The Weekend Minute Reader series offers a brief summary of key happenings in South Korea over the past week, all distilled into an easy one-minute read. Below is a roundup for the period Mar. 17-21.
The U.S. Energy Department has labeled South Korea as a 'sensitive country.'
Earlier this year, the United States placed South Korea on its "sensitive countries list," a classification utilized by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to identify nations seen as possible risks to national security or contributors to geopolitical instability; this confirmation came on March 15 locally. This marked the first instance where South Korea appeared on this list. Being part of the DOE’s sensitive countries list may impose restrictions on accessing classified military information and could hinder collaborative efforts between the two countries in critical fields like nuclear power and AI. By the end of last year, the DOE had categorized 25 countries under the sensitive label, which encompassed places like China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Israel, and Taiwan. With South Korea joining recently, they became the 26th nation on the list.
In reaction, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced later on March 17 that this decision stemmed more from domestic safety considerations related to DOE-linked federal labs than from diplomatic tensions. The ministry conveyed via press release: “U.S. authorities assured us that adding South Korea to the SCL would not notably impact cooperative endeavors in shared studies or high-tech advancements.”
As reported up until March 21, both South Korea and the United States appear to have agreed upon removing South Korea from the DOE's "sensitive countries and other designated countries" listing known as the SCL.
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The Constitutional Court will deliver its verdict on Prime Minister Han's impeachment on March 24.
On March 24, South Korea’s Constitutional Court plans to announce its judgment regarding the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, exactly 87 days since the National Assembly voted for it on December 27. On March 20, the court disclosed that this decision will take place at 10 a.m., within their primary chamber. Officials stated that following discussions among all eight judges earlier that same day, they promptly released an official notification confirming the announcement.
At least six out of these eight justices must support the impeachment for it to stand, leading to Mr. Han stepping down from his position. Should the majority reject the charges against him, he will swiftly return to performing his responsibilities—potentially even taking over as interim president should such circumstances arise.
With priority placed on deciding about Han, observers now speculate when the constitutional tribunal might deliver a ruling concerning President Yoon Suk-yeol’s own potential removal—a possible outcome possibly unfolding later next week.
If rulings occur sequentially—with those involving Han scheduled first on March 24, then Judge Lee Jae-myung’s legal challenge on March 26, culminating with President Yoon’s situation sometime between March 27 and 28—the upcoming weeks may see significant shifts across Korean politics due to judicial interventions alone. These major trials’ resolutions promise substantial impacts throughout national governance structures.
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MBK aims to calm investor concerns amidst the Homeplus crisis.
MBK Partners, which holds a controlling stake in Homeplus, declared on March 16th that its chairperson, Michael ByungJu Kim, intends to utilize his own money to accelerate delayed payments to the retail chain’s smaller suppliers during the ongoing judicial rehabilitation process. In an official statement, MBK Partners expressed their sense of societal duty regarding Homeplus' restructuring efforts: "Chairman Kim aims to offer monetary assistance specifically aimed at hastening these payment processes for struggling small-scale providers." Chairperson Kim refrained from specifying the exact figure involved but indicated that the precise amount would be established post-evaluation of what is due to minor distributors.
Homeplus also independently mentioned they intend to place priority on settling debts with lesser merchants, excluding major enterprises and branded franchises. They further elaborated that every unsettled trade claim against them—from business associates down to lessees—is slated for resolution; however, certain cases might require extended periods beyond others.
Despite this assurance, doubts linger about how substantial MBK's backing truly is financially speaking. According to industry experts within the field, approaches toward individual investments can vary significantly across different regions such as South Korea compared to international standards set forth by similar organizations globally. A portfolio director working under another investment entity commented, “It isn’t unusual practice among entities akin to ours here at MBK for senior executives managing funds typically being entitled later on to reclaim any initial cash advances directly sourced back via funding pools provided initially by participating shareholders.”
This situation parallels instances where top leaders inside PE outfits could theoretically revert costs incurred personally should disputes arise concerning operational issues linked closely enough to organizational affairs—much like executive officers whose professional fees get reimbursed upon encountering litigation related explicitly to corporate concerns.
