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1. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday invited around 360 children and their families to the Blue House, the former presidential office, to commemorate Children's Day. 2. According to Statistics Korea on Monday, the growth of dining out prices surpassed the inflation rate in April for the 35th consecutive month. The average prices of major food items at restaurants increased three percent in April, 0-point-1 percentage point higher than the 2-point-9 percent inflation rate. 3. According to the Los Angeles Police Department on Saturday, a Korean man in his 40s was fatally shot at a house in Koreatown by police officers responding to a call from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, sparking allegations of excessive force by the police.

1. The ruling People Power Party on Thursday approved the appointment of {황우여}Hwang Woo-yea, a former five-term lawmaker, to head its interim emergency leadership committee. The main opposition Democratic Party on Friday elected {박찬대}Park Chan-dae as its floor leader. 2. South Korea on Thursday launched the "2024 Korea Season," a six-month program to showcase its diverse artistic and cultural landscape in major cities around France, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics. 3. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday, the OECD revised its outlook for South Korea's economic growth this year to 2-point-6 percent. The figure marked a 0-point-4 percentage-point increase from its projection of 2-point-2 percent made in February.

1. Rival parties on Thursday passed a special bill mandating a new investigation into the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush incident during a plenary parliamentary session. The special bill was passed with 256 voting in favor and three abstentions. 2. According to data from Statistics Korea, South Korea's inflation rose 2-point-9 percent on-year in April, marking the first time in three months that the index fell below 3 percent. Agricultural products spiked 20-point-3 percent on-year last month. 3. South Korean defense firm Hyundai Rotem announced Thursday that the company has been selected as a preferred bidder to export 30 K-808 White Tiger wheeled armored vehicles to Peru. STX Engine will serve as the main contractor for the deal.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to protect the "value of labor" at all costs as South Korea marked Labor Day on Wednesday. In a social media post, president Yoon said the government will make active efforts to provide a safer and fairer workplace for laborers. 2. According to data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Wednesday, South Korea's exports extended on-year gains for seven consecutive months in April on the back of robust chip demand. Outbound shipments climbed 13-point-8 percent on-year to 56-point-2 billion U.S. dollars last month. 3. South Korea and Australia on Wednesday held a so-called "two plus two" meeting of their foreign and defense ministers in Melbourne, and discussed the possibility of including South Korea in the AUKUS security partnership which comprises the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Australia.

1. Among Seoul's "Big 5" hospitals, Seoul National University Hospital and Severance Hospital suspended outpatient clinics and surgeries Tuesday, as senior doctors began taking a weekly day off amid a protracted walkout by junior doctors in protest of the government's medical reform. 2. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Angolan President (후앙 루렌쑤) João Lourenço on Tuesday held a summit in Seoul, the first bilateral visit by an Angolan leader since 2001. The two called for expanding bilateral cooperation based on their countries' respective strengths in technology and natural resources. 3. According to data from Statistics Korea on Tuesday, South Korea's industrial output decreased two-point-one percent from a month earlier in March, the first fall in five months, posting the largest drop in about four years.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol and opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Monday sat down for their first-ever meeting since President Yoon came into office in May 2022. The two met over tea at the presidential office, accompanied by three aides each. 2. South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-Pyo and Angolan President Joao Lourenco held a courtesy meeting on Monday. Angola's president is set to hold a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday, during his official three-day visit to South Korea which started Sunday. 3. According to the South Korean government's report on climate change released Monday, frequent occurrences of abnormal high temperatures last year resulted in flowers blooming two weeks earlier than 50 years ago.

1. According to a senior presidential secretary on Friday, President Yoon Suk Yeol and opposition leader Lee Jae-myung will meet for the first time at the presidential office next Monday. The two sides reportedly agreed on the date following a third round of preparatory talks. 2. Seoul’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Friday that South Korea, the U.S., and Japan have held talks and agreed to bolster cooperation in the fields of export controls and technology protection. 3. Medical professors at all the “Big Five” general hospitals in Seoul have decided to suspend outpatient consultations and surgeries one day each week, amid extended work hours due to the trainee doctors’ mass walkout.

1. A special presidential committee on medical reform launched on Thursday and held its first meeting without the participation of doctors’ groups. The committee’s chairman said the members do not yet plan to discuss the medical school admissions quota. 2. According to data by the Bank of Korea on Thursday, South Korea’s real gross domestic product - a key measure of economic growth - increased 1-point-3 percent on-quarter in the January-March period, on the back of increased construction investment. 3. North Korea on Thursday decried the United States over efforts to build a new sanctions monitoring mechanism against the regime, and warned of “powerful practical actions” to build up its military strength, … as the mandate of a UN expert panel is set to expire later this month.

1. South Korea's health ministry on Wednesday expressed regret over medical professors' decision to take a day off on a weekly basis starting next week and urged them to engage in dialogue amid the prolonged medical vacuum in the country. 2. The Ministry of Science and ICT said Wednesday a South Korean nanosatellite successfully communicated with its ground station after being launched into orbit from a spaceport in Mahia, New Zealand. 3. The Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday that North Korea has sent an economic delegation headed by External Economic Relations Minister Yun Jong-ho to Iran, a rare trip that raises suspicions of cooperation between the two nations over weapons programs.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis agreed Tuesday to boost cooperation in the defense and nuclear energy sectors as part of efforts to strengthen their countries' strategic partnership, during a summit held on the second day of the Romanian leader’s four-day official visit to South Korea. 2. The Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday that North Korea has conducted a tactical drill simulating a nuclear counterattack involving super-large multiple rocket launchers, a day after South Korea said the North fired short-range missiles into the East Sea. 3. The main opposition Democratic Party and the presidential office on Tuesday said they were unable to confirm the schedule and agenda of the inter-party meeting, and had decided to hold a second working-level meeting in the future.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday named People Power Party lawmaker Chung Jin-suk as his new chief of staff, the first personnel replacement since the party's crushing defeat in the April 10 parliamentary elections. President Yoon said the new chief will boost his administration’s communication with the public. 2. According to Nomura Securities of the Global Investment Bank on Monday, South Korea's fruit and vegetable prices have risen the most this year compared to G7 countries or Taiwan, which has a similar economic structure. 3. The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday approved over 60 billion U.S. dollars in military aid for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. The Ukraine aid was part of a 95 billion U.S. dollar package of national security bills that also includes 26 billion U.S. dollars for Israel.

