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.

Kim Seung-won and Yong Hye-in, both heading to confirmation hearings.

• Lee Jae-myung (President) is on a state visit to France. A Cheong Wa Dae official said, “The confirmation hearing system itself is a process of public scrutiny.”
• A ruling party official met by JoongAng Ilbo said, “The Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s prosecutors dug into them—if there were issues, why wouldn’t they have indicted?”
• Kim Min-seok (Democratic Party leader), appearing on Democratic Party TV, criticized Han Dong-hoon (independent lawmaker) as a “childish attention-seeker.” Kim Eui-gyeom (Democratic Party lawmaker) pointed out, “They’re turning the case into a Sunday Seoul tabloid story.”
• Kim Min-seok said, “It is untrue that we conveyed an unfitness opinion on Yong Hye-in (gender equality minister nominee) to the president.”

Kim Seung-won Did Not Mention BH.

• Yang Soo-jin (broker) may have exaggerated.
• During a call with Kang Se-chan (founder of Jenesel), she said, “I heard that [Kim Seung-won (nominee for Minister of Justice)] told me to submit a report through BH (the Blue House),” but in the actual released recording, Kim Seung-won never mentioned the Blue House. He only said, “The head of the MFDS would know, so I’ll ask them to look into it.”
• Chosun Ilbo met with the source. They claimed, “Yang Soo-jin was the queen of lobbying” and “She frequently mentioned politicians that ordinary people wouldn’t even know.”
• Han Dong-hoon keeps bringing up the call recording between Yang Soo-jin and Kang Se-chan. Yang said, “The head of the MFDS and Choi Jae-sung (former Blue House political chief) are very close. Han Byung-do (Democratic Party floor leader) and Choi Jae-sung are extremely close, and Han Byung-do and Song Young-gil (former Democratic Party leader) are very close,” adding, “They’re the ones who can make things happen.”
• Choi Jae-sung retorted, “It feels like being treated as an extra in a third-rate movie.”
• Related Link.
• Related Link.

Can a Breakthrough Be Achieved?

• JoongAng Ilbo argued in an editorial, “If the police continue to drag their feet and maintain a lukewarm attitude, there will be no choice but to appoint a special prosecutor to entrust the investigation.”
• Chosun Ilbo claimed in an editorial, “The current police are highly unlikely to conduct a proper investigation, and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency will only launch next month. At the same time, appointing a special prosecutor would take too long,” adding, “Ultimately, having the prosecution—which already conducted the investigation—re-examine and conclude the case is the best option for now.”
• A Democratic Party lawmaker met by The Hankyoreh said, “Yong Hye-in’s most appropriate course of action would be to resign voluntarily after the confirmation hearing.”
• In its editorial, The Hankyoreh pointed out, “There are doubts about whether the new Minister of Justice, who bears the grave responsibility of stabilizing a major overhaul of the criminal justice system, will be able to properly perform their duties.”
• Related Link.
• Related Link.
• Related Link.
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What Matters Now.

“Hurry Up with Troop Deployment.”.

• The U.S. pressure continues. They even mentioned the November 3 midterm elections. Considering the National Assembly approval process, it must be finalized within this month.
• The Defense Ministry has sent an inspection team to the UAE.
• Related Link.

Sending Money to America.

• 2000 billion USD investment outlines have emerged: the Texas Ensign Gas Combined Cycle Power Project (22.3 billion USD), a nuclear power plant project framework (120 billion USD), and the Alaska LNG Project (67 billion USD). Combined, they total 209.3 billion USD.
• The first installment is to be sent to the U.S. within this month. The plan involves utilizing entrusted foreign exchange assets from the Bank of Korea, with any shortfall covered by government-guaranteed bond issuance and borrowing from overseas financial institutions.
• Hankyoreh warned in an editorial, “We must not promise the total investment amount without guaranteed profitability,” adding, “There is a risk that Korea will foot the bill while Westinghouse retains project leadership and profits.”
• Critics also note, “If we accept endless U.S. demands, we cannot escape becoming a ‘cash dispenser.’”
• Related Link.
• Related Link.

Per Capita Income: The $40,000 Era.

