Black Thursday, Kospi Plummets to 5,554.2.

• Kospi and Kosdaq indices fell 7.6% and 7.7%, respectively. Sidecar and circuit breakers were triggered simultaneously.
• Three negative factors converged.
• First, the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) hit 3.7% in September. Inflation shock increased the likelihood of further interest rate hikes.
• Second, AI debt concerns persist. CoreWeave corporate bond yields rose to 15%. Oracle shares dropped 8.8%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 4.3%.
• Third, liquidity remains poor. Foreign investors have sold for eight consecutive trading days. Yesterday, they sold a net 3.7 trillion won.
• The indices have fallen 20.7% over seven trading days. Market capitalization shrank by 1,194 trillion won.
• This represents a 39% decline from the year’s peak of 9,133.6.
• Ryan Junk (Newfleet Asset Management portfolio manager) said, “AI is effectively dominating everything.”
• Japan’s Nikkei and Taiwan’s Taiex indices also plummeted 3.4% and 4.3%, respectively.

Shocking Forecast: $7 Trillion Spent, $3.6 Trillion Earned.

• Gartner predicts AI infrastructure investments will reach $7 trillion by 2030, yet AI data center revenues will only hit $3.6 trillion. Analysis shows sales must reach $8.5 trillion to cover financial costs and achieve a 12% profit margin.
• Criticism also arises that Big Tech inflates net profits by accounting for GPU economic lifespans as 5–6 years on paper, while their actual operational lifespan is only 2–3 years.

How Much Further Will It Fall?

• Ken Fisher (Chairman of Fisher Investments) forecasted, “Growth will continue, but may not be as rapid as people expected a few months ago.”
• Kim Young-ik (Professor at Hanyang University) stated, “At minimum, we expect a process where both highs and lows in stock prices will continue to decline until the first half of next year.”
• Lee Jung-hwan (Professor at Hanyang University) pointed out, “The reality that no industry can replace semiconductors is why the Korean economy stands at a precipice.”
• The Kyunghyang Shinmun editorial criticized, “A warning letter to our economy, which postponed structural improvements while intoxicated by the semiconductor boom.”
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“Samsung Won’t Collapse, I Will.”.

• Lee Min-hwan (Professor at Inha University) said, “If the vicious cycle of forced selling from margin calls continues, the downward trend in stock prices could persist.”
• Investment reserves are shrinking while debt-driven investment burdens grow. Investor deposits stand at 97.4 trillion won, while margin loan balances reach 33.7 trillion won.
• Hwang Seung-taek (Head of Hana Securities Research Center) stated, “The weakening of domestic buying power to absorb foreign selling pressure is amplifying downward pressure.”
• Related Link.

National Pension Service’s Role in Market Stability.

• Foreign investors are dumping shares, but there’s no domestic capital to absorb the sell-off.
• The JoongAng Ilbo editorial criticized, “The National Pension Service (NPS) is in a self-imposed trap.”
• The NPS missed its rebalancing window. Instead, it increased its Korean stock holdings when prices peaked in May, abandoning its automatic stabilizer role. It raised its Korean equity weight from 14.4% to 20.8% in two moves—January and May.
• The Chosun Ilbo editorial condemned, “A self-inflicted blunder that violated the basic principle of asset management: ‘Buy low, sell high.’”
• The Hankook Ilbo editorial emphasized, “The NPS must disclose the rationale behind introducing single-stock leveraged ETFs and delaying rebalancing.”
• As of late July, the NPS’s Korean stock allocation stood at 24.9%, already exceeding its target by over 4 percentage points. The Chosun Ilbo noted, “Suspicion arose that the two equity boosts ahead of June local elections were politically motivated.”
• Citing market stability, the NPS postponed disclosing meeting minutes until 2030.
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U.S. Stock Market Rebounds.

• S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq indices closed up 0.33%, 1.08%, and 0.08% respectively.
• They had fallen sharply reflecting Asian market crashes but saw a flood of buy orders near the close.
• Bank stocks rose significantly, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 0.88%.
• Nvidia and TSMC each dropped 1.8%. TSMC fell as much as 5.3% intraday despite beating earnings expectations.
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What Matters Now.

Anthropic’s Earnings Surprise.

