Seoul: South Korea has yet to identify the type of airborne objects that struck a South Korean-operated vessel in the Strait of Hormuz last week, according to Cheong Wa Dae Tuesday. The presidential office disclosed the position in response to a local media report suggesting that HESA Shahed 136 attack drones may have been used when the Panama-flagged cargo ship HMM Namu, operated by major South Korean shipping company HMM Co., was struck in the strait last Monday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the incident has had a ripple effect on the financial markets as Seoul shares fell by more than 2 percent Tuesday. This decline came as investors moved to take profit after a record-breaking run amid an impasse in peace negotiations between the United States and Iran. Additionally, the local currency sharply fell against the U.S. dollar.
In the financial sector, after rising as high as 7999.67 shortly after the opening bell, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 179.09 points, or 2.29 percent, to close at 7,643.15. In legal news, an appeals court increased former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min's prison sentence to nine years from seven due to his role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid.
The Seoul High Court handed down the sentence after convicting Lee of playing a key role in an insurrection by conveying Yoon's orders to the then chief of the National Fire Agency to seal off the National Assembly and cut off power and water to media outlets critical of the administration at the time. Additionally, the presidential chief of staff for policy proposed introducing public dividends to distribute the economic benefits from an AI-driven economic boom.
Kim Yong-beom made the suggestion in a Facebook post, as the benchmark KOSPI was approaching the record-high 8,000-point mark, driven by gains in chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. On another front, President Lee Jae Myung instructed officials to pursue a proactive fiscal policy in the second half of the year and beyond to improve people's livelihoods, highlighting the potential for greater investment to yield bigger returns.