A Surprise Press Briefing Reveals Key Priorities.

• “We will definitely reclaim wartime operational control.”
• These were the words of Lee Jae-myung (President) during an unannounced visit to Cheong Wa Dae’s press briefing room. He emphasized, “Military sovereignty is one of the most fundamental components of national sovereignty.” “Reclaiming wartime operational control must happen early, and we are fully capable of doing so—though the process won’t be easy,” he added.
• The unscheduled briefing caused reporters to rush back from lunch appointments.
• Key responses follow:
• North Korea: “Do they intend to use nuclear weapons in actual combat? Those are last-resort defensive weapons. Our defense spending is about 1.5 times North Korea’s GDP.”
• South Korea–U.S. tensions: “These are minor disagreements in the process of each protecting national interests. We can’t claim to be 100% like family or a harmonious couple with no issues.”
• Firefighter welfare: “The state must devise countermeasures. Now that firefighters are national civil servants, there’s significant debate over whether their duties should be reclassified as national responsibilities.”
• Stock market: “It’s undeniably undervalued. We’re continuously assessing what needs to be done and will soon receive a comprehensive report to take necessary action.”
• Real estate: “Overall, something will eventually break. I worry about who’ll end up holding the last bomb.”
• Reform agenda: “Perhaps there was excessive confidence. We may have lacked persuasion, empathy, and consolation for those who lost something in the process.”
• CPTPP accession: “We must join. First, we need to create measures that farmers can accept at this level.”
• Police chief appointment: “Due to the rebellion investigation, available candidates were limited. This will be resolved soon.”
• Structural majorities and political reform: “If we stick together, we’ll ultimately become a structural minority. However, poaching a few lawmakers from the opposition is 1980s-style politics. Such thinking is incomprehensible and meaningless.”
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Xavier Brunson Oversteps the Line.

• Xavier Brunson (USFK Commander)’s remarks have crossed a line.
• “South Korea begins at the southern fence line” denies Korea’s territorial sovereignty, and stating “conditions have changed and new standards have emerged” regarding wartime operational control is not a comment a commander should make.
• Observers overwhelmingly suggest the remarks were made without coordination with the US government.
• Kim Gyu-ha (Army Chief of Staff) said, “I cannot agree.”
• Lee Jae-myung (President) remarked, “We appreciate the goodwill to confirm whether Korea is capable of independent operations before transferring command, but this is something we must do ourselves.” He added, “We have used the term ‘transition’ until now, but it should be ‘reclaim’ or ‘restore’ instead.”
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What Matters Now.

“Social Media Is the Lifeline of Communication.”.

• “Would President Lee Jae-myung have existed without SNS, or survived the barrage of malicious attacks?”
• These were Lee Jae-myung’s (President) words at a press briefing. “SNS is the lifeline for direct communication and appeal to the public—and the last breath of air that could save me in the final moment,” he emphasized.
• Live-streaming of State Council meetings will continue. “It’s not as if ministers are low-ranking bureaucrats; the argument that they cannot be refuted because someone is watching is not desirable. If State Council meetings had been public, would martial law have been possible? It wouldn’t have been,” he added.
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Is Social Media the Lifeline?

• Noh Hyun-woong (The Hankyoreh’s Industry and Economy Editor) noted, “Lee Jae-myung has suppressed market anxieties through verbal interventions on social media,” adding, “By directly targeting housing prices, the burden of failing to stabilize prices has fallen entirely on the president.”
• The same applies to stocks. There are calls to reflect on whether the administration has sent misleading signals amid euphoria over rising prices.
• The same logic applies to the de facto surrender on the nationwide farmland survey. It has been assessed that “unfiltered or premature remarks have ultimately burdened the president’s governance.”
• Noh Hyun-woong pointed out, “If career bureaucrats trained with national funds repeatedly hide behind the president’s X messages, the downsides will clearly outweigh the benefits.”
• In an editorial, JoongAng Ilbo warned, “As messages proliferate, unrefined or impulsive expressions increase, raising the risk of falling into traps of bias and error.”
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National Firefighters: Only Their Name Tags Changed.

