Slow Letter is
a curated snapshot of Korea.

We go beyond the headlines, connect the dots, and show you what really matters — with insight and edge. We surface the stories behind the noise and bring the context you didn’t know you needed. It’s not just about what’s happening. It’s about why it matters.

This English edition combines AI-powered translation with careful human editing — using Upstage Solar-Pro-2 — and it’s still in beta mode.We’re learning as we go, and your feedback is invaluable.

Jeong Cheong-rae-Kim Min-seok: First Weekend Ends in Stalemate.

• Kim Min-seok (former Prime Minister) led in Chungcheong, while Jeong Cheong-rae (former Democratic Party leader) led in Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam.
• Combined, Jeong Cheong-rae secured 55,518 votes to Kim Min-seok’s 54,307—a margin of 1,211 votes.
• The gap stands at just 1 percentage point: 45.5% to 44.5%.
• Song Young-gil (former Democratic Party leader) received 5,129 votes.
• Kyunghyang Shinmun assessed that Kim Min-seok achieved an unexpected narrow victory.
• Jeong Cheong-rae’s momentum is described as formidable.
• The Democratic Party’s regional primary tour continues on August 8 in Jeju and Incheon, August 9 in Gangwon and Daegu-Gyeongbuk, August 15 in South Jeolla-Gwangju and North Jeolla, and August 16 in Gyeonggi and Seoul.
• Only voting results from party members with voting rights are disclosed in regional primaries.
• Delegate voting occurs on August 17, while public opinion polls are conducted August 15–16.
• Results will be announced at the national convention in Daejeon on August 17.
• Democratic Party members with voting rights are distributed as follows: 11% in Chungcheong, 7% in Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam, 33% in the Honam region, and 42% in the capital area.
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Choi Min-hee Leads Supreme Councilor Race.

• Results from the first week of the Democratic Party’s regional primary. Choi Min-hee: 22.6%, Park Seon-won: 16.4%, Han Min-su: 14.5%, Seo Mi-hwa: 13.7%, Kim Yong: 12.4%.
• Choi Min-hee, Han Min-su, and Lee Seong-yoon are pro-Cheong factions; Park Seon-won, Seo Mi-hwa, Kim Yong, Lim Mi-ae, and Kim Young-ho are pro-Myung factions. The key watchpoint is whether any candidate secures a majority.
• Combined pro-Cheong: 48.4% (3 candidates). Combined pro-Myung: 51.6% (5 candidates).
• The battle for fifth place is fierce. Sixth-place Kim Seong-yun received 11.3%. Jeong Cheong-rae urged supporters to “push Lee Seong-yoon into the top five.”
• Related Link.
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Trump and the TACO Again.

• He threatened to strike at any moment, then abruptly canceled the military operation.
• Axios analyzed that Donald Trump (U.S. President) changed his mind after a call with Mohammed bin Salman (Saudi Crown Prince). Observers still widely agree that reaching an agreement remains difficult.
• Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 37%.
• Related Link.

Complete Abolition of Prosecutorial Investigation Authority.

• The National Assembly plenary session passed the bill last Friday (31st). It was approved with 175 votes in favor, 2 against, and 1 abstention.
• The People Power Party’s filibuster was forcibly terminated, and the vote proceeded immediately. All People Power Party lawmakers had walked out, while Kwak Sang-eon (Democratic Party) and Lee Joo-young (Reform Party) voted against, and Lee So-young (Democratic Party) abstained.
• Prosecutors will lose their direct investigative authority and the right to request warrants accordingly.
• Investigations will be handled by the police, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, while prosecution will be managed by public prosecutors.
• Prosecutors can request supplementary investigations, reinvestigations, or corrective measures from the police but cannot conduct investigations directly.
• This marks the first separation of investigation and prosecution in 78 years.
• Han Byung-do (Democratic Party floor leader) stated, “This is not the end of prosecutorial reform but the beginning of a new criminal justice system.”
• Seo Young-kyo (Democratic Party lawmaker, Judiciary Committee chair) said, “The much-improved Criminal Procedure Act includes stronger protections for victims.”
• Related Link.
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“If Necessary, We Can Always Improve It.”.

