Technology and philosophy

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

China Tops Nature Index Again, South Korea Ranks 7th

For the third straight year, China has topped the "Nature Index," which measures worldwide scientific research performance. South Korea stayed at 7th position, consistent with the previous year's placement.

The global academic publishing house Springer Nature, which publishes the journal *Nature*, revealed the list of "2026 Nature Index Research Leaders" on the 10th.

The Nature Index is a ranking system developed by Springer Nature that assesses the quantity of research articles published in prestigious scholarly journals, including those focused on natural sciences, along with their influence.

Although the Nature Index mainly focused on fundamental science and medicine disciplines, this year it broadened its coverage by adding 17 applied science journals and 15 social science journals.

China remained the leading nation for global research production this year. Its output rose by 22.4% between 2024 and 2025.

The United States came in second place, with Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, South Korea, India, Canada, and Italy following closely behind.

Among the leading countries, China was the sole nation to achieve growth surpassing 10%. Japan and South Korea also experienced research output increases within the 9% bracket, reflecting strong expansion trends across Eastern Asia.

South Korea placed third in applied sciences, achieving a 14% increase in research production within this area, reflecting significant progress. Nevertheless, it came in eighth for natural sciences, highlighting that it continues to trail somewhat in fundamental scientific disciplines.

In terms of institutions, the Chinese Academy of Sciences was ranked number one. For the first time since the rankings started in 2015, Harvard University from the United States dropped from the top position to be replaced by Zhejiang University from China.

Apart from Harvard University, all entities ranked from 1st to 12th were Chinese institutes or universities. The German Max Planck Society dropped to 13th position, exiting the top 10.

At Seoul National University in South Korea, the institution secured the 58th position, moving down six positions compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, KAIST climbed two ranks to reach 80th spot.

Kazakhstan Banks on Hong Kong for Offshore RMB Access

A bank supported by China, Altyn Bank, states that Kazakh investors are increasingly looking towards Hong Kong's dim sum bonds to secure long-term funding for local infrastructure projects.

A commercial bank based in Kazakhstan, supported by China Citic Bank, is looking to partner with financial organizations and investors from Hong Kong to establish innovative funding avenues for the Central Asian nation via Hong Kong's growing offshore RMB market.

Murat Baisynov, head of Altyn Bank, stated to the South China Morning Post that three customers from the bank based in Almaty are now considering issuing dim sum bonds in Hong Kong, a movement he anticipates will persist.

"Hong Kong continues to be the global leader in offshore yuan liquidity, connecting the biggest group of investors, banks, and systems involved in issuing yuan-denominated bonds," he stated.

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In Central Asia, this creates broader chances to draw in lasting investment for infrastructure, transportation, energy, and environmentally friendly development initiatives.

He mentioned that the bank, which is part of China Citic Bank, seeks to form strategic alliances with investment companies and institutional investors in Hong Kong in order to open up fresh funding avenues for the area via the offshore yuan market.

Since 2018, Altyn Bank has been under the control of China Citic Bank Corporation, following the acquisition of a 50.1 percent share from Kazakhstan's leading financial entity, Halyk Bank.

Baisynov emphasized the potential of Hong Kong under the leadership of the Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu Led a top-tier team to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan recently to investigate fresh commercial opportunities against the backdrop of political instability.

A seasoned banker anticipates a significant increase in RMB-based transactions as economic and commercial relations between Kazakhstan and China, along with Hong Kong, grow stronger over the next few years.

He referenced the Development Bank of Kazakhstan’s first issue of a 2 billion yuan (US$280.8 million) dim sum bond in Hong Kong last September as proof of increasing enthusiasm for the currency.

"With increasing two-way trade with China, there is an rising need for financial transactions and payments carried out in [Chinese yuan]. For numerous companies, this method aids in lowering operational expenses and enables better handling of exchange rate fluctuations," he stated.

Enhancing the application of the Chinese yuan involves improving market liquidity and risk management tools—especially for the Yuan-Tenge exchange rate—as well as drawing in a wider range of global investors to collaborate with Central Asian entities.

He mentioned that Hong Kong, serving as a funding hub and entry point to the global financial network, plays an important part in enhancing these links.

Baisynov further mentioned that there is an increasing interest from Kazakhstan-based investors in spreading their assets across overseas markets, making global investments, and utilizing personal banking solutions.

He stated that Hong Kong has all the essential qualities required to address these changing demands.

He highlighted the significant opportunities for cooperation between Hong Kong, a global financial center, and Kazakhstan, a major economic and transportation hub in Central Asia.

Hong Kong signed 96 agreements worth $1.65 billion for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan during Lee's five-day trip to Central Asia last week, spanning areas such as finance, technology, commerce, and media.