• “Isn’t this just a massive drain on public funds?”
• These were the words of Bu Seung-chan (Democratic Party lawmaker) the day after Cho Mi-ae (Gyeonggi Governor) apologized. Kim Min-seok (Democratic Party leader) ordered an ethics committee investigation.
• Bu explained, “The point was that if the state can’t solve these issues and only criticizes, there’s no solution.” Park Sung-hoon (People Power Party spokesperson) criticized, “At this point, it’s not just a slip-up—it’s the Democratic Party’s collective mindset.”
• Firefighters’ status changed to national civil servants in 2020, but their organizations and budgets remained local. Of this year’s 8.6 trillion won fire budget, 7.6 trillion came from local governments. The fire safety grant is tied to tobacco excise taxes—dropping from 1.1 trillion won this year to 0.8 trillion next year.
• A Gangwon safety center has 12–13 personnel for 10 vehicles daily. A firefighter interviewed by Chosun Ilbo said overtime exceeds 80 hours monthly, sometimes over 90 during busy weeks.
• Gyeonggi’s per-firefighter annual dispatches were 99 last year—46% higher than the national average of 68. The province cut 2.65 billion won for old fire truck replacements in its supplementary budget.
• Lee Sang-min (Narasalim Research Institute researcher) stressed, “The state must increase its share.” Proposals include allocating a fixed tax percentage to fire services or sharing equipment costs. The Korean Local Finance Association suggested using traffic-inducing fees and fire-related fines as funding sources.
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Firefighter Rank 1 Gross Monthly Salary: ₩2.13 Million.

• Hazardous duty allowance: ₩80,000/month, maximum dispatch bonus: ₩40,000/day.
• According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median firefighter annual salary is $59,280 (₩79 million).
• Hwang Jung-soo (New York correspondent for The Korean Economic Daily) noted, “The Choo Mi-ae controversy should serve as a cautionary tale—it’s time to seriously discuss systemic improvements for firefighter safety.”
• According to The Korea Daily, in the Bucheon fire where Kim Jin-seok (firefighter) died, isolation was confirmed at 9:09 AM, rescue team deployment was ordered at 9:20 AM, and discovery occurred at 9:35 AM—26 minutes elapsed between confirmation and recovery.
• Proposals emerge to pre-position rescue teams at safety centers and integrate command structures between suppression and command units.
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Kim Yo-jong’s Revival of Loudspeakers Toward the South.

• Kim Yo-jong (North Korea’s Party Secretary) stated, “We are reviewing the resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts.”
• She criticized South Korea’s warning broadcasts and warning shots. North Korea claimed that South Korea conducted 2,870 warning broadcasts and 201 warning shots between August 1 and October 17.
• Cho Han-bum (Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification) said, “North Korea may have mentioned reviewing the resumption of loudspeakers toward the South first to preemptively block the South Korean government’s potential resumption of its own broadcasts.”
• Lim Eun-chul (Professor at Kyungnam University) analyzed, “If South Korean forces stop warning shots, North Korea can freely fortify the DMZ area without constraints. If South Korea maintains warning shots, North Korea will likely use this as a pretext to deploy additional tactical nuclear-capable weapons in the frontline regions.”
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Cheonghae Unit Maritime Patrol Aircraft: Deployment to Djibouti?

• Plans are under review to send one maritime patrol aircraft to the Cheonghae Unit. According to Kyunghyang Shinmun, Camp Lemonnier, a U.S. military base in Djibouti, is a likely stopover point.
• The government plans to submit a parliamentary deployment approval bill expanding the Cheonghae Unit’s operational range from the Gulf of Aden to the southern Arabian Sea and deploying patrol aircraft.
• Djibouti is distant from the Strait of Hormuz. Some analysts suggest this move is a minimal gesture to appease U.S. pressure for Hormuz deployment.
• Cho Yong-geun (former North Korea Policy Director at the Ministry of National Defense) said, “They may be considering securing prior parliamentary approval to immediately deploy to the Strait of Hormuz after a ceasefire.”
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South Korea and the U.S.: A Dialogue in Stasis.