• Third-quarter revenue was $16.8 billion.
• Compared to the jump from $4.7 billion in Q1 to $11.6 billion in Q2, the growth rate has slowed.
• Annualizing September’s revenue gives $74 billion—far short of initial expectations that it would exceed $100 billion by year-end.
• Ahead of its IPO, Anthropic’s valuation nears $2 trillion. If the IPO fails, the entire market could collapse.
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Deploying the Cheonghae Unit Near the Strait of Hormuz.

• The JoongAng Ilbo reports that the government is reviewing a dispatch agreement to expand the unit’s operational range to the Gulf of Oman.
• The Gulf of Oman is the immediate maritime area following the Strait of Hormuz—effectively its entrance.
• A Ministry of National Defense official stated, “No details have been finalized.”
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Why the Trump-Putin Deal Isn’t Working.

• Donald Trump (U.S. President) agreed to import Russian crude, but analysts say it won’t significantly help his midterm election prospects.
• The volume is far below what the U.S. previously imported via the Strait of Hormuz—and even that supply isn’t guaranteed.
• The 810,000-barrel reduction from Hormuz won’t be offset by 80,000 barrels from Russia.
• This isn’t a solution that adds up.
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Why Zelenskyy Is Angry.

• Trump appears to be trying to extricate himself from Ukraine.
• He pressured Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Ukrainian President) to halt attacks on Russian refineries while signing a deal to purchase Russian diesel.
• There may have been coordination between Trump and Elon Musk (Tesla CEO), but the Starlink satellite internet service was briefly cut off before being restored.
• Ukraine uses Starlink networks for drone attacks.
• Elon Musk claimed, “The Starshield system is owned and controlled by the U.S. government,” adding, “The final decision-maker is the U.S. President.”
• Related Link.

Deep Dive.

Moving the Goalposts? New Criteria for Wartime Operational Control Transition.

• Xavier Brunson (USFK Commander) stated, “Conditions have changed, and since we’ve altered our plans, new criteria we must uphold have emerged.” The argument is that since conditions have shifted, discussions on wartime operational control must be revisited.
• Jeong Bit-na (Ministry of National Defense spokesperson), prefacing that this was a personal opinion, said, “If the goalposts keep moving, I don’t think wartime operational control transition will ever happen.”
• Kang Shin-chul (Minister of National Defense), when asked, “Shouldn’t we protest to the U.S.?” replied, “We’ve already conveyed that.”
• The wartime operational control transition plan agreed upon at the South Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) proceeds in three phases. Phase 1 (Initial Operational Capability, IOC) verification was completed in 2019, while Phase 2 (Full Operational Capability, FOC) verification is being delayed by the U.S. Phase 3 (Full Mission Capability, FMC) verification hasn’t even been scheduled.
• Moon Jang-ryeol (former professor at the Korea National Defense University) pointed out, “It’s not about moving the goalposts—it’s about removing them entirely.”
• Chosun Ilbo noted, “The U.S. views the South Korean government as rushing the wartime operational control transition despite unmet conditions.” Indeed, Brunson stated, “We cannot agree to violating or skipping past-agreed conditions.”
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Can the Coupang Issue Unlock North Korean Intelligence?

• These were the words of a senior ruling party official met by The Hankyoreh.
• With the U.S. restricting intelligence sharing on North Korea, they said, “It won’t be resolved unless economic issues, including the Coupang matter, are settled.”
• Cha Du-hyeon (Research Fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies) stated, “It should be seen that within the Trump administration, the approach of linking trade to security issues and vice versa has been learned and shared.”
• The U.S. claims that Jeong Dong-young (Unification Minister) leaked classified information by stating, “North Korea’s uranium is located in Kusŏng City, North Pyongan Province.”
• Lee Byung-chul (Professor at Kyungnam University) pointed out, “Jeong Dong-young’s remarks could have been sufficiently explained, but the U.S. is bringing up the Coupang issue alongside it.”

Eight Reports Filed, No Police Response.

• A man in his 70s killed his estranged wife. Police had classified the victim as high-risk but deemed the perpetrator low-risk due to his age and lack of direct physical assault.
• It was revealed that police did not respond even after the victim failed to answer a welfare check call during the estimated time of the crime. The victim was found the next day following a report by an acquaintance.
• Kim Ye-won (Lawyer at the Disability Rights Law Center) proposed, “Repeat-report cases should mandate senior-level review closure regardless of the victim’s reluctance to press charges.”
• Bae Sang-hoon (Profiler) stated, “Authorities should track both victim and perpetrator locations and trigger automatic alerts when they approach within a set distance.”
• Lee Jae-myung (President) said at a senior advisors’ meeting on the 15th, “We must urgently establish extraordinary measures with the resolve to declare war.”
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Kim Ji-yong’s Controversial Appointment.

