South Korea

Intelligence for Better Decision Making

DeepSeek Unveils Advanced AI Models Challenging Industry Leaders
Dec. 4, 2025 | Technology & Innovation

DeepSeek unveiled its latest AI models designed to rival the leading solutions in artificial intelligence.

**DeepSeek released DeepSeek V3.2 and a high-compute variant, V3.2-Spechiale.**
The company claims the base V3.2 rivals OpenAI’s GPT-5 in overall performance, and that V3.2-Spechiale matches Google DeepMind’s Gemini 3 Pro in inference while outperforming GPT-5 on select benchmarks.

**Moreover, V3.2-Spechiale reportedly achieved “gold medal-level” results at the 2025 International Mathematical Olympiad and the International Olympiad in Informatics—benchmarks previously met only by private models from OpenAI and Google DeepMind.**
These results demonstrate DeepSeek’s capacity to handle advanced mathematical and algorithmic challenges at the highest levels.

**In terms of pricing, DeepSeek charges $0.28 per million input tokens and $0.42 per million output tokens for V3.2-Spechiale.**
By contrast, Gemini 3 Pro’s API fees reach $4 per million input tokens and $18 per million output tokens. This significant price gap positions DeepSeek as a competitive alternative for high-performance AI inference.

**However, DeepSeek admits V3.2-Spechiale requires more tokens than Gemini 3 Pro to produce equivalent outputs, potentially raising service costs and increasing processing latency.**
This inefficiency in token usage could affect customers’ overall spending and throughput when scaling deployments.

**DeepSeek developed V3.2 and V3.2-Spechiale amid US export controls that restrict high-performance GPU sales to China.**
Despite these constraints, the company used fewer floating-point operations (FLOPs) in training than its US peers, indicating progress in training efficiency and model optimization.
SoftWave 2025 Showcases AI Innovation and Industry Strategies in Seoul
Dec. 4, 2025 | Technology & Innovation

Industry leaders and professionals gathered at SoftWave 2025 in Seoul to explore emerging trends in artificial intelligence and software.

**SoftWave 2025 takes place from December 3rd to 5th at COEX in Samseong-dong as the 10th Korea Software Exhibition and Korea’s largest AI and software–focused business event.**
The Electronic Times SoftWave Committee organizes the exhibition, co-sponsored by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, NIPA, KOSA and other industry organizations. Approximately 300 companies—including Douzone Bizon, Hancom and TmaxSoft—occupy around 450 booths. A new AI pavilion features over 80 booths under the theme “Artificial Intelligence, the Core Technology to Lead the Future Software Industry,” showcasing domestic AI technologies and institutions alongside joint pavilions by AI and software promotion agencies.

**Building on this exhibition, the second day hosts SoftWave Summit 2025 under the theme “APEC 2025: Global Innovation and Domestic Strategy – Global Tech Leadership and Domestic AI·SW Innovation Strategy.” Government, industry and academic leaders gather to discuss global technology trends and strategies for domestic competitiveness.**
The program includes export consultations, a C-level meet-up, VIP booth tours and a special conference on “Digital Disaster Recovery System Construction Strategy” scheduled for December 4th in COEX Conference Room 401. Organizers anticipate that these sessions will drive business outcomes through cooperation, consultations and policy alignment.

**Kim Hyung-cheol, director of the Software Policy & Research Institute, called for a strategic shift in forecasting, policy and industrial approaches amid US–China technological competition.**
SPRi’s “Future Digital Technology Outlook” and “DaRT 2026” forecasts project a shift from traditional S-curve technology diffusion to a “shark fin” pattern, with weak-signal technologies rapidly evolving into general-purpose technologies. He identified brain–computer interfaces, distributed AI alignment and quantum sensing as ultra-fast-growth areas poised for significant expansion in healthcare, smart homes and gaming. Generative AI has become a baseline general-purpose technology, spawning development-assist tools, while metaverse-related technologies have waned in novelty.

**Lee Kyung-min of IDC described how CIOs must evolve from IT operators to digital orchestrators overseeing organizational redesign in the AI era.**
He noted that organizations now measure AI value across nine metrics—including growth and employee experience—rather than solely speed or cost. IDC forecasts that by 2027 half of all AI applications will stall at the proof-of-concept stage, and Lee recommended expanding enterprise-wide AI teams. He emphasized composite AI and AI agent orchestration frameworks as core technologies driving broader adoption. As enterprises integrate AI into operations, they prioritize job redesign over elimination, creating roles for data-driven practitioners, exception managers and AI ethics experts to embed governance and oversight functions.

**The Ministry of Science and ICT confirmed ongoing efforts to strengthen software policy and support AI-driven opportunities in manufacturing, finance, healthcare and public services.**
Its initiatives focus on building foundations for software-based value creation and facilitating AI applications across industry sectors.

