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.

Scorching Start to Autumn.

• Yesterday, Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo-gu district hit 40°C—the first time since weather records began. Even today, on Ipchu (autumn’s start), temperatures are expected to reach 39°C.
• Professional baseball suspended games from last Wednesday. Weekend matches were also canceled.
• With Super El Niño effects often peaking the following year, forecasts suggest next summer could be even hotter.
• During three consecutive days above 35°C, Seoul’s public bike-sharing service Ttareungi rentals dropped 12% below average.
• Glass often shatters due to extreme indoor-outdoor temperature gaps.
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Heatflation.

• Spinach prices rose 111% in one month.
• 450,000 farmed fish died. Mackerel auction prices jumped 47% compared to last year.
• Melon yields declined and carrot sowing remains stalled.

“The 52-Hour Workweek Needs Tweaking.”.

• Yesterday, Kim Jeong-gwan (Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy) said, “The system must not suppress the drive and determination of those who want to achieve through hard work.” He argued, “There is a need to adjust working-hour regulations not only in R&D but across advanced industries, including startups.”
• Kim Jeong-gwan emphasized, “The system must not forcibly block willpower.”
• Kim Young-hoon (Minister of Employment and Labor) countered, “Some say the 52-hour exception is like ‘steamed bun without red bean paste,’ but even without it, we’re achieving remarkable results.”
• The remark, “If I had my way, I’d build nuclear plants in the capital region,” also drew attention. Kim Jeong-gwan insisted, “It’s not just about speed—we must go faster,” adding, “For a country like Korea, where renewable energy is scarce and limited, nuclear power is unavoidable.”
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What Matters Now.

“I Haven’t Read It, But…” Controversy.

• JoongAng Ilbo criticized in an editorial, “How can the president not even read a bill passed by Cabinet despite majority public opposition?”
• The Blue House explained, “The president is naturally fully aware of the core contents.”
• Some interpret it as an attempt to emphasize that he did not disagree but merely differed from the Democratic Party’s hardliners.
• Lee Jae-myung (President) said yesterday at a senior secretariat meeting, “Even policies launched with good intentions could harm people’s lives if misapplied—better not to implement them at all,” sparking further divided readings.
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June Current Account Surplus Hits $49.7 Billion.

• A record high for two consecutive months.
• First-half cumulative surplus reached $191.9 billion—1.5 times last year’s annual surplus of $123.1 billion.
• Semiconductors’ share of total exports rose from 25% in June last year to 44% this June.
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Semiconductor Employment at Half the Level.

• Growth without jobs. The Korea Labor Institute analyzed, “The link between growth and employment has weakened.”
• This year’s employment rate is 62.7%, 0.2 percentage points lower than last year. The unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 2.9%. Falling employment and rising unemployment are bad signals.
• The semiconductor industry’s job creation coefficient is 1.86 workers. It’s less than half of the manufacturing average of 4.85 workers.
• The wage gap between high- and low-income workers narrowed from 5.5 times in 2010 to 3.5 times in 2020, but widened again to 3.6 times in 2024. Kim Soo-hyun (Korea Labor Market Research Institute researcher) analyzed, “The key to reversing wage inequality trends since 2020 lies in the relative wage decline of low-income workers.”
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Draft Hormuz Agreement Emerges.

• No tolls for 60 days, but Iran retains control over shipping routes.
• Fees are discussed at 5–7%, with Iran collecting and sharing them with Oman. At $80 per barrel, a 2 million-barrel tanker would pay $11.2 million.
• David De Rodier (former U.S. Defense Department director) said, “The best agreement achievable now is one that accepts Iran’s control.” Chances of a deal are 50-50. The Financial Times analyzed, “Trump is finding it increasingly difficult to frame any agreement as a victory.”
• All three major U.S. indices fell yesterday. The S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq dropped -0.18%, -0.85%, and -0.06%, respectively.

Deep Dive.

Calls to Vacate Begin.

