Korea just recorded its hottest temperature in 122 years, and the government declared it a national disaster

Korea just recorded its hottest temperature in 122 years, and the government declared it a national disaster

Yangsan recorded 42.5°C on August 2, the hottest temperature in Korea's 122 years of modern weather observation, as cumulative heat deaths reached 23.

Why this matters. The record is not just a number. Every outdoor worker, commuter, and person in Korea without reliable air conditioning is navigating a heat peak the country's housing stock and power grid was not built to handle.

What changed. Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, broke the national heat record set at Hongcheon in 2018 and topped 40°C for five straight days, per The Watchers and Korea JoongAng Daily. President Lee Jae-myung called the heat wave a national disaster; the government activated stage-2 central disaster response and placed all of Seoul under its highest heat alert, per Korea Herald.

The numbers.

• 23 cumulative heat-related deaths and roughly 2,665 heat-illness patients as of August 7, with 208 new cases reported in a single day, per Newspim
• 61.9% of this year's heat deaths are among people aged 80 and older, concentrated indoors, per MBC

One complication. The heat is hitting the most vulnerable housing hardest. Five cities without their own utility subsidy are giving residents 46,000 to 120,000 won in electricity-bill support for July through September; since early July, the government has also distributed 40 air conditioners and 1,610 fans to jjokbang-chon (쪽방촌, single-room boarding house district) residents nationwide, per Korea.kr.

The last time. The previous national heat record was August 1, 2018, at Hongcheon, Gangwon Province (41.0°C). That heat wave produced 4,025 heat-illness cases and 48 deaths by August 13, 2018, per Seoul Shinmun. Yangsan's 42.5°C sits 1.5°C above that mark, set almost eight years to the week.

What's next. No confirmed end date for the heat wave as of August 8. Watch whether the cumulative death and illness count keeps climbing through mid-August, and whether the electricity-bill relief measures get extended past September.

Korea This Week

President Lee holds a 6-hour meeting on Seoul-area housing supply, promising a package that will "far exceed" earlier estimates

President Lee Jae-myung chaired a six-hour meeting on August 7 on expanding Seoul-area housing supply, telling officials not to "stick to old ways of thinking."

What changed. A senior official said the package would "far exceed" earlier estimates of 50,000 additional units, with a formal announcement expected within August, per Financial News and Financial News. The meeting lands as record jeonse (전세) deposit prices have pushed housing costs to historic highs in Seoul.

One complication. Lee's own family real estate dealings drew scrutiny at the same moment: a 2.9 billion won Bundang apartment sale, structured through a collateral-mortgage (근저당) arrangement jointly held with his wife, became a controversy just ahead of the government's planned "national conversation on real estate" forum, per OhmyNews and Dailian.

What's next. A formal housing-supply announcement is expected within August 2026.

Lee Jae-myung's approval falls to a fresh low of 45.9%, as disapproval tops 50% for the first time

A Realmeter poll released August 3 put President Lee Jae-myung's approval at 45.9%, a new post-inauguration low, with disapproval rising to 50.5%.

What changed. Realmeter conducted the poll July 27 to 31 among 2,508 adults, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.0 percentage points; Democratic Party support stood at 45.1%, People Power Party at 37.7%, per Financial News, Herald Corp, and Hankook Ilbo.

Why this matters. Realmeter attributed the decline to the stock-market crash and a leveraged-ETF blowup, real estate tax controversy, a constitutional-amendment push tied to presidential re-election, and a move to strip prosecutors' supplementary investigative powers. It is the first time disapproval has exceeded approval outside the margin of error since Lee took office, per Newspim.

A new US polysilicon tariff adds to Korea's US trade exposure, set to take effect this December

The United States announced a new 15% Section 232 tariff on polysilicon derivative products on August 7, effective this December, adding to Korea's existing US tariff exposure.

What changed. The polysilicon tariff sets minimum import prices on polysilicon, ingots, and wafers; aimed at Chinese oversupply, it applies to Korean solar-material makers too, per Korea Herald and Hankook Ilbo. Korea's 15% reciprocal tariff, in effect since August 2025, already covers autos, timber, and lumber; semiconductor and pharmaceutical terms carry a most-favored-nation guarantee not to disadvantage Korea versus Taiwan.

What this means for you. Korean solar-material makers in the polysilicon supply chain now face an incoming tariff cost. The semiconductor most-favored-nation clause in the existing agreement protects chipmakers from being undercut by Taiwan rivals.

What's next. The polysilicon Section 232 tariff takes effect December 2026.

The KOSPI falls 4.58% as a global chip-stock selloff spreads from Wall Street

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 4.58% on August 6, driven by US chip-sector fears rather than the tariff and earnings concerns that triggered July's circuit-breaker days.

What changed. SanDisk's weak fiscal Q1 2027 revenue guidance and reports of AI-team departures at a major US tech firm spread doubt about AI-spending profitability to Korean memory chipmakers, per Newspim and Korea JoongAng Daily. The Korea Exchange activated a five-minute sell-side sidecar (program-trading halt), per Korea JoongAng Daily.

The numbers.