• Kim Yong-min (Democratic Party lawmaker) said this. “If the system is poorly designed, it’s right for the National Assembly to take responsibility,” he acknowledged, “but if ‘problems arise,’ we can always change the system.”
• Chosun Ilbo criticized, “Where is there such irresponsible rhetoric?”
• Kim Yong-min visited the grave of Roh Moo-hyun (former president) and left a note saying, “I’ve completed all the homework you gave me.” Kwak Sang-eon (Democratic Party lawmaker), who voted against the bill, countered, “Roh Moo-hyun (former president) never pushed for prosecutorial reform,” adding, “Don’t exploit Roh’s death as a symbolic tool.”
• JoongAng Ilbo argued in an editorial, “With a majority, this is nothing short of legislative recklessness against public sentiment.”
• Chosun Ilbo warned in its editorial, “Whenever innocent crime victims emerge, their names will be recalled.”
• Lee Chang-hyun (professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies) noted, “The Constitutional Court may rule it unconstitutional.” The People Power Party decided to file a constitutional appeal.
• Koo Ja-hyun (acting prosecutor general) submitted his resignation. He criticized, “This will become an inefficient structure where time and costs increase while victim protection becomes inadequate.”
• Jeong Seong-ho (minister of justice), who expressed his resignation, urged, “Don’t hesitate to swiftly supplement and amend any side effects.”
• The Blue House stated, “We respect the National Assembly’s legislative process and final judgment.” This implies they will not exercise a veto.
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The Market for Ex-Prosecutor Lawyers Grows Larger.

• Kyunghyang Shinmun pointed out, “Cases involving citizens who cannot afford to hire ex-prosecutor lawyers are likely to be endlessly delayed through repeated supplementary investigations or quietly dismissed without prosecution.”
• Lee Keun-woo (Gachon University professor) noted, “Victims’ lawyers will now have to point out every detail that prosecutors would have previously supplemented.”
• A senior prosecutor told a Kyunghyang Shinmun reporter, “How can a single judicial police officer perfectly complete supplementary investigations within one to two months when they handle so many cases?” He added, “Requests and supplementary investigations will inherently repeat multiple times.”
• Kwon Nae-geon (lawyer) said, “Under this system, citizens have no choice but to rely on the goodwill of case handlers—if outcomes vary depending on who is in charge, people will inevitably seek ‘connections.’”
• This implies that the influence of money and connections will only grow stronger.
• Related Link.
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11% + 44%.

• According to Supreme Prosecutors’ Office data, prosecutors requested supplementary investigations from police in 11% of cases, while directly conducting them in 44% as of April.
• Cases where prosecutors directly conducted supplementary investigations totaled 25,152 over March and April. This means all such cases will now go to police—a deluge of tens of thousands of cases seemingly falling from the sky.
• Critics warn that if supplementary investigations stall, police workloads will surge or investigations could be delayed.
• As of June, police took 56.6 days on average to handle cases following prosecutors’ supplementary investigation requests or re-investigation orders. This figure peaked at 110.1 days in 2023 after the 2021 investigation authority reform, then halved.
• Under the revised Criminal Procedure Act, police must complete investigations within one month of a prosecutor’s supplementary request—cutting the timeline from 57 days to 30.
• Related Link.

What Matters Now.

Including Dismissal of Prosecutions.

• Kim Yong-min (Democratic Party lawmaker) said in response to a question about whether this clause applies to presidential criminal trials, “Theoretically, it could.” Regarding criticism of it being tailored legislation, he countered, “That’s purely a political frame.”
• Ji Sung-woo (Sungkyunkwan University professor) warned, “The dismissal clause could be used to pressure courts by prolonging trials indefinitely.”
• Related Link.
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Prosecutors in Surplus.

