South Korea

최소 34명 사망·2.7만명 대피…태국·말레이 홍수로 몸살

Maekyung | Local Language | News | Nov. 28, 2025 | Extreme Weather Events

Floods in southern Thailand and Malaysia have resulted in at least 34 deaths and the evacuation of over 27,000 people. In Thailand, 33 fatalities occurred across seven southern provinces due to drowning and electrocution following heavy rains that started at the end of the previous week. Rescue operations are underway using boats, jet skis, military trucks, aircraft carriers, and helicopters to assist stranded residents and tourists. A state of emergency has been declared in Songkhla province, where feeding centers are providing up to 20,000 food boxes daily.

In Malaysia, significant flooding has affected eight states, with one death reported in Kelantan. More than 27,000 people have been relocated to temporary shelters as the Malaysian Meteorological Department forecasts continued rain and thunderstorms in the northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Penang, and Perak. The Malaysian Foreign Ministry is closely monitoring the situation, especially as thousands of Malaysian tourists remain stranded in southern Thailand.

Rainy seasons in both countries contribute to these annual flood risks: Thailand's monsoon season peaks from June to September, while Malaysia's northeast monsoon brings heavy rains from November to March. Scientists warn that such extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and unpredictable due to climate change.

AI 시대 통신생태계 안정 발전 위해 “망 이용대가 공정화 입법 서둘러야”

ET News | Local Language | News | Nov. 28, 2025 | Regulation

The telecommunications industry is urging expedited legislation on network usage fees to ensure fair and stable development of the AI ecosystem amid ongoing Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations. The recently finalized fact sheet from these negotiations emphasizes non-discrimination toward American companies in digital services laws and policies, raising concerns about potential impacts on network usage fee policies.

Currently, most major operators in Korea, including domestic firms like Naver and Kakao and foreign companies such as Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple, pay network usage fees either directly or indirectly. Google is the exception, not currently paying such fees. The non-discrimination principle suggests system reforms are necessary so that all companies, including Google, contribute fairly to telecom carriers.

With AI technologies such as ChatGPT increasing demand for high-capacity data traffic, fair network usage fees are critical to finance infrastructure investments. Google alone accounted for 31.2% of Korea’s total data traffic last year and would be liable for annual traffic costs estimated around 200 billion won. If telecom carriers do not receive adequate fees from content providers, infrastructure costs may be passed on to consumers, risking network quality and national AI competitiveness.

Globally, countries like the EU and Australia are implementing legislation to share network investment responsibilities to support AI development. In Korea, four network usage fee-related bills aimed at prohibiting unjust or discriminatory network contracts are pending in the National Assembly. These bills seek to ensure fair regulatory practices between domestic and foreign companies in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination highlighted in the Korea-U.S. agreement.

Telecommunications industry representatives emphasize that existing laws already regulate foreign companies without discrimination and interpret the Korea-U.S. fact sheet as promoting regulatory transparency and equitable industrial cooperation rather than undermining fair fee structures.

Joongang Ilbo | English | News | Nov. 28, 2025 | Regulation

Lotte Chemical and HD Hyundai Chemical have submitted South Korea’s first voluntary restructuring plan in the oversupplied petrochemical sector for approval by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The plan proposes reducing naphtha cracker capacity (NCC) at their Daesan complexes and is filed under the Special Act on the Corporate Revitalization, known as the “One-shot Act,” which facilitates streamlined business reorganizations such as mergers and spin-offs.

The restructuring involves Lotte Chemical spinning off its Daesan plant to create a new entity that will merge with HD Hyundai Chemical, a joint venture owned 60% by HD Hyundai Oilbank and 40% by Lotte Chemical. This merger aims to rationalize NCC operations and unify production, combining Lotte Chemical’s annual NCC capacity of 1.1 million tons with HD Hyundai Chemical’s 850,000 tons.

Lotte Chemical emphasized that the plan seeks to enhance competitiveness in the petrochemical industry while transitioning toward high-value and environmentally friendly business models. The companies will continue to negotiate the optimal operational setup after receiving government approval.