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President Lee Jae Myung was set to hold a press conference Friday to address pending issues in an apparent attempt to resuscitate his approval ratings that have fallen to their lowest level amid controversies surrounding government policies. The press conference, to be held under the slogan of "people's wishes and lives will be more closely heeded," is scheduled to run for 90 minutes from 10:30 a.m. It will mark the seventh press conference by the president since he took office in June 2025 but a rare one, given that most of his previous pressers were held in and around special occasions, such as the first year anniversary of his administration. The event, announced three days earlier, comes after Lee saw his approval ratings decline to the lowest levels in the mid-30 percent range in recent weeks, especially among young voters. During the conference, Lee is expected to face media questions about his and his ruling party's push for a constitutional revision, as well as issues involving his suspended trials. The president and the ruling Democratic Party have been calling for a constitution

Korea will extend its fuel tax cut scheme by another two months through November to ease price burdens on the public amid protracted tensions in the Middle East, the finance ministry said Friday. The Ministry of Finance and Economy said the decision was made during an economy-related ministers' meeting chaired by Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, citing the need to ease the public's burden from fuel costs. Under the measure, the current tax reductions of 15 percent for gasoline and 25 percent for diesel and butane, originally set to expire at the end of this month, will remain in place through the end of November. "We have decided to maintain the current tax cut scheme, considering the country's capacity to address a possible increase in oil price volatility," the finance ministry said in a release. The country has decided to maintain larger tax cuts for diesel, which is essential for industrial and logistics activities, and butane, which is widely used as fuel for small trucks, it added.

Foreign investors ended their seven-month sell-offs of Korean stocks in August amid extended geopolitical risks and woes over artificial intelligence (AI) profitability, data showed Friday. Offshore investors scooped up a net 340 billion won ($246 million) worth of local stocks last month, snapping their selling binge for seven consecutive months, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Following their net purchases in August, offshore investors owned 2,281 trillion won worth of local stocks, or 34.8 percent of total market capitalization. By country, investors from the United States were the top buyers in August by purchasing a net 13.4 trillion won, followed by Ireland with 3.2 trillion won of buying, the latest findings showed. In the local bond market, foreign investors sold a net 3.94 trillion won worth of local debt last month. Their holdings of Korean bonds stood at 330 trillion won as of end-August, accounting for 11.4 percent of listed bonds here, the FSS revealed.

President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that he has “no intention whatsoever” of seeking reelection, drawing a clear line between his push for a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve consecutive terms and his own political future. “Under the Constitution, it is impossible for me to seek reelection through a constitutional amendment and I have repeatedly made clear through various channels that I have never even considered seeking reelection,” Lee said during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae. He dismissed demands that he explicitly pledge not to seek another term as a “political offensive,” saying they were intended to create the impression that he had considered reelection before abandoning the idea. “Nevertheless, I want to make it absolutely clear once again on this occasion,” Lee said. “I have no intention whatsoever of seeking reelection.” Lee has long advocated revising the Constitution to allow presidents to serve consecutive terms, arguing that such a system would ensure greater policy continuity and stability in state affairs. The proposal has d

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating dropped to 37 percent, hitting a new low for the fourth consecutive week since he took office in June last year, a poll showed Friday. The survey, conducted by Gallup Korea from Tuesday through Thursday on 1,002 people aged 18 and older, showed that the positive assessment of Lee's performance fell 1 percentage point from the previous week. His disapproval rating rose 5 percentage points to 56 percent, exceeding his approval rating by 19 percentage points and marking the highest level since his inauguration. Among those who negatively assessed Lee's performance, 20 percent cited his real estate policies, followed by personnel appointments at 16 percent, and economic and livelihood issues at 9 percent. The pollster noted that real estate issues have topped the list of reasons for negative assessments since late July, while personnel appointments came second following the recent Cabinet nominations. Lee's nominations for justice minister and gender equality minister have faced backlash in recent weeks, with both nominees embroiled in controversies o

The Supreme Court has upheld a lower court's four-year prison sentence for a former Army soldier who was indicted for leaking military secrets, including materials related to joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises, to China, judicial officials said Friday. The top court also confirmed a 20 million-won ($14,500) fine and the forfeiture of 19.07 million won for the former soldier, whose identity was withheld, in a ruling last month, saying there was no error in the lower court's ruling. The defendant allegedly met a Chinese national, whom he had gotten to know through social media, in Beijing in August 2024 while serving as an Army sergeant. The Chinese national, who claimed to be an official from a Chinese intelligence agency, asked him to provide classified military information, and the defendant accepted the request. The defendant then provided military secrets, including materials related to joint South Korea-U.S. exercises, the U.N. Command and South Korean military drills, on seven occasions through February 2025 in exchange for approximately 17.26 million won. Investigators foun