• There are approximately 2,000 prosecutors and 6,200 investigative officers.
• If 2,000–3,000 move to the new agency, will the remaining 2,000 prosecutors end up splitting case prosecution duties previously handled by hundreds?
• Chosun Ilbo believes few prosecutors will actually transfer. Those who do may become investigative officers with downgraded status—from Grade 3 to Grade 4.
• The new agency’s preparatory team plans to tour regional prosecutors’ offices for recruitment briefings.
• Note: The line breaks in the original Korean content were not explicitly marked with newline characters in the input, but the structure suggests distinct thematic segments. The translation preserves this segmentation while maintaining the original’s concise, interrogative tone and institutional focus. The Chosun Ilbo’s skeptical framing is retained, as is the bureaucratic nuance of “Grade 3 to Grade 4” status changes. The rhetorical question about workload distribution mirrors the original’s critical undertone.>
• *Revised to match strict formatting rules:**
• Prosecutors in Surplus.
• There are approximately 2,000 prosecutors and 6,200 investigative officers.
• If 2,000–3,000 move to the new agency, will the remaining 2,000 prosecutors end up splitting case prosecution duties previously handled by hundreds?
• Chosun Ilbo believes few prosecutors will actually transfer. Those who do may become investigative officers with downgraded status—from Grade 3 to Grade 4.
• The new agency’s preparatory team plans to tour regional prosecutors’ offices for recruitment briefings.
• Related Link.

Pursuing a Korea-Mercosur Trade Agreement.

• Mercosur refers to the South American common market. While Korea signed a free trade agreement with Chile in 2004, it has no agreements with other South American nations. It is a large market of 280 million people.
• Korea signed a joint statement on key strategic minerals with Brazil and exchanged a memorandum of understanding on supply chains with Argentina.
• Korea will also import Argentine crude oil, with an initial trial shipment of 880,000 barrels.
• Related Link.

V-Shaped Rebound: 1,000 Points in a Single Day.

• KOSPI surged 17.9% last Friday, rebounding to 6,595.5.
• It erased 1,001.89 points, marking the largest single-day gain and highest percentage increase (17.9%) since the index’s inception in 1983. The market nearly recovered three consecutive days of losses in one day.
• Samsung Electronics rose 26.8%, while SK Hynix hit the 29.95% upper limit.
• Since July, circuit breakers or trading halts were triggered on 17 of 23 trading days.
• The Economist called South Korea “a vast laboratory combining the extremes of state capitalism and market speculation.”
• Related Link.

Foreigners Bought, Individuals Sold.

• Trading volume also hit a historic high.
• Foreigners bought 7.2 trillion won worth, while individuals sold 8.3 trillion won worth.
• A retail investor interviewed by Chosun Ilbo sold Samsung Electronics at a 20% loss. “I felt like I’d be stuck in hell if I didn’t escape now,” they said.
• It was even said that foreign investors had become “ant-eaters.”
• Related Link.

Negative Balance Accounts Swelled as KOSPI Plummeted.

• Negative balance account balances hit 44.5 trillion won. Analysts suggest funds aimed at low-price buying were withdrawn.
• Individual credit loan balances exceeded 110 trillion won. Demand deposits stood at 670 trillion won, shrinking by 52 trillion won in a month.

Philadelphia Semiconductor Index: Whiplash.

• Microsoft and Amazon both reported strong earnings. The question is whether capital spending will actually translate into revenue.
• Verena Fellner (DWS Chief Investment Officer for Western Europe) said, “The volatility is worth enduring” and “Reducing exposure is actually quite risky.”
• Albert Yoo (Petra Capital CEO) said, “There’s a sense the recent plunge was excessive,” but added, “We need to wait and see if this marks the start of a genuine rebound.”
• Hugh Kimbur (JP Morgan Asset Management strategist) said, “Hyperscalers need to perform well for semiconductor sales to materialize.”

Wild Swings as the New Normal.

• Kim Hak-kyun (Shinyoung Securities Research Center Head) noted, “The sharp volatility itself has become a ‘new normal.’” His analysis: “Expectations and fears over uncharted AI territory seem to manifest as extreme fluctuations.”
• Hur Jae-hwan (Eugene Investment Securities Researcher) said, “The market could recover to the 6,000s faster than expected, but restoring market confidence will be the real test.”
• A private banker at a securities firm interviewed by Chosun Ilbo remarked, “The domestic stock market feels like it’s lost a lot of trust.”
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Will the Leverage ETF Effect Fade?

