N. Korea’s 5th missile test; Yoon-Moon tension; Shares rebound; BTS’s military service; Downsizing of gender ministry; Night taxi-hailing fees; Lee Sun-kyun for Emmys
K-News: What’s happening now in South Korea
N. Korea’s 5th missile test; Yoon-Moon tension; Shares rebound; BTS’s military service; Downsizing of gender ministry; Night taxi-hailing fees; Lee Sun-kyun for Emmys
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
We celebrated the Oct. 3 National Foundation Day on Monday, one of the national public holidays in South Korea, which allowed people to enjoy an “extended” weekend in South Korea. Here are some of the trending topics and news in the country now.
NSC lashes out at N. Korea’s IRBM launch
South Korea’s National Security Council (NSC) strongly criticized North Korea’s launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) today, which marked the fifth missile test in over a week.
Tension deepens between former and incumbent presidents
Former President Moon Jae-in’s showed an angry reaction and made a clear objection to the Board of Audit & Inspection (BAI)’s planned questioning of him over North Korea’s killing of a South Korean fisheries official in 2020. President Yoon Suk-yeol declined to directly comment on the issue, saying it would be “inappropriate” for him to comment on the state auditor’s “independent” action. But the tension between the former and incumbent heads of state intensified as the ruling and opposition parties exchanged stronger offensives and defensives against each other over the thorny issue.
KOSPI jumps by 2.5 percent in major rebound from 2-year low
South Korean shares showed a strong rebound in the first trading day of October and the year’s last quarter to recover the 2,200-point level. The benchmark KOSPI added 53.89 points, or 2.5 percent, to end at 2,209.38, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ gained 24.14 points, or 3.59%, to close at 696.79.
BTS’s military service ‘desirable’ for ‘fairness and equity’, says defense minister
Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said that it would be “desirable” if BTS members fulfill military service as other healthy South Korean men “in consideration of fairness and equity.” His remarks came in response to a lawmaker’s question at the National Assembly whether he would agree on a special bill allowing the members of the K-pop super band to replace their military service with an alternative. He, however, answered that he would “respect the decision” if the legislature actually amended the law.
Gov’t to push for replacement of gender ministry with lower-level agency
The government and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) are reportedly aiming at downgrading the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family by replacing it with a lower-grade government agency despite objections from civic groups as well as opposition parties. It was one of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s election pledges to abolish the ministry.
Night-time taxi hailing fees raised by 5,000 won to address shortage
Hailing fees for taxi between 10:00pm and 3:00am would be raised by up to 5,000 won from mid-October. The government and the ruling party decided to introduce a set of measures to address the late-night taxi shortage, which has become many people’s source of anger and frustration amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lee Sun-kyun nominated for best actor at Int’l Emmys for “Dr. Brain”
Lee Sun-kyun has been nominated for the best actor at the International Emmy Awards for Apple TV+ original “Dr. Brain.” He is competing three other candidates for Best Performance including Sverrir Gudnason in “A Royal Secret” from Sweden, Scoot McNairy in “Narcos: Mexico” from Mexico and Dougray Scott in “Irvine Welsh's Crime” from Britain. Lee is well known for his lead role in the Oscar-winning “Parasite.”
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