KOSPI Circuit Breaker for Second Consecutive Day & Fed Hawkish Hold — Double Shock

More than 1,100 employees from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta signed an open letter on July 28 requesting that the U.S. government establish an international AI pacing mechanism. Signatories include OpenAI Chief Scientist Pachocki and Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark.

Nvidia founded the 'Open Secure AI Alliance' on July 27 with more than 30 companies including Microsoft, IBM, SpaceX, and Hugging Face, aiming to build shared AI cyber-defense tools. The three major closed-model companies — OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic — did not participate.

Data security firm Cyera announced on July 28 that it will acquire Oasis Security, which specializes in Non-human Identity management, for approximately $1 billion. The acquisition aims to strengthen AI agent security and is Cyera's third acquisition this year.

On July 29, the KOSPI plunged an additional 360 points (5.98%) to close at 5,663.24, and the KOSDAQ also fell 6.12%. Simultaneous circuit breakers in both markets on two consecutive days is the first such occurrence in Korean stock market history.

The U.S. Fed held the benchmark interest rate at 3.5-3.75% at the July 28-29 FOMC meeting. Three members argued for a hike — the first time three members have dissented in the same direction since 2016 — and the Dow Jones fell more than 1,100 points.

SK Hynix's Q2 operating profit announced on July 29 was 60.5426 trillion won (operating margin 76%), an all-time quarterly record. Revenue grew 257% and operating profit grew 557% year-over-year, and cumulative first-half revenue surpassed 100 trillion won for the first time.

Meta and Microsoft reported Q2 earnings on July 29. The market focused on the balance between AI infrastructure investment and profitability, as well as each company's capital expenditure guidance.

The Democratic Party of Korea decided to pass an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act abolishing the prosecution's supplementary investigative authority at the National Assembly's plenary session on July 30. The People Power Party announced it would respond with a filibuster.

The National Assembly Steering Committee subcommittee voted on July 29, led by the Democratic Party, to pass an amendment cutting the fast-track review period from the current maximum of 330 days to 90 days. The People Power Party boycotted the vote.

The Democratic Party of Korea announced it will pass a special counsel bill to investigate the National Election Commission's ballot shortage incident at the plenary session on July 30. The People Power Party continued to disagree on the scope of investigation targets.

In Haenam-gun, South Jeolla Province, a Thai national worker (38 years old) collapsed with a body temperature of 43°C while working in a chili pepper field just three days after arriving and died. The maximum daytime temperature in Haenam on the day of the accident was 33.7°C, and a heat wave warning was in effect.

As of July 28, the estimated number of heat-related deaths this summer rose to 9, and cumulative patients exceeded 1,400. The power reserve rate also dropped to around 10% as peak electricity demand was forecast at 94 GW.

Cumulative livestock deaths have surpassed 302,454, and surface water temperatures at fish farms along the southern coast have soared to 28-29°C, raising growing concern about mass fish die-offs.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment plans to open four weirs on the lower Nakdong River sequentially from July 30 to August 2, lowering water levels by up to 0.90 meters and reducing algae blooms by approximately 30%.

This year, heat wave alerts were expanded from the previous two tiers to three tiers (advisory, warning, and extreme warning). As of late July, the highest-level extreme heat wave warning was in effect for 11 zones across the country.

The third interstellar object, comet 3I/ATLAS, is passing through Saturn's orbit in July. China's Tianwen-1 orbiter captured images of the comet's tail and coma, and NASA's JWST is continuing observations to determine its origin.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Science and ICT announced their 'AI Basic Medical Strategy.' AI packages will be distributed to public health centers nationwide starting in 2027, and a public medical AI high-speed network will be connected to 72 responsible medical institutions by 2029.

Ukrainian forces struck oil refineries in Ryazan and Perm, the Rostov export terminal, and a Wildberries distribution center with drones on the night of July 29. Russian authorities said at least three people were killed on the Russian mainland and in Crimea.

After President Trump declared the end of the ceasefire with Iran, the Houthi rebels declared a Red Sea blockade on July 20 and resumed attacks on oil tankers. The U.S. and Iran have continued to strike each other's targets.