• Nominal GNI per capita rose 8.8% in the second quarter. Real GDP growth was 0.6%.
• Year-on-year GNI growth reached 21.8%.
• Kim Hwa-yong (Head of the Bank of Korea’s National Income Department) said, “If the won’s stability continues, per capita GNI is highly likely to surpass $40,000.”
• Per capita GNI was $36,963 last year. An 8.2% increase would push it past $40,000.
• Caution against illusions is needed: the weaker won and semiconductor exports play a role.
• In an editorial, Kyunghyang Shinmun emphasized, “Policies to address polarization are urgent.”
• Related Link.
• Related Link.

Health Insurance Premium Freeze Thanks to Semiconductors.

• Next year’s health insurance premium rate will remain the same as this year’s 7.19%. For a monthly salary of 4 million KRW, the monthly contribution is 287,600 KRW, with the individual’s share at 143,800 KRW.
• Lee Hyung-hoon (Vice Minister of Health and Welfare) said, “We expect additional premium revenue of approximately 3.8 trillion KRW due to the semiconductor boom.” Some analyses suggest the effect of performance bonuses at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix has created a 3–4% premium increase equivalent.
• The JoongAng Ilbo pointed out, “Expenditures are rising due to aging, yet the decision relies on a temporary corporate boom.” Kim Seong-joo (Representative of the Korean Rare Disease Alliance) said, “It’s regrettable that premiums were frozen due to temporary additional funds,” adding, “Resources for severe disease treatment and essential medical investments will inevitably decrease.”
• According to the Chosun Ilbo, the National Health Insurance Service’s fiscal deficit as of the end of this year is 2.8374 trillion KRW. At this rate, reserves will be depleted by 2031. Some analyses suggest premiums must rise by at least 2% annually to maintain the legally required reserve.
• The Korean Medical Association noted, “Repeated premium freezes threaten the sustainability of health insurance finances.”
• Seok Byung-hoon (Ewha Womans University professor) said, “While freezing premiums may reduce the public’s burden now, it’s a short-sighted ‘sell-the-skin-before-the-bear’s-dead’ approach that shifts the burden to future generations.”
• Related Link.
• Related Link.
• Related Link.

Deep Dive.

No Constitutional Amendments Under the Lee Jae-myung Government.

• Jeong Jeom-sik (People Power Party floor leader) said in a National Assembly speech, “We will never discuss constitutional amendments with forces seeking private gain through them.”
• Regarding the abolition of prosecutors’ supplementary investigative authority, he claimed, “Out of hatred and vengefulness toward prosecutors, they have forced open the gates of hell,” and “Just as corrupt police bury cases, the president seeks to bury even his own trial.”
• He also argued for abolishing early voting. Kyunghyang Shinmun criticized this in an editorial as “regressive.” “While poor election management must be institutionally improved, it should not come at the cost of shrinking suffrage.”
• Related Link.
• Related Link.

Prosecution Withdrawal Controversy: Will Lee Jae-myung Take the Stand?

• Hong Ik-pyo (Chief of Presidential Political Affairs) appeared on “Kim Eo-ju’s News Factory” and said, “It is regrettable that the controversy has grown despite the president clearly stating he has not considered such a thing,” adding, “We expect the president to clarify his position more definitively.”
• Hong emphasized, “The president’s focus is not on prosecution withdrawal but on the fabricated indictment,” and stated, “Once the fabricated indictment is proven, the withdrawal of charges could naturally be reconsidered afterward.”
• Related Link.

Houthi Strikes on Aramco.

• Yemen’s Houthi rebels bombed Saudi Arabia’s oil refineries. Saudi Arabia retaliated.
• The U.S. attacked another Iranian oil tanker.
• Projections suggest international oil prices could again surpass $100. Brent crude futures surged to $98.5.
• Analysis claims, “Trump’s real enemy isn’t Iran—it’s gas prices.” Gasoline hit $4.2 per gallon. Diesel is at $5.9.
• Historical data shows a 10-cent gas price increase correlates with a 0.6% drop in presidential approval ratings.
• Trump insists, “Prices will drop fast once the war ends,” but the situation is far from easily resolved.

The Astra Effect That Lasted Only a Day.

• Shares briefly rebounded after the ChatGPT Astra launch but slipped back after briefly surpassing 7,000 during trading.
• Since September, individual investors’ net selling has accumulated to 12.8 trillion KRW. While Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix defended prices by buying back shares, the effort had limits. Foreign investors remain cautious.
• All three major U.S. indices fell yesterday. The S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq dropped -0.58%, -1.18%, and -0.32%, respectively. Semiconductors performed well: Intel and AMD rose 9.1% and 5.9%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained 1.3%.