• Ruling and opposition parties adopted Kim Ji-yong (Prosecutor General)’s hearing report by agreement. Lee Jae-myung (President) immediately appointed him.
• The report included both qualified and unqualified opinions.
• Seong Gi-hong (Chief of Presidential Communications) stated, “The explanations were thorough enough that it’s hard to point out any flaws or disqualifying reasons.”
• The Kyunghyang Shinmun editorial assessed, “Kim Ji-yong appears closer to an average prosecutor who conformed to organizational logic than a pro- or anti-Yoon figure.”
• Kim Yong-min (Democratic Party lawmaker) posted on Facebook, “The division of illegal labor! Major crimes like rebellion, coups, or case manipulation committed by groups dilute guilt through division of labor.”
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Another Take.

“No” to the President Does Not Mean “No” in Fact.

• It has been 500 days since Lee Jae-myung’s inauguration. The Kyunghyang Shinmun pointed out, “The president must move away from micromanaging state affairs.”
• Han Soo-hee (Prime Minister) refuted the Hankook Ilbo’s report that ministers requested reduced live-streaming of Cabinet meetings, calling it “inaccurate.” The explanation was, “Opinions are freely expressed, and the president actively accepts them.”
• A Democratic Party lawmaker interviewed by the Kyunghyang Shinmun stated, “The president’s fixation on early achievements is why problems in governance have surfaced,” adding, “Issues arose because the president micromanages with nitpicky directives, claims credit for results, but fails to deliberate thoroughly.”
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‘Senior’ Recording Was a Simple Mistake.

• Lee Jae-myung (then Seongnam mayor) and the Democratic Party claimed the term “Senior” was inserted into the transcript to frame him.
• The Prosecutorial Future Committee’s investigative team submitted its first report, concluding no illegality was found in the Wirye New City case. It deemed the “Senior” reference a stenographer’s simple error.
• The committee is also reviewing the Seongnam Daechang development case and the inter-Korean remittance case.
• Lee Geun-woo (Gachon University professor) noted, “If the investigative team concludes there was no issue, whether the committee accepts it or issues a conflicting conclusion will both be contentious.”
• Related Link.

Just Send 100,000 Books of Any Kind.

• Anthropic purchased 300,000 Korean books.
• They were likely used for AI training. Contract details between Anthropic and Korean book distributor Woongjin Booksen were revealed in litigation documents.
• Woongjin Booksen confirmed, “We did export books to Anthropic last year,” adding, “Since the scanning-and-shredding controversy, we’ve stopped deals with AI companies or suspicious entities.”
• According to the JoongAng Ilbo, Kyobo Bookstore also received an order for 100,000 books. They declined, suspecting it was for AI training. The request didn’t specify titles or genres—just one copy each of 100,000 different books, regardless of content.
• A Kyobo representative stated, “The publishing and distribution industries need to establish information-sharing and response principles for suspected AI-training purchases.”
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If You Like It, Buy It Online.

• For employees evaluated by sales performance, increased online sales threatens their jobs. However, the price gap between offline stores and online is so large that advising customers to buy online is unavoidable.
• The Hankyoreh described this dilemma of sales workers as “eroding labor.”
• Lee Seo-young (Secretary-General of the ‘Department Store-Duty-Free Cosmetics Sales Service Union’) stated, “We must improve the evaluation system that judges sales workers solely by in-store revenue and prepare for the possibility that expanded online sales could lead to future workforce reductions.”
• Related Link.

The Fix.

How to Live With Foreign Senior Residents.

• Over 1.7 million foreigners aged 15 or older reside in South Korea. Of these, 90% wish to continue living in the country even after retirement. Those aged 60 and above number 230,000.
• Reports about foreigners earning lifelong pensions after just one month of work sparked controversy, but verification found only three such cases. The foreigners who made lump-sum pension contributions for 119 months had indeed resided in Korea during the applicable period.
• Han Ji-su (professor at Sungkonghoe University) pointed out, “Our society still presumes migrants as ‘temporary workers who will return home’ rather than as permanent members of the community. It pays little attention to their lives, settlement, family formation, middle age, illness, retirement, or care needs.”
• Han Ji-su emphasized, “Elderly migrants must be recognized not as ‘foreigners who will return to their home countries’ but as residents who will continue living alongside us—in the communities they have already settled in.”
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ICYMI.