• It’s the effect of the tax reform. Non-resident single-homeowners are increasingly evicting tenants. The implication: more single-homeowners will move in themselves.
• The government decided to differentiate the comprehensive real estate tax deduction between residents and non-residents. For resident single-homeowners, the deduction rises from 1.2 billion won to 1.4 billion won based on official prices. For non-resident single-homeowners, it drops from 1.2 billion won to 900 million won.
• Chosun Ilbo analyzed that 370,000 households in Seoul and Gyeonggi—who signed jeonse contracts within the past two years—risk losing renewal. Non-resident single-homeowners number around 830,000 in Seoul and 1.02 million in Gyeonggi.
• Ko Jong-wan (Korea Asset Management Research Institute director) said, “Even if a 7-billion-won property is sold cheaply, only cash-rich buyers can afford it due to loan restrictions.” He added, “This has nothing to do with stabilizing housing for ordinary people—the top priority of real estate policy.”
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“Public Sentiment Is Severely Alienated.”.

• “Lawmakers representing high-end housing districts should consider themselves dead.”
• Democratic Party lawmakers held a closed-door meeting. “Uniform taxation on apartments worth 2 billion won in Seoul is tax reverse discrimination,” one remarked. There were opposing views: “We cannot retreat.”
• Kim Young-jin (Democratic Party lawmaker) said, “First, just shut up and supply.” Yoon Geon-young (Democratic Party lawmaker) said, “It’s right to untangle the tangled parts.”
• Lee Hyeong-il (Vice Minister of Economy and Finance) said, “We are preparing to expand the postponement of mandatory residency requirements.” This indicates awareness of public backlash.
• Choi Eun-young (Director of the Korea Urban Institute) pointed out, “If living in a residence for just one year qualifies for a tax deduction, homeowners can evict tenants and simply relocate their household registration,” adding, “Without verifying actual residency each time, there’s room for abuse.”
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30s Rate Real Estate Policy 70% Negative.

• 62% answered, “They are doing it very wrong.”
• A HanGil Research survey. Overall responses: 36% positive, 58% negative.
• 54% also said the stock market policy is being handled poorly.
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Oh’s Counterattack: “Greenbelt Cannot Be Lifted.”.

• Today’s real estate review meeting chaired by the president was preceded by a Seoul-hosted debate—deliberately timed.
• Oh Se-hoon (Seoul Mayor) said, “Are they failing to control prices while only raising jeonse and monthly rents?”
• Oh Se-hoon drew a line: “I cannot agree to using even part of Yongsan Park for housing supply.” While state-owned land ownership rests with the central government, Seoul holds urban planning authority—such as zoning and district unit plans—so its resistance could severely disrupt supply measures.
• Lee Chang-mu (Hanyang University professor) said, “They’re evicting young jeonse and monthly rent households, evicting the elderly, leaving only asset-rich classes.” Kim Ji-yeop (Sungkyunkwan University professor) noted, “They’re fighting windmills while the enemy is elsewhere.”
• Kim Jun-young (Chairman of the Seoul Urban Improvement Business Federation) said, “It feels less like ‘national policy’ and more like ‘state violence.’”
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Another Take.

From Strategic to Tactical Nuclear Weapons.

• First, distinguish between strategic and tactical nuclear weapons. Strategic nuclear weapons are megaton-class bombs capable of obliterating entire cities. They are launched via ICBMs. Tactical nuclear weapons are bombs under 20kt designed to strike limited military targets. They can be fired via short-range missiles, fighter jets, or artillery.
• South Korea once hosted over 700 tactical nuclear weapons, but all were withdrawn after the 1991 denuclearization declaration. This was based on the assumption that strategic nuclear weapons from the U.S. mainland and Pacific bases could deter both China and North Korea.
• The recent claim by Elbridge Colby (U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense) at a closed-door symposium—advocating for expanded short-range tactical nuclear weapons—is noteworthy. China continues to increase its nuclear warheads, and tensions across the Taiwan Strait are escalating.
• From the U.S. perspective, attacking China with strategic nuclear weapons risks retaliatory strikes on the U.S. homeland. However, deploying tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea or Japan could turn those countries into nuclear tripwires.
• The JoongAng Ilbo warned in an editorial, “The increased possibility of nuclear weapon use could raise the risk of conventional wars escalating into nuclear conflicts.”
• The Hankyoreh noted in its editorial, “U.S. attempts to prevent all-out nuclear confrontation might paradoxically lower the threshold for tactical nuclear weapon use.”
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“Ideals Are What Change Reality.”.