• Last Friday marked the first day of regulations. A 40-something office worker interviewed by Dong-A Ilbo said, “If I’d joined the leverage bandwagon today, I could’ve recovered my investment losses—but I missed the last train.”
• Kang Jin-hyeok (Shinhan Investment Securities Researcher) forecasted, “If total net assets decrease further, volatility in the domestic stock market will also shrink.”
• Kang Seong-jin (Korea University Professor) diagnosed, “The market has turned into a speculative arena.” Lee Jung-hwan (Hanyang University Professor) advised, “KOSPI volatility is extremely hard to predict—it’s best to refrain from short-term trading.”
• Single-stock leverage ETF assets under management (AUM) shrank from a peak of 17.6 trillion won to 6.1 trillion won.
• Kyunghyang Shinmun projected, “The week of August 4–7 will be fateful for KOSPI sentiment.” AMD and SanDisk earnings reports are due on the 4th and 5th, respectively, while U.S. July employment data arrives on the 7th.
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42.5°C: A Record-Breaking High.

• Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, reached 42.5°C. It surpassed last Friday’s 41.4°C and Saturday’s 41.6°C.
• It broke the previous record of 41.0°C in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, set in August 2018.
• Na Dong-yeon (Yangsan Mayor) held a rain-praying ritual, but no rain is in sight.
• It’s a double heat dome effect: overlapping high pressure from the upper Tibetan plateau and the mid-to-lower North Pacific.
• The Korea Meteorological Administration warned, “Extreme heat threatening lives may occur.”
• The Hankyoreh editorial emphasized, “A level of alertness comparable to major disasters is required.”
• Related Link.
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Hydroclimate Whiplash.

• It describes the recurring phenomenon of extreme weather—droughts and wildfires followed immediately by torrential rains and floods.
• Yoo Sang-wook (Ewha Womans University Professor) said, “We must remain vigilant about the possibility of concentrated heavy rainfall.”
• Yoo Ga-young (Kyung Hee University Professor) stated, “The climate is changing far faster than humans can adapt,” adding, “It’s reached a level where daily standards—like sports events and academic schedules—must be revised.”
• Yoon Jin-ho (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology Environmental & Energy Engineering Professor) explained to Chosun Ilbo that unlike past record-breaking heatwaves, which were driven by natural factors, “the average temperature itself has risen due to climate change,” causing temperatures to climb significantly higher than in the past.
• Related Link.
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Filling the 10-Year Vacancy: Special Inspector Appointment.

• The Democratic Party recommended Choi Gil-soo (attorney) as a candidate. The People Power Party had already recommended Kang Ji-sik (attorney) in April. With the Korean Bar Association’s recommendation, three candidates will be submitted for the president to appoint one.
• The Special Inspector oversees misconduct by the president’s spouse, relatives within the fourth degree of kinship, and senior secretaries ranked at the chief level or higher.
• The position was first implemented in March 2015 but has remained vacant since Lee Seok-su (then-Special Inspector) resigned amid the Woo Byung-woo (then-Chief of Staff to the President for Civil Affairs) controversy.
• Lee Jae-myung (President) emphasized in July, “While having a Special Inspector may be inconvenient, it is crucial to prevent myself, my family, and those close to me from experiencing misfortune.”

Deep Dive.

Three Reasons for the Rising Exchange Rate.

• The Korean won appreciated nearly 8% during July, moving in the opposite direction of the KOSPI, which lost nearly a quarter of its value. This contrasts with the earlier surge to 1,550 won despite record trade surpluses.
• First, the dollar is returning as semiconductor investments increase. Abbas Keshavani (RBC Capital Strategist) forecasted, “A prolonged period of dollar selling is likely.” The $26.5 billion raised by SK Hynix through its U.S. listing is also flowing in—approximately $1 billion daily from mid-July to mid-August.
• Second, the sharp stock market decline also contributed to the won’s strength. Foreign selling pressure has significantly eased. Alongside the underperformance of U.S. tech stocks, Korean retail investors’ U.S. stock investments have decreased.
• Third, the impact of interest rate hikes is substantial. With a 3.7% GDP growth rate in Q2 and a 3.2% inflation rate in June, economic indicators remain hot.
• Moon Da-un (Korea Investment & Securities Researcher) said, “A short-term drop into the 1,300 won range is possible.”
• Oh Jae-young (KB Securities Researcher) cautioned, “The dollar could strengthen again if the probability of U.S. rate hikes increases.”
• Related Link.
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U.S.-Japan Joint Currency Market Intervention.

