1. President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed four ministers and the chief of the broadcasting watchdog on Friday. Finance Minister {최상목}Choi Sang-mok, Agriculture Minister {송미령}Song Mi-ryung, Ocean Minister {강도형}Kang Do-hyung and SMEs Minister {오영주}Oh Young-ju were appointed.

2. The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld two separate rulings in favor of South Koreans forced into wartime labor under Japan's colonial rule. The top court handed down the decisions on two suits filed against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel Corporation between 2013 and 2014.

3. According to Statistics Korea on Friday, consumer prices rose 3.6 percent on-year in 2023, slowing from a 5.1 percent gain in 2022. Inflation in December ticked down for a second consecutive month in signs that price pressure is easing.