Beijing recently asked South Korean companies not to export products containing China's rare earth minerals to U.S. defense firms, the Korea Economic Daily reported on Tuesday, citing government and company sources.

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250422122859/https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/china-asks-korea-not-export-products-using-rare-earths-us-defense-firms-paper-2025-04-22/

Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

Nearly half of small- and medium-sized exporters in Korea have shown interest in hiring foreign nationals for white-collar jobs amid the country's declining population and young jobseekers' preference for large companies.

However, Korea's current visa system has been cited as a major obstacle to bringing more foreign professionals on board.

Swedish home furnishing giant IKEA will open its first Seoul store next week, giving up the brand’s signature “blue box” architecture to localize it inside a new business complex in the city’s easternmost district.

Korean currency weakens 10.9 won to 1,484.1 won per dollar, KOSPI drops 1.7%

The Korean currency weakened to the lowest level in more than 16 years against the U.S. dollar, Wednesday, as Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs take effects.

The won closed at 1,484.1 won per dollar on the daytime trading market, depreciating by 10.9 won from the previous day’s close. It was the lowest level since March 12, 2009, during the global financial crisis.

The won’s depreciation was largely attributable to a 25 percent tariff against Korea-manufactured goods, market analysts said.

I'm not sure what they expected, not everyone runs and gets a new ARC just because of that immediately.

By chance I got a new ARC about a month ago and I got one which supports the mobile ID, but when I started looking into it how to set it up I couldn't find a straight forward description, especially not in English. This is why I still don't have it even though I was low key excited about that possibility.

New presidential election must be held by June 3

The Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, resulting in his immediate removal from office. The decision to remove the president from office was unanimous, with all eight Constitutional Court justices voting in favor, 8–0.

The ruling came 111 days after the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion, accusing Yoon of treason for declaring martial law on Dec. 3, which was deemed a violation of constitutional rights.

Oh, widely known as the “Gganbu grandpa” from the Netflix drama “Squid Game,” was sentenced in the first trial to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, for forcibly groping a younger actress from a theater troupe.

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TL;DW:
South Korea's fertility rate was 0.72 in 2023 and has not recovered. This leads to a nationstate that is unable to keep it's systems running due to a lack of employable domestic citizens.

New US and European tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) have created market opportunities for South Korean manufacturers. While South Korean EV exports remain behind Chinese volumes, manufacturers can gain market share by emphasising design, performance, safety and transparency. As such, the US Inflation Reduction Act benefits South Korean producers, though political uncertainty poses risks. Success depends on leveraging technological expertise while adapting to policy shifts.

BEIJING, March 31 (Reuters) - China, Japan and South Korea agreed to jointly respond to U.S. tariffs, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media said on Monday, an assertion Seoul called "somewhat exaggerated", while Tokyo said there was no such discussion.
The state media comments came after the three countries held their first economic dialogue in five years on Sunday, seeking to facilitate regional trade as the Asian export powers brace against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Summary

China, Japan, and South Korea held their first trade talks in 5 years in Seoul, agreeing to deepen cooperation amid looming U.S. tariffs announced by Donald Trump.

With a 25% tariff on car imports threatening their export-heavy economies, the three nations pledged to advance negotiations on a trilateral free trade agreement and strengthen the RCEP.

South Korea’s trade minister emphasized joint action against global economic fragmentation.

The meeting marks a renewed push for regional trade unity as tensions with the U.S. grow. The next meeting will be held in Japan.