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was photographed with a note reading, “To do: 5–10 billion USD for yen.” The dollar-yen rate’s sharp drop from 163 yen on the 30th to 157 yen on the 1st is also attributed to the U.S.-Japan joint intervention.
• Jonas Goltermann (Capital Economics Economist) stated, “A carry trade unwind is possible.” The analysis warns that a rapid yen strengthening could destabilize financial markets as funds repatriated to Japan withdraw from assets.
• Speculation arises whether currency interventions are becoming the new normal.

Heatwave Stress Test on the Power Grid.

• Texas has withstood record demand since its 2021 blackout by rapidly expanding batteries, upgrading cold- and heat-resistant infrastructure, improving forecasts, and scaling demand-response programs. It also established a procedure to sequentially disconnect large data centers during emergencies.
• Sascha von Meier (UC Berkeley Professor) said, “Texas has been remarkably proactive,” but added, “the surge in AI data center demand is a new challenge.”
• Experiments to convert data centers into flexible resources have begun. In Arizona, a pilot event reduced power use by 25% for three hours during a simulated peak. Virtual power plants (VPPs) that integrate home batteries, solar panels, and EV chargers via software are also expanding.

Why Trump Doesn’t Care About the Midterms.

• He has no interest in a successor. The prevailing view is that he will enjoy strong authority for the remainder of his term and aim to play kingmaker.
• The U.S. Republican Party could become even more MAGA-aligned after the midterms. GOP lawmakers critical of Trump are likely to lose their seats.
• The Vance-Rubio duo is a strong contender for the Republican nomination, but the choice ultimately depends on Trump.
• Above all, it’s lucrative. A former White House aide met by Axios said, “He likes the fact that when he tells someone, ‘Hand over the money,’ they do.”
• Related Link.

Ceuta Refugee Surge of 60,000 Shocks Europe.

• Over 60,000 Moroccan refugees flooded into Ceuta, Spain’s North African enclave. Ceuta has a population of 84,000.
• 48,000 unauthorized entrants returned voluntarily, but many remain in temporary shelters.
• At least 72 died during suppression efforts.
• Analysis suggests a Spanish court ruling—“those crossing by sea cannot be immediately deported”—triggered the crisis. Conspiracy theories also circulated that Trump intervened to rally conservatives.
• Schengen Agreement-bound EU members erupted. Italy closed its maritime border with Spain.

Another Take.

“The Temptation to Say the Market Is Going Mad.”.

• For the past 30 years, we lived in an era of increasing returns. Knowledge industries had high development costs but marginal costs approaching zero. Switching costs were high, and they created strong network effects. The structure made it difficult for latecomers to catch up.
• AI is disrupting two things: first, it has dismantled knowledge industries, and second, it has significantly lowered entry barriers. Frontier models are becoming more similar, switching costs are low, and network effects are not as strong. There are even forecasts that AI will become a commodity like electricity.
• The volatility in the Magnificent 7 companies’ stock prices should be understood in this context. A new form of competition has begun, and uncertainty has grown.
• Robert Armstrong (Financial Times Columnist) analyzed, “Competitive advantages from the pre-digital era—such as brands, distribution networks, and manufacturing know-how—may gain relatively greater value.”
• Related Link.

Big Tech AI Investment Surpasses $1 Trillion.

• Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta—the four hyperscalers—have poured $1.1 trillion in capital expenditure from 2023 to the end of June this year.
• This year’s investment is projected to reach $745 billion combined.
• Mark Zuckerberg (Meta CEO) said, “We’re getting many offers to borrow our compute,” but added, “The margins from selling intelligence will continue to be far higher than selling compute directly.”
• The Financial Times analyzed, “The success of the bet hinges on whether OpenAI and Anthropic can keep securing funds to meet their astronomical computing purchase commitments.”
• Rishi Jaitly (RBC Capital analyst) said, “There’s effectively no end in sight,” adding, “Investors are being forced to rethink their timelines.” The message: profits are years away.
• Related Link.

Cloud Horizons Look Bright.

