U.S. Treasury Secretary: Inflation is a Temporary Phenomenon Scott Vessen, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, reaffirmed his stance that the inflationary pressures triggered by the conflict in Iran are a "temporary phenomenon." On June 3, Vessen stated during a Senate Finance Committee hearing that "inflation is expected to be a short-term issue, but other economic indicators are very robust." He added, "We believe we have all the conditions in place for a very strong economy," and expressed confidence that temporarily elevated prices would decline again. Vessen's comments come amid growing concerns about the impact of the Iran conflict on the U.S. economy and consumer prices. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran has led to a more than 40% increase in gasoline and diesel prices. According to an analysis by Brown University, U.S. consumers have incurred an additional burden of $53 billion (approximately 81 trillion won) in fuel costs since the outbreak of the war, averaging over $400 (about 610,000 won) per household. Rising energy prices are also contributing to overall inflation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April showed a 3.8% increase compared to the same month last year, marking the highest level in nearly three years since May 2023. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index also rose by 3.8% year-over-year, the highest since May 2023 (4.0%). The Federal Reserve's June Beige Book report indicated that rising energy costs linked to the Middle East conflict are a major driver of inflationary pressures, affecting shipping, packaging, food, and fertilizer sectors. The Fed also noted reports of increased credit card usage, decreased visits to retail stores, and heightened demand for essentials, suggesting that consumers are cutting back on spending and focusing on necessary purchases due to rising price pressures. However, Vessen argued that inflationary pressures are more limited compared to those during the administration of former President Joe Biden. He stated, "Since President Trump took office, food prices, what many people refer to as groceries, have only risen by 2.5%, which is half the annual increase seen during the Biden administration." Nonetheless, recent trends show that food prices are again on the rise. In April, grocery store food prices increased by 2.9% compared to the previous year, the highest rate of increase since 2023, with prices for fruits and vegetables rising by 6.1%.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-04 10:51:00

M83 Shares Surge for Second Day Following AI Server Supply News M83, a visual effects (VFX) company, has seen its shares rise for the second consecutive day, hitting the upper limit after announcing a major artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure supply contract through its subsidiary. According to the Korea Exchange, as of 9:48 a.m., M83's stock was trading at 7,760 won, up 1,790 won (29.98%) from the previous trading day. The stock had also closed at the upper limit on June 2, marking two days of strong performance. The surge in stock price is attributed to news regarding the supply of AI servers by M83's subsidiary, PNT Link. On June 2, M83 announced that PNT Link had begun supplying standard servers for AI infrastructure to Naver Cloud. The contract is valued at approximately 50 billion won annually, with deliveries expected to continue until March of next year. PNT Link specializes in GPU servers, AI storage, industrial servers, and the establishment of AI infrastructure. In response to the rising demand for high-performance servers driven by the proliferation of generative AI, the company is expanding its related business operations. In particular, PNT Link is broadening its scope beyond simple server supply to include the construction and maintenance of AI infrastructure, raising expectations for additional contracts. The company plans to actively respond to future demands for the expansion and maintenance of AI data centers and generative AI services based on existing supply projects. Market analysts believe that securing a supply reference with Naver Cloud amid the recent increase in AI data center investments and demand for AI infrastructure has boosted investor sentiment.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-04 10:51:00

Jeong Cheong-rae Thanks Voters Despite Seoul Election Setback Jeong Cheong-rae, leader of the Democratic Party, expressed gratitude to voters for their support in the June 3 local elections and by-elections, despite acknowledging disappointment over failing to reclaim Seoul. In a press conference held on June 4 at the National Assembly, Jeong stated, "I appreciate the citizens for extinguishing the embers of insurrection and for electing capable local leaders who will work closely with the Lee Jae-myung administration." He emphasized that the Democratic Party will actively support the Lee Jae-myung government and local administrations to achieve national normalization and foster genuine local-led growth. Jeong also noted, "Just as the people are the owners of the country, the party members are the owners of the party. We will open a new era of party sovereignty that aligns with the age of popular sovereignty. With this election victory, we will adopt a humble attitude to address our shortcomings and refine our strengths." The Democratic Party secured 12 out of 16 regional governor positions in this election. In the four areas where they lost, three were closely contested. Notably, Jeong Won-oh, the Democratic Party's candidate for Seoul mayor, maintained a lead until he was overtaken by Oh Se-hoon, the opposing candidate, after 13 hours of vote counting. In the by-elections, the party retained 9 out of 14 contested districts.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-04 10:48:00

