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"It Wasn't a Glacial Lake Outburst"... What is Known About the Cause of the Nepal Mega-Flood
Around 8:37 AM on August 26, 2026, a massive glacier and rock collapse occurred in the high-altitude region of Langtang Lirung (7,234m) near the border of Nepal and China's Tibet. There was no heavy local rainfall. The US Geological Survey (USGS) revised a signal initially classified as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake to a collapse event equivalent to magnitude 5.2. The collapsed ice and rock turned into a torrent mixed with water and sediment, engulfing the downstream areas. Initial satellite imagery and expert analysis lean toward a glacier/rock slope collapse combined with valley blockage and its subsequent failure, rather than a typical GLOF where a glacial lake dam bursts. However, the exact chronological sequence of each stage can only be confirmed once field investigations are completed. The torrent swept through downstream gorges and settlements for about 100 km from Rende Kola through Bhotekoshi to Trishuli. As of August 29, Nepalese disaster authorities recorded 626 deaths and 2,426 missing persons, while China's Tibet separately reported 7 deaths and 554 missing persons. Hydropower sites were densely concentrated along the path of the torrent. The Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN) stated that as of August 29, 13 business sites suffered direct damage, and communication was lost with 934 people across 11 of those sites. The 216 MW Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1) project, a joint undertaking by Korea South-East Power (KOEN) and Doosan Enerbility, is one of them. At this site alone, the whereabouts of 576 people are unaccounted for, and 9 South Koreans remain out of contact, meaning that entire clusters of infrastructure in a single river basin were exposed to the same upstream risk.
이지영 기자 · 08/29/2026
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ISSUE BRIEFING
Applying to 100 Places with No Reply: The Urgent Need to Expand the Fair Recruitment Procedure Act Amid 'No-Rejection-Notice' Hiring Practices
김민경 책임기자 · 08/22/2026
ISSUE BRIEFING
Why KDI Raised 2026 Growth to 3.2% While Lowering Employment Forecast to 110,000
이태민 책임기자 · 08/21/2026
DEEP ANALYSIS
“We're Hiring, But Fewer Than 10 People”… The 2026 Second-Half Recruitment Market Trend Through Hiring Data
이지영 기자 · 08/12/2026
ISSUE BRIEFING
White-Collar Employment and Organizational Restructuring Accelerate Amid AI Expansion
이지영 기자 · 08/10/2026
DEEP ANALYSIS
Companies That Post the Same Job Openings All Year Long: Job Seekers Already Know
According to a Korea Employers Federation (KEF) survey, enterprises planning new hires increased to 66.6% this year, but the job market continues to reorganize around rolling and job-centric recruitment. Job seekers avoid identical position postings that repeat all year round, perceiving them as red flags for 'constant turnover' or potential ghost jobs. Negative evaluations of management and organizational culture accumulated on review platforms like Jobplanet act as exclusion factors starting from the application stage. Postings with unclear salaries, job roles, and employment types lose trust faster amid the gap between college graduates' expected salary (40.23 million won) and actual posted salaries (37.08 million won). Companies with poor websites and search information fail job seekers' self-verification processes, ultimately proving that transparency in recruitment branding dictates the competitiveness of securing talent.
류현진 선임기자 · 07/18/2026
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Samsung Injecting 200,000 Million Won into Samsung Miso Financial Foundation to Expand Low-Interest Loans for Vulnerable Groups and Self-Employed in Financial Blind Spots
Samsung announced on the 16th that it will contribute a total of 200 billion won to the Samsung Miso Financial Foundation to expand inclusive finance. Samsung Electronics will provide 150 billion won, while financial affiliates including Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Samsung Card, and Samsung Securities will jointly contribute 50 billion won. This contribution is the second implementation project of the '5 trillion won social contribution over 5 years' promise announced last May. The raised funds will be used to support startup, business operation, and emergency living funds with collateral-free, guarantor-free, low-interest loans of 4.5% per annum or lower, and are expected to benefit about 40,000 people. Applications can be made by eligible individuals, such as those in the bottom 20% of credit ratings and basic livelihood recipients, through the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency app, website, 1397, or branch consultations.
이우리 선임기자 · 07/18/2026
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Tesla Korea Raises Prices by Up to 7 Million Won Just a Day After Subsidy Confirmation: Why Tesla Prices Move Like Market-Priced Fish
Just a day after the South Korean government announced on June 30 that it would maintain EV subsidies for 27 companies including Tesla Korea, Tesla raised prices for major trims of the Model 3 and Model Y by up to 7 million won on July 1. In 2026, Tesla Korea has repeatedly slashed prices by up to 9.4 million won in January, raised them by up to 5 million won in April, and raised them by up to 7 million won in July, with the Model Y Long Wheelbase (L) jumping by a cumulative 8 million won within three months of its release. Despite these drastic price fluctuations, sales have surged, with domestic sales from January to May rising 250.8% year-on-year, and the Model Y beating domestic vehicles to rank as the top-selling car in South Korea in May. The fundamental reason behind Tesla's market-priced fluctuations lies in its dealer-free direct online sales structure, compounded by South Korean-specific variables such as pricing designed with subsidy cutoff lines in mind. Similar trends have emerged in the U.S., where Tesla raised prices for the first time in two years following the expiration of federal tax credits, demonstrating a shared pattern in both countries where subsidy policy inflection points coincide with Tesla's price adjustments.
류현진 선임기자 · 07/12/2026
DEEP ANALYSIS
Are Job Postings Increasing or Decreasing? The Two Faces of the 2026 Hiring Market Told by Numbers
While job openings (1.464 million, +3.4%) and hires (1.368 million, +4.6%) increased in the first quarter of 2026, planned hires for the second and third quarters (460,000) fell below the shortage of workers (467,000) for the first time since statistics began. Entry-level regular job postings at major corporations plummeted 43% year-over-year between January and November 2025, and only 2.6% of private platform postings in the first half of the year were for entry-level applicants. Employed persons decreased for the first time in 17 months (-40,000) in May, with youth employment plunging by 255,000, concentrating the shock on young people. Although the proportion of companies planning new hires rebounded to 66.6% in a Korea Enterprises Federation survey, the "format" of hiring shifted completely to rolling recruitment (54.8%) and job-experience-centric evaluation (67.6%). Global data from Gartner and Indeed also point to conservative hiring driven by AI transformation, making the second half of the year a critical turning point that will distinguish temporary adjustment from structural contraction.
박소유 책임기자 · 07/10/2026
DEEP ANALYSIS
Claude Fable 5 Returns in 19 Days: Why the First Commercial AI Switched Off by the U.S. Government Came Back on July 1 with New Safeguards
Anthropic's top-tier model, Claude Fable 5, returned globally on July 1, 19 days after its service was suspended. Launched on June 9, the service was completely halted three days later when the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed export controls following a 'jailbreak' report by Amazon researchers. Anthropic contested the basis of the action, arguing that other models yield the same results, and engaged in negotiations with the government for about two weeks. As a condition for the return, a new classifier capable of blocking the technique by over 99% was introduced, with Opus 4.8 responding in its place when blocked. Marking the first export control case applied to commercial AI, the incident leaves behind tasks such as refining AI regulatory procedures and the need for corporate model diversification.
강지혜 선임기자 · 07/02/2026
