Focus on Headline

1. A special presidential committee on medical reform launched on Thursday and held its first meeting without the participation of doctors’ groups. The committee’s chairman said the members do not yet plan to discuss the medical school admissions quota.

2. According to data by the Bank of Korea on Thursday, South Korea’s real gross domestic product - a key measure of economic growth - increased 1-point-3 percent on-quarter in the January-March period, on the back of increased construction investment.

3. North Korea on Thursday decried the United States over efforts to build a new sanctions monitoring mechanism against the regime, and warned of “powerful practical actions” to build up its military strength, … as the mandate of a UN expert panel is set to expire later this month.

1. South Korea's health ministry on Wednesday expressed regret over medical professors' decision to take a day off on a weekly basis starting next week and urged them to engage in dialogue amid the prolonged medical vacuum in the country.

2. The Ministry of Science and ICT said Wednesday a South Korean nanosatellite successfully communicated with its ground station after being launched into orbit from a spaceport in Mahia, New Zealand.

3. The Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday that North Korea has sent an economic delegation headed by External Economic Relations Minister Yun Jong-ho to Iran, a rare trip that raises suspicions of cooperation between the two nations over weapons programs.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis agreed Tuesday to boost cooperation in the defense and nuclear energy sectors as part of efforts to strengthen their countries' strategic partnership, during a summit held on the second day of the Romanian leader’s four-day official visit to South Korea.

2. The Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday that North Korea has conducted a tactical drill simulating a nuclear counterattack involving super-large multiple rocket launchers, a day after South Korea said the North fired short-range missiles into the East Sea.

3. The main opposition Democratic Party and the presidential office on Tuesday said they were unable to confirm the schedule and agenda of the inter-party meeting, and had decided to hold a second working-level meeting in the future.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday named People Power Party lawmaker Chung Jin-suk as his new chief of staff, the first personnel replacement since the party's crushing defeat in the April 10 parliamentary elections. President Yoon said the new chief will boost his administration’s communication with the public.

2. According to Nomura Securities of the Global Investment Bank on Monday, South Korea's fruit and vegetable prices have risen the most this year compared to G7 countries or Taiwan, which has a similar economic structure.

3. The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday approved over 60 billion U.S. dollars in military aid for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. The Ukraine aid was part of a 95 billion U.S. dollar package of national security bills that also includes 26 billion U.S. dollars for Israel.

1. South Korea's Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday the government has accepted a request from the chiefs of six national universities for flexibility in expanding the medical school enrollment quota. The decision raised hopes for an end to the protracted walkout by trainee doctors.

2. According to a U.S. official on Friday, Israel carried out a military strike inside Iran, in what appeared to be limited retaliatory action for last week’s drone and missile attack by Tehran. Iran's state media reported that explosions were heard near the city of Isfahan.

3. According to an official at the Presidential Office, President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday spoke with opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung via phone call. During the five-minute conversation, President Yoon reportedly proposed the two meet in Yongsan next week to discuss state affairs.

1. The Presidential office said Wednesday that President Yoon Suk Yeol agreed during phone talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to promote bilateral and trilateral cooperation together with the United States.

2. According to an official at the Presidential office, President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo earlier this week to discuss the direction of state affairs, including the future running of government affairs and personnel appointments, after the ruling party’s defeat in last week’s general elections.

3. Following the recent sharp depreciation of the Korean won and Japanese yen against the dollar, the finance chiefs of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Wednesday acknowledged "serious concerns" and agreed to consult closely on foreign exchange markets.

1. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday held the 2024 growth outlook for South Korea steady at 2-point-3 percent, citing "surprisingly resilient" global economic activity. The latest projection is the same as its forecast made in January.

2. According to a survey conducted by the gender ministry on 12-thousand-44 households nationwide from June 1st to July 31st 2023, an increased proportion of people in their 20s to 30s indicated having plans for children.

3. South Korea's National Intelligence Service said Wednesday it is monitoring whether North Korea's weapons technology was used in the ballistic missiles that Iran launched against Israel last week.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday he humbly accepts the public sentiment revealed in the parliamentary elections and will work to improve communication with the people. President Yoon made the pledge in his first public remarks on last Wednesday's general elections.

2. South Korea "strongly" protested against Japan on Tuesday after Tokyo issued an annual diplomatic report renewing its territorial claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo. South Korea's foreign ministry called in Taisuke Mibae, the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.

3. The U.S. Commerce Department announced Monday that it will grant Samsung Electronics subsidies of up to 6-point-4 billion U.S. dollars for its chip manufacturing and research cluster in Texas.

1. Iran launched an unprecedented large-scale drone and missile attack at Israel on Saturday night in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria. An Israeli official said Israel's war cabinet meeting ended Sunday without a decision on how Israel will respond to Iran’s attack.

2. South Korea's finance minister said Monday the government will extend the tax cut on fuel consumption by an additional two months amid growing tensions in the Middle East. The tax cuts were supposed to expire at the end of this month.

3. The top U.S. envoy to the United Nations will meet with South Korea's defense chief Monday as part of her trip to Seoul this week for talks to boost bilateral cooperation amid North Korean threats. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield arrived in the country Sunday for a four-day visit.

1. According to a presidential official Friday, President Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to give a public statement sometime after the weekend regarding the ruling People Power Party's crushing defeat in the parliamentary elections.

2. The monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea on Friday kept its policy rate unchanged at 3-point-5 percent for the 10th straight session. The central bank said its current restrictive stance will be maintained for a sufficient period of time amid woes over high inflation and household debt.

3. South Korea and the United States on Friday affirmed plans to execute a joint tabletop exercise simulating North Korea's use of a nuclear weapon. According to a joint statement, the two sides affirmed the plan during the South Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue in Washington D.C. on Thursday.