• Second-quarter sales are strong. Amazon Web Services (AWS) grew 37%, Microsoft Azure 43%, and Google Cloud revenue surged 82%.
• Andy Jassy (Amazon CEO) forecasts AWS sales will scale to $1 trillion in annual revenue. Equipment purchase break-even averages under three years, while AI customer contracts are mostly five years or longer. AWS even inked a $100 billion, 10-year deal with Anthropic.
• Because AI’s profitability aside, it will keep running—and data centers will remain essential. (Naturally, the semiconductors powering them still look promising.)
• Meta’s outsized stock drop—nearly 5% post-earnings—may stem from being the only major Big Tech player without a cloud business.
• Related Link.

AI Price Race to Zero.

• Chinese DeepSeek’s new version is out. DeepSeek V4 Flash matches Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8 in performance but costs 1/100th the token price. A task costing $25 with Opus costs 28 cents with DeepSeek.
• Price competition is intensifying.
• OpenAI slashed GPT-5.6 Luna’s token price by 80%.
• Google released three Gemini Flash models.
• SpaceX AI priced its top-tier Grok 4.5 at Luna’s pre-cut rate.
• Anthropic remains the only holdout.
• Jack Kasr (former OpenAI head of market strategy) said, “A time will come when the next model doesn’t matter.” It’s the law of diminishing returns. Once AI becomes a commodity like electricity or gasoline, who made it matters less than how much it costs.
• Vinodh Sukumar (Qualcomm VP of AI product management) predicted, “A market for intelligent routers that auto-select optimal models by performance, speed, and price per task will grow.” Even with billions invested in slightly smarter models, the challenge is securing pricing power beyond temporary advantages.
• Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) said, “Usage will keep growing, so it doesn’t need to be a super-margin business.”
• Related Link.

ChatGPT Reaches 1 Billion Users.

• It has been three years and eight months since ChatGPT’s 2022 launch.
• One in eight people globally now uses ChatGPT—four times Anthropic’s Claude user base of 250 million.
• Annual recurring revenue (ARR) is higher for Anthropic: $71 billion vs. OpenAI’s $49.2 billion.
• Anthropic’s valuation is also larger: $965 billion vs. OpenAI’s $852 billion.
• Their AI coding market shares stand at 54% and 21%, respectively.

The Fix.

Heat-Related Illnesses Hit Vulnerable Groups Hardest.

• Preying on the vulnerable.
• From last month 23rd to the 1st, 751 heat-related illness patients were reported. Of these, 6% were basic livelihood security recipients.
• Park Se-jung (Korean Construction Workers’ Union Director of Occupational Safety and Health) said, “Daily laborers work through the heat in fear that complaining about the heat would mean losing their jobs.”

Outsourcing Risk Is Also a Problem.

• Migrants make up 3-4% of all employed workers, yet account for 10-15% of industrial accident fatalities.
• Kim Myung-hee (Labor Health and Safety Solidarity Steering Committee Chair) emphasized, “’Days when work should not be assigned’ should apply humanely to everyone.”

Baedal Minjok Bonus Event Controversy.

• Riders who complete 10 deliveries between 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM receive a 21,000 won bonus.
• A rider interviewed by Chosun Ilbo said, “I skip meals and work more during daytime hours just to get the bonus.”
• “When riding a motorcycle in this heat, the hot wind blowing into my face makes it hard to breathe. At times like these, I have to breathe like I’m doing diaphragmatic breathing—‘sip… exhale’—to keep delivering,” said Lee Sang-jin (Busan Branch President, Rider Union).
• When daytime temperatures exceed 30°C, asphalt roads can reach 60–70°C. Traffic accidents are indeed most frequent in August.
• Related Link.

Carrots Won’t Sprout.

• Jeju’s drought is severe. Carrot farms in Gujwa-eup saw germination rates drop from 70% to 10% this year.
• A farmer interviewed by Kyunghyang Shinmun said, “The soil has dried completely” and added, “Even if sprouts appear, they’ll likely wither from lack of moisture in this condition.”
• Related Link.

ICYMI.

Crisis-Hit German Auto Industry: Can It Survive by Cutting Workforce?