Cathay Pacific Airways The city's national airline has revealed intentions to start services to Almaty in the coming year. At the same time, the Hong Kong authorities have signed a deal with Uzbekistan, opening the door for carriers from both regions to establish a fresh non-stop connection.

Coupang Fined Record 624.6 Billion Won Over Data Leak

Coupang faced a data breach impacting 37.55 million consumers in November, leading to a penalty exceeding 600 billion South Korean won. On the 11th, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) stated that it had determined a fine of 624.681 billion won against Coupang during a session held on the 10th, due to violations of the Personal Information Protection Act. This amount exceeds the prior highest penalty of 134.791 billion won given to SK Telecom in August of the previous year. Additionally, the commission opted to charge an extra fine of 16.8 million won.

The committee said, "The inquiry verified that this event happened because of Coupang's failure in handling personal data security," and mentioned, "Additional instructions were provided to enhance protective protocols to avoid such occurrences."

In November of last year, the PIPC initiated an inquiry following a complaint from Coupang, establishing a collaborative task force alongside the Korea Internet & Security Agency.

A former employee at Coupang, who departed in late 2024, was discovered to have carried out a data leakage experiment in January of the previous year, methodically extracting personal details between April and November of that same year by gaining access to member profile editing sections, delivery address controls, and purchase history records.

A cybercriminal created fake authorization tokens to gain entry into the delivery address administration section roughly 148 million times starting from April 14 of the previous year, resulting in the exposure of names, phone numbers, and residential addresses. On June 24 of the same year, they entered the user profile editing area 34.966812 million times, causing leakage of names and electronic mail identifiers. Starting from September 26 of the prior year, they logged into the delivery address update segment 50,474 instances and reviewed the purchase record interface 85,213 times, also leading to disclosure of common access codes and transaction specifics.

Using these techniques, the hacker exposed personal details of 33.22472 million members and at least 4.338368 million individuals who were not members. This involved 33.057012 million names along with email addresses, 63.986351 million shipping address entries (including names, addresses, and common access codes) for a minimum of 22.375359 million members and 4.338368 million non-members, as well as purchase records from 58,349 members.

The committee verified that the event occurred due to Coupang's insufficient security management framework and carelessness. It stated, "Coupang was unable to effectively control access rights for authentication signature keys, and even though there were unusual surges in access during the attack timeframe, it didn’t identify these anomalies."

Coupang learned about the further exposure of 160,000 customers' private details from the delivery address section approximately on January 30 this year, yet reported it to officials just on February 5, which was six days after discovery. Moreover, despite being asked four times by the committee to inform non-member individuals affected by the breach, Coupang failed to take action.

The committee mentioned, "Individuals who were not members could not implement protective actions against additional harm because they did not know about the leakage."

In addition, Coupang had internal policies requiring the destruction of user data 90 days after an account was removed and immediate removal of addresses along with account numbers. However, it did not erase 2,465,592 delivery address details (including names, phone numbers, and addresses) belonging to deactivated accounts, resulting in these being exposed. Moreover, it was discovered that 318,499 account numbers from terminated users were not promptly erased.

Not long after the committee started its inquiry, it instructed Coupang to retain evidence like website access records connected to the event. Nevertheless, Coupang manually erased five months' worth of online activity logs spanning from July through November 2024, making it harder to establish the precise sequence of events surrounding the first data breach. Still, the committee mentioned, "There was no proof discovered indicating that the exposed personal details were shared unlawfully."

Additionally, the committee expressed disapproval towards Coupang for collecting consumers' internet browsing data without permission.

The inquiry found that Coupang gathered and kept track of online behavior data from 11.17613 million consumers between December 23, 2024, and February 4 of this year, encompassing 15.645338 million website and application accesses, which were utilized for personalized ads.

As a result, the committee chose to charge a penalty amounting to 423.575 billion won and a fine of 16.8 million won concerning the data breach, along with an extra penalty of 201.16 billion won related to the illicit gathering of internet usage information.

Penalties were assessed according to Coupang's online shopping service income. According to the Personal Information Protection Act, fines may be as high as 3% of revenue. The committee said, "The ultimate fine was decided taking into account the seriousness of the breach and the extent of the harm caused."

The committee independently chose to charge a fine of 248 million won against Coupang Fulfillment Services, which is part of Coupang.

The inquiry revealed that Coupang Fulfillment Services gathered and handled the names of 71 media representatives from the National Police Agency, despite these individuals never having worked at their distribution facilities, and added them to a confidential employee list. The committee considered this action a breach of guidelines for collecting and utilizing personal data. Furthermore, Coupang Fulfillment Services provided staff weight details to the court during a legal case involving an workplace injury, which the committee viewed as a violation of protocols concerning handling private information.