NVIDIA Unveils AI Platform 'FOX' for Smart Factory Management at GTC 2026 in Taiwan NVIDIA has introduced a new platform aimed at the era of the 'Agentic Factory,' where artificial intelligence (AI) autonomously manages factory operations.On June 4, NVIDIA unveiled the 'Factory Operation Blueprint' (FOX), a reference design for building autonomous factory management agents, at the GTC Taipei 2026 event.Manufacturing facilities are evolving beyond individual equipment automation to connect the entire factory into a single intelligent system. There is a rapidly growing demand for AI platforms that can analyze vast amounts of data generated from production equipment, sensors, quality control systems, work instructions, and operational alerts to make informed decisions.FOX is designed to meet this demand by monitoring and inferring various data in real-time while coordinating specialized AI agents responsible for quality control, material transport, and worker safety, ultimately enhancing productivity and operational efficiency.Built on NVIDIA's NemoClaw, AI-Q Blueprint, and Nemotron open models, FOX supports the entire process from factory system integration to AI model development and operational automation. Developers can use it to create a central agent that manages the entire factory.FOX is optimized to run on NVIDIA's AI supercomputer, the DGX Station, which features the GB300 Grace Blackwell Ultra Superchip. This chip offers 20 petaflops (FP4) performance and 748GB of unified memory, capable of running large-scale AI models with up to 1 trillion parameters in a local environment.Through FOX, NVIDIA provides three core functionalities: connecting factory systems and robots, automating AI model training, and managing intelligent factory workflows. The AI can autonomously identify data gaps, generate training data, and retrain models, as well as visualize factory operations in real-time using video analysis and digital twin technology.Major manufacturing companies in Taiwan have already adopted FOX. Foxconn, the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer, is using FOX to build a multi-agent manufacturing operation system called 'MoMClaw.' This system connects hundreds of AI agents with production equipment, sensors, and various digital systems to provide factory managers with natural language-based decision support.Foxconn expects that implementing this system will reduce root cause analysis time by 80%, increase labor productivity by 15%, and decrease equipment failure rates by 10%.Pegatron is also developing a factory operation platform that integrates specialized agents for material transport, AI inspection, and work procedure management. This is anticipated to enhance robot utilization efficiency and reduce redundant equipment investments, potentially lowering asset costs by about 15%.Advantech, an industrial computer company, has established an 'AI Factory Brain' to autonomously manage energy usage in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and lighting systems. The company estimates this will reduce factory energy consumption by approximately 10%.Wistron is developing AI agents for surface mount technology (SMT) processes to automate production line analysis and quality control. Additionally, various software companies, including DeepHow, OverviewAI, Roboflow, and Spingence, are developing manufacturing-specific AI agents based on the NVIDIA platform.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-04 10:45:00

Team Korea Wins $2.8 Billion Louisiana FLNG Project, Accelerating U.S. Energy Market Entry Team Korea has successfully secured a contract for the construction of the first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) offshore plant in Louisiana, valued at $2.8 billion (4 trillion won). This achievement is expected to boost Team Korea's entry into the U.S. energy market. On June 1, Team Korea was selected as the contractor for the Louisiana FLNG project, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment. The FLNG facility is a floating offshore plant equipped with liquefaction equipment for natural gas. It will be constructed in South Korea and installed locally, serving to liquefy, store, and offload natural gas produced from gas fields. The Delfin FLNG project, which Team Korea has won, is a collaboration between private developers and shipbuilders. Samsung Heavy Industries, along with three ministries and two public institutions, is involved in the project. The Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND) and the Korea Maritime Promotion Corporation, along with the Green Fund, have invested in the BlackRock fund leading the project. They also participated as financial investors to support financial structuring and assist in securing engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts for Korean companies. The project will incorporate eco-friendly design technologies from Korean companies. Notable technologies include selective catalytic reduction, which extracts nitrogen oxides from exhaust gases produced by burned fuel and reduces them to nitrogen and water, and waste heat recovery boilers that generate steam and electricity from recovered waste heat. The government views this project as a pivotal opportunity to transition overseas construction from a traditional contracting industry to a high-value-added complex industry. It also sees significant value in establishing a foothold in the U.S. energy infrastructure market. Moreover, since the FLNG will be manufactured domestically, it is expected to stimulate the local economy through a chain of contracts for small and medium-sized enterprises. This case demonstrates that participation in major overseas infrastructure projects contributes to strengthening supply chain stability. The government plans to accelerate efforts to enhance transportation networks and diversify import sources through future overseas infrastructure acquisitions. A government official stated, "We will strengthen our capabilities to respond to global supply chain issues by expanding investments in overseas energy and port infrastructure. Based on the partnerships established through this negotiation with global developers, we will actively seek out future collaborative projects."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-04 10:39:00