• 301.88-point drop, closing at 6,296.38
• SK hynix fell over 10%; Samsung Electronics fell nearly 6%
• Retail investors net-bought 3.34 trillion won on the day (7.6 trillion won over the week); foreign investors net-sold 3.31 trillion won; the index still fell, per Financial News

Homeplus begins its reopening: soft restart underway, full 67-store relaunch targeted for August 13

Homeplus began a limited soft reopening of its temporarily closed stores around August 6 to 7, targeting a full 67-store relaunch by August 13.

What changed. A 200 billion won debtor-in-possession loan from Meritz Financial Group landed August 7, per Kyunghyang Shinmun and SBS English. Homeplus said it would defer employee wages by roughly two months through March, per Herald Corp, with 60% of June salary due in August and July salary plus a partial holiday bonus due in September, per Insight; a mart workers' union disputes this as a company-issued proposal rather than an agreement, per Youth Daily.

What this means for you. If a Homeplus location near you closed, check before a special trip. Normal operations are targeted for August 13.

What's next. Full 67-store relaunch is targeted for August 13. The court's rehabilitation-plan approval deadline is September 4.

Hyundai's union decides August 11 whether to widen its strike

Hyundai Motor's union holds a central strike committee meeting August 11 to decide whether to expand walkouts after three July rounds.

What changed. No formal negotiation has occurred since talks broke down July 8. Management has offered an 89,000 won base-pay increase plus 350% and 10 million won in performance pay and 15 company shares; the union is demanding a 149,600 won base increase, 30% of net profit as bonus, and an extended retirement age, per Money Today and Herald Corp.

The numbers.

• July strike rounds caused production losses estimated at around 1 trillion won as of late July, per Herald Corp
• Hyundai's July global sales fell 5.1% year over year, the only major Korean automaker citing strike disruption as a factor; Kia, which has not struck this year, posted a 13.4% increase, per Korea Herald

What's next. The August 11 committee decision will determine whether partial walkouts expand, intensify, or pause going into the fall negotiating season.

Watch This Week

• Aug 12 (Wednesday). Third-round Employment Permit System (E-9) work-permit issuance opens for agriculture, fishing, forestry, construction, and services sectors; manufacturing and mining issuance already ran August 5 to 11. E-9 employers and incoming workers in these five sectors should act within this window, which runs through August 19, per MBC and Ajunews.
• Aug 14 (Friday). The first hearing in Kim Keon Hee's Political Parties Act trial over an alleged Unification Church mass party-membership scheme begins at the Seoul Central District Court; the court has scheduled weekly Friday hearings through November, per Newsis.

Good Reads

• Korea Herald. "[Editorial] Adapting to heat." Korea's housing stock, power grid, and hospital capacity were built for a climate that no longer exists: this editorial moves past the daily death toll to the structural question. The one sharp read to put this week's record in its real context. (Opinion) (link)
• Al Jazeera. "South Korea has hottest day on record amid extreme weather globally." The global lens on the same story: the day Yangsan set Korea's record, heat warnings covered most of Japan, southern Europe, North Africa, and the western United States. A clear, free read on why scientists tie this summer's records to human-driven climate change. (link)
• Seoulstart. "Korea Utilities Setup Guide." This week's heat wave raises a practical resident question: how do electricity, gas, and water accounts actually work here, and what happens to a bill when the air conditioner runs all day? This guide covers setup, billing, and what to do if the numbers look wrong.
• Yahoo Finance. "Hyundai, Kia, and GM Korea Are Barreling Toward a Strike Over Jobs the Robots Haven't Even Taken Yet." The part of the Hyundai strike that isn't about wages: buried in the union's demands is a fight over how much say workers get over automation before it reshapes their jobs. A different angle from the wage-dispute numbers covered above. (link)
• Seoul Economic Daily. "Gangnam Cools While Northern Seoul Drives Home Price Gains." A different real-estate story from the supply-plan politics: instead of what the government plans to build, this piece tracks which Seoul neighborhoods are actually driving this year's price gains and why. Useful context for anyone looking at apartments outside Gangnam. (link)
• Bloomberg. "Bank of Korea Minutes Back More Hikes on Inflation, Growth." Bloomberg's read of the Bank of Korea's latest meeting minutes, and the clearest signal yet on where rate policy is heading next. (link) (subscriber)

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New on Seoulstart this week

• Car Insurance in Korea: mandatory and optional coverage, how claims work, and what foreign residents need to know before getting behind the wheel.
• Naver Account Setup: how to register for Korea's dominant search, mail, and pay ecosystem as a foreign resident, step by step.
• A new range of language and work-visa guides, anchored by two hubs. EPS-TOPIK Guide is a new pillar on the Employment Permit System (고용허가제) Korean exam, a separate test from the general TOPIK (한국어능력시험), with step-by-step guides in its cluster from registration to what happens after you pass.
• The Korea Immigration and Integration Program (KIIP, 사회통합프로그램) hub also grew by five guides, covering enrollment, the stage curriculum, and attendance rules, including KIIP vs. TOPIK and the naturalization exam exemption. The full track starts at the KIIP Guide.

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That's Seoulstart Korea Weekly for this week. Stay safe in the heat. See you next week.