• Spoken by Jeong Dong-young (Unification Minister) to reporters.
• A clash occurred during the Blue House briefing. When he insisted on four-party talks, Cho Hyun (Foreign Minister) dismissed it as “idealistic wishful thinking” and asked to “discount it.” He also insisted on referring to North Korea as “Chosun.”
• The Unification Ministry issued a statement: “Our approach is not idealism but the most realistic at this juncture.”
• JoongAng Ilbo claimed, “The rift between the alliance faction and the autonomy faction has resurfaced.” President Lee Jae-myung leans toward the alliance faction. A ruling party insider remarked, “On North Korea policy, Minister Jeong advances three steps, President Lee one step, and National Security Director Wi Sung-lak 0.4 steps.”
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Has the Fire Been Extinguished for Samsung Electronics Leverage ETFs?

• Trading volume once exceeded 12 trillion won, but yesterday it fell below 1 trillion won.
• Raising margin requirements is credited with cooling speculation. In July, Kospi intraday volatility averaged 7.1%, but dropped to 3.6% in August—the first half average was 3.3%.
• Yesterday, the Kospi index fell 4.9% to 6296.3. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix plummeted 6.3% and 10.4%, respectively.
• SK Hynix ADS, listed on Nasdaq, dropped 5.0%.

Aftershocks of the Stock Price Suppression Prevention Act.

• It was part of the tax reform bill. The stated purpose was to block the practice of intentionally keeping stock prices low to reduce inheritance and gift tax burdens.
• For companies with price-to-book ratios (PBR) in the bottom 25% (KOSPI) or 10% (KOSDAQ), taxes will be calculated based on the higher of either 30% above market price or the average closing price over the past 6.5 years.
• Lee So-young (Democratic Party lawmaker) said, “It’s hard to hide our dismay,” pointing out that “with only around 100 companies affected and the additional tax burden negligible, there’s no incentive to normalize stock prices.” She called it “an absurd bill that effectively encourages long-term stock price suppression.”
• The ISA (Individual Savings Account) reform is also controversial. A new “productive finance ISA” will be created, but existing ISA holders will see reduced benefits. They’ll also be barred from selecting overseas ETFs.
• Ahn Cheol-soo (People Power Party lawmaker) criticized, “The government has turned ISA into a patchwork mess,” adding, “They talk about advancing capital markets but are pushing the entire nation toward ‘mindless domestic-only investing.’”
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The Fix.

28°C Without Air Conditioning? Zero-Energy Housing.

• Even as temperatures soared to 38°C on the 4th, the ‘Nowon Zero-Energy Housing’ remained bearable without air conditioning.
• First, passive design with 28cm-thick insulation installed on exterior walls. Triple-glazed windows with special coating were added. The main entrance was reinforced with vacuum insulation and double-packing for enhanced thermal resistance.
• Second, motorized blinds were installed outside windows. Closing the external blinds blocks 75–80% of solar radiation.
• Third, a heat-recovery ventilation system is in place.
• Solar panels and geothermal systems generate energy on-site. Self-sufficiency rate is 98%. While South Korean multi-family housing consumes 1.22 million kWh annually, this apartment used only 480,000 kWh.
• Lee Myeong-joo (Myongji University professor) said, “There’s a strong tendency to perceive zero-energy architecture as a regulatory burden rather than a climate crisis response,” adding, “In an era where heatwaves and cold spells become routine, buildings must go beyond energy savings to ensure human safety.”
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32°C Even With Air Conditioning: Flower Village.

• Homes without air conditioning exceed 40°C indoors.
• Songpa-gu Jangji-dong Flower Village formed when residents, excluded from Seoul’s redevelopment projects since the mid-1980s, built vinyl greenhouses to live in. Around 100 people still reside in 70 households.

Vanishing Beaches.

• Of 225 coastal sites, 100 are rated C (Concern) or D (Critical).
• Rising sea temperatures have intensified waves, disrupting the seasonal balance where winter-eroded sand was replenished in spring and autumn.
• Beaches act as natural breakwaters. Their disappearance not only destroys coastal ecosystems but also leaves shores more vulnerable to typhoons and storms.
• Lee Young-jae (Kyungpook National University professor) said, “In Hawaii, wave-buffering structures like ‘ocean pools’ are built on beaches requiring management to prevent sand loss,” adding, “Beyond the current practice of stacking tetrapods only to lose them and rebuild, alternative measures are needed.”
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The Lesson of the Miryang Transmission Towers.