Oh Se-hoon Blames President for Election Mismanagement Oh Se-hoon, the newly elected mayor of Seoul, addressed the ballot shortage issue that arose during the June 3 local elections, targeting both the government and the National Election Commission. Online community members shared their opinions on the matter. On June 4, at his campaign headquarters in Jongno, Oh stated, "This election is a victory for common sense," adding, "The citizens of Seoul have upheld the fundamental democratic principle of checks and balances." Oh specifically criticized the National Election Commission for the ballot shortages at 14 polling stations in districts like Songpa and Dongjak, asserting, "It seems that the Election Commission is being held solely responsible, but ultimately, the president bears the responsibility." He emphasized, "The Election Commission must reflect deeply on this incident. It is one of the most complacent public organizations I have encountered. We need to innovate from the ground up, with the resolve to dismantle the commission. In that sense, the Ministry of the Interior and the president cannot escape responsibility either." Oh expressed his deep regret as a candidate regarding the infringement on citizens' voting rights, stating, "We cannot ignore this significant flaw just because citizens achieved a great victory." He insisted that there must be fundamental improvements to address the issues at hand. In response to his comments, netizens remarked, "This is exactly why we elected him," and "He needs to take strong action while the momentum is on his side." Others commented on the government's lack of accountability, saying, "The person who claimed to be the control tower is now silent," and suggested that at least a public apology was warranted. Meanwhile, Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party won the fiercely contested Seoul mayoral election against Jung Won-oh of the Democratic Party, marking his fifth consecutive term as mayor. According to the National Election Commission on June 4, with 97.7% of the votes counted by 9:30 a.m., Oh secured 48.94% of the votes, leading Jung, who received 48.34%, by a narrow margin of 0.6 percentage points. Jung has since acknowledged his defeat. 2026-06-04 10:39:00

Labor Department Conducts Search at Hanwha Aerospace Headquarters Following Explosion Labor authorities have launched a forced investigation into Hanwha Aerospace's headquarters and its Daejeon facility, where an explosion occurred during propellant cleaning operations. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Daejeon Employment and Labor Office is conducting a search warrant at the Hanwha Aerospace headquarters in Seoul and the Daejeon facility. A total of 55 personnel, including labor inspectors and police, are involved in the operation. The team aims to secure documents related to the explosion's cause, including the cleaning process procedures and blueprints, as well as safety management system materials from the company. They will also assess whether adequate safety measures were in place during the cleaning operations. In the wake of the incident, the Labor Ministry formed a dedicated investigation team of about 20 members to probe the matter. Based on the evidence collected during the search, the ministry plans to thoroughly investigate the causes of the repeated explosions. If violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act or the Serious Accident Punishment Act are found, strict accountability will be enforced. Earlier, at 10:59 a.m. on June 1, a fire caused by an explosion occurred in the cleaning room of the munitions manufacturing facility at Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon plant. The incident resulted in five fatalities, one serious injury, and one minor injury. This facility had previously experienced explosions in 2018 and 2019, which claimed the lives of five and three individuals, respectively. The Labor Ministry stated, "In cases where multiple casualties occur or when minimal safety regulations are not followed, we will actively utilize forced investigations, including search warrants and arrests, to respond strictly."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-04 10:36:00

