As long as this cable car boom is focused on high traffic mountains and not every mountain in South Korea I really don’t have a problem with it. Anyone who has rode the cable car at Seoraksan for example knows they need another cable car up that mountain with its incredibly long lines:

South Korea is experiencing a cable car boom.

Of the 41 cable cars currently operating nationwide, 17 have been built in the past five years, according to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority.

Yeosu, a coastal city in South Jeolla Province, serves as a model demonstrating the benefits of a successful cable car installation.

The city opened the Yeosu Maritime Cable Car in 2014, which was the first marine cable car in South Korea and links the mainland with Dolsando just across the water.

Drawing visitors to the spectacular views of the coastline and surrounding islands from the cable car, the city has attracted more than 13 million visitors annually, which led to a revitalization of the tourism industry, city officials said.

Wonju, Gangwon Province, is also hoping to duplicate Yeosu’s success with its newly launched Sogeumsan Cable Car. This area already has the nation’s longest pedestrian bridge, which stretches 200 meters across a canyon.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but of course the environmentalists are upset about the cable cars impacts on wildlife and forests.

Another major accident from the ROK military that fortunately did not have anyone killed or injured:

An Army surveillance drone collided with a helicopter parked at an airfield just north of Seoul on Monday, but no casualties were reported, the Army said.

The collision took place as the Israeli-made Heron drone was attempting to land at the Army base in Yangju at about 1 p.m., sparking a fire that was extinguished in about 20 minutes, according to the Army.

No one was injured, but the drone and the helicopter, a Surion built by Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., were completely destroyed by the fire, an Army official said.

The military has launched an investigation into the exact cause of the accident.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Accordingto the article this person was terminated from their position, I would prefer that this person be sitting in a jail cell instead:

 A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) contractor employee was terminated after attempting to board a flight to South Korea with export-controlled information on nuclear reactor design software, a report showed Monday.

Idaho National Laboratory (INL), one of the DOE’s national laboratories, terminated the person during the reporting period from Oct. 1, 2023 through March 31 last year, the DOE report to Congress said, as questions persist over why South Korea was placed on the DOE’s “Sensitive and Other Designated Countries List (SCL)” in early January.

The information in question is proprietary nuclear reactor design software owned by INL. The DOE’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted a search of the employee’s government email and chat history showing the employee’s knowledge of export control restrictions and communications with a foreign government. 

“This is an ongoing joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations,” the report said.

Hours earlier, Seoul’s foreign ministry said that South Korea’s placement on the SCL was because of a security issue related to a DOE-affiliated research institution rather than a foreign policy matter.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Could you imagine the SOFA issues if American pilots did something like this?:

South Korea’s military has charged two air force pilots with criminal negligence following an accidental bombing that injured 38 people outside a live-fire range.

The two unidentified KF-16 pilots were accused of mistakenly inputting incorrect bombing coordinates during a training flight on March 6, the Criminal Investigation Command of the Ministry of National Defense said in a news release Thursday.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

If the decision is released this week it will be interesting to see if any riots happen:

The spotlight is now on the Constitutional Court as it prepares to rule on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment case. There is widespread speculation that the court will announce its final decision this week, determining whether Yoon will be reinstated or removed from office for his Dec. 3 martial law declaration.

Many observers expect the court will announce the ruling date early this week and deliver the verdict sometime between Wednesday and Friday, following the timeline of previous presidential impeachments.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It makes sense that senior U.S. officials will want to keep their distance from Korea to not create the appearance of trying to influence the current impeachment uncertainty one way or the other:

The Pentagon on Friday reaffirmed America’s “ironclad” commitment to the South Korea-U.S. alliance and vowed to maintain the “fight tonight” readiness posture with the Asian ally, after Seoul was excluded from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s upcoming trip to the Indo-Pacific.

The decision to exclude South Korea from the Pentagon chief’s first Asia swing since taking office in January came amid lingering speculation that a period of political uncertainty, caused by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment over his martial law attempt in December, would have a negative impact on the allies’ security cooperation.

“While we have no travel details to announce today, our ironclad commitment to the alliance remains clear,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot said in response to a request for comment by Yonhap News Agency.

He suggested that security cooperation between Seoul and Washington continues unimpeded.

“Freedom Shield 25 is currently underway, and it strengthens the role of the alliance as the linchpin of regional peace and security. The USS Carl Vinson also visited the peninsula this month and conducted operations with ROK forces,” referring to the allies’ ongoing annual military exercise. ROK is short of South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

“We will continue to maintain a ‘fight tonight’ readiness posture with our ROK allies,” he said.

Hegseth is said to be planning to visit Hawaii, Guam, Japan and the Philippines in what would be a high-profile trip to underscore the Trump administration’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific in the face of China’s growing assertiveness and North Korea’s recalcitrance.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.