Spain vs. France World Cup Semifinal Showdown Kim Tae-hyo Arrested · Lee Kang-in Heads to Atlético

News of Spain's 2-1 win over Belgium and France's 2-0 victory over Morocco sent Yamal vs. Mbappé semifinal content surging to the top of global X and TikTok trends.

Following MBC's report, news of Lee Kang-in's imminent move to Atlético Madrid shot to the top of real-time search rankings on Korean portals, drawing simultaneous reactions from K-pop and football fans.

Following the July 10 arrest warrant for former NSC Deputy Chief Kim Tae-hyo, keywords related to extending the special counsel investigation — set to end July 24 — spiked again in online searches.

The Korea Consumer Agency tested 14 capsule and stick-type olive oil products and found actual acidity levels 128–311% higher than labeled values. These products have surged in popularity, often dubbed 'natural Wegovy.'

Prolonged summer rains have spiked demand for rainy-season fashion. Jelly shoe searches on Musinsa rose 105% year-over-year in June, while parasol searches on LF Mall climbed 26%.

Meta Superintelligence Labs unveiled Muse Image on July 7, available for free in the Meta AI app, Instagram Stories, and WhatsApp. It supports multi-photo compositing and sketch-based editing.

Pop Mart opens 'The Monsters 10th Anniversary World Tour' in Chelsea, New York on July 17. After stops in Shanghai, Paris, and Tokyo, the 6,000㎡ US debut spans nine galleries.

Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant on July 10 for Kim Tae-hyo, former First Deputy Chief of the NSC, on charges of insurrection involvement and abuse of authority. He is accused of spreading messages justifying the December 3 martial law declaration to allied nations.

President Lee Jae-myung completed his overseas trip from July 7–11, attending the NATO summit and making a state visit to Mongolia. The tour focused on K-defense cooperation and strengthening critical mineral supply chains.

Kyunghyang Shinmun published an analysis piece on July 11 raising concerns that President Lee Jae-myung's direct involvement in K-defense sales during the NATO trip could create future state liability.

The Korean Council for University Education will hold a 2027 susi (early admission) fair at COEX from July 23–25, with 150 universities participating. One-on-one admissions officer consultations and a comprehensive information center will be available.

The Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province Office of Education held an admissions information session for arts and physical education programs on July 11 at Jeonju Vision University. University admission criteria, evaluation methods, and 2026 admissions results were presented.

The IMF upgraded Korea's 2026 growth forecast to 2.6% on July 9, up 0.7 percentage points from April — the largest upward revision among the 30 major economies. Strong AI chip exports were cited as offsetting the effects of Middle East conflict.

After reaching a high of around 1,559 won in early July, the KRW/USD exchange rate fell to approximately 1,513 won as of July 8. Weaker-than-expected US June employment data contributed to dollar softness.

SK Hynix listed on Nasdaq (SKHY) on July 10, closing at $168.01 — up 13% from its IPO price of $149. The offering raised $26.5 billion, making it the largest US IPO by a foreign company on record.

Chinese DRAM maker CXMT filed for a 29.5 billion yuan (~₩6.5 trillion) IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Its DRAM market share surged from 4.7% in Q4 2025 to 7.6% in Q1 2026.

Korea's M&A market reached ₩46.98 trillion in deal value in the first half of 2026, up 65% year-over-year. Air Liquide's acquisition of Daekyung Industrial Gas (₩4.85T) was the largest single deal of the half.

Seoul apartment transaction prices rose 0.30% in the first week of July, with the pace of increase widening from the prior week. Demand in Seoul remains firm even after Dongtan, Giheung, and Guri were designated as speculation overheated districts.

According to Korea Real Estate Board data, national apartment sale prices rose 0.11% and jeonse prices rose 0.12% in the first week of July. Gains were concentrated in transit-adjacent and large-complex properties.

Gyeonggi Province designated apartments in Hwaseong Dongtan, Yongin Giheung, and Guri as land transaction permission zones from July 5 through December 31, 2027, requiring owner-occupancy and blocking leveraged gap investment.

Curocell's Limcato passed the Severe Disease Deliberation Committee on July 8, entering the National Health Insurance coverage listing process. Korea's first domestically developed CAR-T therapy, it is now subject to a pilot program running approval, evaluation, and negotiation in parallel.

Momenta debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 8, raising approximately $750 million. The IPO was 414 times oversubscribed, valuing the company at roughly $8.9 billion.

Tesla launched its fully autonomous robotaxi service in Miami, USA on July 5, marking a shift in the global auto industry's competitive focus from vehicle sales to autonomous mobility services.