Naver Launches 'Naver Mate' to Support Creators in the AI Era Naver has introduced a fellowship program aimed at discovering and supporting creators who produce high-quality content in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). On June 4, Naver announced the launch of the 'Naver Mate' AI fellowship program. Naver Mate highlights creators who lead the content ecosystem based on professionalism and diversity across various user-generated content (UGC) services, including blogs, cafes, Knowledge iN, and premium content. The program will select creators from blogs, cafes, Knowledge iN, and premium content. Naver plans to publicly announce approximately 3,000 creators each month based on the number of AI briefing citations across ten major categories, including travel, lifestyle, and technology, as well as 25 specific topics such as health, parenting, film, and automobiles. Naver will introduce the first group of Naver Mate creators on its official page today. The selected creators are those most frequently cited in AI briefings within their respective fields, and Naver aims to establish content standards chosen by users in the AI era in collaboration with these creators. Support for creators will also be enhanced. Naver plans to provide approximately 20 billion won in activity support annually through the Naver Mate program, enabling creators to continuously produce in-depth content based on their expertise and experience. This year, Naver intends to refine its support system by gathering feedback from creators through the Naver Mate initiative.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-04 10:30:00

Han Byeong-do: 'We Will Be Humble in the Face of Public Sentiment Following Local Election Losses' Han Byeong-do, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, expressed condolences on June 4 to candidates who lost in the June 3 local elections, stating, "We will be humble in the face of public sentiment." He also criticized the Election Commission for the ballot shortages that occurred during the voting process. During a policy coordination meeting at the National Assembly, Han remarked, "Candidates Jeong Won-oh (Seoul), Kim Boo-kyum (Daegu), Kim Kyung-soo (Gyeongnam), and Oh Jung-ki (Gyeongbuk) all worked hard," adding, "The Democratic Party will embrace the visions of these candidates to strive for a better South Korea." He emphasized that the high voter turnout reflects the public's desire for a significant leap forward for the country and support for the Lee Jae-myung administration. Han also addressed the ballot shortages that occurred in areas such as Songpa District, stating, "The Election Commission, which should firmly uphold electoral integrity, has neglected its responsibilities." He expressed disbelief over the incidents that transpired, urging the Election Commission to identify the causes and implement measures to prevent recurrence, saying, "What happened yesterday is neither understandable nor acceptable." Meanwhile, the Democratic Party achieved a significant victory in the local elections, winning 12 out of 16 contested areas.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-04 10:30:00

Trump: U.S. Military Deaths Could End Iran Ceasefire President Donald Trump has indicated that while he aims to maintain a ceasefire with Iran, the death of U.S. military personnel would be a red line that could lead to a resumption of full-scale conflict. Despite ongoing clashes in the Strait of Hormuz and along the Lebanon front, Trump appears focused on avoiding escalation in the Middle East while pursuing peace negotiations. On June 3, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told his advisors, "If Iran kills American troops, I will consider ending the ceasefire." U.S. officials noted that repeated Iranian attacks have increased pressure on Trump, raising doubts about the long-term viability of the ceasefire. Since the ceasefire was established in early April, clashes between the U.S. and Iran have continued. Iran has recently launched missiles and drones at U.S. military bases in the region and Kuwait International Airport, resulting in casualties, while the U.S. has conducted retaliatory strikes. The Strait of Hormuz remains a focal point of conflict. Iran is restricting free passage through this strategic waterway, while the U.S. has imposed stringent blockade measures on vessels traveling to and from Iranian ports. These actions have caused significant disruptions in international energy markets and shipping logistics. During a House hearing, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized the ongoing clashes not as a return to full-scale war but as a "defensive response." He stated, "What happens is a reaction to Iran's actions. If they don't shoot at our ships, we won't shoot at them, but we must respond." Trump has claimed that a peace agreement, which would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, dismantling Iran's nuclear program, and eliminating highly enriched uranium, is imminent. However, he has also recently indicated a reluctance to rush the agreement. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump rejected Iran's latest proposal last week, believing that Iran should make substantial concessions early in the negotiations. Iran views the negotiation sequence differently, insisting that discussions on its nuclear program can only begin after the U.S. releases frozen assets or provides other financial benefits. The U.S. is pressuring Iran to make concessions in nuclear and security matters first. The Lebanon front has also emerged as a variable in the negotiations. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned that an Israeli attack on Beirut could lead to a resumption of full-scale conflict. Reports suggest that Trump has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt military operations in Lebanon to facilitate progress in negotiations with Iran. 2026-06-04 10:27:00