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July 03, 2026
 

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Heesu Lee
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 8, 2026
South Korea names first female prime minister in decades to lead AI push
Lee Jae Myung hopes the former Naver CEO will help better use the nation’s tech expertise for future growth and ensure its benefits spread more widely through the economy.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during their meeting at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul on May 13.
WORLD / Politics
May 18, 2026
Trump briefs South Korea’s Lee after summit in Beijing
Trump made a rare state visit to China last week, where the two sides discussed trade, the Korean Peninsula and tensions in the Middle East.
Lee Jae Myung, South Korea's president, delivers a speech at the National Assembly in Seoul on Thursday. Lee urged citizens to "save every drop of fuel” as the deepening Iran conflict hits the energy-importing nation hard.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 2, 2026
Save ‘every drop of fuel,’ Lee urges South Koreans facing Mideast war impacts
The president warned that the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran has triggered one of the most severe energy security threats in decades.
A South Korean women takes care of her baby at her home in Seoul on Feb. 17.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 25, 2026
South Korea’s baby bump extends into second year, offering hope
The improvement comes as marriages show signs of recovery after a prolonged slump, supported by incentives designed to ease the financial burden of raising children.
The HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan Shipyard
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Feb 12, 2026
Koreans are shunning dangerous shipbuilding jobs envied by Trump
Shipbuilding is among South Korea’s most dangerous industries, killing dozens of people each year, prompting more Korean workers to avoid those jobs.
A customer at a market in Seoul. South Korea's GDP contracted 0.3% in the three months through December from the previous quarter, the Bank of Korea said Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 22, 2026
South Korea’s surprise contraction points to broad fragility
The slowdown underscores how policy options to stimulate growth are constrained by a wobbly currency and mounting financial risks.
The National Assembly building in Seoul. South Korea has one of the lowest debt burdens among developed nations, but its debt-to-GDP ratio has been climbing.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 3, 2025
South Korea parliament clears 2026 budget to power AI-led growth
The $495.8 billion budget approval endorses President Lee Jae Myung’s plan to revive the economy through aggressive investment.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during a ceremony in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2025
U.S. and South Korea finalize trade deal after months of talks
A South Korean official said Seoul would spend $150 billion on shipbuilding in the U.S. and provide $200 billion in cash under an investment pledge.
"The method of investment, the amount of investment, the timeline and how we will share the losses and divide the dividends — all of these remain sticking points,” South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said of an investment pledge with the U.S., during an interview at the presidential office in Seoul on Friday.
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2025
U.S.-South Korea fund stuck on key points ahead of Trump visit, Lee says
While Lee and senior officials in Seoul say important differences remain between the two sides, Trump said the U.S. was “pretty close” to finalizing the deal with South Korea.
South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok. In a recent interview, Kim said that until visa issues related to South Korea's investment projects in the U.S. are resolved, progress on the projects will be "virtually impossible."
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2025
South Korea says U.S. projects unlikely to progress until visa issue resolution
Images of shackled workers have circulated widely and fueled public anger, casting a cloud over hefty investment plans by South Korean conglomerates.
The TSMC logo at its fabrication plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on June 7. Compared with Samsung and SK Hynix, TSMC’s manufacturing footprint in China is relatively small.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 3, 2025
U.S. pulls TSMC’s waiver for China shipments of chip supplies
TSMC suppliers will have to apply for individual approvals when they want to ship semiconductor equipment and other gear covered by U.S. export controls to its Nanjing facility.
U.K. Prime Miniter Keir Starmer speaks at the Jaguar Land Rover automobile manufacturing plant in Solihull, U.K. Starmer declared in May that his trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump included a cut in U.S. tariffs on British steel to zero.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 18, 2025
Trade partners grow restless waiting for Trump’s tariff breaks
While deals have been cut, the lower tariff rates agreed have yet to kick in.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's government, which took office in June, has sought to show as much flexibility as possible when it comes to the U.S.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 11, 2025
South Korea’s winning strategy for Trump faces moment of truth
So far, South Korea has largely flown under the diplomatic radar, working mostly behind the scenes with the U.S. without some of the grand gestures seen from other leaders.
A container ship approaches the Busan Port Terminal in Busan, South Korea, on July 23. Seoul's trade agreement with the U.S. brings one of the world’s biggest exporters into Washington’s emerging trade framework just a day before the deadline.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 31, 2025
U.S. sets South Korea tariff rate at 15% with energy and shipbuilding investment
The agreement brings one of the world’s biggest exporters into Washington’s emerging trade framework just a day before the deadline.
Yoon Suk-Yeol speaks to the nation at the Presidential Office on Dec. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 17, 2024
Martial law fiasco casts doubt over South Korea’s nuclear power push
Stocks related to the nuclear sector have already suffered losses due to souring investor sentiment since the political crisis began.
Traffic in the Yeouido financial district of Seoul
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2024
Ex-Goldman banker-turned-billionaire takes on South Korea’s chaebol
While private equity’s involvement in South Korea’s economy has grown over the last two decades, few have taken on the powerful, family-run conglomerates.
The powertrain of a Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 4Matic SUV. A Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle burst into flames in the South Korean city of Incheon in July, fueling public fear over the safety of battery-powered cars in recent months.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 23, 2024
A Mercedes-Benz fire could cloud South Korea’s EV shift, or give it a boost
Seoul’s push for battery-supplier transparency and parking lot safety could pave the way for a more resilient environment for EVs in the future.
A charging cable is connected to a Hyundai electric vehicle at the 2022 Busan International Motor Show in Busan, South Korea, on July 14, 2022.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 8, 2024
Seoul EV explosion sparks safety fears, prompting charging rethink
Over 700 people were evacuated and 23 hospitalized after an unplugged electric Mercedes-Benz sedan caught fire in a Seoul underground parking lot.
The No. 1 reactor building stands at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.'s Shin-Kori nuclear power plant in Ulsan, South Korea.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2024
South Korea edges ahead of rivals to build Europe’s nuclear reactors
A pair of projects in the Czech Republic could set up South Korea to build reactors for Western countries that are reconsidering nuclear energy.
Daniel Calvert accepted the award for Asia's best eatery on behalf of Sezanne, a French restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 31, 2024
Tokyo’s Sezanne reigns supreme as Asia’s best restaurant
Against the best restaurants Asia has to offer, Japan captured nine of the top 50 spots.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Why is the yen so weak and what can Japan do about it?
Japan spent ¥11.7 trillion ($73 billion) between late April and late May to prop up the weak yen.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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