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  North Gyeongsang Provincial Council Approves Support for Daegu Integration North Gyeongsang Province’s council approved a measure backing administrative integration with the city of Daegu, even as opposition sentiment has been rising in the province’s northern region. The North Gyeongsang Provincial Council said it passed a motion titled “Submission of the council’s opinion on the integration of North Gyeongsang Province and Daegu Metropolitan City” at the first plenary meeting of its 360th extraordinary session on Jan. 28. The vote was 46 in favor, 11 against January 29, 2026
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  Busan’s City Treasury Deposit Rate Lags at 2.46%, Near Bottom Among Major South Korean Cities Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city, is posting one of the lower treasury deposit rates among the nation’s metropolitan governments, newly released data show. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety, publishing a nationwide comparison for the first time, disclosed figures that allow side-by-side analysis of local governments’ treasury interest rates. According to the “local government treasury rate integrated status” posted Tuesday on the Local Finance Integrated Disclosure System January 29, 2026
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  South Korea’s Democratic Party to Introduce Special Act for Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City The Democratic Party said it will introduce, as a party-line bill, a special act to establish “Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City,” a key step toward administrative integration between Gwangju and South Jeolla Province. The party said on Tuesday that its special committee on the Gwangju-Jeonnam integration plan postponed the filing of the bill that had been scheduled for that day. The delay was to address shortcomings in the draft. Provincial and city officials and local lawmakers had agreed January 28, 2026
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  Ruling Bloc Slams Court After Kim Keon Hee Gets 1 Year, 8 Months; Parties Agree on Chip Bill Ruling bloc blasts court after Kim Keon Hee gets 1 year, 8 months Yoon Suk Yeol’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, who was indicted on charges including stock-price manipulation involving Deutsche Motors, was sentenced in a first trial to 1 year and 8 months, far below what prosecutors sought. Lawmakers in the ruling bloc responded with broad criticism of the court. On Tuesday, Park Soo-hyun, senior spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said, “Kim, a ‘comprehensive case of power-type corruption,’ January 28, 2026
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  Ruling, opposition parties agree to pass chip bill and filibuster rules change at Assembly session South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties agreed to pass a semiconductor special act and a revision to the National Assembly Act at a plenary session on Jan. 29. Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do and People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seok reached the deal during a meeting on Jan. 28 in the office of the National Assembly steering committee chair. The Assembly Act revision would allow the National Assembly speaker to hand off presiding duties if an unlimited debate, or f January 28, 2026
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  South Korea presidential office says real estate tax overhaul not imminent The presidential office said it is taking a cautious approach to discussions on revamping real estate taxes, citing the potential impact on markets, while stressing the need for a long-term review to address housing issues at their root. In a briefing with reporters on Tuesday, Policy Chief Kim Yong Beom said that if the government is to find a fundamental solution to real estate problems, the tax system is “an important part” of that effort. But he said it is not something that can be ann January 28, 2026
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  Late Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan to be cremated Jan. 31, laid to rest in Sejong Late Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, who died while on a business trip to Vietnam on Jan. 25, will be laid to rest in Sejong City after a funeral procession and memorial service on Jan. 31. Lee Hae-sik, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party who serves as vice chair of the funeral committee’s executive body, told reporters at the funeral hall at Seoul National University Hospital on Tuesday about the planned schedule. According to Lee, the funeral procession will begin at 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 3 January 28, 2026
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  Ruling party bloc slams court after Kim Keon Hee gets 1 year, 8 months in stock case Former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, was sentenced in a first trial to 1 year and 8 months in prison on charges including alleged stock manipulation, drawing sharp criticism from politicians aligned with the ruling camp who said the punishment was far lighter than prosecutors had sought. On Tuesday, Park Soo Hyun, senior spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said Kim — whom he called a “comprehensive case of power-related corruption” — received a 1-year, 8-month term, add January 28, 2026
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  Remembrance as an obligation: Nussbaum exhibit in Seoul SEOUL, January 28 (AJP) -Silence settled over the Democracy Movement Memorial Hall in Seoul on Jan. 27, as the Israeli and German embassies came together to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Beneath the vaulted stillness of the space, remembrance took shape not through speeches alone, but through the collective pause of those gathered. Around 150 people — diplomats, scholars and ordinary citizens — stood in quiet attention, their faces composed, their gazes d January 28, 2026
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  HiteJinro Sales and Operating Profit Fall as Alcohol Demand Slumps HiteJinro said weaker alcohol consumption pushed down both revenue and operating profit last year. According to a filing on the electronic disclosure system on Tuesday, the company’s consolidated operating profit fell 17.3% from a year earlier to 172.1 billion won, down from 208.1 billion won. Revenue slipped 3.9% to 2.4986 trillion won from 2.5992 trillion won. Net profit dropped 57.3% to 408.5 billion won from 957.4 billion won. HiteJinro said the overall alcohol market shrank and its January 28, 2026