Another Take.

No SaaS-pocalypse.

• SaaS+Apocalypse—a feared software industry collapse that once sent SaaS stock prices plummeting. The Wall Street Journal now forecasts, “It never happened, and doesn’t seem imminent.”
• The essence of software lies not in coding but in maintenance and improvement. AI writes code well but struggles with service reliability. Many SaaS stocks that crashed have since partially recovered. Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) noted, “The software industry’s decline wasn’t as fast as expected,” adding, “Habits don’t change easily.”
• Some argue that SaaS companies are already so small and undervalued that there’s little left to collapse.
• Related Link.

Collaboration Is Disappearing.

• Before AI, when seniors tossed out half-baked concepts, multiple departments would collaborate to refine them. Now, Midjourney is run to extract polished concepts, and the process shifts to executing those drafts.
• Boundaries have collapsed. Artists code, programmers create art.
• Sarah O’Connor (Financial Times columnist) assessed, “We’re entering an era of mass toe-treading—where everyone steps on each other’s feet.”
• Related Link.

What’s the Credit Rating for Anthropic and OpenAI?

• They’re preparing for $2 trillion and $1 trillion IPOs, respectively, yet still cash-strapped.
• By the book, they’d struggle to get good ratings—but they’re persuading credit agencies that post-IPO liquidity will flood in.
• Higher ratings are critical: they grease vendor financing (revolving trades) and ease Nvidia’s burden.
• Hock Tan (Broadcom CEO) remarked, “To send two geniuses to college, we must do what we can.”
• SpaceX is the blueprint: it issued $25 billion in bonds right after listing and still got investment-grade ratings.
• Related Link.

China’s Arctic Silk Road.

• A Chinese cargo ship from Qingdao is set to cross the Arctic and arrive at the UK’s Teesport. A route via the Middle East would take 36 days; this cuts it to 21. It carried 1,300 containers.
• Dominant assessments say it’s not commercially viable yet. Only navigable in August and September, requires icebreakers, and insurance is costly. Above all, predictability is low.
• China has pushed low-commercial-value ventures to create new markets. Other countries are watching.
• Passing along Russia’s northern coast means paying tolls. Observers also suggest it will bring Beijing and Moscow closer.
• Related Link.

Ji Hye-bok’s Reinstatement.

• Ji Hye-bok (teacher), who was dismissed after reporting a campus sexual violence case as a public interest disclosure, is returning to school.
• Ji, who reported in May 2023 that students had been sexually assaulted, was transferred in February 2024 and dismissed in September of the same year.
• Ji stated, “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise to establish a gender-equal culture at the school before the victimized students graduated.”
• The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has officially apologized.
• Related Link.
• Related Link.

The Fix.

Literacy Scores Plummet.

• Results from the OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).
• South Korean students averaged 526 in science, 522 in math, and 501 in reading.
• OECD averages were 482, 463, and 461 respectively. While above average, the trend is alarming: reading scores dropped 14 points from 515 in 2022.
• The gender gap is stark: 487 for boys, 515 for girls.
• Park Hyun-jung (Public Education Promotion Team Head, Ministry of Education) explained, “Increased time on digital devices like social media and declining interest in reading.”
• Seo Hyuk (Ewha Womans University professor) noted, “Skimming short texts via hyperlinks erodes the ability to engage deeply with long-form content over sustained periods.”
• Related Link.

Losing Interest in Science.

• South Korean students rank 5th–7th in science achievement, but their ranking has fallen since 2022, and their “enjoyment of learning science index” dropped to 42nd.
• China ranks 1st in achievement and 3rd in enjoyment.
• Related Link.

Not ‘New Home Optional’ but ‘Forced Eviction’.

