Lee Jae-myung tells Macron Korea's Hormuz role rests on national interest

Lee Jae-myung tells Macron Korea's Hormuz role rests on national interest

Lee Jae-myung, president of South Korea, was in Paris this week for a state visit with French President Emmanuel Macron that covered trade, defense, and the Strait of Hormuz, the passage that carries much of the world's oil and gas out of the Gulf. On Hormuz specifically, Lee told Macron Korea will decide based on its own national interest and public opinion. Nothing is settled.

Why this matters. Paris didn't decide anything. Korea hasn't agreed to send anyone to Hormuz.

What changed. The two leaders talked over a two-hour lunch at the Élysée Palace on September 8, then carried it into an hour-and-six-minute expanded summit, per Korea JoongAng Daily. Lee's line to Macron: "We will determine how to contribute based on our national interests and public consensus."

Worth knowing. Wi Sung-lac (위성락), national security adviser, briefed after the summit. A Blue House (청와대) official said don't call this a troop dispatch: the review hasn't moved forward and nothing is decided, per Hankyoreh. Even a small deployment would need National Assembly (국회) approval, per the Diplomat. The Paris stop covered more than Hormuz: Korea and France agreed to keep coordinating so freedom of navigation in the strait and supply-chain stability can be restored, set a $20 billion target for two-way trade by 2030, updated their military-secrets protocol, and moved ahead on a reciprocal logistics support agreement, per the Diplomat.

The last time. Korea's done something like this before. Under President Moon Jae-in, the Defense Ministry expanded Cheonghae Unit (청해부대) operations into Hormuz on January 21, 2020, on its own, without joining the US-led International Maritime Security Construct. No extra Assembly approval was needed, the ministry said, because the unit already had permission to widen its patrol if Korean people or ships were at risk, per the Korea Herald. That was expanding a ship already at sea. Paris didn't lock in anything new.

What's next. No Assembly approval process has started. The review keeps going. One thing did lock in from the trip: a wider Korea-France working-holiday visa, agreed back in April, takes effect October 1, per the Diplomat.

Korea This Week

Blue House keeps Kim Seung-won and Yong Hye-in nominations

From Paris on September 7, the Blue House said both nominations stand.

What changed. Kim Seung-won is the Justice Minister nominee, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. Yong Hye-in is the Gender Equality and Family Minister nominee, a Basic Income Party proportional lawmaker. Chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik (강훈식) runs the personnel system that named them both. The Blue House says hearings are the public check on nominees, and that Democratic Party leaders never asked it to withdraw either name, per JoongAng Ilbo.

What's next. Kim's hearing is set for September 15. The People Power Party (PPP) asked for 44 witnesses; the Democrats turned down all of them, per Hankyoreh. Yong's hearing isn't on the calendar yet. The PPP asked for 28 witnesses there too; the Democrats agreed to just one, Moon Mi-jeong (문미정), a former acting leader of the Basic Income Party, per Hankyoreh.

Kim Ji-yong named first Serious Crimes Investigation Agency chief

Lee Jae-myung named former prosecutor Kim Ji-yong as the first chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency (중대범죄수사청).

What changed. Kang Yoo-jung (강유정), senior Blue House spokesperson, announced the pick from Paris on September 7. Interior Minister Yoon Ho-jung (윤호중) chose Kim from a four-person list, per Hankyoreh. Kim is Judicial Research and Training Institute class 28, a former Supreme Prosecutors' Office criminal-affairs chief and Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office deputy who now leads Apex Law. He left the prosecution in 2023, per Money Today.

Worth knowing. The job is a two-year term, no consecutive reappointment, per Money Today. Kim is a former prosecutor now set to run the agency that takes over major-crime investigation after the prosecution split.

What's next. A National Assembly confirmation hearing comes next. The agency launches October 2, per Money Today.

Lee Jae-yong to buy Hong Ra-hee's Samsung Electronics shares

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong plans to buy about ₩1.94 trillion of his mother's shares on October 12.

The numbers.

• 7,188,793 common shares, bought over the counter, per JoongAng Ilbo
• Lee's stake climbs from 1.47 percent to 1.58 percent. He's Samsung's chairman, not the president, don't mix him up with Lee Jae-myung.
• Hong Ra-hee, his mother and widow of Lee Kun-hee, drops from 1.1 percent to 0.99 percent. She's honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art, per IT Chosun

One complication. The filing says the purpose is a transfer from a related party. People are reading this as a way to cover inheritance-tax loans, but that's not what the company says, per JoongAng Ilbo. The posted size can still shift within a 70 to 130 percent band, and the family already finished the installment inheritance-tax payments in April.

