Black Wednesday: Tech Stock Meltdown.

• AMD plummeted 17%. AI and semiconductor theme stocks became dumping targets.
• Software companies also crashed. It’s the storm brought by Claude CoWork.
• An era where anyone can easily create apps. Vibe coding has become much simpler too.
• Adobe (editorial design), Salesforce (customer management), PayPal (payments), Expedia (travel), and other software/service stocks plunged before barely rebounding.
• Analysis suggests $300 billion in market cap vanished.
• Bitcoin dropped to $73,000.
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Seoul’s Wirye New City Case: Prosecution Drops Appeal.

• It was dubbed the “Daejang-dong copycat” case. Yoo Dong-gyu (former head of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation), Nam Wook (Hwacheon Daeyu shareholder), and Jung Young-hak (Hwacheon Daeyu shareholder) were all acquitted in the first trial, and the prosecution abandoned its appeal.
• The court ruled that dividend profits generated after the 2013 project selection could not be deemed improper gains from using confidential business information.
• OhmyNews analyzed that since the statute of limitations expired in 2020, even an appeal would likely result in a dismissal.
• Lee Jae-myung (President) shared the article on X, writing, “They tried to frame me with an implausible case, even altering the Daejang-dong recording from ‘Wirye New City discussion’ to ‘Senior Officials discussion’ to fabricate evidence.”
• There were allegations that prosecutors edited transcripts of Jung Young-hak and Nam Wook, replacing “Wirye New City” with “Senior Officials.” The prosecution’s framing implied “Senior Officials” = Lee Jae-myung, but this was proven false.
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What Matters Now.

“Trading Up to a Single Smart Property?”.

• “Let me be clear: if it’s not for residential use, it’s better not to do it at all.” Lee Jae-myung (President) posted this on X. (Posted at 1:00 AM.)
• He shared an article noting that as the deadline for the heavy transfer tax deferral approaches on May 9, discounted listings are selling immediately upon appearing.
• There are many “trade-up” properties—demand for upgrading to larger units or relocating toward Gangnam.
• Ko Joon-seok (Yonsei University professor) pointed out, “Seoul apartments are already stratified,” adding, “While the government’s strong messaging for market stability is understandable, suppressing demand without actual supply increases might not yield the intended policy effects.”
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Energy: America’s Top Investment Priority.

• Not the Alaska LNG project. Not nuclear power plants. It’s a project South Korean companies previously considered but abandoned.
• Kim Jeong-gwan (Minister of Trade) discussed this with Howard Lutnick (U.S. Secretary of Commerce). An executive order to raise tariffs, already published in the Federal Register, is reportedly on Trump’s desk.
• Cho Jung-hyun (Foreign Minister) argued, “Tariff hikes will only make things harder for us.” He requested a delay in publication or a grace period before implementation but received no response.

U.S. Investment Special Act to Be Handled by Special Committee.

• Originally a bill to be handled by the Finance and Economy Committee, but its chairperson Lim I-ja (People Power Party lawmaker) strongly insisted it required ratification approval.
• Yesterday, Han Byung-do (Democratic Party floor leader) and Song Eun-seok (People Power Party floor leader) met and agreed to form a separate special committee. The People Power Party also concurred that further delays were unacceptable. They decided not to demand ratification approval.

Moon Jin-young and Lee Joo-han Join Kang Yu-jeong and Kim Sang-ho.

• There are 12 multi-homeowners among the Blue House staff. Five of them have decided to sell their properties.
• A Blue House official said, “Even if the president didn’t explicitly order them to sell, which aide wouldn’t feel pressured?”
• Lee Jae-myung posts daily X rants attacking multi-homeowners. Sharing an article about increased real estate listings, he commented, “Why do they keep publishing this nonsense about ‘no effect’ and ‘no listings’?”
• In an editorial, Chosun Ilbo noted, “If aides complain their homes aren’t selling, it means other ordinary multi-homeowners are in the same boat,” adding, “Before labeling them demons, figure out why the market isn’t moving.”
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Deep Dive.