The Ministry of Environment implemented a new EV supplier evaluation system on July 1. BYD scored poorly on supply chain contribution and was excluded from subsidies, while Tesla, Hyundai, Kia, and 24 other brands were approved.

Starting July 1, a mandatory EV fire safety insurance scheme covers third-party damages from EV fires in vehicles within 10 years of registration, up to ₩15 billion per incident.

OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT Work on July 9, built on the GPT-5.6 model. The agent autonomously creates documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, rolling out first to Pro and Enterprise paid plan subscribers.

xAI launched Grok 4.5 on July 8. Specialized in coding and agentic tasks and co-trained with Cursor, it is priced at $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens.

Korea's Fair Trade Commission submitted an investigation report and initiated review proceedings on allegations that Google abused its dominant position in the app marketplace. Google is accused of imposing MFN clauses on 22 domestic and foreign game companies; fines of up to ₩849.6 billion are under consideration.

A wildfire that erupted on July 9 in Almería, Andalusia killed at least 12 people and left 23 missing. Most victims were foreign nationals, making it one of the deadliest wildfires on record in Spain.

Prime Minister Modi visited New Zealand for the first time in 40 years and signed 18 MoUs with PM Luxon. The two countries also reached agreement on an FTA and an Indo-Pacific maritime cooperation framework.

The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, which began July 6, completed its first week. She faces charges of corruption, abuse of authority, and conspiracy to commit murder; the defendant did not appear in person.

The International Criminal Court confirmed in a statement that three African nations have officially initiated the one-year process to withdraw from the ICC.

Curocell's Limcato passed the Severe Disease Deliberation Committee on July 8, entering the National Health Insurance listing process — roughly two months after receiving MFDS approval in April.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that from July 1, manual therapy is reclassified as a managed benefit, with NHI applying at ₩43,850 per session (95% co-pay), capped at twice a week and 15 sessions per year.

From July 1, the Ministry of Health and Welfare added pancreatic disability as a new disability category, allowing patients with insulin secretion deficiency to register. This is the first expansion of disability categories since 2003.

A wildfire that broke out on July 9 in Almería, Spain killed at least 12 people and left 23 missing. Occurring amid a European heatwave, it is now recorded as one of the deadliest wildfires in Spanish history.

Europe is enduring its third heatwave in six weeks. Barcelona recorded its highest temperature in 112 years on July 9, and the UK's UKHSA extended its heat-health alert through July 12.

The World Meteorological Organization put the probability of El Niño developing between June and August 2026 at 80%. Global average ocean surface temperature in June reached 21°C, surpassing the 2023 and 2024 records.

TXT Yeonjun's mini album 2 'NO LABELS: PART 02,' released July 10, sold 661,924 copies on its first day per Hanteo Chart — the highest single-day sales for a Korean solo artist in 2026.

BTS V (@thv) crossed 75 million Instagram followers, becoming the first Korean male celebrity to reach that milestone. He now ranks second among male pop stars globally, behind Justin Bieber.

The Esports World Cup 2026, with a total prize pool of $75 million, opened in Paris on July 6. Competitions across 25 game titles run through August 23; Naver Chzzk has exclusive live broadcast rights for nine titles.

The three groups' collaborative single 'ICONIC BY MISTAKE' charted at #28 on Spotify's Weekly Global Top Songs, marking its fourth consecutive week in the Top 30.

Spain defeated Belgium 2-1 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2010. Merino scored the decisive goal just two minutes after coming on as a substitute — his second match-winner in consecutive games.

France defeated Morocco 2-0 in the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals. Mbappé's eighth goal of the tournament put him level with Messi at the top of the scoring charts.

MBC reported that Lee Kang-in is set to leave Paris Saint-Germain for Atlético Madrid. The transfer fee is approximately ₩70 billion under a five-year contract.

Portugal fell 0-1 to Spain in the round of 16 and were eliminated. Ronaldo scored three goals in the tournament but ended his final World Cup with tears as the team failed to advance to the quarterfinals.

Lotte Mart launched 'Summer King' apples; E-Mart is selling seasonal fresh produce via Order-to-Home; Coupang secured 130 tons of high-sugar watermelons; and GS Shop scheduled special food programming.

The Korea Consumer Agency tested 14 capsule and stick-type olive oil products and found actual acidity levels 128–311% higher than the values stated on labels.

Prolonged summer rains have driven a surge in rainy-season fashion demand. Jelly shoe searches on Musinsa rose 105% year-over-year in June, while parasol searches on LF Mall climbed 26%.