SBS News

Park Hong-keun: "Semiconductor Boom Will Not End Abruptly; Major Investment in Youth Policy" Minister of Planning and Budget Park Hong-keun stated today that, based on discussions within the government, he does not believe the semiconductor boom will end abruptly. SBS Jul 18, 2026 3:28 PM

President Lee Calls for Increase in Agricultural Subsidies; Song Mi-ryung Notes Korea Lags Behind Developed Nations According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs today , Minister Song detailed the status of farm subsidies, which were discussed during a policy briefing on July 16, on her X account yesterday. SBS Jul 18, 2026 3:27 PM

Kim Yong-beom: "AI Industry Requires Massive Physical Infrastructure; Success Must Benefit Future Generations" Kim Yong-beom, the Blue House Policy Chief, stated that the artificial intelligence production system requires a physical foundation as massive as, or sometimes even greater than, traditional heavy industries, and argued that a new role for the state is necessary to support this. SBS Jul 18, 2026 3:26 PM

Japan Faces Backlash Over Imperial Succession Law Excluding Princesses in Favor of Distant Male Relatives The House of Councillors in the Japanese Diet held a plenary session yesterday and passed the amendment to the Imperial House Law. SBS Jul 18, 2026 3:25 PM

Kim Yong-beom: "In the AI Era, the State Must Organize the Entire Production Capacity Ecosystem" Kim Yong-beom, Policy Chief at the Blue House, wrote on his social media today that "the artificial intelligence production system requires a physical foundation as massive as, and sometimes even greater than, traditional 'heavy, thick, long, and large' industries," adding that a new role for the state is required to support this. SBS Jul 18, 2026 3:20 PM

Board of Audit and Inspection Denies Parental Leave for Auditor Involved in 'West Sea Incident' Probe, Sparks 'Political Retaliation' Claims Auditor A had been on "study leave" in the United Kingdom under the public official long-term overseas training program, which ended on June 30. SBS Jul 18, 2026 3:04 PM

Lee Kun-tae: "I Will Not Debate Han Dong-hoon… Accepting Party Members' Opinions" Lee stated on his Facebook page today, "I have decided that it is not right to ignore the will and concerns of the party members who support me," adding, "I will not proceed with this debate." On July 16, Han, a former prosecutor, proposed to the Democratic Party, "Let us publicly debate why the abolition of supplementary investigation powers is against the public interest." The debate was arranged after Lee, also a former prosecutor, responded yesterday by saying, "I will explain one by one why the prosecution should not hold investigation powers." Lee, who also served as a defense attorney for the Daejang-dong case, said today, "The reason I agreed to the debate was that I believed Han Dong-hoon, along with Yoon Suk-yeol, was a person responsible for leading fabricated indictments by putting political prosecutors at the forefront," adding, "I wanted to clearly hold him accountable for that in front of the public." He added, "I take the many opinions and advice from our party members seriously," and "The will of our party members is the will of us all." In response, Han retorted, "Lawmaker Lee ran away ahead of the debate. SBS Jul 18, 2026 2:47 PM

Son Heung-min Scores First MLS Goal of the Season in First Match Since World Cup Son started in the 16th round of the 2026 MLS regular season against the LA Galaxy, held at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, on July 18 , and netted an additional goal in the 12th minute of the second half to extend the team's lead to 2-0. SBS Jul 18, 2026 2:39 PM

Ship Suspected to be Chinese Fishing Vessel Sinks North of Yeonpyeongdo... "Search for Survivors Underway" According to the Central Regional Coast Guard, a report was received from the Marine Corps Yeonpyeong Unit at around 11:00 a.m. SBS Jul 18, 2026 2:27 PM

Democratic Party Marks 3rd Anniversary of Seoi Elementary School Incident: "We Will Protect Teachers from Malicious Complaints" ▲ Democratic Party Spokesperson Kim Han-na The Democratic Party of Korea stated … SBS Jul 18, 2026 2:22 PM