The Foundation for the Support of HSA-UWC, run by the Unification Church, tried to dispose of assets worth 52.3 billion won in Seoul and 300 million won in Gapyeong while under investigation for corruption linked to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, but both applications were rejected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism due to insufficient justification.
Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyung announced that she would support the low-income class and strengthen retirement income security by reorganizing the income security system, and that she would discuss long-term reform of the basic pension through social public discussion. In addition, he emphasized that he would develop the National University Hospital into a regional base hospital to expand regional, essential, and public medical services, and build a complete regional medical system by growing it into a core regional essential medical center at the level of Seoul's 'Big 5'.
Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the backlash from hardliners in the ruling party ahead of the confirmation hearing for candidate Kim Ji-yong for the Serious Crimes Investigation Office. He supported the military's actions regarding the North Korean landmine explosion that occurred in the DMZ and urged the People Power Party not to lower military morale with irresponsible remarks.
The Unification Church Foundation applied to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to dispose of basic assets worth 52.3 billion won twice in December of last year and March of this year when an investigation was underway on charges of collusion between the government and the government with the Yoon Seok-yeol government. However, it was confirmed that the application was rejected, saying that it was not necessary to dispose of high-value assets without a specific plan of use during the investigation.
Kang Dong-wan, acting secretary-general of the National Election Commission, announced that he would not execute the employee incentive budget allocated for next year's Gangneung National Assembly by-election, and took full responsibility for the delay in the recount at the Olympic Park counting center and promised prompt verification through consultation with the special prosecutor.
The People Power Party of Daejeon City Party criticized Daejeon Mayor Heo Tae-jeong's statement that he would continue to provide filming space despite the controversy over the movie 'Assassin(s)', and asked about the standards for providing public facilities managed with citizens' taxes, and pointed out that the mayor is only pushing the city based on ideological standards.
When the People Power Party put up a picket on a laptop during the National Assembly audit asking, 'Is solar power going to be the result of driving out farmers?', the Democratic Party of Korea protested, saying it was a distortion of the farmland survey, and the meeting was adjourned after about 30 minutes.
Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province Governor Lee Won-taek said on the 7th that he hopes that the administrative and public interest value will be recognized in the Saemangeum International Airport appeals trial and that it will be promoted normally. Environmental groups protested against this, attempting to enter the conference room.
During the audit of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, the People Power Party argued that director Jin-ho Huh and others should be used as witnesses in relation to the controversy over the distortion of history in the movie 'Assassin(s)', but the Democratic Party of Korea opposed it, saying it suppresses creative freedom, and Lee Jae-jeong, chairman of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, summarized that the chairman cannot allow the chairman to call the creator to the National Assembly.
![[Table] 92 cities, counties, and districts re-designated as areas with population decline](/api/img?u=https%3A%2F%2Fr.yna.co.kr%2Fglobal%2Fhome%2Fv01%2Fimg%2Fyonhapnews_logo_1200x800_kr01.jpg&w=800&q=72&f=webp){kind=logo}
The Ministry of Public Administration and Security announced 92 regions with population decline in 2026, including 16 cities and counties in Jeollanam-do, as well as local governments across the country, including Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong, Jeonbuk, Gyeongbuk, and Gyeongnam. Newly incorporated/designated locations are marked with asterisk (*).
The number of empty houses in rural areas nationwide increased by 29.5% in three years to 84,200 as of 2025, but 92.2% of the maintenance results were simple demolition, and the actual recycling utilization rate was found to be only 7.8%. The rural vacant house bank is also not functioning properly, with only 60 transactions completed out of 177 registered properties.
The Ministry of Justice announced that it is assigning people subject to community service orders to harvest, transport, and clean up crops to support farmers suffering from a labor shortage during the fall harvest season. We deployed 50,000 people through the first half of the year, and we plan to expand support during the harvest season starting in September and deploy 100,000 people to rural areas across the country by the end of the year.
Congressman Jim Clyburn, a senior black politician in the Democratic Party, warned black voters ahead of the midterm elections that they should not be fooled twice by President Donald Trump. He expressed concern that the approval rating of black voters in the 2024 presidential election increased from 8% to 15%, and argued that we should focus on the cost of living issue.
During the audit of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the government's response to Ukraine's disclosure of the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war and how to respond to DMZ landmine provocations. In addition, the ruling and opposition parties unanimously criticized the government for procedural shortcomings in the Alaska LNG investment project in the United States.
While the Supreme Court's disciplinary proceedings against Chief Judge Ji Gwi-yeon, who is suspected of serving alcohol, are scheduled to proceed, a battle broke out between ruling and opposition party lawmakers and the Director of the Court Administration, Noh Kyung-pil, over the rejection of the warrant by the Corruption Investigation Office and the 'at-home warrant' during the National Assembly Legislative and Judiciary Committee's audit of government affairs.
The government plans to set a special period of 2 to 3 years for excluding and suspending disposition through the Special Measures Act for violations of the Farmland Act that are not speculation. Yoon Won-seup, Director of Agricultural Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, announced this at a National Assembly debate, and enactment will be promoted within the year.
China proposed an extensive schedule, including meetings with businessmen and college students, ahead of President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States, but the United States reportedly rejected many of them citing the principle of reciprocity and national security concerns.
Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae directly criticized the National Assembly's interference in the nomination of Supreme Court justices during the National Assembly's audit, calling it an unconstitutional measure that goes against the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary. It was also revealed that the constitutional basis for the Blue House's refusal to request re-nomination of Supreme Court Justice candidates was not clear.
Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon announced during the National Assembly audit that he will continue the independent AI foundation model project and speed up the development of frontier AI and physical AI. At the National Assembly inspection on this day, issues such as insufficient cyber security response and conflict of interest among R&D advisors were also pointed out.
During the National Assembly audit, People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won and Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Seong-hwan engaged in a battle over whether to disclose the list of members of the 12th Basic Electricity Supply and Demand Plan members and suspicion of preferential treatment in the appointment process of the president of Korea District Heating Corporation.
At the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee audit, the ruling and opposition parties engaged in a fierce battle over the controversy over the free viewing of the movie 'Assassin(s)' promoted by the Center under the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the police attendance schedule of Rep. Kim Jae-seop of the People's Power Party.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized President Lee Jae-myung's real estate-related social media posts, urging him to acknowledge policy failure and start over from square one. Mayor Oh argued that the current increase in housing permits and construction starts is the result of the maintenance project restored under former Mayor Park Won-soon, and pointed out the president's ideological perspective and dichotomous thinking between speculation.
The three May 18 organizations and the Memorial Foundation called for the immediate withdrawal of three amendments to the May 18 related laws proposed by People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-sook and others. Organizations pointed out that the amendment could cause secondary damage by limiting the scope of May 18 and mandating the disclosure of the list.