What's next. The over-the-counter trade closes October 12.

Gangnamunni leak hits 219,665 users

Healing Paper, which runs Gangnamunni (강남언니), said attackers hit a consult-history system on September 4, exposing 219,665 users.

What changed. The company blocked that opening, then watched the same attacker try a different route on September 5. It reported the breach to the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) and filed with police on September 6, per Dong-A Ilbo. About 160,000 of the exposed users are in Korea, about 48,000 in Japan, 4,218 in Taiwan, 1,591 in Thailand, and 481 in China.

What this means for you. The consult-history system held names, contact details, procedure and hospital records, and photos. Some files also had actual procedures, visit times, and payment info. If you've used the app, the company says you can check what leaked on its site for 30 days from the notice. And if you get a text pretending to be from a hospital, don't trust it.

Yoon Suk-yeol acquitted in first instance on harboring Lee Jong-sup

A Seoul court acquitted former president Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday of harboring former defense minister Lee Jong-sup as Australia's envoy.

What changed. Special counsel Lee Myeong-hyeon (이명현) had asked for five years, over the investigation into Pvt. Chae Soo-geun's (채수근) death, per JoongAng Ilbo. That's a separate case from Yoon's martial-law conviction. The same court, Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 under Judge Cho Hyung-woo (조형우), also acquitted co-defendants including former national security adviser Cho Tae-yong (조태용) and former justice minister Park Sung-jae (박성재).

Worth knowing. The court said appointing Lee ambassador didn't amount to hiding him, and prosecutors didn't show that summoning him while he served in Australia was legally impossible. Yoon's lawyers asked the special counsel not to appeal, per Hankyoreh.

What's next. The appeal window is still open.

Festivals worth checking out

• September 25. Andong Mask Dance Festival (안동국제탈춤페스티벌): ten days of talchum (탈춤) on the riverside in Andong. KTX-Eum from Cheongnyangni takes about two hours. Pair it with Hahoe Folk Village. You can follow the dancing with little English.
• September 26. Bupyeong Pungmul Festival (부평풍물대축제): percussion and dance in Incheon, a short walk from Bupyeong Station. The street procession is the easy entry point. Street events are free; competitive stages need tickets.
• September 27. Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival (수원화성문화제): UNESCO Hwaseong Fortress, with English audio guides and an easy day trip from Seoul. The royal procession is the main event. Check the afternoon slot at en.shfestival.com.
• Still running. Gwangju Biennale (광주비엔날레), Gwangju, through November 15. Bucheon International Comics Festival (부천국제만화축제), Korea Cartoon Museum in Bucheon, September 18 to 20. Jeju Haenyeo Festival (제주해녀축제), Haenyeo Museum in Gujwa-eup, September 19.

See the full festivals calendar for what's running across the country.

Good Reads

• Korea JoongAng Daily. "Seoul apartment prices rise for 86 consecutive weeks as record housing rally shifts beyond Gangnam." Seoul sale prices have now risen for 86 straight weeks, the longest run on record, with outer districts leading the way. Prices climbed 0.195 percent in the first week of September, per the Korea Real Estate Board, and jeonse (전세) and monthly rents are climbing right along with them. (link)

• Seoulstart. "Korean Identity Verification (본인인증): Why Apps Reject You and How to Fix It (2026)." The usual fail is a name mismatch across the mobile carrier, the Alien Registration Card (외국인등록증), and the bank. Two paths that work: phone-based PASS or carrier SMS, and certificates (joint, financial, or Naver, Kakao, or Toss). Government24 (정부24) accepts five types. A phone in an employer's or landlord's name typically fails.

• The Korea Times. "Korea demands years of Google records over sex-crime victim data exposure." Gender Equality and Family Minister Won Min-kyung (원민경) says the government is reviewing Google's legal liability after takedown-request files, including names and workplaces, turned up on a third-party site. About 20 records could identify someone, though duplicates mean that's not 20 separate victims. The site blocked Korea-related records around 1 a.m. on September 7. (link)

• Aju Press. "Chuseok Box Office Showdown: Min-sik Choi, Hae-jin Yoo, and Yo-han Byun Face Off." Three Korean films are trying to take the Chuseok (추석) holiday from long-running foreign titles. "Intern" opens September 16, with Choi Min-sik (최민식) and Han So-hee (한소희). "Assassins" and "Tazza: Song of Belphegor" both open September 23. (link)

• The Korea Herald. "Exports up 83% in first 10 days of Sept. on chips." Korea Customs Service put exports at $35 billion for September 1 to 10, up about 83 percent and a record for that slice of the month. Semiconductors alone hit $16.5 billion, up 270 percent, and the period ran a $10.4 billion surplus. (link)

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