• The Korea Energy Economics Institute, analyzing the Miryang transmission tower conflict, summarized it as “a social dispute combining diverse issues: resident acceptance, clashes between public interest and residential rights, state authority versus human rights, compensation, and community cohesion.”
• Immediate demand for 15GW and 6.3GW of power exists for the Yongin semiconductor cluster and Honam semiconductor complex, respectively. Kim Chang-hoon (industry department head, Hankook Ilbo) assessed, “Whether mega-projects are politically motivated regional allocations by the administration or corporate bets on the future, the arrow has already left the bow.” “The issue is time,” but Miryang’s lesson is that rushing will not resolve it.
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ICYMI.

“Lord Hynix” Hysteria.

• Showing the vest changed the employees’ eyes. A scene from SNL Korea.
• Bloomberg covered the Hynix fever in South Korea. Lotte Department Store Dongtan branch’s first-half sales rose 25%. Luxury goods sales jumped 40%.
• Semiconductor contract departments have higher cutoff scores than Seoul National University’s natural sciences division.
• A marriage agency manager interviewed by Bloomberg said, “In 15 years, I’ve never seen semiconductor company employees this popular.” There’s even talk that a Hynix vest is the best first-date outfit.
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Why Consultants Survive Even in the AI Era.

• Consulting firms like McKinsey, Bain, and BCG sell three progressively layered services: First, stamping authoritative approval on decisions already made by executives; second, acting as a conduit for benchmarking best practices from other companies; third, boosting productivity. All of these are areas where AI excels.
• Robert Armstrong (Financial Times columnist) pointed out, “Advice is just good or bad—if LLMs do it better, consultants should be fired.”
• Defining problems and redesigning organizations through analysis is the easier part; the real challenge lies in actually making organizations change.
• The information that truly matters is scattered, tacit, often hidden or distorted by those who hold it, and only emerges when people sit down and grapple with it. There’s no dataset to train AI on this.
• In the AI era, strategy consultants don’t sell intelligence—they sell process. The market is inevitably shrinking. The remaining challenges, according to analysis, are how to train juniors without analytical frameworks and how to shift billing from hourly rates to performance-based fees.

AI’s Favorite Brands Differ.

• AI Bigs Lab released the AIBIX index.
• It repeatedly asked consumer questions to Claude and ChatGPT, then quantified how often specific brands appeared.
• By store count, franchise hamburgers rank Mamsterch- Lotteeria- Burger King- McDonald’s, but AI exposure ranked Burger King- McDonald’s- Lotteeria- Mamsterch.
• Rankings varied by AI. Mega MGC Coffee was 1st on Gemini, 3rd on Claude, 5th on Perplexity, and 7th on ChatGPT. For cup ramen, Shin Ramyun led on ChatGPT and Claude, but Yukgaejang Sabal Noodle was 1st on Gemini and Perplexity.
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Worth Reading.

“Prosecutorial Separation Has Become Dogma.”.

• Park Chan-woon (professor, Hanyang University) argued, “Principled rigidity among some progressive lawmakers and legal experts exacerbated the issue.”
• “The separation of investigation and prosecution became dogma at some point, and the perception that ‘without weakening prosecutorial power’ there could be no reform spread among hardline supporters. This explains why public opinion favoring retention didn’t sway them—it’s regrettable they didn’t adopt a more pragmatic approach.”
• “If supplementary investigations become impossible, facts concealed during police probes will remain buried. Substantive truth will depend not on the system but on whistleblowers or media exposés. It’s a shameful state for a civilized nation’s investigative process. Police monopolize investigative authority, yet oversight is woefully inadequate. Proposed controls—full case transfers and supplementary investigation rights—were rejected. The system now relies on police goodwill for follow-ups, despite penalties like investigation deadlines, officer reassignment, and disciplinary requests. Whether these work in practice is doubtful.”
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The Prison of Slogans.