Gold Flows to London.

• The Dutch central bank moved over 78 tons of gold from New York to London.
• John Gapper (Financial Times columnist) analyzed, “The London gold market is enjoying a ‘Trump effect.’”
• There is a trend of buying gold to reduce reliance on US Treasuries and moving existing gold out of the US. Since Russia’s assets were frozen, the push to keep gold closer has intensified.
• New York dominates gold futures and derivatives trading, while London excels in physical gold transactions. In London, storage and trading can occur simultaneously. Gold in London totals 10,000 tons, worth $1.4 trillion.

Brother Hoon-sik.

• “I trust and expect you to do as much or even more than Brother Hoon-sik.”
• On the day Kang Hoon-sik (former Chief of Staff to the Presidential Office) departed, Lee Jae-myung (President) left this message on X.
• If the term “Brother Hoon-sik” sounds familiar, it’s for good reason. Kim Nam-guk (then Presidential Digital Communications Secretary) was caught on camera by media outlets responding to a personnel request message from Moon Jin-seok (Democratic Party lawmaker) with, “I’ll recommend him to Brother Hoon-sik and the local sister.”
• Lee Young-tae (Korea Ilbo columnist) noted, “One worries whether the President’s own revival of this symbolic incident of personnel chaos as a caricature sends a signal that he underestimates the severity of the personnel issue.”
• Related Link.

Over a Million Foreign Visitors to Gwanghwamun in August.

• Analysis based on mobile carrier big data.
• A 30% increase from the same month last year.
• Seoul City Tour Bus passengers also rose by 20%.
• Gwanghwamun Gukbap now offers menus in 15 languages.
• Related Link.

Worth Reading.

More Middle-Aged Than Young Who “Rested.”.

• Last year, the number of “resting” individuals aged 40–59 reached 674,000.
• Jeong Im-su (Dong-A Ilbo Policy & Society Editor) noted, “Simply extending retirement age alone cannot resolve middle-aged employment instability.”
• The argument is that job-transition training and new employment connections must be provided to reintegrate those who have already left the labor market.
• Middle-aged employment gaps could lead to elderly poverty. Jeong emphasized, “Rigid wage systems and work environments that incentivize early retirement must also be reformed.”
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Hesitation Is Also a Skill.

• Lee Chang-dong (film director) hesitated for a decade before adapting the story of fired workers into a film. He was uncertain whether a fictionalized version was necessary when documentaries had already addressed the subject honestly.
• Lee Chang-dong’s ‘Possible Lovers’ contained hesitation and consideration.
• We often judge others too quickly, then gather evidence to justify our judgments afterward.
• “The faster the world changes, the more precious it becomes to pause and reflect.”
• Kim Chae-yeon (Professor of Psychology, Korea University) emphasized, “Science is not about flawless truths but an understanding of the current state, which can always be refuted by new evidence.” The argument is that one must “proceed with hesitation, armed with rigorous evidence, logic, and a refusal to prematurely assert one’s beliefs.”
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Is Live Broadcasting the Problem?

• There were reports that ministers requested reduced live broadcasting of State Council meetings, as it made it difficult to publicly rebut the president.
• Yoon Wan-jun (Dong-A Ilbo Senior Columnist) disagrees. “Regardless of whether meetings are public, it is a minister’s fundamental duty to clearly state their convictions on policy,” he argues.
• Is policy confusion due to live broadcasts of State Council meetings? Even if the president initiated the farmland survey, there was ample time to correct issues if they arose.
• The argument is that for collective intelligence to function, two-way communication must occur. Live broadcasting is not the core issue.
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Is the Nuclear Power Deliberation Committee Legitimate?

