Lee Jae Myung

Money Moves

Driving the 'Three Mega Projects' industrial plan

On June 29, 2026, Seoul ordered Samsung and SK Hynix to build four new memory fabs in the southwest, the core of an $880 billion, 10-year buildout. On July 6, the government picked Gwangju Military Airport as the site, but the base also serves the US Air Force, and Washington now wants a say before Seoul can relocate it.

Updated 4 days ago

Money Moves

Managing extended crisis response; stabilization package in active deployment phase

South Korea's stock market led major economies in early 2026, with the KOSPI hitting 6,347 on February 27. A U.S. and Israeli strike on Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz—carrying 95% of South Korea's oil imports—triggering a 20% KOSPI crash in two days, the worst in the country's history.

Updated May 30

Money Moves

Advancing corporate governance reforms and stock market development agenda

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI stock index crossed 6,000 points for the first time on February 25, 2026. It completed its climb from 5,000 to 6,000 in just 34 trading days, the fastest thousand-point advance in the index's history.

Updated May 29

Rule Changes

In office

South Korea hasn't executed anyone in 28 years. On January 13, 2026, prosecutors asked a Seoul court for former President Yoon Suk Yeol's death sentence; three days later, another court handed down a five-year sentence for obstruction of justice—the first of eight verdicts from his December 3, 2024 martial law declaration.

Updated May 21

Force in Play

In office since June 2025, term ends 2030

South Korea handed control of its military to the United States during the Korean War's desperate opening weeks in 1950. Seventy-five years later, Seoul is finally on the verge of getting it back. The new permanent Combined Ground Component Command—activated in January 2026—is the fourth of six command structures now operating year-round, putting a Korean general at the helm of ground forces for the first time.

Updated May 20

Force in Play

Conducting four-day state visit to China with 200+ business leaders; summit with Xi scheduled January 6

On January 4, 2026, North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles traveling 900-950 kilometers at 50-kilometer altitudes—Pyongyang's first test of 2026. Hours before, Kim Jong Un ordered production capacity expanded 250 percent at a tactical weapons factory; the launch coincided with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's departure for Beijing to meet Xi Jinping.

Updated May 19

Rule Changes

In office after June 2025 snap election triggered by Yoon’s removal

South Korea just made the quiet part of the 2024 martial-law crisis unmistakably loud: the country's top police officer is out for good. On December 18, 2025, the Constitutional Court removed National Police Agency chief Cho Ji-ho, ruling he helped former President Yoon Suk Yeol's power grab by using police to block lawmakers from reaching the National Assembly floor.

Updated May 15