Supporting Regions Far from Seoul.

• Lee Jae-myung (President) said this while meeting with the heads of the 10 major conglomerates.
• “The economy is an ecosystem—there must be grasslands, grasshoppers, rabbits, and only then can tigers thrive. If the grasslands are ruined, it’s not the tigers’ fault.”
• Though framed as a well-wish, it’s a provocative shift: even if tigers (chaebols) destroy the grasslands, it’s unavoidable.
• “It would be good if the fruits, opportunities, and warmth of growth spread evenly to SMEs, regions, and young generations entering society,” but it implies prioritizing big business.
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270 Trillion Won Investment Plan Listed.

• Samsung Group will invest 450 trillion won—including R&D—and hire 60,000 people over five years. The plan focuses on semiconductor components, bio-industry, and AI.
• SK Group is building an advanced packaging fab worth 19 trillion won in Cheongju, North Chungcheong.
• Hyundai Motor Group will invest 125 trillion won over five years. It’s constructing a 1GW-scale PEM electrolyzer plant in the Southwest region and a hydrogen fuel cell factory in Ulsan, aiming for operation next year.
• LG Group’s plan totals 100 trillion won. LG Innotek is setting up camera module production facilities in Gumi, North Gyeongsang.
• Though not novel—every administration unveils such investment bundles—the scale this year is massive. The top 10 groups’ new hiring plans total 51,600 people, of which 34,200 are fresh graduates.

10 Trillion Won No-Bid Contract? Is Daewoo Engineering & Construction Taking Gadeokdo Airport?

• Only Daewoo Engineering & Construction participated in the bid. Lotte Construction and Hanwha withdrew.
• The project timeline is short, and the soft ground makes it highly complex. Daewoo issued a statement: “No issues at all.”
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Another Take.

Employment Rate for Ages 55–64 Hits 70.5%.

• Economic activity participation rate is 72.0%, unemployment rate is 2.1%.
• The participation rate includes job seekers among the unemployed, while the unemployment rate measures those unable to find work within the economically active population.
• The Ministry of Employment and Labor analyzed, “The sequential retirement of the second baby boomer generation (born 1964–1974) is raising concerns about a shrinking economically active population.” The second baby boomers number 9.54 million, 18.6% of South Korea’s population.

Why the 1.18 Million Won Monthly Filipino Domestic Worker Project Failed.

• It was controversial, but ultimately the project folded after 1 year and 6 months.
• Critics argued that merging childcare (Caregiver) with domestic work (Housekeeper) blurred the line between caregiving and household labor.
• “My job? Preparing meals for the family, dropping kids off at school, cleaning the house, making snacks, laundry, cleaning, picking up from academies, bathing them, and….”
• A Filipino woman participating in the project, interviewed by Hankyoreh21, lived in a dressing room without heating or cooling.
• She couldn’t visit a hospital without permission, and was scolded for having a “bad expression” during her period.
• Hankyoreh21 noted, “While superficially framed as a social contract, in reality, the individual’s entire life became dependent on the employer.”
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A World Without New START: More Dangerous.

• START stands for Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, a 2010 agreement between the U.S. and Russia to cap strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550.
• It was extended for five years in 2021, but expired on February 5.
• Russia proposed extending the treaty, but China opposes it, and Trump remains indifferent.
• Pope Francis urged, “I hope the treaty extension is not abandoned.”
• BBC assessed it as “the beginning of a more unstable and dangerous world.”
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Lowering Voting Age to 16? Jang Dong-hyeok’s Out-of-the-Blue Proposal.