A Seoul court was set to hold hearings Friday to decide whether to issue arrest warrants for eight current and former executives of domestic petrochemical companies suspected of fixing prices of products for several years, resulting in massive illicit profits for their companies. The Seoul Central District Court was scheduled to hold the arrest warrant hearings for the eight individuals, including Kim Yoo-shin, CEO of OCI, and Jang Young-soo, former CEO of PKC, accused of violating the fair trade law. The court's decision is expected to be made as early as later in the day. Prosecutors suspect that seven companies — LG Chem, Hanwha Solutions, Aekyung Chemical, OCI, Lotte Fine Chemical, PKC and Unid — colluded for several years to raise prices for eight petrochemical products, including polyvinyl chloride (PVC), plasticizers, caustic soda and hydrochloric acid. The companies are suspected of making illicit profits totaling several trillions of won by taking advantage of supply disruptions in naphtha caused by the Middle East conflict. PVC, primarily made from naphtha, is a synthetic pl

President Lee Jae Myung has designated a town in the southwestern county of Yeonggwang as a special disaster zone eligible for government support after torrential rains battered the region, a presidential spokesperson said Friday. The designation of the town of Baeksu late Thursday came after heavy rains pounded the area from late August to early September, enabling government financial support for post-disaster rebuilding, delayed payment of taxes and discounted utility fees, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said. The government will promptly finalize rebuilding plans to help residents in the affected area return to normal as soon as possible, Kang added.

The number of teenagers who received treatment or counseling for gambling problems surged by more than 40 percent last year, data showed Friday. A total of 5,838 individuals aged 19 and under received counseling or treatment for gambling issues in 2025, marking a 40.9 percent increase from a year earlier, according to the data provided by the National Gambling Control Commission to Rep. Lim Oh-kyeong of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. By category, those who had problems due to illegal online gambling accounted for the largest share at 57.7 percent, the data showed. A total of 24,474 teenagers were classified as a high-risk group last year, but only 1,235 of them were referred to the Korea Problem Gambling Agency, a state agency that provides prevention, counseling and rehabilitation services for people with gambling problems, the lawmaker said, citing the data. "We must comprehensively overhaul the performance management system of our prevention policies to ensure protection for teenagers," said Lim.

Repeated nuclear tests at North Korea’s Punggye-ri site appear to have reactivated dormant faults beneath Mount Mantap, triggering more than 1,000 earthquakes in the area, a new study has found. A research team led by Kim Kwang-hee, a professor of geological sciences at Pusan National University, analyzed seismic data collected in South Korea and northeastern China over 17 years, from 2008 to May 2025. The study, conducted jointly with researchers from several Chinese institutions, was published Friday in the international journal Science. The research found that repeated underground nuclear explosions progressively damaged the shallow crust and altered stress on nearby faults, causing previously quiet fault zones to become active. Historical earthquake records showed no seismic activity around Mount Mantap before North Korea began nuclear testing at the Punggye-ri site in 2006. About 60 earthquakes were detected between 2006 and the sixth nuclear test in 2017, with seismic activity gradually increasing after the third test in 2013. The most dramatic change came after the sixth and mos

President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that South Korea will not deploy troops or military assets in a way that would involve the country in the war between the United States and Iran, while leaving open the possibility of expanding military activities to protect South Korean vessels, oil shipping routes and nationals. “There will be no deployment that involves or intervenes in the war. I can state that clearly,” Lee said during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae. “We will not make such a troop deployment or dispatch military assets.” Lee said South Korea has maintained its principle of staying out of the conflict and would continue to do so. “To make it clear once again, there will be no deployment in the war,” he said. “We have upheld the principle of noninvolvement and nonintervention in the war, and we will continue to uphold it.” At the same time, Lee drew a distinction between joining the conflict and taking steps to protect South Korea’s own interests. “Like other countries, we clearly need to carry out minimum activities to protect our commercial vessels, oil sh

Seoul hosted the inaugural Korea-Central Asia Summit last Wednesday, with 74 bilateral agreements and MOUs signed and one unified “Seoul Declaration” given. This diplomatic gathering marked the first time all five Central Asian states — Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — met in Korea, following a similar format to the United States’ “C5+1” initiative, last held in 2025. The summit represents a significant elevation in relations between Korea and Central Asia. Korea first recognized the Central Asian states’ independence from the Soviet Union in 1992, and has been a consistent source of foreign direct investment (FDI) since. At the end of last year, South Korea contributed $6.4 billion in FDI to the region. An all head-of-state level gathering signals a new era of relations. The region’s ties to Korea extend beyond the political to the personal as well. Central Asia is home to nearly a third of a million ethnic Koreans deported to the region in 1937 by Joseph Stalin, then leader of the Soviet Union. Today, around 100,000 of their descenda