Judicial Reform Sparks Constitutional Alarm The Democratic Party introduced bills to create a special tribunal for insurrection cases, prompting Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho and dozens of senior judges to label the plan “highly unconstitutional” and a threat to public trust[1]. Critics argue the legislation would allow political interference in criminal proceedings and undermine judicial independence. The ruling party defended the bills as necessary to deter violent uprisings. Opposition parties have pledged to block the measures in the National Assembly.

Arm Partnership Formalized for 1,400 Designers On 5 December 2025, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with Arm Holdings to train roughly 1,400 semiconductor design specialists[2]. A working group will explore establishing an “Arm school,” and the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology is being considered for graduate‑school designation. President Lee Jae‑Myung met with Arm CEO Rene Haas and SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son to discuss the initiative, AI access, and energy security. The agreement highlights a “memory alliance” with the United States to strengthen South Korea’s market leverage.

Discrepancy Between Training Scales Yonhap’s Dec 6 headline report cites a broader partnership with Arm to train 14,000 “semiconductor warriors,” a figure far larger than the 1,400 specialists outlined in the Dec 5 MoU[1][2]. The earlier article frames the effort as a nationwide talent surge, while the later piece focuses on a pilot program with a specific enrollment target. Both sources agree the collaboration aims to boost design capacity, but they differ on the program’s immediate scale.

Masayoshi Son’s AI Superintelligence Goal Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son publicly stated his ambition to develop artificial superintelligence, noting that South Korea’s current energy infrastructure hampers rapid AI advancement[1]. He linked the need for robust power supplies to the country’s ability to train large AI models. Son’s remarks were made during the same high‑level meeting that covered semiconductor education.

Strategic Emphasis on U.S. Alliance The Arm agreement underscores a strategic push for a stronger “memory alliance” with the United States, intended to increase South Korea’s bargaining power in the global semiconductor supply chain[2]. Officials cited joint R&D and shared intellectual‑property frameworks as key components. The alliance is presented as a counterbalance to China’s growing influence in chip manufacturing.