• “At 16, one can join a political party, work part-time or hold a job, and even pay taxes.” These were the words of Jang Dong-hyeok (People Power Party leader) during his National Assembly speech.
• The remark that “the National Assembly has become a den of legislative dictatorship” drew criticism: “Don’t impose martial law.”
• The People Power Party filed an ethics committee complaint against Bae Hyun-jin (People Power Party lawmaker), who is classified under the Han Dong-hoon faction.

Is It a Convenience Store? A Visit to a Warehouse Pharmacy.

• It’s not exactly cheap. Tylenol was 500 won cheaper, and Ursa was 1,000 won cheaper. A pharmacist was at the counter but didn’t ask about symptoms or check ingredients. A Kyunghyang Shinmun reporter assessed, “It felt closer to a convenience store checkout.”
• Mega Factory opened in Seoul after Seongnam.
• Some items are limited to two per person, but there’s no way to stop someone from buying more after a few minutes.
• Park Hyun-jin (chairperson of “The Gathering to Prepare for the Future of Pharmacists”) questioned, “If pharmacists don’t need to provide medication guidance, why is selling drugs online still restricted?”
• “It’s a structure where buying more drugs because they’re cheap increases risks proportionally,” the article concluded.
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Will Dawn Delivery for Big-box Stores Be Unshackled?

• Discussions are underway to lift the ban on early-morning operations. Last year, big-box store sales were 36 trillion won, while Coupang’s reached 48 trillion won—a reversal. Three years ago, big-box stores had 35 trillion won in sales, and Coupang had 27 trillion won.
• An industry insider met by JoongAng Ilbo said, “If dawn delivery is permitted, we might finally stand a chance against Coupang.”
• Calculations suggest that combining big-box stores and corporate supermarkets (SSMs) could provide 1,800 locations as dawn delivery hubs.
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The Fix.

70,000 Good Manufacturing Jobs Vanished.

• Regular salaried workers decreased from 3.66 million in 2022 to 3.59 million last year.
• Kim Yu-bin (Korea Labor Institute researcher) said, “The exit path for existing workers will narrow gradually, but the entry path—like new hires—will shrink far more steeply.”
• Kwon Hyuk (Korea University professor) emphasized, “Germany defines youth as the group most immediately exposed to transition risks,” adding, “Government support must shift from simply creating or finding jobs to actively fostering lifelong competencies.”
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“Hunger Brings Sorrow.”.

• It’s the story of the food bank “Just Dream,” created by Lee Jae-myung (President) during his tenure as Gyeonggi Province governor. It distributes food and daily necessities to citizens in financial hardship without questions or conditions.
• The government has taken over the “Gyeonggi Food Just Dream Corner.” In just two months, 36,000 people across 67 cities and counties have received support.
• Shinhan Financial agreed to provide 4.5 billion won in support over three years.

Lung Cancer Screenings for School Meal Workers.

• The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will provide lung cancer screenings every two years to 6,470 school meal workers.
• From 2021 to last year, 178 school meal workers were diagnosed with lung cancer, and 15 of them died. Cooking fumes are the cause.

Social Media Banned, So They Started Running.

• Australia banned social media for teens last December. “Since we can’t use Snapchat, we go out to meet friends or exercise,” one interviewee said.
• France also enacted a teen social media ban. Spain is pushing legislation, and Denmark and Malaysia plan to implement bans this year.
• Global social media users total 5.2 billion, with 300–500 million estimated under 16.
• South Korea has yet to engage in serious discussion.
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53% Return to Work After Childbirth.

• Results from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs survey.
• 25% had stopped working before childbirth.
• When asked why they quit after childbirth, 25% answered, “No place to leave the child.”

ICYMI.

SK Hynix Performance Bonus Hits 2,064% of Base Salary.

• They decided to pay 10% of operating profit as a performance bonus. Last year’s operating profit was 47 trillion won—10% equals 4.7 trillion won.
• For someone earning 100 million won annually, that means a performance bonus of 148.2 million won.
• The dominant forecast is that SK Hynix will again generate over 100 trillion won in operating profit this year.
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Coupang Exodus to Naver Plus.