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong strongly criticized the ASEAN Regional Forum's statement urging denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea also refused to attend the forum, maintaining its bilateral diplomatic track with Russia and China.

ATEEZ released their Japanese 5th single 'BAD (Japanese Ver.)' on July 29. In addition to the original track, the release includes new songs 'Seeker' and 'Higher' for a total of 6 tracks, and a showcase was held in Japan the day before.

Director Na Hong-jin's new film 'Hope' earned approximately 16 billion won in just three days, setting the record for Korea's biggest box office opening of 2026. It is an SF thriller starring Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, and Michael Fassbender.

KT Wiz defeated the NC Dinos on July 29 powered by Hilliard's grand slam home run, achieving a 5-game win streak. The day before (the 28th), they also shutout NC 10-0, further solidifying their hold on second place.

Samsung Lions routed KIA 12-5 in Daegu on July 28. After erupting for 8 runs in the first inning, Samsung maintained first place with a record of 58 wins, 2 draws, and 35 losses.

The first moon base partnership meeting between Korea and NASA was held in Seoul on July 29. NASA requested Korea's role in communications, landers, and robotics, and set a goal of finalizing role assignments within 90 days.

With U.S. electric vehicle sales plunging 27% year-over-year in Q1 2026, Hyundai decided to halt Ioniq 6 imports and Kia decided to discontinue the Niro EV, as both companies restructure their U.S. market strategies.

As of July, the average jeonse price for Seoul apartments recorded 704.58 million won, exceeding 700 million won for the first time ever. The average sales price also approached 1.59 billion won, nearing the 1.6 billion won mark.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is pursuing a plan to lower the public guarantee limit for jeonse loans in the metropolitan area and regulated zones from 80% to 70%. Accompanying measures to protect homeless end-users were also announced.

The Minimum Wage Commission voted to set the minimum wage for 2027 at 10,700 won per hour. This is an increase of 380 won (3.7%) from 2026 (10,320 won), and differentiated application by industry failed for the 39th consecutive year.

The employment rate for youth (ages 15-29) in June was 43.9%, down 1.7 percentage points from a year ago, recording 26 consecutive months of decline. The number of employed youth fell by 197,000, marking 44 consecutive months of decrease.

The Korea Communications Commission announced plans to amend the Network Act to restrict SNS membership for those under 14, and to limit personalized recommendation algorithms and infinite scroll features as defaults for those under 19.

Meta's AI photo synthesis feature 'Muse Images,' introduced on Instagram, drew fierce backlash from SAG-AFTRA and CAA over allegations of unauthorized automatic consent for public accounts. Meta admitted it 'fell short of its standards' and removed the feature.

Morgan Stanley listed Ethereum (MSSE) and Solana (MSOL) staking ETPs on NYSE Arca on July 28. The products stake 50-80% of ETH assets, and staking rewards accrue to investors.

The Financial Services Commission announced on July 29 that it will pursue single-act legislation for a Digital Asset Framework Act. The plan consolidates regulations on the digital asset industry, markets, user protection, and stablecoin issuance and distribution into one law.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins officially declared support for the U.S. cryptocurrency regulatory bill CLARITY Act on July 28. He stated that if the bill fails to pass, the SEC will issue its own rules.

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan on July 28, causing a gas leak explosion at a shopping mall that killed 18 people and injured 62. Evacuation orders were issued to approximately 300,000 people.

The Nikkei Stock Average fell 2,566 yen (3.9%) on July 28 to close at 62,364 yen. A simultaneous decline in the Korean stock market and growing concerns over intensifying AI and semiconductor competition triggered the sell-off.

Japan's Ministry of Labour advisory council decided to raise the national average minimum wage for fiscal year 2026 by 55 yen to 1,176 yen. The increase is smaller than the record-breaking 63-yen hike of the previous year.

The 2nd Comprehensive Special Counsel indicted former Deputy Chief of the National Security Office Kim Tae-hyo on July 29 on charges of participating in insurrection and abuse of authority for spreading messages to allied nations justifying the December 3 emergency martial law declaration.

The first moon base partnership meeting between Korea and NASA was held in Seoul on July 29. NASA requested Korea's role in communications, landers, and robotics, and set a goal of finalizing role assignments within 90 days.