1. President Yoon Suk-yeol hosted a New Year's meeting on Wednesday at the Blue House, inviting representatives from various sectors. In his address, he stated that the people and their livelihoods will be prioritized in the new year.

2. According to data from the education and interior ministries on Wednesday, South Korea’s student enrollment in elementary schools nationwide is expected to drop below 400-thousand for the first time this year due to the country’s low birth rate.

3. Japan’s Meteorological Agency said Wednesday a 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula at 10:54 AM. A series of aftershocks have been observed in Ishikawa prefecture following a devastating quake on New Year’s day and at least 65 people have been killed since then.

1. Main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck during a visit to Busan on Tuesday morning. Officials said he was airlifted to Seoul for surgery and the wound is not life threatening. The male suspect was arrested at the scene.

2. President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday during a ceremony marking the first trading day of 2024 that he will push to scrap the financial investment income tax which is planned to be implemented in 2025, and resolve the “Korea Discount.”

3. A powerful magnitude 7-point-6 earthquake struck Japan’s Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture on New Year’s Day. According to local media reports, at least 30 people have been killed and thousands have evacuated following tsunami waves hitting South Korea’s east coast.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday in a New Year's Day address that South Korea and the U.S. will complete a strengthened "extended deterrence" regime in the first half of 2024 to seal off North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

2. The Korean Central News Agency reported Monday that North Korea began discussions on dismantling agencies in charge of inter-Korean relations after leader Kim Jong-un said there is no point in seeking reconciliation and unification with South Korea.

3. According to data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Monday, South Korea's exports decreased 7.4 percent on-year in 2023 amid sluggish performance of chips coupled with global economic uncertainties.

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.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol nominated {이관섭}Lee Kwan-sup, the director of national policy at the presidential office, as his new chief of staff. According to sources on Thursday, Lee will be replacing outgoing presidential chief of staff {김대기}Kim Dae-ki.

2. South Korea on Thursday struck a free trade agreement with a group of Arab countries known as the Gulf Cooperation Council. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the move is expected to strengthen Seoul's export competitiveness and boost energy security.

3. Japan's NHK reported Thursday that South Korea, China, and Japan are considering holding a summit after February next year to discuss North Korea and pursue regional stability.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol carried out a partial Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday. {김윤상}Kim Yoon-sang was named as the second vice finance minister, Shin Young-sook as the vice gender equality minister, and {손영택}Son Young-taek as the chief secretary of the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

2. South Korea on Wednesday imposed independent sanctions on eight North Korean individuals, including the chief of the North's spy agency {리창호}Ri Chang-ho, for their involvement in arms trade and cyberattacks.

3. According to a survey by the Bank of Korea on Wednesday, South Korea's general public expect consumer prices to rise 3.2 percent for the year ahead, down from the previous month's 3.4 percent.

1. During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol called for approaching the issue of South Korea's rapidly declining birthrate from a fundamentally different perspective, emphasizing the need to identify its causes and find effective solutions.

2. According to Statistics Korea on Tuesday, South Korea’s population of those in their 40s in November was a little over 7.9 million, decreasing 139-thousand from a year earlier. The fall has also led to a lower number of employed individuals in their 40s.

3. Kim Jin-pyo, Speaker of the National Assembly, conducted bilateral talks on Tuesday in Tokyo with the Speaker of the Japanese House of Representatives, Fukushiro Nukaga. Kim said the two countries’ improvement in relations has become a positive opportunity for creating security cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan.

1. The Presidential Office said Monday that President Yoon Seok Yeol visited Chungdong First Methodist Church in Jung-gu, Seoul on the morning of Christmas day to participate in the Christmas service.

2. "12.12: The Day," a historical saga about South Korea's military coup in 1979, topped 10 million admissions on Sunday. According to the film's local distributor, Plus M Entertainment, the periodic drama became the second film to hit the milestone this year, following "The Roundup: No Way Out.”

3. Palestinian officials said Sunday at least 78 people were killed in an Israeli attack in central Gaza on Sunday. Strikes that began hours before midnight persisted into Christmas Day on Monday.

1. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the season’s strongest cold wave peaked early Friday, causing disruptions in daily life nationwide. A heavy snow advisory effect in Jeju Island caused Jeju International Airport to completely suspend its runway operations in the morning.

2. The National Assembly on Thursday passed a tax law amendment that includes deducting up to 300 million won, or roughly 230-thousand U.S. dollars, in gift tax during marriage and childbirth, and increasing the monthly rent tax deduction limit to 10 million won, or about 7,600 U.S. dollars.

3. According to Czech Police on Thursday, a 24 year-old student shot dead his father, then killed at least 14 people and wounded 25 others at a university in Prague, marking the country’s worst mass shooting.

1. An arctic cold wave swept across South Korea Thursday, sending apparent temperatures in Seoul to minus 22 degrees Celsius on the coldest morning of the season. According to forecasts, the cold will continue through Friday.

2. Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon agreed Thursday morning to take over as chairman of the ruling People Power Party's emergency leadership committee, and will leave office as minister Thursday afternoon.

3. The U.N. General Assembly has passed a resolution on North Korean human rights for the 19th consecutive year. This year's resolution highlights concerns over the safety of North Korean escapees who were repatriated from China.