 2021. Located in Ryanggang Province, where winter temperatures plummet to -30°C, Samjiyon saw waves of soldiers deployed for construction. “The cold in Samjiyon was much worse than in Kursk,” Ri recalled, describing how their hands froze as they spent entire days breaking through ice-hardened ground with pickaxes. Food shortages were particularly severe at construction sites. A North Korean military defector noted, “Conditions were so desperate that armed soldiers resorted to robbery and even murder to secure food. Authorities even issued execution warnings for such crimes.”
Ex-South Korean officials avoid prison for forcibly returning North Korean defectors
A South Korean court has found four former government officials guilty of forcibly repatriating two North Korean fishermen in 2019 despite their repeated pleas to defect. The Seoul Central District Court handed down suspended sentences to the officials on Feb. 19, meaning their prison terms will be deferred for two years. Legal experts criticized the ruling as overly lenient, arguing that it fails to hold anyone accountable for the unlawful forced repatriation. A suspended sentence is typically issued for relatively minor offenses and is lifted if the convicted individuals meet court-imposed conditions during the probationary period. The court sentenced former national security adviser Chung Eui-yong and former National Intelligence Service (NIS) director Suh Hoon to 10 months in prison, with the sentences suspended for two years. Former presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min and former unification minister Kim Yeon-chul received six-month suspended sentences. The ruling found that the officials violated the fundamental rights of the two fishermen by forcibly deporting them to North Korea in November 2019 despite their repeated requests to remain in South Korea. The fishermen had expressed their intent to defect throughout the government’s investigation, but five days after being captured, they were repatriated in handcuffs. Reports indicate that they were executed shortly after their return to North Korea. However, the court justified suspending the sentences by noting that the fishermen had murdered 16 fellow crew members before fleeing to the South.
South Korea to launch national AI team, invest $700 m in AGI development
South Korea will establish an elite “national artificial intelligence team” to lead the development of an advanced large language model (LLM) and invest over 1 trillion won ($700 million) in core technologies for general-purpose artificial intelligence (AGI). The initiative is part of the country’s broader strategy to strengthen its AI capabilities and position itself among the world’s top three AI powerhouses, as competition intensifies between the United States and China for AI dominance. At the third National AI Committee meeting on Feb. 20, the government unveiled plans to develop cutting-edge AI models, cultivate top-tier AI talent, and enhance AI infrastructure to accelerate the industry’s growth. Under the “World’s Best LLM” project, the government aims to develop a homegrown counterpart to ChatGPT by selecting the country’s top AI research teams and equipping them with large-scale graphics processing unit (GPU) resources and substantial research funding. LLMs, such as OpenAI’s GPT and Google’s Gemini, are AI models trained on massive datasets to process and generate human-like text. As competition in AI development escalates, companies are consolidating their fragmented AI research capabilities to form consortiums. The government plans to centralize research funding, data, and GPU resources to advance its own “national AI.”
GM’s potential exit from South Korea back in focus as Trump eyes auto tariffs
For the first time in seven years, concerns are resurfacing over the potential withdrawal of U.S. automaker General Motors (GM) from the South Korean market, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose a 25% tariff on imported vehicles. With approximately 84% of GM Korea’s production bound for the U.S., such a tariff could significantly undermine the viability of its manufacturing operations in South Korea. On Feb. 18 (local time), major foreign media outlets reported that Trump, speaking at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, stated, “The tariff rate on automobiles, set to be announced on Apr. 2, is expected to be around 25%.” He added, “I want to give companies time to come into the U.S. If they build factories here, they won’t have to pay tariffs, so we’re giving them an opportunity,” underscoring his intent to incentivize automakers to relocate production to the U.S. Hyundai Motor, supported by a strong domestic market, is expected to maintain operations at its Ulsan plant even if U.S. exports are affected. Last year, Hyundai sold 705,010 vehicles in South Korea, accounting for 17% of its total global sales of 4,141,791 units. Kia, similarly, recorded 541,000 domestic sales, or 17.5% of its 3,089,457 units sold worldwide. If exporting to the U.S. becomes more challenging, both automakers could redirect shipments to other markets. GM Korea, however, faces a far more precarious situation. The company sold 499,559 vehicles last year, but only 5%—24,824 units—were sold domestically. Of the remaining 474,735 units, 420,000 were exported to the U.S., accounting for 84% of its total production. As a key manufacturing hub for GM’s U.S.-bound vehicles, a 25% tariff could make its South Korean operations unsustainable. To remain viable, GM Korea would need to expand its domestic lineup and boost local sales—an uncertain prospect given GM’s global production strategy, which currently limits its South Korean plants to small SUV manufacturing. At present, GM Korea’s Bupyeong plant produces three models: the Trailblazer, a small SUV for the domestic market, and the Trax Crossover and Buick Envista, both primarily for export. The GM Korea labor union has repeatedly urged the company to introduce electric vehicle production at the plant, but GM headquarters has rejected the request.