• [Public Rental with Conversion to Sale Option]. There is a project called Hwaseong Dongtan 2 C14, scheduled for occupancy in July 2028, where residents can convert to ownership after six years. The issue is the conversion price.
• When recruiting applicants, the appraised value for the 84㎡ exclusive area was 910 million KRW. The local market price is around 1.6 billion KRW, and the conversion price will be approximately 1.17 billion KRW. If the local market price rises to 2 billion KRW, the conversion price becomes 1.35 billion KRW.
• Originally, eligibility was restricted to those with monthly income under 140% of the median and assets under 270 million KRW. Even with ‘maxing out’ loans, this exceeds affordable levels.
• Lee Jun-seok (Chairman, Hwaseong Dongtan 2 C14 Future Residents’ Council) pointed out, “Despite the name ‘optional,’ most residents have no choice but to abandon purchase and opt for forced eviction.”
• LH maintains that those who can afford it will buy anyway. Park Byung-ho (Team Leader, Housing Marketing Team, LH Sales Planning Division) said, “Even with these hurdles, people somehow manage to purchase these expensive homes.”
• Related Link.

“Too Many People Are Waiting.”.

• Long-term 20-year rental housing units are approaching their expiration, with residents demanding contract extensions.
• 310 units in Songpa Fine Town (Songpa-gu), Magok Sumunsan Park (Gangseo-gu), and Dongdo Centrium (Sindong-dong, Yangcheon-gu) will expire next year. Over five years, 9,361 units will sequentially reach their maximum residency period.
• Oh Se-hoon (Seoul Mayor) dismissed the requests, calling them “a truly unscrupulous demand.”
• A Seoul city opinion poll found 74% support evicting residents after expiration.
• Kim Joon-hyung (Myongji University Professor) stated, “Extending expiration dates is a burdensome choice given the enormous waiting list,” adding, “The supply shortage must be addressed by building more long-term housing.”

Firefighting Budget Shrinks as Cigarette Sales Decline.

• The Fire Safety Grant Tax is funded at 45% of the total individual consumption tax levied on cigarettes. This year’s grant of 1.0503 trillion KRW will drop to 760.5 billion KRW next year—directly tied to reduced tobacco consumption.
• Lee Young-joo (Kyungil University Professor) noted, “The transition of firefighting personnel to national civil servants requires separate funding mechanisms, but these have not been established,” adding, “Maintaining the budget system from when they were local civil servants is out of step with reality.”
• Related Link.

ICYMI.

A $2 Trillion Monster.

• This year, OECD countries borrowed $18 trillion, with interest costs reaching $2 trillion—exceeding 3% of GDP.
• Global government bond rates are soaring. Wars persist, inflation continues, and AI big techs are flooding the market with corporate bonds.
• In the UK and France, prime ministers have fallen. The U.S. economy is swaying midterm elections.
• “The era of free money has clearly ended,” one outlook warns.

36% of College Entrance Exam Applicants Are Retakers.

• 551,864 applicants registered. Non-enrolled applicants number 196,473.
• This year marks the final exam under the current system. Starting next year, the humanities and science tracks will merge into a unified test.
• Half-track students—those retaking the exam while enrolled in university—total 99,542.

DRAM Inventory Lasts Less Than Ten Days.

• Q2 DRAM sales reached $15.47 billion, a 60% increase from Q1.
• Samsung Electronics (Samsung) and SK Hynix (Hynix) accounted for 39% and 25% respectively.
• Samsung has already pre-assigned 31% of its production capacity through long-term supply contracts until 2031.

A 10.5 Billion KRW Performance.

• Busan Opera House’s opening performance will feature a La Scala guest production, conducted by Chung Myung-whun (Artistic Director of Busan Classics), over three shows.
• The issue is the cost: 10.5 billion KRW, including artist fees and airfare, with ticket sales expected to bring in only 2 billion KRW. Sponsorships cover 5 billion KRW, and the Busan municipal budget adds 3 billion KRW.
• Jang Jin-kyu (Chairman of the Busan Opera Association Union) stated, “The success of an opera house should not be judged solely by how famous its imported productions are.”
• Lee Seung-ho (former head of the Busan Music Association) countered, “You can’t furnish a 100-pyeong apartment with the furniture and household goods of a 20-pyeong one.”
• Related Link.

Second Rounds Vanished.

• General pub visits in the first half of this year fell 34% compared to 2023. Spending dropped 30%.
• For those in their 20s alone, visits plummeted 52%.
• The later the hour, the steeper the decline: 29% fewer visits at 6–7 PM on weekdays, 35% at 9–10 PM, and 40% at 11 PM–midnight.

Worth Reading.

Brain Rot? It’s a Cry for Help.