• Trump’s October 2023 approval of South Korea’s nuclear-powered submarine program has seen no progress since.
• No follow-up security working-level meetings have occurred since June. Satellite Launch Vehicle (Director of National Security Office) Chung Eui-yong’s U.S. visit schedule remains unresolved.
• “It’s marriage counseling, not divorce proceedings,” remarked Dave McCormick (U.S. Republican Senator).
• The Hankyoreh highlighted that intelligence cooperation and economic issues like Coupang regulations are intertwined in negotiations.
• Kang Hee-kyung (The Korea Daily’s Diplomatic and Security Team Leader) noted, “Trump’s top-down approach can resolve stalemates that working-level talks cannot.” The implication: a resolution requires coordination and decisiveness between Lee Jae-myung and Trump.
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KOSPI Rebounds 1.8%.

• KOSPI rebounded 1.8%.
• “There was at least the speed and order that made Trump’s first term appear competent, but even that is gone now,” according to assessments.
• Prashant Bhayani (BNP Paribas Wealth Management Asia Chief Investment Officer) explained, “Investors have reduced risk exposure and are pausing to observe AI investments.” The narrative is that concerns about profitability remain unresolved.
• Yesterday, the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq indices recorded gains of 0.41%, -0.07%, and 1.11%, respectively.
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“Solidigm’s Dual Listing Is Correct.”.

• Lee Chan-jin (Financial Supervisory Service Governor) said this. Solidigm, a grandchild company of SK Hynix, is pursuing a Nasdaq listing. It is one factor in SK Hynix’s falling stock price.
• Projections suggest the company’s value could reach up to $100 billion, raising concerns that SK Hynix’s shareholder value will be diluted to that extent.
• Eom Soo-jin (Hanwha Investment & Securities analyst) noted, “The future value of the subsidiary’s business, which should return to the parent company’s shareholders, is being dispersed to new external investors.”
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Deep Dive.

“No Review of Dropping Charges.”.

• Park Cheol-woo (Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office Chief) emphasized, “The presidential case is no different from any other case.”
• In 2022, police investigating allegations related to Han Dong-hoon (then Minister of Justice) applied for international judicial cooperation, but the prosecution refused. Park stated, “It is not typical” and added, “There are aspects that are hard to agree with.”
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What’s the Economic Lifespan of a GPU?

• Depreciation is rapid.
• CoreWeave estimates the economic lifespan of a GPU at six years, but some argue it’s actually only two to three years.
• Prices are high, and the need to constantly replace equipment adds to the burden.
• The hourly rental index for NVIDIA’s H100 dropped from $8 in early 2024 to $2.8.
• Yoon Jong-moon (Head of Credit Finance Research Institute) pointed out, “It’s entirely unclear who bears the residual value risk of purchased equipment.”
• Lee Min-geun (Korea Investment & Securities analyst) analyzed, “If capital expenditure declines, (semiconductor) profits and stock prices fall together in a cyclical structure.”
• Han Ji-young (Kiwoom Securities analyst) emphasized the need to check whether AI companies’ free cash flow improves in this third-quarter earnings.
• South Korea must also pour 2.1 trillion won into a national AI computing center set for completion in 2028.
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Only 35% of Data Center Projects Are Reliable.

• According to the Financial Times, at least 47 large-scale data center projects have been delayed or halted this year alone.
• A bill has been proposed in the U.S. Senate to impose grid usage fees and additional infrastructure costs on data centers.
• Joshua Zopf (former White House Special Advisor on Economic Policy) argued, “Blocking data center construction itself due to AI risks is like trying to reduce traffic fatalities by shutting down car factories instead of creating road safety rules.”
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Three Problems with Yoo Hong-jun’s Self-Curated Exhibition.

