KOREA TODAY
Jeju false closures push Korea toward wider missing-person audits and police reform
The case has moved beyond one officer: regional forces are reviewing thousands of closed files, commanders face scrutiny and the government is considering new controls as police powers expand.
Education chiefs mobilize against Korea’s plan to rewrite local school funding
The dispute has become a direct fight over who should bear the risk when student numbers fall: local school systems want the tax-linked formula preserved, while university leaders welcome a shift toward higher education if funding is stable.
Chinese graduate student found dead after Daegu disappearance; murder suspect arrested
Police found the woman at a suspect’s residence in Gyeongsan and arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of murder. Investigators are now reconstructing the days between her disappearance and the discovery.
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DAILY LEADS
Jeju missing-person case triggers nationwide police review after presumed body is found
Second special prosecutor wraps 180-day probe with 58 indictments
Jeju police officer arrested as false missing-person closures widen the scandal
Samsung puts up to ₩110 trillion behind a record shareholder return
North Korea's missile barrage tests the limits of renewed diplomacy
SK hynix puts ₩40 trillion behind a new shareholder-return era
ESSENTIAL STORIES
Samsung tumbles 8.7% as ₩110 trillion shareholder-return plan disappoints investors
The selloff spilled into the wider market, sending the KOSPI down about 3% and exposing how heavily the index depends on its largest company.
President accepts Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho's resignation ahead of October prosecution overhaul
The ministry will operate under its vice minister while the government chooses a successor before two new investigative bodies are due to launch.
Korea checks imports after formaldehyde-treated cabbage scandal in China
Chinese authorities are investigating reports that formaldehyde was used to preserve cabbage freshness, while Korea's food regulator is checking whether affected produce entered the country.
Korea adds 292,000 wage jobs, but youth employment keeps shrinking
Overall wage employment posted its strongest increase in two years, while jobs for people in their 20s and younger remained weak.
Government and ruling party move to soften one-home residency tax rules
Officials agreed to broaden exceptions for owners who cannot live in their sole home, while the ruling party pressed to remove residency distinctions from the comprehensive real-estate tax.
Basic-pension cuts linked to National Pension payments nearly triple in four years
The amount withheld under Korea’s pension-linkage rule exceeded ₩80 billion last year, renewing criticism that longer National Pension contributions can reduce basic-pension benefits.
Hyundai Motor union suspends planned partial strike as wage talks resume
The union has held off a planned August 24 partial strike after labor and management agreed to return to negotiations.
Nvidia signals AI server price increases of more than 15%
The planned increases, reported for systems shipping from early next year, underline how rising memory costs are moving through the AI infrastructure supply chain.
Gyeonggi launches 300-member corps to protect teachers in rights disputes
The province says the new officers will stay with teachers from the start of a rights-infringement case through its resolution, creating a dedicated response layer outside the classroom.
South Korea sends its first container ship on an Arctic route trial
The Busan departure is a logistics experiment, not yet a new normal, testing whether a shorter northern route can work commercially and operationally for Korean shipping.
Former Bongeunsa chief monk Myungjin dies in Jeju freediving accident
The 76-year-old Buddhist monk, a nationally known former head of Seoul’s Bongeunsa temple, was found in waters near Seogwipo and later pronounced dead.
Government moves to end Korea’s 55-year tax-linked local education grant formula
The proposal would replace an automatic share of internal tax revenue with a new financing structure, opening a fight over predictability, demographic change and who controls education money.
Korea creates a Future Response Fund to turn tax windfalls into long-term investment
The government wants to save excess revenue in strong years and deploy it for AI, youth, regional development and education when priorities or revenue conditions change.
Kakao splits its empire into an AI company and an investment company
The board approved the biggest restructuring in Kakao’s history, separating KakaoTalk and AI operations from holdings in finance, mobility and other affiliates.
Prosecutors open a forced-investigation phase in the Roh Tae-woo slush-fund case
Searches targeted former first lady Kim Ok-sook’s home, foundations linked to Roh Jae-heon and former aides as prosecutors trace alleged hidden funds.
Geoje and parts of Tongyeong receive special-disaster status after the August downpours
The designation unlocks additional national recovery funding and relief including tax-payment delays and public-utility reductions for affected residents.
Supreme Court nomination dispute opens a new institutional fight
The Blue House called Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's written recommendation unprecedented and is reviewing how to respond.
Lee-Wang Yi meeting restores a high-level Seoul-Beijing channel
The two governments are reopening senior communication as Seoul seeks more room to manage North Korea and stabilize China ties.
Korea's heat toll reaches 3,507 illnesses and 31 deaths
The death toll is six higher than at the same point last year, keeping the focus on accumulated exposure and tropical nights.
KOSPI jumps more than 5% as shareholder-return hopes lift chip giants
A buy-side sidecar was triggered as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix rallied on SK hynix’s ₩40 trillion shareholder-return plan and expectations that Samsung could follow.
The won moves back into the 1,300s for the first time in 11 months
The dollar closed around ₩1,397.7 in Seoul trading, as expectations for U.S. rates and exporter dollar sales pushed the Korean currency to its strongest level in roughly 11 months.
Trump says he expects to meet Kim Jong Un this year
The statement revived summit speculation as Seoul and Washington adjust military exercises, but no meeting has been confirmed and Pyongyang has not publicly agreed.
Hanwha’s K9 breaks into the U.S. Army market
Hanwha Aerospace’s U.S. subsidiary will supply K9-based prototypes to the U.S. Army, a rare entry point into the world’s largest defense market for a Korean weapons platform.
Korea’s household debt crosses ₩2,000 trillion as borrowing accelerates
Household credit reached ₩2,019.8 trillion at the end of the second quarter, up ₩25.9 trillion from three months earlier. The threshold KORInform flagged earlier this week has now been crossed.