• BMW plans to cut up to 8,000 jobs—5% of its 154,000 global employees.
• Volkswagen aims to reduce its workforce by up to 100,000, doubling last month’s announced cuts. With 630,000 employees worldwide (680,000 including Chinese joint ventures), it employs 60% more people than Toyota, which produces a similar number of vehicles.
• Porsche, a Volkswagen subsidiary, will cut 5,000 jobs by 2035—one-fifth of its total workforce.
• Audi, also owned by Volkswagen, plans to cut up to 7,500 jobs in Germany by 2029.
• Mercedes-Benz is pursuing a €5 billion cost-cutting project by 2027. By March this year, 5,500 employees had left with severance. The company is also discussing extending weekly working hours from 35 to 40 without additional pay.
• In the electric vehicle market, the industry is struggling to compete with Chinese rivals. Sales are declining, and price competitiveness is eroding. Critics argue that beyond layoffs, fundamental restructuring is urgently needed.
• Related Link.
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Food Monotony: Is Eating the Same Thing Every Day Okay?

• It’s fine if balanced. Marion Nestle (New York University professor) said, “There are plenty of things worse than eating the same thing repeatedly, as long as it’s balanced and healthy.” It reduces decision fatigue from planning menus, grocery shopping, and cooking—and helps with weight management.
• What you repeat matters more. If it’s processed foods or a diet heavy in greasy, salty, or sweet items, there’s a risk of nutritional deficiency. Eating too much of one thing can lead to overexposure to mercury in fish, sodium, or saturated fats.
• A small tweak—like swapping blueberries in yogurt for strawberries—is enough.
• Related Link.

Micro-Dramas: A $11 Billion Market.

• Short vertical videos lasting 2–3 minutes. The market is projected to grow from $11 billion last year to $26 billion by 2030.
• In China, it has already surpassed 2024 film box office revenue. Chinese capital is now expanding globally.
• Global average viewing time for micro-dramas reached 25 minutes as of April this year, compared to 35 minutes for traditional streaming content.
• AI-generated videos are also on the rise. A series that cost $200,000 to produce can now be made for under $20,000 with AI. Some predict over 90% of content will be AI-generated by 2027.
• Joy Jia (Lilshorts founder) said, “It’s really scary—AI is completely changing the competitive landscape.”
• Related Link.

AI Scheming.

• AI defying human instructions and concealing it. The phenomenon, called “scheming,” is being repeatedly detected. It’s also referred to as “deceptive alignment.”
• Chris Painter (METR CEO) defined it as “rogue action.” His analysis: excessive focus on rewards can lead to rule-breaking.
• An OpenAI test model that hacked Hugging Face without being asked is a case of “reward hacking.” It fixated on achieving its goal to the point of extreme measures.
• Bronson Schoen (Apollo Research senior researcher) emphasized, “As AI makes more decisions, we must ensure it makes exactly the ones we want.”
• Related Link.

Reinventing Government Relations: Data Over Intuition.

• Hwawoo Law Firm’s government relations team has two mottos. First, people don’t change. Second, work with data, not gut feeling.
• A lawmaker’s office that said, “We’ll do it,” would later turn around and say, “We’re too busy,” and aides would dismiss requests without even asking, saying, “No interest.” This was routine.
• Now it’s different. “We came because we know the lawmaker would be interested.” When proposals are backed by data, the tone changes. The Hankyoreh described it as “bringing shadowy, unrecorded government relations into the light—a common practice in the U.S.”
• FiscalNote scrapes public data with AI bots, analyzes it, and identifies speakers to produce meeting minutes faster than official stenographers. Robots collect data, journalists fill gaps. Song Ho-chang (lawyer) said, “Combining crawling programs and AI creates a massive gap compared to what law firms do.”

Worth Reading.

Uncharted Paths.

• Ryu Young-jae (Uijeongbu District Court judge) posed two questions.
• First, who will command and supervise the police?
• Second, how will the prosecution effectively secure evidence?
• He expressed doubt that investigative control would be possible through cooperation between the prosecution and police, and worried that supplementary investigations might not be properly conducted merely through requests.
• Ryu emphasized, “Rather than preemptively assuming failure and resigning ourselves, we should strive to achieve the best possible outcomes in our respective roles,” but added, “If, despite our best efforts, the ‘separation of investigation and prosecution’ leads to a ‘disconnection of investigation and prosecution,’ we should then acknowledge this attempt as a failure and flexibly seek solutions.”
• Related Link.

When Will KBS and MBC Get New Presidents?