• The Nuclear Power Deliberation Committee has begun its activities. The plan is to gather 300 citizens for learning and discussions to gauge public opinion.
• Kim Sung-hwan (Minister of Climate and Energy Environment) stated, “Whether to build nuclear plants, or how many to build, may not fall within the committee’s purview.” This implies the discussion is already premised on expanding nuclear power.
• How can meaningful deliberation occur without addressing whether to build more plants? Kim Jae-jung (Kyunghyang Shinmun Social Editor) pointed out, “Reopening what the Moon Jae-in administration vowed to implement for public debate can only be interpreted as an attempt to backtrack.”
• During the Moon administration, the committee’s deliberations led to resuming nuclear construction but citizens strongly demanded a reduction in nuclear power reliance.
• Kim Jae-jung emphasized, “The virtue of public deliberation lies in lowering sharp conflicts and establishing minimal social consensus,” adding, “Even now, the scope of debate, the binding force of recommendations, and how they will be accepted must be clarified.”
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Was This the Purpose of Prosecutorial Reform?

• “What was right then is wrong now? They exploited ‘prosecutor Lim Eun-jung’s’ internal whistleblowing for prosecutorial reform as much as they wanted, and now they’re dismissing her because her criticism is unwelcome.”
• Why did the Lee Jae-myung government replace Lim Eun-jung (Gwangju High Prosecutors’ Office chief) with Kim Ji-yong (chief prosecutor)? It’s a natural question: does the chief prosecutor have the integrity and backbone to confront power?
• The Democratic Party is amending the Corruption Investigation Office Act to transfer investigative authority over the president to the High Prosecutors’ Office. This would place presidential investigations under the command and supervision of the Minister of the Interior and Safety.
• Lee Choon-jae (Hankyoreh columnist) countered, “Was this the purpose of prosecutorial reform?”
• Related Link.

The Ideology of Benevolent Influence.

• “Seoul National University appears special because it admits many high-achieving students, but it’s not fundamentally different from other institutions. Like the rest of Korea, it’s a place where corruption and integrity, brilliance and mediocrity, malice and goodwill are mixed like bibimbap. If there’s a distinguishing feature, it’s that, being seen as the cradle of Korean elites, it has produced people with poor social skills, little worldly wisdom, and an excess of empty posturing. Yet most of Korea’s elites have turned out to be counterfeit.”
• Kim Young-min (SNU Professor) analyzed the ideology of Seoul National University on its 80th anniversary.
• First, we are exceptional people who will become even more exceptional.
• Second, therefore, we deserve abundant resources and attention.
• Third, although we may seem selfish, we are actually altruistic.
• Fourth, we will exert a positive influence on the world. In short, being both talented and altruistic—this is the ideology that prestigious universities aspire to, or use to justify themselves.
• Kim Young-min pointed out, “Claiming to exert a benevolent influence means securing and maintaining a position of relational superiority,” calling it “an alibi for climbing to a higher status.”
• Related Link.

Feedback.

Didn’t Buy More? Misunderstanding the Question.

• During the National Assembly audit on the National Pension Service’s rebalancing, officials insisted, “We did not [buy more stocks].” It’s disheartening. Of course, the president once responded similarly in a live broadcast: “Did the National Pension Service buy more stocks for the election without the president’s knowledge?” The NPS chairman replied, “Absolutely not,” and they both laughed it off.
• The issue, however, is not [whether they bought more]. What citizens and experts are questioning is why rebalancing wasn’t done when prices were high—specifically, [why they didn’t sell] before the June local elections. If a massive entity like the NPS holds onto money instead of selling at the right rebalancing moment, it alone can cause excessive market gains. Before the elections, the NPS allowed such gains and contributed to them.
• Yet seeing them deflect the public with “We didn’t buy more” is truly regrettable. The public’s literacy isn’t that low. We hope governance doesn’t proceed with evasive answers and dismissive laughter. And we wish media wouldn’t stick to mechanical neutrality but would boldly call out non-answers when they occur.

Today’s State Council Audit.

• Slow News is covering the State Council Audit intensively.
• [Special Audit Coverage Page] updates twice daily.
• [Rep. ◯◯◯’s Audit Notes] compiles key issues by individual lawmakers. Top 12 performers are selected daily.
• [Today’s Corporate Issues] examines major corporate controversies.
• [Daily Audit Report] provides context and key issues by committee.
• The list below compiles October 15 audit reports.
• October 15, 2026 Legislative and Judicial Committee audit report.
• October 15, 2026 Political Affairs Committee audit report.
• October 15, 2026 Planning and Finance Committee audit report.
• October 15, 2026 Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee audit report.
• October 15, 2026 Public Administration and Security Committee audit report.
• October 15, 2026 Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee audit report.
• October 15, 2026 Climate, Energy, Environment, and Labor Committee audit report.
• October 15, 2026 Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Committee audit report.
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