"Miracle" reunion after 62 years: At the age of 4, Jin Myung-sook (now 66) lost her way at market, got separated from family. She was reunited yesterday thanks to Korean police's genetic analysis system. Holding back her tears, she hugged her eldest brother, Jeong Hyung-gon (76).
In the summer of 1959, Myung-sook, who was 4 years old at the time, lost her way near Baedari Market in Incheon while following her younger brother on way to meet their father. She didn't know her address or last name, just that she was called "Myung-sook."
In the end, her name was changed to "Jin Myung-sook" after the priest's family name at a nursery, and she was eventually adopted by a nun in South Chungcheong Province. After the age of 40, she decided to try find her family despite having no memory of them and different surname.
She went on TV to try find her family but nothing came up. She registered her genes in 2019 on a police genetic database. The police's Missing Family Support Centre analysed her genes and found a man Jeong Hyung-sik (68) to be a close match through interview and genetic analysis.
Hyung-sik moved to Canada, but before going, registered his genes on the system in the hope of finding his long lost sister Myung-sook. A match came up recently, and through further tests and confirmations, the family relation was confirmed.
She met eldest brother Hyung-gon yesterday in Seoul, and connected with brother Hyung-sik via video call. He says he felt guilty "losing" her at market, prayed everyday to find her.
Myung-sook thanked police, says she'll live happily with her family for the rest of her life.
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1/ Shocking new testimonies reveal systematic torture-like abuse at Georgia ICE facility on Korean workers: pregnant woman fearing for unborn child, handcuff burns, forced medical injections without consent, and staff neglecting workers having seizures and medical collapses.
2/ Yonhap News TV obtained exclusive photos showing a Korean worker's wrist from the Georgia detention facility. The images reveal clear red burn marks caused by handcuffs/cable ties. Worker testified that "quite a few people" suffered similar injuries. yonhapnewstv.co.kr/news/MYH202509…
3/ Testimonies also reveal forced medical procedures. One worker claims that during health checks before formal facility admission, despite refusing all tests, facility staff forcibly administered a tuberculosis injection against their will.
1/ A repatriated Korean worker from the Hyundai-LG battery factory secretly wrote a detention diary about their 7-day experience in ICE custody in Georgia. The worker says ICE officers mocked them with words like as "North Korea" and "Rocket Man" despite holding a business visa.
2/ The worker held a B1 visa for a 2-month work meetings and training trip. They were body-searched while wearing hard hat and safety boots at 10am on 4 September. ICE gave arrest warrant forms at 1:20pm with no explanation and no Miranda rights were read.
3/ "The workers thought that completing the forms would lead to release," the worker wrote, which was shared with Yonhap News. Red wristbands were placed on workers after they submitted forms. They secretly messaged his family saying "contact might be cut off".
1/ UPDATE regarding Google's Korean map saga: Google announced today it will remove latitude/longitude coordinates for ALL *South Korean* locations from Google Maps globally IF granted mapping data permission from the Korean gov. Not just sensitive sites but the entire territory.
2/ This goes far beyond Google's previous offer to blur sensitive facilities. The transport ministry has confirmed to me that they did indeed make this request for "national security" reasons but did not elaborate on the specifics. theguardian.com/world/2025/aug…
3/ It remains unclear what this will mean in the long run for users. While right-clicking and displaying coordinates is not a core functionality for most, it could possibly complicate third-party app dev, OSINT, etc.
Would be curious to hear from others what this would mean!
1/ S. Korea's entire media establishment across political spectrum has united in unprecedented editorial consensus expressing profound betrayal, outrage, national humiliation, and fundamental breach of US-ROK alliance re: mass arrest of Korean workers at Hyundai's Georgia plant.
2/ The general sentiment: while Korean media occasionally unite on domestic issues, these are usually severely politicised. Here, the level of scorn spanning from conservative establishment to progressive outlets is extraordinarily rare. They are furious.
3/ Chosun Ilbo (flagship conservative): Scathing language calling this a "merciless arrest operation" that represents something "that cannot happen between allies" and a "breach of trust." Notes Trump personally thanked Hyundai's chairman just months ago. chosun.com/opinion/editor…
1/ Something that's not being reported much re: ICE crackdown at Hyundai-LG Georgia battery factory: Korean companies investing billions cannot get proper visas, are then criminalised for bringing skilled workers to fill gaps American labour cannot.
Chosun Ilbo: "Built tens of trillions [KRW] factories for America... to then get slapped as illegal immigrants."
News1: "Told us to invest, then treated us as illegal immigrants." This isn't about law, it's about perceived duplicity.
3/ One of the core issues is that S. Korea has no country-reserved work visa. By contrast, Australia for instance gets E-3 (10,500/year) and Singapore/Chile get H-1B1 (5,400/1,400). Korea has neither, despite FTA status and massive investment commitments. koreatimes.co.kr/business/compa…
US authorities have reportedly detained 450 workers at Hyundai-LG battery plant construction site in Georgia yesterday, including over 30 South Koreans said to have legitimate visas. Seoul has expressed concern and says Korean nationals' rights "must not be unjustly violated."
The detained South Koreans at the Ellabell facility are said to be on B1 business visas or ESTA waivers for meetings and contracts. Foreign Ministry has dispatched consuls to the scene and "conveyed concerns and regrets" to the US embassy in Seoul. en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN202509…
Both Hyundai and LG Energy Solution are said to be "actively cooperating with authorities" to secure staff release. The raid raises concerns about potential disruptions to other major Korean projects including Hyundai's planned Louisiana steel mill and Georgia EV expansion.