Busan Bridge Collapse Injures Two Workers During Construction

A bridge being built in Busan fell down, causing injuries to two individuals.

As reported by the Busan Fire and Emergency Management Office on the 11th, a section of a bridge under construction at the Eco Delta City Phase 3, Block 3 development area in Gangseo District, Busan, fell down approximately at 8:42 a.m. that day.

During the incident, employee A, who is 44 years old, received severe injuries, while colleague B, aged 60, experienced less significant harm. Both individuals were taken to a local medical facility. They are currently alert, with no urgent dangers to their lives.

An incident is said to have taken place while installing a girder, which is a beam that supports the roadway, with the help of a crane.

Authorities are looking into the specific details of the incident.

Tuesday, June 30, 2026

BYD Surpasses Geely Amid Global EV Surge Following Oil Shock

High international interest in electric vehicles enabled BYD to overcome a poor start to the year and regain top ranking.

The worldwide energy shortage has boosted BYD's return to the top of China's car industry, enabling it to catch up with... Geely Auto with increasing global interest in electric vehicles.

A Chinese electric vehicle (EV) company based in Shenzhen had relinquished its position as the country's top automaker in the first quarter of 2026 but experienced a significant recovery over the next two months due to rising fuel costs caused by the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran. During this time, its international shipments increased by 76 percent compared to the previous year, reaching almost 300,000 vehicles.

The revival has strengthened founder and chairman Wang Chuanfu's vision of making BYD the biggest automobile manufacturer globally by 2030, supported by progress in advanced battery systems and self-driving technologies.

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According to company data, BYD delivered 1.41 million cars worldwide from January to May, representing an increase of 19 percent compared to Geely's 1.18 million units.

Geely, which offers both gasoline and electric cars through brands such as Zeekr, Lynk, and Galaxy, took the lead in the initial quarter, producing 709,538 units versus BYD's 700,463.

Increasing electric vehicle adoption worldwide during April and May benefited BYD, even though the local market was underwhelming," stated Phate Zhang, founder of Shanghai-based data firm CnEVPost. "Strong sales beyond China proved to be the primary factor driving growth for the EV manufacturer.

In the initial five months of this year, BYD delivered 616,907 cars abroad, marking an increase of 65 percent compared to the previous year, which made up 44 percent of overall shipments.

The firm aims to achieve 1.3 million international sales in 2026, representing a roughly 24 percent increase compared to 2025, as stated by Li Yunfei, BYD’s head of brand management and communications, citing factors such as upcoming vehicle releases and a broader distribution system.

Tensions in the Middle East and the short-term shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz—where approximately one-fifth of global oil and natural gas shipments travel—caused Brent crude prices to rise over 60 percent from February 28 to April 29. Since then, prices have decreased by 11 percent, reaching roughly $85 per barrel on Wednesday.

With rising fuel prices, people across the globe have started to favor electric cars as a way to cut down on operating costs.

As the leading global electric vehicle producer, BYD intends to sell over 10 million cars each year by 2030, which would be twice its 2025 output of 4.6 million units. During a shareholder gathering on Tuesday, Wang detailed strategies to surpass Toyota and emerge as the top automaker worldwide.

Towards the end of May, BYD revealed that its The "God's Eye" next-generation driver assistance system will cost only 12,000 yuan (US$1,772), aiming to ultimately reduce traffic collisions once the system is activated.

The action highlighted the firm's commitment to establish itself as a top player in the evolving transportation landscape by developing smarter cars at reduced expenses.

Having secured the second spot behind BYD in vehicle shipments during the previous year, Geely stated in February that it plans to concentrate on increasing driving distance and enhancing charge rates instead of reducing costs to reinforce its standing within China, the globe's biggest automobile marketplace.

During December, the firm established a 2-billion-yuan safety evaluation center in Ningbo, which serves as an industrial key area located in eastern Zhejiang Province.

The holding company of Geely Auto, known as Zhejiang Geiley Holding Group, additionally has ownership of Volvo Cars and maintains an investment in the Mercedes-Benz Group.

Sales of Geely outside China — covering both gasoline and electric cars — increased by 158 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 371,354 units during the first five months of 2026, which accounted for 31.5 percent of overall shipments.

Chinese automakers, including BYD and Leapmotor supported by Stellantis, are projected to sell 2.5 million cars to consumers in Western Europe by 2028, capturing around 20 percent of the market mainly because of their benefits in manufacturing and innovation merits of industrial processes and technical advancements positive aspects of creation and technological progress advantages related to fabrication and scientific development gains from production methods and tech improvements , as stated by Nick Lai, the head of Asian-Pacific automotive research at JPMorgan.