• According to Wise App Retail, Naver Plus MAU (Monthly Active Users) increased by 10% to 7.09 million. Coupang decreased by 3% to 33.18 million—still over four times larger.
• According to IGAWorks Mobile Index, Coupang app installations last month fell by nearly 60,000 to 470,000. 11th Street and G Market benefited from the spillover.

Worth Reading.

If Robots Work, Do Humans Just Play?

• It used to take 50,000 hours for a person to pick 45kg of cotton. With machinery, it now takes 300 hours. Did employment decrease? No—it rose from 170,000 to 350,000.
• Did the internet reduce employment? New jobs emerged. One-third of today’s jobs didn’t exist 25 years ago.
• Jang Young-wook (Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy) predicted, “New industries, roles, and jobs will continue to be created.” What if the population declines? Increase immigration.
• Jang emphasized, “It is humanity’s role to reshape the future in response to technological challenges” and “Immigrants, too, stand with humans—not machines.”
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Trump Loses Steam, Takarachi Rages.

• Trump is sputtering after rampages in Venezuela, Greenland, and Minneapolis.
• The EU has counterattacked, signing a free trade agreement with India.
• Coincidentally, Keir Starmer (UK Prime Minister) just returned from a visit to China, declaring, “The UK will not be forced to choose between the U.S. and China.”
• Mark Carney (Canadian Prime Minister) warned at the Davos Forum, “We are already in the middle of a divided era,” emphasizing, “If rules don’t protect us, we must protect ourselves.”
• Takarachi Sanae (Japanese Prime Minister) has no intention of smoothing relations with China. After provocatively declaring, “A Taiwan contingency is a crisis for Japan’s survival,” she dissolved the cabinet. The Liberal Democratic Party is likely to secure a majority in next week’s election. If they also secure constitutional amendment seats, they’ll push to enshrine the Self-Defense Forces’ legal basis in the constitution.
• Jeong Ui-gil (Senior Reporter, Hankyoreh) stressed, “Between a faltering U.S., an expanding China like a dinosaur, and a Japan clinging to hostility, we too must navigate without being forced to choose.”
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Quelling Insurrection, But Property? Not So Much.

• Kim Chang-gyun (Chosun Ilbo editorial director) pointed out, “Policies should be judged as successes or failures, but the president frames them as wins or losses.”
• “Citizens aren’t holding on because they’re braver than the president. They didn’t sell their homes because they feared losses if they followed his advice. Threats don’t work in the market. You need to present a calculation showing that selling is more rational.”
• Kim Chang-gyun warned, “Everyone has experienced how impulsive midnight ideas, written without restraint, flow emotionally—and how cringe-worthy they seem when read the next day with a clear mind.” This was a jab at Lee Jae-myung’s X politics.
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Feedback.

Rich People Fleeing? A Flawed Report.

• Yesterday, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry cited Henry & Partners data to argue that high inheritance taxes are driving overseas emigration.
• Slowletter previously criticized this claim but there were already concerns about the data’s credibility.
• The Financial Times called it “unreliable.”
• The data is not only dubious but may have been manipulated. Tax Policy Associates assessed, “It should be treated as marketing material.”
• Will the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry retract this commentary?
• Subscriber opinion:
• “Who conditioned citizens to distrust government policy, only to now demonize them for not believing it? I trusted the government’s 2018 policy on rental market stabilization and housing price control, registered as a rental business owner, and have been stuck for nine years—unable to raise rents on my multi-family housing (20-pyeong 1-room, 15-pyeong 2-room) by even 5% annually, and forbidden from selling without penalties. Now they threaten additional transfer taxes if I don’t sell? What should multi-homeowners who followed government policy do?”
• “Illegal subcontracting and irregular employment must be banned after May 9. Impossible? I eagerly await the president’s words: ‘Don’t miss this final chance!’”
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