• Those addicted to social media are not unaware of how severe “brain rot” is.
• While addictive content is often blamed, the opposite is true: a foggy-headed feeling comes first, followed by an endless spiral. By this stage, content that makes no demands (doesn’t try to teach) becomes oddly comforting.
• Rather than videos from influencers pretending to be authentic, people surrender to deliberately manipulated “slop” scrolls. The joke is that it’s not a joke, and the meaning is that there is no meaning. Exhausted, guilt-ridden, yet unable to stop death-scrolling until sleep.
• Max Hightmeyer (Rowan University professor) noted, “Brain rot may actually be a backlash against the attention economy.” When simulations admit they’re simulations, they become more trustworthy than content pretending to be real. It’s not a problem solved by moral panic. He argued for regulating algorithms that cause cognitive depletion, much like tobacco industry controls.
• Related Link.

Double Poverty: Time and Income Shortfalls.

• What remains after subtracting work, housekeeping, caregiving, and time for eating and sleeping is called ‘free time.’ Those falling 30% or more below the median are classified as ‘time-poor.’
• Lee Seung-yoon (Chung-Ang University professor) found that dual poverty—lacking both time and income—is concentrated among non-regular workers.
• The government’s proposed white-collar exemption (labor hour deregulation) assumes that higher earners can self-manage their time and don’t need protection.
• Lee warned, “The impact won’t stop at the top 3%,” and “If R&D workers’ night/holiday labor increases, so will the hours of subcontracted workers on 24-hour shifts.” Low-skilled service workers face 15x the dual poverty risk of managers.
• Lee emphasized that labor hour regulations are “a line drawn by the state because employer-employee agreements cannot be considered equal contracts.”
• “It’s not an income-distribution rule saying ‘earn less, work less.’ It’s a biological limit—human bodies can’t endure more. It’s not a politically set number but decades of epidemiological research codified into policy.”
• Related Link.

Why Hire Third-Rate Talent?

• “A leader with no intention of listening doesn’t need first-rate talent. Third-rate talent who merely go along is sufficient. They’re easy to manage. But a ‘fool explosion’ ensues, and governance grinds to a halt.”
• Seon Woo-jung (Chosun Ilbo columnist) advised, “Keep third-rate talent at bay and listen to the voices of first-rate talent.”
• Related Link.

Lee Jae-myung’s ‘Workhorse’ Trap.

• “Did the ‘workhorse’ image and trust make Lee Jae-myung arrogant, backfiring?”
• This is Kang Jun-man’s (professor at Jeonbuk National University) question. “Lee Jae-myung’s problem isn’t pragmatism. On the contrary, he’s merely mimicking it while actually moving against it.”
• Kang warned that the Democratic Party’s strategy of maintaining political dominance through the ‘end of internal conflict’ frame—relying on ‘negative partisanship’—has lost its effectiveness.
• He criticized statements like “No government can beat the market, but no market can beat the government,” “Real estate normalization is easier than valley maintenance,” and “Heaven has entrusted me not just with life but with great tasks” as lacking pragmatic language. The warning: don’t get trapped by one’s own ‘workhorse’ concept.
• Ezra Klein’s (New York Times columnist) ‘negative partisanship’ refers to supporting a party simply because one dislikes the opposition. Kang advised, “Only when both sides realize the ‘negative partisanship’ spell has broken will the door to communication open.”
• Related Link.

“Everything Has Gone Awry Since May 1st of Last Year.”.

• With a month left until the presidential election, the Supreme Court crossed the line first by remanding Lee Jae-myung’s (former Gyeonggi Governor) election law violation case.
• Had Cho Hee-dae (Chief Justice) halted there, controversies over the prosecution’s withdrawal or the Chief Justice’s nomination authority might have been avoided. Once Cho crossed the line, Lee Jae-myung (President) did too. There is even a possibility of a worst-case scenario where the President neutralizes the Chief Justice’s nomination authority by force.
• The U.S. Supreme Court has a principle: “Courts should not change election rules close to an election.”
• Montesquieu (political thinker) said this 278 years ago: “It is an eternal empirical fact that anyone in power is inevitably led to abuse it.”
• Lim Jang-hyeok (JoongAng Ilbo political editor) noted, “If it is democratic for the judiciary to exercise restraint in altering election rules close to an election, then an attempt to sever a leading presidential candidate’s Achilles’ heel should have been handled with far greater caution.”
• Related Link.