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The OECD has lowered South Korea's economic growth projection for 2025 to 1.5%.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has reduced its 2025 growth prediction for South Korea to 1.5%, marking a decrease of 0.6 percentage points from their earlier forecast of 2.1% made back in December. This updated assessment matches the most recent estimates provided by the Bank of Korea and stands lower than those projected by both the Korea Development Institute at 1.6% and the South Korean government at 1.8%. Additionally, the OECD trimmed down expectations for several significant economies, attributing this shift primarily to "global economic disintegration" driven by intensifying trade conflicts. They highlighted that diminishing worldwide commerce is leading to increased costs—especially for products sourced internationally. Meanwhile, nations globally have been boosting expenditures related to defense and similar priorities due to heightened levels of protectionism, which compounds ongoing financial stress over extended periods. Moreover, the OECD cautioned that regions closely linked economically with the U.S. will probably encounter widespread challenges to sustained economic progress because of these evolving global trends.
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LG introduces South Korea's premier reasoning AI model, 'Exaone Deep.'
On March 18, LG debuted South Korea’s inaugural reasoning-based artificial intelligence system, signifying an important advancement in the nation's AI sector. This new type of AI operates differently from traditional ones; rather than relying solely on pre-existing datasets, it employs a series of logical steps akin to human cognitive processes to formulate replies. A notable instance of this approach can be seen in China's DeepSeek, which has garnered international recognition due to its affordable yet powerful solution. With major players like OpenAI and DeepSeek ramping up their investments in reasoning AI technologies, LG’s move places South Korea firmly within the competitive landscape.
However, according to LG, these innovations won’t initially reach consumers directly but will primarily assist internal projects aimed at enhancing products. The newly launched AI model was christened ExaOne Deep by LG AI Research, featuring a primary version called ExaOne Deep-32B, endowed with 32 billion parameters. Parameters play a crucial role in facilitating data relationships during both training and inference phases of AI operations. Although having more parameters typically correlates with better functionality, they also necessitate greater computational power. Consequently, businesses today strive to achieve optimal efficiency alongside enhanced capabilities via smarter design approaches. For comparison, DeepSeek's top-tier R1 configuration boasts over six hundred seventy-one billion parameters—a figure surpassing those found in ExaOne Deep-32B by about twentyfold, indicating roughly five percent of DeepSeek R1’s overall capacity.
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Delays in KEPCO’s grid infrastructure prompt power companies towards potential legal measures.
Several major power generation firms associated with South Korean conglomerates such as Samsung and POSCO subsidiaries intend to lodge a formal complaint with the Fair Trade Commission against Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). They claim that delayed construction of transmission and distribution networks has hindered their ability to produce and sell electricity effectively.
Under the former Moon Jae-in government, KEPCO spearheaded the initiative to phase out nuclear energy. However, due to significant financial challenges—including debts surpassing 200 trillion won ($150 billion) and cumulative losses greater than 40 trillion won ($30 billion) since 2021—the corporation has struggled to develop new transmission facilities according to initial plans. This problem has escalated across the nation; notably, independent power providers along the eastern coastline have faced severe repercussions.
Despite substantial investments totaling several billion dollars into constructing power stations, these enterprises cannot run them at optimal levels, anticipating considerable economic setbacks amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars for the current fiscal year. "Constructing a power station necessitates extensive capital expenditure, frequently obtained via project financing," explained an industry insider. "Given that revenues generated from operating these plants fund loan repayment obligations, not being able to utilize the installation fully will undoubtedly trigger default situations."
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Asiana Airlines introduces reduced prices before the merge with Korean Air.
Asiana Airlines recently rolled out last-minute deals for its North American and European routes, featuring round-trip economy class tickets priced at roughly $344. The airline aims to adhere to pricing rules before merging with Korean Air. On March 12th, they initiated their "Last Minute" sale for destinations in North America, followed by similar offers for trips to Europe beginning on March 17th.
Including additional charges like fuel surtaxes and taxes, customers still pay less than one million won, which equates to about $688.10. In terms of specific locations within North America, travelers can expect round-trip prices starting around $444 for Los Angeles and San Francisco, approximately $375 for Seattle, nearly $513 for New York City, and close to $454 for Honolulu. These promotional rates apply to bookings made up till March 24th for travel scheduled between now and April 30th.
For those heading towards Europe, discounts are valid only until March 21st for journeys departing this month. Fares begin just above $482 for London, slightly over $405 for Paris, around $344 for Rome, and near $439 for Frankfurt.
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