The number of millionaires in South Korea continued to grow this year:

South Korea had the world’s 10th-highest number of millionaires globally last year, with 1.3 million individuals holding wealth exceeding $1 million, or 1.37 billion won, a report showed Thursday.

According to the Global Wealth Report 2025, released by Swiss investment bank UBS, the figure marked a slight increase from 1.2 million recorded in 2023, placing the country 10th among 56 countries surveyed.

There were about 60 million millionaires globally, holding a total of $226.47 trillion in wealth.

The US topped the list with 23.8 million millionaires, accounting for 39.7 percent of all millionaires worldwide.

The report noted that the millionaire population in the US rose by 379,000 throughout last year, meaning about 1,000 people joined the millionaire club each day.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

Hopefully this guy receives the maximum punishment:

A former Army sergeant with an intelligence unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., pleaded guilty to charges that he tried to sell military secrets to China, according to federal authorities. Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 31, faces penalties of up to 10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine for each count of retention of national security information and attempt to deliver national security information, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington said.

Stars & Stripes

Here is what this guy tried to do:

In his position, Schmidt had access to secret U.S. military information. He learned to speak Mandarin during his time in the Army and traveled at least once to China while off duty. After leaving the Army in early 2020, Schmidt contacted the Chinese Consulate in Turkey and visited Istanbul to interest Chinese intelligence officers in documents that he had taken from the Army. He also emailed Chinese security forces offering to turn over national defense information.

Schmidt moved to Hong Kong in March 2020 and contacted Chinese intelligence services again trying to pass classified information. He also offered to turn over a device that allows for access to secure U.S. military computer systems. In addition to the documents, Schmidt sought a position with the Chinese as an intelligence or security asset. During his time in China, he traveled to Beijing. Schmidt emailed information to news media in China affiliated with the government.

You can read more at the link.

I don’t know why the ROK military would come under scrutiny when they are the reason the martial law attempt failed. The rank and file did not want to implement the Presidential order:

This composite photo shows Defense Minister nominee Ahn Gyu-back (L), Unification Minister nominee Chung Dong-young (C) and Foreign Minister nominee Cho Hyun. (Yonhap)

President Lee Jae Myung on Monday named five-term lawmaker Ahn Gyu-back as defense minister, the first time in 64 years that a civilian defense chief has been nominated for the post, the presidential office said.

Lee’s pick of Ahn is seen as carrying out his election pledge to reform the military, a key promise from his presidential campaign to rebuild a nation fractured by the brief imposition of martial law in December last year under his predecessor, the ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol. 

The military has come under scrutiny since Yoon deployed troops to the National Assembly when he declared martial law on Dec. 3, allegedly to block lawmakers attempting to stop his brief imposition of martial law decree. Yoon was removed from office in April over the martial law debacle.

Yonhap

Lee Jae-myung also brought another Roh Moo-hyun administration retread into his cabinet as well by naming Chung-Dong-young as his unification minister:

Lee also nominated Chung Dong-young, a journalist-turned-veteran DP lawmaker, for unification minister, responsible for inter-Korean affairs. Chung previously served as the unification minister under the Roh Moo-hyun government from 2004-05.

“Chung has unmatched experience and a firm commitment to peace on the Korean Peninsula. He’s the right person to help create conditions for dialogue with North Korea and to find a breakthrough in easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula,” Kang said.

Chung just like President Lee’s spy chief nominee Lee Jong-seok is also a pro-North Korea cheerleader. He was the Unification Minister during the Roh administration when South Korea was giving more money to North Korea than what was being paid for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance. Back then the Roh administration foolishly believed all the aid they gave to North Korea would be used to improve their economy. Instead the funding was poured into building their nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The selection of Chung for the Unification Minister position shows that the new Lee administration has learned nothing from past leftist mistakes, instead they are doubling down on them.

I guess we will soon see if Naver and Kakao will have any competition in South Korea for mapping services:

The debate over the overseas transfer of South Korea’s high-precision map data, a sensitive issue that had been largely dormant since the launch of President Lee Jae Myung’s administration, has reignited. The government is moving to develop countermeasures as global tech giants intensify their efforts to gain access to the data.

Apple recently sought legal advice from a Korean law firm regarding its application to export 1:5,000 scale map data. The move follows the company’s earlier attempt in 2023, which was aimed at enhancing services, such as its Find My device tracking feature, Apple Pay’s local operations and the in-car navigation system integrated into Apple CarPlay, according to industry sources on Thursday.

Apple’s previous request was rejected by the Korean government due to national security concerns. Industry watchers believe the US tech giant will quickly reapply should the government approve Google’s pending application to export similar map data.

The review of Google’s request is ongoing. The government, which deferred its decision last month, must deliver a verdict by Aug. 11. As the Lee administration seeks to ease trade tensions with Washington, attention is focused on how it will respond to Google’s bid.

Maps at a scale of 1:25,000, used for navigation and route guidance, are already provided to foreign companies for their map services. However, both Google and Apple are seeking to secure high-precision maps as a necessity for expanding their mobility, AI and autonomous driving industries.

According to regulations, high-precision maps can only be used if the company has a data center located within Korea. As a result, only Naver and Kakao, which operate domestic data centers, are currently able to use high-precision map data free of charge.

Korea Herald

You can red more at the link.

Here is what the new MARFORK commander had to say recently:

The top U.S. Marine commander in South Korea has underscored her troops’ commitment to the “time-tested” alliance between the two nations and readiness to support regional stability, as the allies face new security challenges 75 years after the 1950-53 Korean War.

Maj. Gen. Valerie Jackson, head of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Korea (MARFORK), highlighted the allies’ ties tracing back to the three-year conflict, which broke out with North Korea’s invasion of South Korea on June 25, 1950, in a written interview with Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday. (……)

Jackson, who took office earlier this month, oversees a force of about 100 personnel and facilitates regular training for U.S. Marines who are deployed from outside the country, including Japan.

South Korean and U.S. Marines stage large-scale amphibious landing exercises, among other drills, throughout the year to maintain readiness against North Korean threats.

“U.S. Marine Corps Forces Korea remains dedicated to our mission and ready to support the broader Indo-Pacific strategy,” she said. “Our combined, joint, all-domain training footprint ensures readiness on the Korean Peninsula and provides flexibility to respond to regional operations.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If Iran conducts any terrorist attacks against the U.S. and refuses to give up on the pursuit of nuclear weapons the war will continue and oil prices will likely go up:

South Korea’s economy has enjoyed a boost since the inauguration of President Lee Jae Myung, but now finds itself bracing for the impact of the US attacks on three of Iran’s core nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said in an address at the White House that Tehran’s “key nuclear enrichment facilities” had been “completely and totally obliterated” by US forces.

“There will be either peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,” noted Trump, adding that the US will go after other targets if Iran does not agree to peace.

Industry insiders here are concerned that this escalation of the conflict in the Middle East may increase oil prices in Korea, which imports approximately 70 percent of its crude oil from the region.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but China gets a majority of their energy from the Middle East and Iran as well. It would be in their interest to put pressure on the mullahs to compitulate to the U.S. nuclear demands. It would keep a government friendly to China in power in Iran and cause no further impact to energy supplies which is all in China’s national interest.