[Yonhap News headlines at this time] - 18:00

■ [Future Economy Forum] Taewon Choi “AI and semiconductor cooperation… $1 trillion synergy through Korea-Japan economic solidarity”

On the 3rd, Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group and Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, proposed that Korea and Japan create a synergy effect of at least 1 trillion dollars (approximately 1,340 trillion won) through economic cooperation and common cost reduction in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors. Chairman Choi said this in a congratulatory speech at the '2026 Future Economy Forum' held at The Grand Lotte Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul, hosted by Yonhap News, a national news agency, saying, "The two countries have sufficiently bridged the bridge of economic solidarity, and now it is time to cross it together." This forum was held under the theme of ‘Korea-Japan markets connecting the fragmented global economy as one’. Chairman Choi has proposed economic solidarity between Korea and Japan starting in 2023.

■ "'List of Unit 1' is in the format of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs document... It is not an official document."

It was discovered that the list file containing information on the passengers of Air Force Unit 1, including President Lee Jae-myung and his wife, was in the form of a document prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At a meeting with reporters on the 3rd, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "The format of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs document is correct," and "It is not an official document because it is in Excel sheet format." An official explained, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the overall organization for summit tour events, is required to collect and fill out such information (individual passengers),” adding, “It is similar to the form filled out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

■ Kim Min-seok “There was no basis for the anti-myeong/Shincheonji alliance”… Jeong Cheong-rae "You have to take responsibility"

Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said there was "no basis" for the so-called anti-Myung (anti-Lee Jae-myung), separatist, and Shincheonji three-party alliance that he raised against former leader Chung Cheong-rae, who competed with him at the August 17 national convention. Representative Kim said this at a general meeting of lawmakers held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 3rd, saying, "I would like to express my deepest apologies to those who were unintentionally harmed," floor spokesperson Kim Seong-hoe told reporters. Representative Kim's remarks are in fact interpreted as an apology to party members for causing confusion within the party due to suspicions related to Shincheonji.

■ The White House has already lost the midterm elections... Trump's administration is focused on 'passing Congress'

As the Republican Party is expected to struggle in the U.S. midterm elections, the White House is focusing on finding a solution to prepare for the fallout, the British daily The Times reported. According to the British daily Telegraph on the 2nd (local time), as the midterm elections approach, the anxiety of the White House staff is increasing. It is said that the focus of conversation among White House workers these days has shifted from discussing ways to win the midterm elections to discussing what will happen if the scenario of the Republican Party losing becomes a reality.

■ Court revokes the bail of Unification Church President Hak Ja Han for ‘going out at Cheon Jeong-gung’

The court revoked the bail of Unification Church President Hak Ja Han, who left the hospital, his designated residence. According to the legal community on the 3rd, the 13th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Judge Kim Moo-shin, Lee Woo-hee, and Dong-gyun Yoo) decided to revoke President Han's bail on this day. The grounds for cancellation of bail are Article 102, Paragraph 2, Items 2 and 5 of the Criminal Procedure Act, which states that bail can be canceled if the defendant is concerned about destroying evidence or violates the conditions set by the court.

■ 與 visits the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and says, “We will do our best to process the retirement age extension within the year as much as possible.”

Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (KCTU) on the 3rd and discussed labor issues such as extension of the statutory retirement age, creation of super-metropolitan special zones, reorganization of public institution functions and relocation to regional areas, and basic political rights of public officials and teachers. After a high-level policy consultation meeting held at the Federation of Korean Trade Unions office in Yeouido on this day, the Democratic Party's spokesperson Lee Yong-woo met with reporters and said, "We will do our best to handle it within the year" on the issue of extending the legal retirement age to 65. He said, “Once the (party) special committee organizes and proposes a bill, we plan to proceed with the process where the Climate, Environment and Labor Committee receives and processes it,” and added, “I think we will have to wait for some discussions in the National Assembly to see whether the bill will be processed within the year.”

■ Zhang “Increase the people’s livelihood budget”·Wu “Everyone must work together”·Korea “Bottom-up nomination”

With Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon surviving the appeal, competition for the next election intensified in the conservative camp, and People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk, Mayor Oh, and independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon gathered in Yeouido on the 3rd to take the lead on the issue. Representative Jang, who has taken a hard-line right-wing stance, highlighted the issue of people's livelihood by directly announcing the review direction of next year's government budget, and Mayor Oh attended a debate hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Party and the Seoul Metropolitan Government and emphasized the need for 'unification of conservatives.' Representative Han focused on promoting the ‘bottom-up nomination’ agenda.

■ KOSPI plunges by more than 3%, falling to 5,600 units... KOSDAQ also fell by 4%

On the 3rd, KOSPI plunged more than 3% and collapsed to 5,600. According to the Korea Exchange, on this day, KOSPI closed at 5,648.79, down 210.29 points (3.59%) from the previous trading day. The index started at 5,715.19, down 143.89 points (2.46%) from the previous day, but the decline widened in the afternoon and at one point fell 4.15% to 5,615.80.

■ Ministry of Justice passenger verification system failure for 80 minutes… Normalization after airport ticketing delay

On the 3rd, a failure occurred in the Ministry of Justice's Passenger Pre-Confirmation System (IPC), resulting in inconveniences such as flights being delayed at airports across the country for about an hour and 20 minutes. According to the Ministry of Justice and Incheon International Airport, at around 6:05 a.m. on this day, the Ministry of Justice's IPC encountered a problem and airline check-in counters at airports across the country linked to it did not work. The IPC was restored around 7:25 a.m. IPC is a system that receives passenger information from airlines and informs passengers in real time whether they can depart the country before a boarding pass is issued.

■ Police investigate suspect Yong Hye-in, a member of the National Assembly, for allegedly violating the Public Official Election Act

Rep. Yong Hye-in, who was accused of various suspicions during her failed nomination as a candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, was investigated by the police as a suspect last month. According to the police on the 3rd, Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul summoned Rep. Yong, who is suspected of violating the Public Official Election Act, the Political Funds Act, and the Political Party Act, on the 27th of last month for questioning. It was confirmed that the police first investigated the Public Official Election Act case, for which the statute of limitations expires on the 3rd of next month.