• Pro-genocide collaborators’ calligraphy once hung unchallenged in a museum.
• Introduced as the work of independence activist Park Won-geun, it turned out to be by Park Joong-yang—a pro-Japanese collaborator who served as Vice Chairman of the Central Advisory Council. The National Museum of Korea corrected the record and issued an apology. Yoo Hong-jun (Director General of the National Museum of Korea) has three issues.
• First, if he truly didn’t know, it reflects poorly on the director’s discernment.
• Second, displaying the work without cross-verifying is a far greater failure. Suspicions arise that this was an attempt to inflate provenance value.
• Third, even after the piece’s pro-Japanese origins were confirmed, he concealed its status as his personal collection.
• Yoo stated, “Initially, I didn’t disclose it for fear it might seem like boasting” and added, “After confirming it was Park Joong-yang’s work, I felt ashamed and hoped it would simply pass.”
• When asked, “Shouldn’t you take responsibility?” he replied, “I believe we must reorganize our systems to prevent such mistakes.”
• In an editorial, Kyunghyang Shinmun criticized, “Shifting blame to verification systems while evading personal accountability is a cowardly move that treats National Museum staff like fools.”
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Youth Spreading Election Fraud Theories.

• Hankyoreh surveyed 604 adolescents aged 14–18 and found 28% agreed that this year’s local elections were rigged. Males (28.5%) and females (27.5%) showed little difference.
• Hankyoreh analyzed 48 major Instagram accounts and found 755 posts between the local elections and September 15 asserting election fraud. Of 749 posts with visible likes, the total exceeded 2.34 million.
• Hong Sung-soo (Professor at Sookmyung Women’s University) stated, “European and American far-right populism separates ‘us’ from ‘them,’ then attacks ‘them’ as the source of problems. In Korea, election fraud theories are evolving into minority hatred by linking to anti-Chinese sentiment, mirroring Western far-right populism.”
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Another Take.

AI Political Ads Are Shaking the Election Landscape.

• AI-generated political ads are creating scenes and statements that never actually occurred.
• According to the Wesleyan Media Project, $137 million was spent on 220 AI-generated ads by October 11—most of them Republican.
• In Georgia, a fake video of Jon Ossoff (Democratic Senator) receiving beauty treatments circulated.
• In Michigan, a video spread of Abdul El-Sayed (Democratic Senate candidate) holding a card praising 9/11.
• In Texas, a fabricated video emerged of James Talarico (Democratic Senate candidate) scribbling in a Bible while speaking.
• The U.S. has no federal law directly regulating AI political advertising.
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What the 5-Day White House Spokesperson Revealed.

• Katie Zacarias (then-White House spokesperson) resigned after five days when her fabricated legal career was exposed. Though her tenure was too brief for major blunders, it was ample to expose incompetence.
• Jemima Kelly (Financial Times columnist) noted, “The mere fact that someone so clearly unqualified was placed in an unmanageable position reveals how much the president and administration have lost control.”

AI Stocks: The Issue Is Earnings, Not Price.

• James McIntyre (Wall Street Journal columnist) divided the risks of AI stocks into two categories. The first is the risk of planned investments being halted, but he also warns that investments proceeding as scheduled pose a risk.
• Current profits are not illusory. Spending by companies building data centers translates directly into revenue for firms selling semiconductors, cooling systems, cables, and generators. Suppliers have raised both sales and profit margins by selling limited inventory at premium prices.
• The question is how long these profits will last. Once data centers are sufficiently supplied, capital expenditures could sharply decline—maintenance and upgrades cost far less than new construction.
• Earnings growth has outpaced stock price gains, causing price-to-earnings ratios (PER) to fall. Nvidia’s price-to-expected-earnings ratio dropped from 23x to 15x, while Micron’s stock tripled despite its expected PER remaining below 5x.
• Rob Almeida (MFS Investment Management strategist) stated, “The market’s problem isn’t P (price)—it’s E (earnings).”
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Meta Must Exceed Expectations to Stay Grounded.

• Everyone is awaiting Meta’s earnings announcement on the 21st.
• Meta’s third-quarter revenue is expected to exceed $63 billion. However, adjusted operating profit is projected to fall to $18.8 billion—lower than both the previous quarter and the same period last year—with an operating margin slightly below 30%.
• Venky Krishnan (Head of U.S. Equity Strategy at Barclays) noted, “This quarter’s results are particularly critical,” adding, “Companies that fell short of expectations were severely punished, while those that exceeded them saw only modest gains.” He regrettably added, “It will be difficult to achieve the same returns this quarter as the past three years.”
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The GOP Could Grow Stronger After Midterms.

