Blue House Reaffirms Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho's Role Amid Resignation Speculation The Blue House has reaffirmed that Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho should continue his role until the establishment and stabilization of the new public prosecution office, despite speculation about his resignation.Hong Ik-pyo, the Blue House's chief of staff, stated on MBC Radio on July 29 that "since the Ministry of Justice is the main agency for the public prosecution office set to launch in October, the minister must fulfill his duties until the system is organized and stabilized." He added, July 29, 2026

Vietnam Considers Limiting Online Gaming for Children to 60 Minutes Daily Vietnam is moving forward with a proposal to limit online gaming time for children under 16 to just 60 minutes per day. Current regulations allow users under 18 to play for up to 180 minutes daily, but the new amendment aims to reduce the total gaming time for those under 16 to just one hour. While there is significant support for this child protection measure, questions remain about how age verification and the management of overseas gaming will be handled.According to reports from Vietnamese m July 29, 2026

President Lee Sends Condolences Following Earthquake in Kumamoto, Japan President Lee Jae-myung expressed his condolences on July 29 regarding the earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan, stating, "South Korea will always stand in solidarity with you."In a post on X (formerly Twitter), President Lee said, "I cannot help but feel sorrow upon hearing the news of significant loss of life and property damage."He added, "I pray for the souls of those who lost their lives in this earthquake and extend my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I also sen July 29, 2026

SK Hynix Expects Continued Investment in AI Infrastructure Amid Memory Demand Growth SK Hynix announced during its second-quarter earnings report on July 29 that it anticipates sustained investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure from major cloud service providers (CSPs), despite potential slowdowns in AI spending from some big tech companies. The company stated, "We expect that AI-related investments from key CSPs will continue in the medium to long term, and the memory demand we are discussing with our customers reflects this trend."The company added, "While the July 29, 2026

SK Hynix Reports Record Pre-Tax Profit of 122 Trillion Won SK Hynix has achieved record pre-tax profit and corporate tax figures following a record operating profit in the second quarter. On July 29, SK Hynix announced that its pre-tax profit for the second quarter reached 122.7 trillion won, marking the highest quarterly figure in the history of the KOSPI for a single company. This figure more than doubles the pre-tax profit of 58.8 trillion won reported by Samsung Electronics in the first quarter, just one quarter prior.The record pre-tax profit was s July 29, 2026

Hampyeong County to Disburse 500,000 Won Per Resident Before Chuseok Hampyeong County in South Jeolla Province has approved its first supplementary budget since the launch of the 9th civil election, allocating 500,000 won per resident to be distributed before Chuseok. This initiative aims to assist residents facing difficulties due to high prices and reduced consumption, while also revitalizing the local economy.On July 30, Hampyeong County announced that the second supplementary budget was approved during the 313th Hampyeong County Council's extraordinary sessio July 29, 2026

Surge in Market Volatility Following Launch of Leverage ETFs Market volatility has overwhelmed investors. Recently, the frequency of volatility control device (VI) activations in the domestic stock market has surged. Following the launch of single-stock 2x leverage exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the market has entered a phase of volatility surpassing that seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, characterized by sharp declines and increases. The VI, a safety mechanism designed to prevent drastic price fluctuations in individual stocks, has been activated intensi July 29, 2026

Opposition Condemns Rushed Criminal Procedure Law Changes as 'Bad Law' On July 29, lawmakers from the People Power Party, including floor leaders Kim Seung-soo and Kim Mi-ae, gathered in front of the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee to condemn the Democratic Party's unilateral handling of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law. The People Power Party warned that abolishing supplementary investigation rights for prosecutors would leave crime victims inadequately protected.Kim Mi-ae, the party's policy chief, spoke to reporters outside the co July 29, 2026

China Defends Against Western Criticism of Overproduction, Calls It an Opportunity The Chinese government has directly countered criticisms from the United States and European countries regarding overproduction, asserting that protectionism poses a greater risk to the global economy.On July 28, the Ministry of Commerce published a lengthy document on its website titled 'China's Position on So-Called Overproduction,' dismissing the controversy surrounding overproduction.The ministry claimed, "Certain countries and economic blocs are politicizing trade and economic issues under July 29, 2026

Korea's Communications Commission to Impose Fines Up to 6% for Illegal Spam Violations Businesses that send illegal spam or fail to comply with spam prevention obligations will face fines of up to 6% of their related revenue, depending on the severity of the violation.The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) announced on July 29 that it has prepared a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the 'Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection' and a draft of the guidelines for imposing penalties for violations related to th July 29, 2026