**Industry stakeholders at the “AI Technology Standardization Seminar” hosted by the Korea Artificial Intelligence Industry Association pressed for practical AI standards tailored to manufacturing floors, large language model services and evolving global regulations.**
Representatives from the Korea Telecommunications Technology Association, the Medical Data Standardization Forum and private firms called for consistent definitions of variable names, data collection cycles, schemas and quality metrics. Jang Ha-young of Sseuromind stressed that factory data standardization is essential for predictive maintenance and energy efficiency. Lee Hye-jin of Tibel proposed a dual-layer verification framework combining general-purpose and domain-specific evaluation metrics via platforms like T-Lens. Mo Se-woong of SelectStar pointed to gaps between expanding regulations—such as the EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF and ISO/IEC 42001—and business implementation, and he recommended layered reliability frameworks that tie international and Korean standards to internal risk and quality management systems, supported by automated certification tools like “AI-Master” and “CAT.”

Monitored Intelligence for South Korea - Dec. 5, 2025


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268

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0

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3

Erudite Risk takes an all risks approach to intelligence reporting. We categorize key intelligence into one of 40 different risk intelligence categories.

The goal is to provide intelligence that allows decision makers to avoid being blindsided by what they may have missed, while informing them to make better decisions as well.

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Erudite Risk also includes operations categories so you can monitor the environment for better decision making. Everything is tied together--what happens in risk affects operations and what happens in the market impacts risk profiles.

We categorize key intelligence into one of 30 different operations intelligence categories.

Different roles and functions within the organization can monitor different key issue areas. HR may monitor employment, wages, regulations, labor and management relations, etc., while P&L leaders may monitor overall developing trends.

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6
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4
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6
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2
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2
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2
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15
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1
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5
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"위메프에 당했는데, 또"…'쿠팡 탈퇴' 불똥 튄 입점 상인

Got burned by WEMAKEPRICE, and now again… Merchants caught in the fallout of Coupang withdrawal

Newsis | Local Language | News | Dec. 5, 2025 | Corporate Corruption or Fraud

Coupang announced a large-scale personal information leak affecting approximately 33.7 million records, leading to a significant consumer backlash and a wave of users quitting the platform. More than 500,000 members in online communities are preparing class-action lawsuits, with 14 users already filing a damages claim seeking consolation money at the Seoul Central District Court.

Small merchants on Coupang are experiencing over 30% sales declines and face difficulties finding alternative platforms. Sellers, who heavily rely on Coupang for the majority of their business, express concern and frustration over the situation, noting a lack of communication and support from Coupang's management. One merchant highlighted repeated demands from Coupang for cost reductions and higher logistics incentives despite the platform’s current crisis.

Affected sellers are calling for compensation and aftercare measures from Coupang to address lost sales and customer retention. Coupang has yet to make a formal stance on compensating sellers, stating that such actions depend on proved sales drops and complaints. Experts emphasize the urgency of mitigating consumer anxiety while underscoring the importance of developing measures to compensate affected merchants to prevent further business losses.

UNC says armistice 'binding framework' for DMZ access after minister remarks on entry denial

Yonhap | English | News | Dec. 5, 2025 | Geopolitical Conflict and Disputes

The U.N. Command (UNC) reaffirmed that the armistice agreement remains a "binding framework" for governing access to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. This statement followed South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young revealing that a senior presidential security official was recently denied entry to a war remains excavation site at White Horse Ridge within the DMZ.

Unification Minister Chung also referenced a similar incident in 2019 when a former unification minister was denied access to the civilian village of Daeseongdong inside the DMZ, highlighting growing concerns within the South Korean government that such access denials can no longer be ignored.

The UNC did not provide details on the recent denial but emphasized that all access requests are reviewed following established protocols to ensure safety, compliance, and regional stability. The UNC also encouraged close consultation with the South Korean government on any measures affecting the DMZ and underscored their commitment to joint peace-building efforts supporting shared security objectives.

The DMZ functions as a buffer zone approximately 250 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide, established since the end of the Korean War in 1953. The UNC’s reaffirmation underscores the armistice agreement’s ongoing role in managing military and civilian activities in this sensitive area.

지마켓, 도용 의심 사고 피해고객 전원 환불 보상 결정

Gmarket Decides to Fully Refund All Customers Affected by Suspected Identity Theft Incident

ZD Net Korea | Local Language | News | Dec. 5, 2025 | Privacy

Gmarket has decided to fully refund all customers affected by the suspected identity theft incident that occurred on November 29, 2025. The company aims to minimize customer inconvenience and is cooperating with investigative authorities to determine the cause of the incident. Customers confirmed to have unauthorized payments will be informed about the compensation process, and Gmarket will actively support their reporting to relevant agencies. The company will provide advance compensation on moral grounds and encourage active reporting to help prevent further theft crimes.

The incident is believed to be an account-takeover crime, where illegally obtained personal information from outside sources was used to access accounts and make unauthorized payments, exploiting the widespread use of the same login credentials across multiple sites. In response, Gmarket has launched a password-change recommendation campaign targeting customers who have not updated their passwords within the past month. The company is also providing guidance on creating secure passwords through login screen messages and customer center notices.

Additionally, Gmarket plans to expand additional authentication procedures, recommending two-step authentication during login and implementing enhanced identity verification measures for high-sensitivity product categories, such as cash-convertible gift certificates. A company official emphasized the priority of ensuring a safe shopping environment and the commitment to strengthening security measures to prevent secondary damages like account takeover and phishing incidents.

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