• The pre-Trump GOP emphasized small government, low taxes, free trade, and global leadership.
• Today’s Republican Party includes anti-war nationalists, AI optimists, and data-center opponents coexisting.
• Trump and JD Vance support data-center construction, but Mike Rogers (Republican Senate candidate in Michigan) argues for slowing further expansion. Ron DeSantis (Florida Governor) has pushed regulations to prevent passing power and infrastructure costs to residents.
• Michael Brendan Dougherty (National Review senior editor) argues this conflict isn’t necessarily a weakness: “Debate and negotiation give the losing side reason to stay in the party. Because even if they lose this time, they’ll have another chance to fight for their cause.”
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Dual-Income Households: Women Still Shoulder Double the Domestic Burden.

• Married women aged 25–39 with children spent 4 hours daily on housework and childcare. Men spent 2 hours 17 minutes.
• Men had 3 hours 15 minutes of leisure time, while women had 2 hours 38 minutes—significantly less.
• For childless dual-income couples, men spent 1 hour 5 minutes on housework and childcare, while women spent 1 hour 39 minutes.
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The Fix.

“Should We Send Him to Prison?”.

• A police officer asked a battered wife, “Should we send him to prison?” Her reply: “If they won’t separate us for life, what victim would push for punishment?”
• The semi-automatic non-prosecution clause means offenders aren’t punished if victims don’t want them to be.
• In a front-page feature, Hankook Ilbo argued that this clause—as well as investigative and judicial practices—needs reform. The burden of deciding whether to punish perpetrators should not rest solely on victims.
• “Even if you want to press charges, you can’t—because of the kids, or fear of retaliation,” is the harsh reality.
• Kim Soo-jung (Director of the Korean Women’s Hotline Women’s Rights Counseling Center) noted, “Even if the clause is abolished, if a victim’s reluctance to punish is considered during sentencing, perpetrators will keep pressuring victims for settlements.”
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113 Trillion Won for Grid Investment.

• 113 trillion won by 2038—10 trillion won annually.
• Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) requested Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to prepay 25 trillion won, but was rejected.
• Kim Dong-cheol (KEPCO President) stated, “Energy prices surged during the Russia-Ukraine war, but the full cost was not reflected in electricity rates, worsening financial strain.”

Monthly Job-Hunt Cost: 580,000 Won.

• Results from the Korea Economic Association survey. 69.3% of job-seeking youth aged 19–34 said costs were burdensome. The longer unemployment lasted, the higher preparation expenses grew.
• A job-seeker interviewed by Kyunghyang Shinmun spent 1.6 million won over two months on study cafes, exam fees, academies, textbooks, and AI subscriptions. “It’s now impossible to find a job without money,” they said.
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ICYMI.

44.8% of Flights Delayed on President’s Jeju Visit.

• 234 out of 522 flights at Jeju Airport were delayed—three times the usual rate.
• After an in-flight announcement that landings were blocked due to “Code One,” some passengers recounted circling above for an hour.
• Lee Jae-myung (President) attended the Seogwipo National Sports Festival opening ceremony via Air Force One, transiting through Busan.
• The Blue House explained that delays were not caused by the presidential aircraft but accumulated due to the National Sports Festival’s impact.
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JoongAng Ilbo’s Preferred Negotiator: CJ+Dow.

• It’s not a purchase of existing shares but a third-party rights offering to acquire new shares.
• The acquisition amount was not disclosed. Samil Accounting Firm said, “It’s a scale that can dramatically improve JoongAng Ilbo’s financial structure.”
• CJ and Dow—both conglomerates barred from holding over 50% of a newspaper—formed a consortium.
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While Musk Soars, China Sells Cars.

• Tesla’s Roadster was truly remarkable, but paradoxically raised questions about whether Elon Musk (Tesla CEO) is growing distant from the automotive industry. In fact, Musk has even stated that the Roadster would be the last new car humans will drive.
• Tim Higgins (Wall Street Journal columnist) assessed, “Musk is handing the mainstream automotive market over to China.”
• Michael Dunne (automotive industry consultant) warned, “Chinese manufacturing is turning cars into commodities and slashing costs—no one can compete with them.”
• AlixPartners estimated that production costs for Chinese electric vehicles are $11,000 lower than comparable European models.
• Elon Musk said in 2024 of Chinese automakers, “Without trade barriers, they would effectively crush most other car companies in the world.” Tim Higgins interprets that Musk has since focused more on Cybercabs and robots than affordable human-driven vehicles.
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It’s Not a Data Center—It’s a Compute Center.

