Today's Top Stories: Heading Out, Then U-Turning… 'Bukang-i' Reluctant to Leave (October 22, 2026)

1. Didn't Kim Yo-jong, deputy department director of North Korea's Workers' Party, warn that North Korea would resume loudspeaker broadcasts targeting South Korea? The Ministry of National Defense has responded to this. It publicly mentioned the possibility of a proportional countermeasure. During a regular briefing today (October 22), Ministry Spokesperson Jeon Bit-na stated that if North Korea takes any action, she believes South Korea should naturally take proportional measures. The Ministry of Unification also issued a separate statement emphasizing that just about a year ago, both sides turned on loudspeakers toward each other, causing suffering to residents in both the South and the North. It stressed that such mistakes must never be repeated and that acts violating the Armistice Agreement around the Military Demarcation Line and escalating risks of tension and conflict must be halted immediately. Following yesterday, Kim Yo-jong today reiterated the justification for border fortification and construction work, stating that loudspeakers targeting the South will also enter standby status within a few days.

2. The Bank of Korea held its Monetary Policy Committee meeting today and kept the base rate frozen at 3%. Following consecutive 0.25 percentage point hikes in July and August, this decision is interpreted as an adjustment of pace to assess the effects of previous measures. The committee explained that it judged a need to monitor developments in domestic and external risk factors and the ripple effects of the two rate hikes, adding that all seven committee members voted unanimously in favor of the freeze. It also projected that economic growth rates for this year and next year will significantly exceed previous forecasts of 3.3% and 2.9% made in August, while next year's consumer inflation and core inflation rates are also expected to surpass previous forecasts of 2.3% and 2.5%.

3. Yonsei University's portal service has been hacked by an external cyberattack, resulting in the leakage of personal information belonging to approximately 15,000 individuals, including current students, graduates, and faculty members. While the university emphasized that sensitive information such as resident registration numbers was not compromised, student IDs, mobile phone numbers, and email addresses were leaked. Having reported the breach to the Personal Information Protection Commission and the Ministry of Education, Yonsei University plans to post notices regarding the measures taken on its website starting this afternoon.

4. Here is an update on 'Bukang-i.' What on earth should be done with Bukang-i? Many people seem to be worried. After staying for over a month in the artificial waterway of the Busan North Port Waterfront Park, the shark 'Bukang-i,' which was guided out of the waterway during authorities' third guidance operation yesterday, has reportedly returned inside the waterway once again. Bukang-i successfully moved out of the waterway around 6:00 p.m. yesterday following the authorities' third guidance operation, but around 11:00 p.m. last night, it was spotted entering back inside the first barrier floating facility installed to prevent re-entry into the waterway. Bukang-i is currently known to be repeatedly swimming around a zone measuring about 30 meters by 30 meters between the first barrier floating facility and the second barrier net. Authorities explained that to reduce the stress Bukang-i is experiencing in the restricted space, they plan to first open one side of the second barrier to allow movement and resume operations to guide Bukang-i back out of the waterway.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.