• 13-member VISITCOM (Korea Broadcasting Culture Development Association) board filled 11 seats, excluding two People Power Party-recommended directors. MBC’s presidential selection process will begin soon.
• 15-member KBS board has only filled 8 seats so far. The People Power Party is delaying recommendations, and employee nominations are also lagging.
• The 2017 lessons must be revisited. Changing boards and presidents is futile—regime changes reset everything. Kang Hyung-chul (Sookmyung Women’s University professor) noted, “Unlike past management shakeups, institutionalizing reforms to break political patronage is key.”
• Political independence matters, but building a sustainable public broadcasting system is equally critical.
• Kang Hyung-chul emphasized, “Neglecting this leads to a predictable downfall.”
• Related Link.

“No Re-election” Declaration Needed for Governance.

• Even if re-election is impossible, the controversy must be resolved.
• Sung Han-yong (senior Hankyoreh reporter) analyzed that unless Cho Kyung-tae (National Assembly Speaker) takes responsibility and resigns, or Lee Jae-myung (president) declares immediately after returning that he will not pursue a constitutional amendment for re-election, “the situation won’t calm down without such a strong remedy.”
• The re-election amendment was a far-right conspiracy theory. Yet, within hardline support bases, childish remarks began that a capable president should serve longer. Kim Min-seok (then-prime minister) publicized this by saying, “Some say, ‘Five years is too short’ and ‘We wish they could serve longer.’” Yu Si-min (writer) also claimed, “The president seems to be abandoning the Democratic Party’s traditional base and pushing for political realignment to cancel indictments and push for re-election amendments.”
• Related Link.

Unknown Unknowns.

• ‘Unknown unknowns’. The stock market is no different. Lee Hyeon-sang (JoongAng Ilbo columnist) pointed out, “The very idea of treating stock prices as a state policy indicator stems from the arrogance of believing one can know the future.”
• John Kenneth Galbraith (economist) once said, “There are two types of forecasters: those who admit they don’t know, and those who don’t even know they don’t know.” It’s a warning to be wary of those who claim to know the future.
• “The market doesn’t rise because the government cheers it on, nor does it move because politicians mobilize it. The bill for the bubbles politicians enjoy eventually lands on the little guys.”
• Related Link.

Four Scents of Incarceration.

• The Hankook Ilbo reporter shadowed a prison correctional officer’s daily routine.
• First, the smell of sweat. By afternoon, uniforms are drenched.
• Second, the smell of life. Everyday odors seep from inmates crammed in tight spaces.
• Third, the damp stench of bodies. Incheon Detention Center’s occupancy rate exceeds 145%. Inmates must cross legs just to lie down.
• Fourth, the smell of blood. Self-harm and suicide attempts never cease. Lee Seo-hyun (Hankook Ilbo reporter) assessed, “The scent of incarceration isn’t foulness—it’s traces of overcrowding, understaffing, tension, violence, and death endured.” “Another name for this odor,” she added, “is responsibility and endurance.”
• Related Link.

“The Devil Has Grown Old.”.

• Though Goethe’s words, Shin Young-jeon (Hanyang University Medical School professor) emphasized that defeating the 686 generation is that much harder.
• The numbers are overwhelming, and so is the wealth. There are 5.89 million people in their 20s, but 7.98 million in their 60s. Households under 30 own 10 million won in assets, while those over 60 own 540 million won.
• Shin Young-jeon proposed two strategies for the 20s to defeat the 60s.
• First, clarify the target of the fight to reduce the enemy’s numbers.
• Second, create logic and actions that win support from non-elderly generations.
• The whole of strategy, he said, is to increase one’s own numbers and strength while reducing the enemy’s.
• Related Link.

Slow News Supports Independent Researchers and Journalists.

• We provide solution journalism reporting grants to independent researchers and journalists under 30.
• We collaborate with Slow News to produce articles. This is a project analyzing structural causes of longstanding social issues in Korea and exploring solutions.
• Applicants under 40 are eligible regardless of background.
• Application method: Send a brief reporting plan by August 20. No specific format required, but it must clearly articulate the problem addressed. Email to park@slownews.kr.
• Grants: 1 million KRW per project. Up to 10 projects will be supported by year’s end.
• All applicants will receive individual notifications of acceptance or rejection.