• GPT-1 required 1.8e+30 operations to train. GPT-4 needed over 1 million times that of GPT-1, while GPT-6 Astra demands over 50 million times more.
• Sasha Luccioni (Chief Scientist, Sustainable AI Group) stated, “Modern generative AI training is essentially a brute-force approach.” She explained, “The method is to make models larger and pour in as much data and computing power as possible.”
• Jaime Sevilla (CEO, Epoch AI) remarked, “Data center is a misnomer—it should be called a compute center.”
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Anthropic’s 5% Stake Goes to Public Benefit Fund.

• At a $2 trillion valuation, this would equate to $100 billion.
• The structure—a wholly owned limited liability company (LLC)—is designed to allow flexibility, including donations to nonprofits or direct payments to specific groups.
• Dario Amodei (Anthropic CEO) and co-founders previously pledged to donate 80% of their shares. According to the company, about half of employees participate in a donation-matching program.
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Why Defense Ministry Reporters Await Japanese Announcements.

• Jeong Bit-na (Defense Ministry spokesperson) frequently responds, “I cannot comment,” often cutting off discussion with, “I will not engage in open debate.”
• When North Korea launches missiles, the Joint Chiefs of Staff briefs that “several were fired, some exceeding 900km,” while Japan’s Ministry of Defense precisely states, “At least two were launched, with flight distances of approximately 220km and 20km, and maximum altitudes exceeding 910km and 70km.” They even mark flight paths and projected impact zones on maps.
• Lee Yoon-tae (Dong-A Ilbo reporter) observed, “The military’s authority stems not from silence but from trust.” He added, “Reducing opportunities to explain accumulated distrust due to insufficient information cannot resolve it.”
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Worth Reading.

Cho Hee-dae’s Hero Narrative.

• Cho Hee-dae (Chief Justice) has nothing to lose anyway. His term ends next June, and even if the impeachment motion passes and he is suspended, he can just endure it. He could remain a Chief Justice who resisted judicial oppression to the end.
• Even if the impeachment motion passes in the National Assembly, it is highly likely to be overturned by the Constitutional Court. The more they attack Cho Hee-dae, the more his flaws are being overshadowed.
• Cho Hee-dae’s decision to remand the Lee Jae-myung case before the presidential election was interference in the election.
• Lee Jae-myung (President) rejecting the appointment of Son Bong-gi (Supreme Court Justice nominee) is not problematic. However, he should have explained why Kim Min-gi (High Court Judge, Suwon High Court) and not Son Bong-gi. The situation is tangled here.
• Lee Young-tae (Korea Ilbo columnist) pointed out, “The Democratic Party is solidifying Cho Hee-dae’s hero narrative.”
• The question is why they are framing Cho Hee-dae as a persecuted independence fighter for the judiciary.
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We’re Playing Too Nice in This Game.

• The Chinese government poured $230.9 billion in subsidies into its electric vehicle industry from 2009 to 2023, according to the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)—over 300 trillion won.
• Chinese EVs already captured 31% of South Korea’s market last year; this year, they hold 38% through September.
• Globally, countries are slamming tariffs and dumping subsidies on the auto industry, yet South Korea is still playing it safe. Its auto import tariff is 8%—half of China’s 15%—and it even provides purchase subsidies for Chinese EVs.
• Kwon Sung-woo (Professor, Korea University) argued, “Electric vehicles should be included in domestic production tax credit eligibility—even now.”
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Lending Standards Changed 149 Times in a Year.

