1. The monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea kept its policy rate unchanged at 3.5 percent for the ninth straight session Thursday, amid woes over slower-than-expected inflation moderation and high household debts. It also maintained its growth outlook for the year at 2.1 percent.

2. At the 14th round of the New Year’s presidential public debates on Thursday, President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged to boost the nuclear power industry by providing three-point-three trillion won, or around two-point-five billion U.S. dollars, worth of projects and 1 trillion won worth of special financing.

3. The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan on Wednesday agreed to continue bilateral cooperation to address North Korea issues, during talks held on the sidelines of a foreign ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 nations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.