KOREA TODAY
Geoje’s record rain leaves one dead as recovery begins after more than 600 mm in a day
The disaster was far broader than the original wire snapshot: Korean reporting documents a record-breaking deluge, a fatal landslide, nearly 2,000 emergency calls, 136 rescues and damage across schools, roads, utilities and homes.
Pentagon says it will implement Trump’s order to scale back U.S.-South Korea drills
Ulchi Freedom Shield is already under way, but Seoul still lacks a public account of what will actually be reduced. Korean coverage now shows the issue is firmly on the domestic security agenda, not merely a Washington talking point.
Samsung and SK hynix push first-half R&D spending to a record ₩33 trillion
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix invested about ₩33.4 trillion in R&D in the first half, with both companies sharply increasing spending as the AI memory boom intensifies competition.
Government weighs restoring ISA carryover and dropping the account-duration cap
After criticism of its tax-reform proposal, the government is considering letting unused ISA contribution limits roll forward again and effectively removing the proposed account-duration restriction.
THIS WEEK IN KOREA
The essential events and decisions ahead
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MONTH IN REVIEW
The stories that changed Korea this month
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WHAT’S ON IN KOREA
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DAILY LEADS
Korea is reaching a ₩2,000 trillion household-debt threshold as rates turn upward
Lee puts a peace regime back at the center of Seoul’s North Korea policy
South Korea’s last legal boknal is ending an industry that had already begun to disappear
Korea doubles down on housing supply as affordability pressure mounts
ESSENTIAL STORIES
Lee revives the four-year presidency debate, but the bigger proposal is about presidential power
A renewable four-year presidency is the headline. The more consequential part of Lee Jae Myung’s constitutional agenda is the attempt to redistribute powers that have long been concentrated in the presidency.
Seoul POPCON opens at COEX as the definition of “pop culture” keeps expanding
Games, webtoons, streaming, cosplay, creators, AI and XR are sharing the same convention floor at COEX. The mix is a compact picture of how Korea’s content business increasingly revolves around IP that can move between formats.
Busan Indie Connect opens with hundreds of games and a bigger job than simply entertaining fans
BIC 2026 opened at BEXCO with roughly 280 indie games, a conference and business matching. The festival’s real test is whether discovery turns into publishing, financing and distribution after the booths come down.
Record heat is becoming an economic crisis as well as a health emergency
Deaths, livestock losses and damaged crops are turning Korea’s extreme summer into a test of climate adaptation, food supply and protection for vulnerable workers.
KOSPI is back in a bull market — barely two weeks after its rout
The benchmark has rebounded roughly 22% from its July 30 low as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix recover, showing just how violently Korea’s AI-driven market can reverse direction.
Incheon takes the world’s top spot for international passenger traffic
The airport handled 38.39 million international passengers in the first half of 2026, strengthening Korea’s hub ambitions — although disrupted Middle East routes helped reshape global traffic.