Chinese manufacturers sold approximately 1 million cars in Western Europe during 2025, covering key regions like Germany, France, Italy, and the UK.

People Power Party Urges Leader Jang to Resign

An internal faction of the People Power Party, consisting of legislators who served one or two terms known as "Alternative and Future," officially urged the departure of party head Jang Dong-hyeok on the 11th. Additionally, they requested that the recently named floor leader, Jeong Jeom-sig, hold a gathering of all members to address Jang's exit.

Lee Seong-kweon, a legislator from the People Power Party and head of "Alternative and Future," together with related legislators, convened a media briefing at the National Assembly Communications Center early that day. They remarked, "The People Power Party faced a severe loss in the June 3 local elections," further stating, "Chairman Jang's authority has crumbled, which is entirely due to the leadership of Jang Dong-hyeok." They added, "Conservatives consistently emphasize responsibility. If Chairman Jang genuinely identifies as a 'conservative,' he ought to resign right away."

The collective also rejected Jang's proposal for a "national election." "Alternatives and Future" showed support for the frustration of the 2030 generation regarding violations of voting rights due to systematic issues within the National Election Commission. Nevertheless, they emphasized, "We firmly disagree with holding a national election."

They stated, "It is inappropriate for a conservative party leader to associate citizens' efforts to ensure election integrity with 'election fraud conspiracy theories.' Leader Jang's independent choice to promote these ideas weakens and harms the party's democratic principles."

The group also called for holding a general assembly. Lee said, "The public is observing how the People Power Party will address public opinion and establish an equitable voting system concerning Leader Jang's future and voting rights." He appealed, "We urge Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sig to hold a general meeting to build agreement on these two matters."

Following the press briefing, elected official Kwon Young-jin spoke with journalists and stated, "We participated in the regional elections under a leadership that lost public confidence, following a route that did not connect with voters and ultimately encountered their disapproval." He further remarked, "Claiming victory in the election is profoundly incorrect."

He added, "If Leader Jang keeps following this course, the party will face criticism for being an organization that, even after electoral defeats, denies its shortcomings, holds onto 'voting irregularity conspiracy narratives,' and aims for political endurance." He ended with, "Resolving issues related to voting rights violations can be handled by the National Assembly and the party independently of Leader Jang."

Easy English News: Japanese Firms Block Unwanted Job Hops to Retain Talent

TOKYO — Businesses in Japan have initiated employment evaluations starting June 1 for graduates set to complete their universities in the spring of 2027. Certain companies are ceasing employee transfers unless approved by the employees themselves. They aim for this measure to assist in retaining skilled staff.

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Shifts in work environments and relocation policies have become significant not just for employees, but also for students seeking employment opportunities.

At the headquarters of Daiichi Life Insurance Company in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, students attended job interviews on June 1. There was no specific attire required. Some students dressed in formal wear, while others opted for casual shoes.

The organization will discontinue "transfers without permission" for administrative positions starting in fiscal 2027. It mentioned that job applications have increased approximately 20% compared to the previous year. Several students indicated that this policy adjustment was a factor in their decision to apply.

Sota Hosokawa, 21, a final-year student at Yokohama National University, stated, "I aim to embrace opportunities across the country while I am still young. However, in the years ahead, I might require more time for my family. I prefer to remain adaptable, as I also wish to continue progressing in my professional life."

Akiko Nagaya, who leads recruitment at Daiichi Life Group Inc., stated, "The finance sector has traditionally been seen as one that moves employees across the country. However, we must evolve to allow individuals to define their own career journeys."

Several businesses are modifying their transfer policies due to concerns that unnecessary relocations cause employees to quit, and complicate the recruitment process.

Daido Life Insurance Co. halted employee transfers without staff consent in April 2026 for those in managerial positions. These employees have the option to relocate across over 100 locations within Japan. The firm requested employees' preferred destinations. During the April restructuring, over 90% of career path workers were assigned one of their top three choices. Employees who actually relocating could receive as much as 150,000 yen.

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. introduced a new policy in fiscal year 2026. Employees can now continue working in the prefecture of their choice. The company aims to eliminate unnecessary job rotations and allow staff to shape their own professional journeys.

Additionally, in April 2026, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Company allowed employees to decide whether they would agree to job rotations. Some staff members mentioned that this policy simplifies future planning.

(Akihiro Kawakami's Japanese version, Tokyo City News Department)

Vocabulary

move: to be relocated from one location to another by an organization

assessment: an evaluation or examination used to select individuals

consent: agreement to something

uses: documents or digital applications submitted to apply for employment

financial: about money

sector: a part of the economy, such as automobiles or finance

Management path: a program designed for aspiring leaders

reassign: a shift in roles or locations