• According to Cho Dong-cheol (Professor at KDI School of Public Policy and Management), the lending restrictions of 13 domestic banks changed 149 times over the past year. A “lending open run”—where applicants rush to apply when limits open—has even emerged.
• In the U.S., Japan, and the U.K., it is difficult to find mandatory regulations beyond recommendations regarding LTV or DSR. Even Switzerland, where household credit as a percentage of GDP hovers around 130%, has weaker regulations than South Korea.
• Cho Dong-cheol noted, “In terms of financial stability, the quality of debt may be more important than its quantity.”
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Let’s Build a Second-Half Career Market.

• “How many people really stay long enough to benefit from extended retirement?”
• 69.2% of seniors want to keep working, with an average desired retirement age of 73.6. Effectively, the job market splits into ‘first-half’ and ‘second-half’ careers, each spanning roughly 25 years from around age 25.
• Hong Ki-bin (Director of the Global Political Economy Institute) proposed, “Given the declining school-age population, we should consider repurposing universities nationwide to offer another round of higher education to everyone entering their 50s.”
• The rationale: “The narrative of choosing one career through a single education and sticking with it for life has long been incompatible with industrial society’s realities.”
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No Police Names in the Ruling.

• Prosecutors’ names appear in rulings, but police officers’ names do not—even after the separation of investigation and prosecution following the prosecution’s loss of investigative authority.
• Hwang Sung-ho (Dong-A Ilbo reporter) noted, “If ‘taking responsibility’ is to become institutionalized, there should be at least one line to record who bore that responsibility.”
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What Remains Unresolved.

• What if the illegal U-turning taxi you catch turns out to be driverless?
• If an accident occurs while using Tesla’s supervised FSD, the driver bears responsibility. What if full autonomy arrives?
• Park Hong-doo (Kyeongyang Shinmun Industry Desk Deputy Head) argued, “Companies taking over the steering wheel must also inherit the driver’s liability.” Safety measures are needed, such as mandatory disclosure of accident records, re-verification for every software update, and explicit codification of manufacturers’ and operators’ responsibilities.
• “The first infrastructure of the autonomous era isn’t LiDAR or GPUs. It’s assigning accountability.”
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What the 50-Something New Hire Couldn’t Let Go Of.

• Jeong Kyung-ah (writer) re-entered the workforce at a company with three co-CEOs. She didn’t care about titles or conditions—she thought she was ready to start over.
• But on day one, she froze in front of the printer. In meetings, she couldn’t keep up with unfamiliar jargon, and she had to redo hours of work after failing to edit shared documents properly.
• What Jeong couldn’t release wasn’t her status—it was the pressure to appear competent. She didn’t mind taking orders from younger colleagues, but she avoided asking questions, fearing she’d look inexperienced.
• “I might have been prepared to work at a small company,” Jeong confessed, “but I wasn’t ready to be someone who had to learn even the smallest tasks all over again.”
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How to Correct an Erroneous Article.

• Lee Jong-gyu (Hankyoreh Head of Journalistic Accountability) emphasized, “We must inform readers not only ‘what was incorrect’ but also ‘why it was incorrect.’”
• The reasoning is that “accurately clarifying the nature of the error is crucial in enabling readers to independently assess its impact on the entire article.”
• The U.S. nonprofit science journalism organization Open Notebook has a procedure called ‘Anatomy of a Mistake.’ It involves backtracking through the reporting and publishing process to identify the root causes of errors and establish corrective guidelines.
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Today’s State Council Audit.

• Slow News is covering the State Council Audit intensively.
• [Special Audit Coverage] updates twice daily.
• [Rep. ◯◯◯’s Audit Notes] compiles key issues by individual lawmakers. We also select the top 12 performers daily.
• [Today’s Corporate Issues] examines major corporate disputes.
• [Daily Audit Report] tracks key debates and context by committee.
• The list below compiles audit reports from October 19.
• October 19, 2026 Legislative and Judiciary Committee audit report.
• October 19, 2026 Political Affairs Committee audit report.
• October 19, 2026 Defense Committee audit report.
• October 19, 2026 Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee audit report.
• October 19, 2026 Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs Committee audit report.
• October 19, 2026 Trade, Industry, and Energy Committee audit report.
• October 19, 2026 Land and Infrastructure Committee (Gyeonggi Province) audit report.
• October 19, 2026 Land and Infrastructure Committee (Seoul Metropolitan Government) audit report.
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