• Hankyoreh was the newspaper that aggressively advocated for the complete separation of investigative and prosecutorial powers. Today, columnist Lee Se-young’s tone differs slightly.
• “Prosecutorial separation was a cognitive frame to intuitively convey the essence of complex judicial reform discourse to the public and clearly present the goal”—but “at some point, the symbol ‘complete separation’ began operating as a doctrinal guideline condemning all compromise and negotiation,” the analysis states.
• Vladimir Lenin (Russian revolutionary), who claimed there could be no revolution without slogans, warned that a revolution ends the moment a slogan becomes dogma.
• Lee Se-young confessed, “It forces a sober reflection on the pathological symptoms of ‘arrival’ and ‘self-imprisonment’ that critically constrained the choices of Korean liberals at crucial moments.” The analysis concludes, “Political symbolic language—devised to draw battle lines and consolidate power—has come to dominate actors’ consciousness and behavior, evaporating the original purpose itself.”
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The Democratic Party’s Three Obsessions.

• Park Sung-min (political consultant) identifies a recurring pattern in the party’s insistence that “this time is different.” First, trauma from real estate price surges; second, excessive fixation on prosecutorial reform; third, pandering to hardline supporters.
• Park Sung-min pointed out, “The Democratic Party tries to resolve ‘moral issues (Starbucks)’ through ‘immoral methods (investigations)’ and ‘immoral issues (real estate)’ through ‘moral methods (justice).”
• “The core of institutional reform is ‘fairness’ and ‘predictability.’ ‘Waiting number tickets’ are such intuitive systems. Revisions to the Administrative Litigation Act and real estate taxation are slapdash patchworks. Without lawyers or tax accountants, no one can understand them. Social issues have turned into a backward country where mathematical calculations—not humanistic debate—are required.”
• Park Sung-min warned, “Lee Jae-myung (president) and the Democratic Party have fallen into the same swamp again.”
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Short-Form Politics Summons the Ghost of Heresy.

• “The ‘satisfying’ emotions of context-free shorts, combined with politicians’ bureaucratic interests, traps politics as a whole in Weber’s ‘Iron Cage.’”
• Hong Won-sik (Dongduk Women’s University professor) noted, “The transcendent aspiration of reform has devolved into a ‘commodification of stimulation’ that triggers supporters’ dopamine and rallies blind fandom.” This refers to the Democratic Party’s national convention.
• “The analysis is that shorts replace genuine debate and deliberation, silencing introspective criticism or voices for future vision within the party under noir-like dichotomies of ‘loyalty’ and ‘betrayal.’” Hong Won-sik added, “Fandom politics demanding blind obedience under the ‘medal’ of reform, and doctrinaire attitudes, are not true reformist identity—they are mere ‘idolatry’ and ‘blind dogma,’ exactly what Weber warned against.”
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“To Live, Property Tax; To Sell, Capital Gains Tax.”.

• “To Give, Gift Tax; To Die, Inheritance Tax.”
• From tenants’ perspective: “To Not Buy, Skyrocketing Jeonse·Monthly Rent and Apartment Prices.”
• Lee Sang-ryeol (JoongAng Ilbo columnist) noted, “If paying capital gains tax leaves people no choice but to downsize or move farther out, many will abandon plans to relocate,” adding, “It could become a ‘device that stifles the freedom to move.’”
• Lee Sang-ryeol emphasized, “The sarcasm calling it the ‘Goryeo Jang Tax Revision Bill’—forcing elderly to relocate to rural areas—should not be dismissed.”
• “Taxes and regulations must remain within what citizens can accept. The moment they cross that line, public sentiment turns, and power begins its decline. There have been no exceptions.”
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Is Buyback a Shareholder Return?

• “Dividends can be called a ‘return’ because they go to those who remain shareholders. But how can one attach the word ‘return’ to gains obtained by timing one’s exit?”
• Shin Jang-seop (National University of Singapore professor) views buybacks as “only helping short-term speculators.” While stock prices may rise when shares are repurchased, shareholders must sell and cease being shareholders to realize profits.
• Shin Jang-seop emphasized, “Buybacks directly clash with the spirit of the corporation as a long-term prosperity community.” Shareholder capitalism is already powerful enough. The question is whether the government needs to actively support shareholder activism.
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