Focus on Headline

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with US Vice President Kamala Harris at his office on Thursday, and said that the South Korea-US alliance is evolving to a global alliance and expanding to an economic and technological alliance. Harris touted the alliance as a "linchpin of security and prosperity" on the Korean Peninsula. 2. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 2,197.75 on Thursday, up 28.46 p...

1. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 2,169.29 on Wednesday, below the 2,200 mark for the first time in 2 years and 2 months. The local currency ended at 1,439.9 won against the US dollar, up 18.4 won from the previous trading day. 2. During a meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday, South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said to Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, that there is an urgent need to improve...

1. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 2,223.86 on Tuesday, up 0.13% from the previous trading day. During intraday,, it fell below 2,200 points for the first time in two years and two months. 2. South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo arrived in Japan Tuesday morning, to attend the state funeral of late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. There he’ll also hold talks with U.S. Vice President Kam...

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that he will strongly push for normalization of Korea-Japan relations. He added that US President Biden fully understands the concerns of South Korea over the Inflation Reduction Act. 2. The government including the Finance Ministry, Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry and the Korea Development Bank, which holds the largest stake in Daewoo Shipbu...

1. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, met with US Secretary of State Antony Bliken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in New York on Thursday. The top diplomats expressed concern about North Korea’s adoption of a new law declaring itself to be a nuclear weapons state, calling for a "strong and resolute response.” 2. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 2,290 on Friday, hitting the lowes...

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday had his first face-to-face meeting with Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly during which they both agreed on the need to improve Seoul-Tokyo ties. 2. The U.S. Fed hiked its interest rates by 75 bp for the third consecutive meetings on Wednesday, pushing the Korean currency exchange rate against the...

1. In his 11-minute-long keynote speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday President Yoon Suk-yeol called for the protection of freedom and promotion of solidarity. 2. The South Korean Army held a large-scale training on Tuesday, the largest live-fire maneuver exercise in four years. 23 different types of weapons systems were involved, including K2 tanks, Apache helicopters, and K9 howitzers. 3...

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol touched down in New York on Monday, local time,  after completing his schedule in London to deliver his first speech at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly. 2. South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy, Lee Changyang(이창양) will arrive at Washington on Tuesday to discuss the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS and Scienc...

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed his deep condolences to King Charles III for the death of Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Sunday, a day before her funeral, and said the Queen will forever be remembered for her lifetime dedication to defending peace and freedom. 2. President Biden in a CBS interview on Sunday repeated his claim that the US forces will defend Taiwan if t...

1. The South Korean won closed at 1,388.9 won against the US dollar on Friday, appreciating by 5.7 won from Thursday’s close due to government intervention. 2. China's third-highest-ranking official and chief of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Li Zhanshu, arrived in South Korea on Thursday for a three-day visit for meetings with President Yoon Suk-yeol and National Assemb...

1. The South Korean won tumbled once again to 1,397.9 won against the US dollar during Thursday’s session, but the session closed at 1,393.7 won due to government intervention. 2. The head of the World Health Organization Dr. Tedros said Wednesday that last week’s number of coronavirus deaths worldwide was the lowest reported in the pandemic since March 2020. Meanwhile, South Korea reported 71-tho...

1. The South Korean won fell once again against the US dollar to 1,395.5 won during Wednesday’s session. This is the lowest figure since March 2009. The benchmark KOSPI also fell below the 2,400 mark during Wednesday's session, prompted by the report on US consumer prices. 2.  According to Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul on Tuesday, South Korea and the United States will discuss "concret...

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will embark on a week-long overseas trip on the 18th, first to London to attend the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II slated for the 19th. He will then travel to New York to deliver a speech to the United Nations General Assembly for the first time on the 20th.  2. The Netflix original K-drama series, "Squid Game", won multiple Emmy Awards on Monday l...

We prepared a special interview for the day instead of Focus on Headline. Right around the major holidays in Korea, we analyze the what the public think, and we call this the so-called, “dining table response” or “밥상머리” in Korean, which is very fitting considering how the whole family gather to eat and dine. And it is all the more fitting to find out the public sentiment across the country bec...

1. Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-ruling British monarch, who ruled for seven decades, passed away on Thursday at the age of 96. Her eldest son Charles becomes King Charles III and the head of state of 14 other realms, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. 2. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday vowed that the regime would never abandon nuclear weapons during his speech at the Supr...

1. South Korea’s unification minister Kwon Young-se(권영세) on Thursday proposed talks with North Korea to discuss ways to resolve the issues of families separated by the Korean War. 2. South Korea and the US agreed to launch ministerial-level talks on ways to minimize the impact of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act on South Korea's electric vehicle industry during a meeting between South Korea's t...

1. The Korean won depreciated against the U.S. dollar once again on Wednesday as it breached the 1,380 won-to-dollar mark for the first time in 13 years and 5 months. The local currency ended its trading at 1,385.5 won against the US dollar.  2. According to the Pentagon on Tuesday, Russia has reached out to North Korea and Iran in its desperate search for ammunition, which is ‘indicative of...

1. South Korea's trade minister, Ahn Duk-geun(안덕근) arrived in Washington D.C. on Monday  to hold talks with the U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to discuss the Biden administration's new Inflation Reduction Act. 2. The Seoul Defense Dialogue hosted by South Korea’s Defense Ministry kicked off in Seoul on Tuesday. The annual international security forum will be held for three days to...

1. Jeju's Regional Office of Meteorology issued a typhoon advisory as of 8 AM on Monday. The Korea Meteorological Administration has forecast that the typhoon will hit Jeju island at 1 AM Tuesday morning. 2. The Korean won depreciated against the U.S. dollar once again on Monday morning as it breached the 1,370 won-to-dollar mark for the first time in more than 13 years since April 2009. The local...

1. South Korea's top security advisor,  Kim Sung-han, said on Thursday, after he met with his US and Japan counterparts in Hawaii and said that the three countries will maximize cooperation in a way that will make North Korea realize that it’ll clearly be the "wrong decision" to conduct a 7th nuclear test. 2. UN nuclear experts, including Rafael Grossi, made their first inspection of the Zapo...

1. The first regular session of South Korea's National Assembly under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration began today. This session is set to last for a hundred days through December 9th. 2. According to the latest trade data released on Thursday by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, the balance of trade last month showed a deficit of over 9-point-4 billion U.S. dollars, a record figure sin...

1. The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes ordered South Korea's government to pay Lone Star 216 million USD in compensation, but South Korea said on Wednesday it cannot accept the decision and will actively consider pursuing an appeal. 2. The US National Security Council spokesperson, Adrienne Watson, said on Tuesday that the national security advisers of South Korea, the U...

1. The Yoon administration on Tuesday proposed its first budget bill for next year,... of 639 trillion won or 474 billion USD. The government has gone through major spending reforms to secure an extra 24 billion dollars within the budget that's available for use. 2. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Tuesday, enforcement decrees of the health insurance act affecting local subscribe...

1. South Korea's ruling People Power Party is returning to an acting chair system led by floor leader, Kweon Seong-dong before the nation's Chuseok holiday that starts next Friday. Meanwhile, the new chairperson of the main opposition Democratic Party is the former presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung. 2. The Korean won dropped to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar today in 13 years and 4 m...

1. The South Korean government said on Thursday that the country’s largest electric power company, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, has won a 2.2 billion US dollar deal to supply equipment and construct the turbine hall at the El Dabaa nuclear plant which is being built by Russia. 2. The governor of South Korea's central bank, Rhee Chang Yong, will attend the Jackson Hole meeting set for Friday US t...