DeepSeek suspended in South Korea amid data privacy concerns
China’s artificial intelligence (AI) model DeepSeek is under regulatory scrutiny in South Korea after authorities discovered it had been transmitting user data to ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. On Feb. 17, South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) confirmed that DeepSeek had transferred user data to ByteDance without proper disclosure. In response to growing concerns over data protection, DeepSeek suspended new app downloads on Feb. 15. This marks the app’s second nationwide suspension, following Italy’s decision to block downloads in late January. Addressing the suspension, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun commented during a regular briefing, stating, “The Chinese government has consistently required Chinese companies to strictly comply with local laws and regulations. We hope that the country in question [South Korea] will not turn economic, trade, scientific, and technological matters into security or political issues.” DeepSeek has gained global attention for developing a high-performance AI model at a relatively low cost. However, its data collection practices—including tracking users’ keyboard habits—have raised privacy concerns. As of late January, the app had 1.21 million weekly active users, ranking second only to ChatGPT’s 4.93 million.
Kim Sae-ron, star of The Man from Nowhere, found dead
South Korean actress Kim Sae-ron, known for her role in The Man from Nowhere (2010), was found dead at her home on Feb. 16. Seoul’s Seongdong Police Station reported that a friend discovered Kim unconscious in her Seongsu-dong residence at 4:54 p.m. She was rushed to the hospital but pronounced dead. Police found no signs of foul play and continue investigating the cause. Kim debuted in 2009 with A Brand New Life, becoming the youngest South Korean actor invited to the Cannes Film Festival. She gained recognition in The Man from Nowhere, which attracted 6.28 million viewers, and returned to Cannes in 2014 for A Girl at My Door. Her career declined after a 2022 drunk driving incident in Gangnam, where she crashed into a guardrail, tree, and transformer. A blood test showed a 0.2% alcohol concentration, leading to a 20 million won ($13,888) fine in 2023. She later withdrew from public life, working part-time at a café in Seongsu-dong. In 2023, she attempted a Netflix comeback but was dropped after criticism. She also sought a theater return in April, which was unsuccessful. Reports indicate she recently changed her name to Kim Aim in an effort to start anew.
Bong Joon-ho’s latest film ‘Mickey 17′ debuts to mixed reviews
Director Bong Joon-ho’s sci-fi film Mickey 17, an adaptation of Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7, was unveiled to the Korean press on Feb. 17. The film marks Bong’s first feature in six years since Parasite, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Picture. Set in the 2050s, when space colonization has begun, the story follows Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), a man on the run from loan sharks who volunteers as an “expendable”—a supposedly immortal worker assigned to high-risk tasks. On an ice planet, Mickey repeatedly dies and is regenerated, but a malfunction leads to an unprecedented event: two versions of him existing simultaneously—Mickey 17 and Mickey 18. Premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival on Feb. 15, the film received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a critic score of 86%, lower than Bong’s previous works, including Parasite (99%), Mother (96%), and Snowpiercer (94%). While U.S. film outlet IndieWire praised it as “exciting proof of Bong’s genius,” the BBC criticized it as “a confusing sci-fi and a seriously disappointing work from Bong Joon-ho,” giving it a 2 out of 5 rating.
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