1. South Korea's Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday the government has accepted a request from the chiefs of six national universities for flexibility in expanding the medical school enrollment quota. The decision raised hopes for an end to the protracted walkout by trainee doctors. 2. According to a U.S. official on Friday, Israel carried out a military strike inside Iran, in what appeared to be limited retaliatory action for last week’s drone and missile attack by Tehran. Iran's state media reported that explosions were heard near the city of Isfahan. 3. According to an official at the Presidential Office, President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday spoke with opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung via phone call. During the five-minute conversation, President Yoon reportedly proposed the two meet in Yongsan next week to discuss state affairs.

1. The Presidential office said Wednesday that President Yoon Suk Yeol agreed during phone talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to promote bilateral and trilateral cooperation together with the United States. 2. According to an official at the Presidential office, President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo earlier this week to discuss the direction of state affairs, including the future running of government affairs and personnel appointments, after the ruling party’s defeat in last week’s general elections. 3. Following the recent sharp depreciation of the Korean won and Japanese yen against the dollar, the finance chiefs of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Wednesday acknowledged "serious concerns" and agreed to consult closely on foreign exchange markets.

1. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday held the 2024 growth outlook for South Korea steady at 2-point-3 percent, citing "surprisingly resilient" global economic activity. The latest projection is the same as its forecast made in January. 2. According to a survey conducted by the gender ministry on 12-thousand-44 households nationwide from June 1st to July 31st 2023, an increased proportion of people in their 20s to 30s indicated having plans for children. 3. South Korea's National Intelligence Service said Wednesday it is monitoring whether North Korea's weapons technology was used in the ballistic missiles that Iran launched against Israel last week.

1. President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday he humbly accepts the public sentiment revealed in the parliamentary elections and will work to improve communication with the people. President Yoon made the pledge in his first public remarks on last Wednesday's general elections. 2. South Korea "strongly" protested against Japan on Tuesday after Tokyo issued an annual diplomatic report renewing its territorial claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo. South Korea's foreign ministry called in Taisuke Mibae, the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. 3. The U.S. Commerce Department announced Monday that it will grant Samsung Electronics subsidies of up to 6-point-4 billion U.S. dollars for its chip manufacturing and research cluster in Texas.

1. Iran launched an unprecedented large-scale drone and missile attack at Israel on Saturday night in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria. An Israeli official said Israel's war cabinet meeting ended Sunday without a decision on how Israel will respond to Iran’s attack. 2. South Korea's finance minister said Monday the government will extend the tax cut on fuel consumption by an additional two months amid growing tensions in the Middle East. The tax cuts were supposed to expire at the end of this month. 3. The top U.S. envoy to the United Nations will meet with South Korea's defense chief Monday as part of her trip to Seoul this week for talks to boost bilateral cooperation amid North Korean threats. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield arrived in the country Sunday for a four-day visit.

1. According to a presidential official Friday, President Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to give a public statement sometime after the weekend regarding the ruling People Power Party's crushing defeat in the parliamentary elections. 2. The monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea on Friday kept its policy rate unchanged at 3-point-5 percent for the 10th straight session. The central bank said its current restrictive stance will be maintained for a sufficient period of time amid woes over high inflation and household debt. 3. South Korea and the United States on Friday affirmed plans to execute a joint tabletop exercise simulating North Korea's use of a nuclear weapon. According to a joint statement, the two sides affirmed the plan during the South Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue in Washington D.C. on Thursday.

1. The main opposition Democratic Party retained a majority in the National Assembly in Wednesday's general elections. Including proportional seats, the Democratic Party and its satellite party garnered 175 seats, while the People Power Party and its satellite party clinched 108 seats out of a total of 300. 2. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday vowed to reform state affairs to reflect people's will following the ruling party's crushing defeat in the parliamentary elections. Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, resigned the same day to take responsibility for the election results. 3. U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday called for North Korea to return to dialogue during a summit in Washington. In a joint statement, the leaders also vowed to strengthen defense cooperation and establish a joint command structure.

1. South Korean voters on Wednesday headed to the polls for the country's 22nd parliamentary elections. Voter turnout for this election was higher than the last general election. 2. A senior U.S. official said Tuesday that the United States is considering including South Korea as a partner in Pillar Two advanced military technology development projects under the AUKUS security partnership, which comprises the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. 3. The Booker Prize Foundation on Tuesday announced that South Korean novelist {황석영}Hwang Sok-yong’s novel “Mater 2-10” has been shortlisted for the 2024 International Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world.

1. On the eve of the 22nd general elections Tuesday, both ruling and opposition parties headed to key battleground areas in Seoul and the nearby metropolitan regions to make their final pitch to voters. 2. South Korea's foreign ministry on Monday said that 11 citizens from Haiti evacuated via helicopter due to deteriorating security. The ministry said the citizens were airlifted to the neighboring Dominican Republic, and withheld further details to ensure the safety of other South Koreans in Haiti. 3. Citing sources, Reuters reported on Monday that the Biden administration plans to announce it is awarding more than 6 billion U.S. dollars to South Korea's Samsung next week to expand its chip output in Taylor, Texas.