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1. Trade ministry data on Thursday shows South Korea's on-year exports declined for 2 consecutive months. November’s exports plunged by 14% compared to the same period last year, following October’s  5.7% on-year fall.

2. A nationwide strike by South Korea's truckers union Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union is now into its eighth day. Observers said South Korea’s government may convene a Cabinet meeting on Friday to invoke the back-to-work order on fuel tanker drivers.

3. Vietnam's President will make a three-day state visit to South Korea next week for talks with the South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday. He will be the first state guest to the country since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office.

1. The South Korean government met with the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union for more negotiations on Wednesday, however, the 40-minute long negotiations broke down. This came after President Yoon Suk-yeol issued an executive order to force cement truckers to return to work on Tuesday.

2. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea decided to pass a bill to impeach the Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min if the safety minister doesn’t resign himself. 

3. According to South Korea’s presidential office on Wednesday, President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden will hold the second Summit for Democracy on March 29, 2023 for 2 consecutive days to seek opportunities to reinforce the resiliency of the democracies worldwide.

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol stressed to the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union that there is no choice for the government but to issue a return-to-work executive order for those refusing to transport goods in the cement sector, as the strike is threatening the livelihoods of many.

2. South Korea's second World Cup group match against Ghana ended in 3-2 loss against Ghana, despites Cho Gue-sung’s two goals, marking the first time a South Korean player scored twice in a single World Cup match.

3. Protests across China against the government's ‘zero–COVID-19’ policy, demonstrated mostly by aggressive lockdowns, have triggered worldwide concerns over the country’s economy.

1. After the strike by the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union entered its fifth day Monday, the South Korean government held its first talks with the unionized truckers on Monday as their walk-out poses a serious threat to the supply chain and the national economy.

2. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced a “future space economy” roadmap on Monday which includes plans to establish an aerospace agency. 

3. The South Korean football team will face off against Ghana at 10 p.m. Korea Standard Time on Monday. The team looks to improve its chances of moving to the round of 16 if it beats Ghana. 

1. South Korea opened its World Cup campaign on Thursday night, Korea time, with a scoreless draw against the favored Uruguay in Qatar. Meanwhile in the same Group H, Portugal defeated Ghana 3-2 to sit atop the group standing.

2. As Korea Electric Power Corporation looks to run up a record deficit of 30 trillion won, the Office for Government Policy Coordination held a Regulatory Reform Committee to discuss raising the standard fuel cost.

3. The European Union once again failed to reach an agreement to introduce price caps on natural gas prices to mitigate the energy crunch on Thursday. Meanwhile, the EU is pressing ahead with its 9th sanctions package on Russia according to European Commision chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday.

1. The Bank of Korea raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent on Thursday in a bid to control soaring prices, implementing six consecutive hikes for the first time.

2. South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup asked China Wednesday to play a "constructive" role in addressing North Korea's nuclear and missile threats during talks with China’s Defense Minister Wei Fenghe.

3. Russia fired 67 cruise missiles on Wednesday at Ukraine’s power-generating facilities, causing energy outages across Ukraine.

1. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Kenyan President William Ruto met face-to-face for a bilateral summit. The two will discuss trade and investment between the two countries. It is the first visit by a Kenyan president to South Korea in 32 years.

2. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which is one of South Korea's two umbrella labor unions, declared Tuesday that it will go on a general strike for increased labor rights from Wednesday. Unionized workers of Seoul Metro and Korea Railroad Corp. are also scheduled to go on strike the following week.

3. South Korea will provide five-hundred thousand U.S. dollars worth of emergency aid to Indonesia to help with recovery efforts following the recent earthquake. According to Indonesia’s Disaster agency on Tuesday, an earthquake that struck Indonesia's West Java took the lives of at least 268 people.

1. The UN Security Council which held an open meeting on Monday to discuss North Korea’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile test ended with the Council failing to reach a unified response.

2. Families of the victims in the October 29 accident held their first press conference, urging the government to give a sincere apology and punish those who are responsible for the accident.

3. South Korea reported 72-thousand 8-hundred-73 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday. The number of critically ill patients came to 461, down four from the previous day.

1. The UN Security Council is set to discuss North Korea in a meeting requested by the U.S. on Monday. This comes after foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries strongly criticized Pyongyang’s recent launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday.

2. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has suspended his morning encounters with the press on Monday. The so-called “door-stepping” sessions are now put to a halt after a verbal dispute last Friday between a MBC reporter and a presidential secretary.

3. The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar has kicked off with an opening ceremony and the tournament’s first match. K-pop sensation BTS member Jungkook took center stage for the opening ceremony.

1. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Friday. This comes after a trilateral summit among South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida in Phnom Penh on Sunday.

2. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez vowed Friday to reinforce the economic coalition between the two countries, especially regarding semiconductors.

3. The 2022 Qatar World Cup is just two days away. The World Cup marks the very first tournament being held in the Middle East and being played in the winter season.