With the recent trade deal between the U.S. and Japan being agreed upon, this is now putting pressure on the ROK to get their own trade deal done before the August 1st deadline set by the Trump administration:

 South Korea will take into account details of a recent trade deal reached between the United States and Japan in a bid to use it as a possible reference for Seoul’s trade negotiations with Washington, the presidential office said Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday (local time) that Washington had reached an agreement with Japan to cut proposed reciprocal tariffs on Japanese goods from 25 percent to 15 percent, adding the deal also includes Tokyo’s $550 billion investment pledge.

South Korea is also seeking to reduce 25 percent reciprocal U.S. tariffs, as well as sectoral tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, through a comprehensive trade proposal ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline set by the Trump administration.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but it seems like the ROK will likely sign a deal with at least a 15% tariff rate so their imports remain competitive against Japan.

This is the first time I have heard of an abuse of power allegations where a national assemblyman had aids do household chores for them. For all the things for a cabinet nominee to resign over, being too lazy to dump your own trash was not on my bingo card:

Gender Equality Minister nominee Kang Sun-woo stepped down Wednesday amid criticism over alleged workplace abuses during her time as a lawmaker.

Kang has come under fire during her parliamentary confirmation hearing for various allegations, including having legislative aides perform her household chores, such as disposing of food waste at her home.

“I offer my sincere apologies to the people for the pain I have caused,” Kang said on her Facebook page. “I humbly accept the criticism and will live with self-reflection.”

“I am truly sorry to President Lee Jae Myung, who trusted me and gave me this opportunity,” she added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the real question is does South Korea really need a Gender Ministry? What do they really do?

There was no way Lee Jae-myung was going to keep such a high popularity rating. Like all other ROK presidents before him his approval rating is beginning to slide the longer he is in office:

President Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating slid for the first time since his inauguration in June after rising for five consecutive weeks, a survey showed Monday.

According to the survey by Realmeter and commissioned by a local news outlet, positive assessment of Lee’s performance fell 2.4 percentage points to 62.2 percent from the previous week, while negative assessment rose 2.3 percentage points to 32.3 percent.

The pollster said controversies surrounding ministerial nominees during last week’s confirmation hearings and damage from the recent torrential rains appear to have negatively affected the approval ratings.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is pretty amazing that the former ROK Marine Corps commandant is being investigated for telling the National Assembly that former President Yoon did not go into a rage when hearing of the death of a Marine. However, a Marine investigator is claiming that the General told him that Yoon did go into a rage:

A Seoul court on Tuesday rejected an arrest warrant for former Marine Corps Commandant Kim Kye-hwan over allegations of giving false testimony in connection with a probe into the death of a young Marine in 2023.

The Seoul Central District Court said it rejected the warrant requested by a special counsel team investigating Kim, citing the lack of risk of flight or evidence tampering.

The retired three-star general is suspected of being involved in the alleged interference in the military probe of the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun, who died while searching for torrential rain victims in July 2023 without safety equipment, such as a life jacket.

The special counsel team has focused on allegations that former President Yoon Suk Yeol burst into a rage during a meeting of senior presidential officials in July 2023, after being briefed on the results of the probe that found a senior Marine commander responsible for Chae’s death.

Kim had consistently denied telling the top Marine investigator in charge of the initial probe of the episode about Yoon. During a court hearing earlier in the day, however, he acknowledged for the first time that he had heard about Yoon’s alleged outburst of anger.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

When the martial law decree happened I said it was foolish of Yoon to think that ROK Soldiers would want to be involved in anything that could devolve into a modern day Gwangju Uprising like event. That is exactly what happened as Soldiers went and ate ramen noodles at local convenience stores instead of following orders. Who would imagine that going to eat ramen noodles could lead to a promotion for them:

South Korean soldiers who refused to obey unlawful orders during former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law attempt last year could receive early promotions, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The military last week launched a closer look at the actions of soldiers on duty after Yoon’s short-lived martial law decree late Dec. 3 and early Dec. 4, a Defense Ministry spokesman said Friday at a news conference in Seoul.

Roughly 200 soldiers — many of them from special forces units — were deployed to the National Assembly building in the capital after Yoon’s edict that night. Some troops blocked the building’s entrance as lawmakers attempted to convene and vote to overturn Yoon’s order. Yoon, who faces trial on charges of insurrection and abuse of authority, has denied deploying troops to prevent lawmakers from reversing the martial law. His attorneys have said the troops were deployed as a precautionary measure and to instill order. Service members who are found to have “performed their duties as soldiers” without following “improper orders” could receive commendations, the spokesman said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This is a bizarre murder that happened recently in Incheon:

A man shot and killed his son with a homemade gun during a birthday party he threw for his father, police said Monday.

The 63-year-old shooter was detained without a warrant early Monday after police were alerted to a shooting at an apartment in Incheon, west of Seoul, at 9:31 p.m. Sunday.

The man is suspected of firing two shots at his son in his 30s during the party, which was also attended by his daughter-in-law, his two grandchildren and friends, police said. The motive behind the suspect’s shooting was not known.

The gun was in pipe-form and the bullets hit the son’s chest. He was moved to a hospital but later pronounced dead.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.