S. Korea's finance minister to hold tariff negotiations with Bessent late Thursday, Korean time
The talks are scheduled to take place at 10:45 p.m, according to Seoul's finance ministry.
Top officials from Seoul are in the United States in all-out efforts to finalize a trade deal with the US before Friday's deadline, when the 25 percent reciprocal tariffs will take effect. (Yonhap)
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Korea Herald
12 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Some joint military exercises delayed to September amid heat, says JCS
South Korea and the United States will proceed with their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise as planned from Aug. 18-28, though about half of the associated field training exercises will be rescheduled to September due to extreme heat, the militaries of both nations said Thursday. Col. Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that out of some 40 planned outdoor drills, around 20 will be moved to September. "In light of the extreme heat and the need to maintain a balanced readiness posture year-round, South Korea and the United States agreed to adjust some of the drills to September after close consultations," he said. He stressed that the rescheduling was not a reduction in scope, noting that most of the postponed drills involve battalion-level training, such as airfield defense, recovery and equipment maintenance exercises. The core components of UFS — including the computer-based command post exercise, field training exercises directly linked to the UFS scenario, and drills involving US augmentation forces — will proceed as originally scheduled. The adjustment comes amid growing expectations that the Lee Jae Myung administration may seek to soften military activities within the South Korea-US alliance. On July 28, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said he would propose to President Lee that the combined exercise schedule be modified. A high-ranking Unification Ministry official who declined to be named also said, "A modification was made," ahead of the JCS briefing Thursday morning. "North Korea" was omitted from the official joint statement announcing the exercise, released on the same day. The JCS spokesperson, however, dismissed claims that the omission reflected a conciliatory approach toward Pyongyang on the part of the Lee Jae Myung administration, noting that terminology varies every year. "It was also omitted in the 2022 and 2024 statements. The wording is determined through mutual consultation between South Korea and the US," Lee said, noting that similar cases occurred during the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration. While drills to counter North Korea's missile threats will be held, scenarios involving the North's actual use of nuclear weapons are not part of this year's exercise, he added. US Forces Korea spokesperson Col. Ryan Donald emphasized that the quality of training is what matters most in building readiness. "We remain focused on our objectives, which are clear: to maintain peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, ensure our combined forces are ready to respond to a variety of threats — from hybrid and conventional to weapons of mass destruction — and address broader regional challenges," he said. The exercise will incorporate lessons from the modern battlefield, including drone, cyber and space threats, while also factoring in growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. About 18,000 South Korean troops will take part, similar to last year, along with US forces and United Nations Command members. The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission will also monitor compliance with the armistice.
Korea Herald
14 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Seoul shares end higher on tech, auto gains
South Korean stocks closed higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, with strong performances in tech and auto shares leading the advance. The Korean won also rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 29.54 points, or 0.92 percent, to close at 3,227.68. Trade volume was moderate at 324.1 million shares worth 11.16 trillion won ($8.08 billion). Advancers outnumbered decliners 459 to 406. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.18 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.21 percent. In the local market, institutions bought a net 109.08 billion won worth of shares, while foreign investors and retail investors sold a net 17 billion won and 196.58 billion won, respectively. Analysts said institutional buying helped buoy the main index, despite ongoing concerns over US import tariffs and a potential slowdown in the US economy. US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs took effect at 1:01 p.m. Thursday (Korea time), but analysts said the impact on the main index was limited, as the tariffs had already been priced into the market. In Seoul, tech and auto stocks led the gains. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 2.47 percent to 70,500 won on news that the chipmaker will manufacture Apple Inc.'s next-generation processor at its foundry in Austin, Texas. The tech giant also got a boost from the South Korean trade minister's comments that Korean semiconductor firms will likely face lower US tariff rates than global peers and competitors, citing the latest trade deal signed last week between Seoul and Washington, in which the latter agreed to offer most favored nation (MFN) status to South Korean chipmakers when it comes to import tariffs on semiconductors. US President Donald Trump has said his administration may impose 100 percent tariffs on all chip and semiconductor imports. Chip giant SK hynix advanced 1.35 percent to 262,000 won. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 0.95 percent to 212,500 won following reports that the Korean automaker and General Motors will jointly develop five new models for the US and other markets in the Americas. Top shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries rose 1.82 percent to 475,000 won, while tech firm Kakao spiked 11.97 percent to 63,600 won. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution edged up 0.65 percent to 386,500 won. Among decliners, major steelmaker POSCO Holdings slipped 0.34 percent to 297,500 won, and top refiner SK Innovation dropped 0.46 percent to 108,500 won. The local currency was quoted at 1,381.20 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 8.3 won from the previous session. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 2.2 basis points to 2.408 percent, while the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds declined 1.8 basis points to 2.551 percent. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
16 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Yoon's lawyers say ex-president injured in arrest attempt
Former president again refuses to be taken for questioning; lawyers claim attempts to detain him illegal Legal representatives of Yoon Suk Yeol claimed Thursday that the former South Korean leader was injured by what they assess as an "illegal" bid to enforce an arrest warrant for him regarding the ongoing criminal investigation into his wife Kim Keon Hee. Hours after the prosecution's second attempt to detain Yoon was thwarted Thursday morning, Yoon's lawyers said at a press conference that 10 officials of the special counsel team tried to forcibly get him into a car by lifting the chair that he was sitting on. They say that Yoon fell on the floor during the process and was injured. "There have been several cases in which a suspect, against whom an arrest warrant had been issued, refuses investigation, but there had not been one case in which (the enforcement of warrant) was conducted via physically dragging a person," the lawyers said in a press conference in front of the Seoul High Court. Yoon's side has maintained that the attempt to forcibly detain him was illegal, even though the court has issued a warrant for his official arrest. They claimed it was a deliberate attempt by the prosecution to humiliate the former leader. The former South Korean president has been refusing to cooperate with the ongoing criminal investigation, and the special counsel team said Thursday it had decided not to arrest Yoon due to adamant resistance from the suspect. It was the second failed attempt to arrest Yoon by the special counsel team looking into Kim. Yoon has been held at the Seoul Detention Center in relation to the ongoing investigation of the Dec. 3, 2024, imposition of martial law for the last month. He was impeached and removed as president and faces charges of insurrection and power abuse. He has been refusing to comply with the related probe and trials since being detained last month. Yoon has been summoned by the prosecution to give testimony related to accusations related to the Kim Keon Hee case, including accusations that he received illegal help in his campaign from a local pollster in exchange for helping a former member of his People Power Party secure a nomination in the parliamentary election. Due to Yoon's repeated refusal to cooperate with the ongoing investigation concerning his wife, officials undertook measures to forcibly bring him into custody. A 2013 Supreme Court precedent shows that suspects who refuse orders to cooperate with an investigation can be forcibly taken in for the probe. But footnotes attached to the Criminal Procedure Act published in 2022 state that if the suspect is in a state of undress for the purpose of refusing an investigation, he or she cannot be forced into custody. This is widely presumed to be the reason why Yoon was lying on the floor in only his underwear as he refused officers trying to take him into custody.
