Kospi surges 3.56% to 6,813 on weak US CPI; govt announces real estate measures; LiteLLM leaks 153GB credentials; DeepSeek raises API prices up to 1,100%.
On August 13, Kospi closed at 6,813.34, up 234.30 points (3.56%) on news of easing July US CPI. Samsung Electronics rose 4.50%, SK Hynix 7.25%, leading the index. The won-dollar rate closed at 1,416.1 won, down 7.7 won from the previous trading day.
The government announced comprehensive real estate finance measures on August 13. Non-resident single-property owners leasing apartments in the Seoul metro area will face jeonse loan guarantee restrictions from January next year. A three-part youth housing support package including the Youth Future Housing Loan was also announced.
The CI/CD pipeline of AI open-source library LiteLLM was compromised, exposing 153GB of credentials including cloud keys, SSH keys, and AI API keys from 2,500+ companies including AWS, Samsung, and Cisco.
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek announced on August 13 that it is raising API prices for V4-Pro and V4-Flash models by 50-1,100% depending on model, token type, and time of day. New prices take effect August 17 with peak/off-peak dual pricing introduced.
As of August 10, heat-related deaths in 2026 reached 30, exceeding last year's full-year total of 29, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Total heat-related cases hit 3,320, with those aged 80+ comprising 76.9%.
On August 13, the last operating reactor at Cernavoda, Romania's only nuclear power plant, shut down as record-low Danube water levels jeopardized cooling water supply. Cernavoda accounts for about 20% of Romania's electricity generation.
North Korean Lazarus group exploited a Windows Winsock driver privilege escalation vulnerability using fake job offers to target defense, aerospace, and drone companies. CISA added the CVE to its KEV catalog and mandated emergency patching for federal agencies.
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek announced August 13 it is raising API prices for V4-Pro and V4-Flash by 50-1,100%. New prices apply from August 17 with peak/off-peak dual pricing introduced.
Bloomberg reported August 13 that Anthropic is negotiating to acquire Israeli startup Decart AI for ~$6 billion. Decart, Nvidia-backed and previously raising $300 million, specializes in real-time generative video and GPU optimization.
Wall Street Journal reported August 13 that DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis discussed establishing an independent AI safety oversight body with leaders of major AI labs, the US Treasury Secretary, and White House technology advisors. The body aims to set common AGI safety standards.
Lenovo announced August 13 that Q1 2026 revenue reached a record $26.9 billion. AI-related product and service revenue surged ~60% year-over-year, accounting for ~35% of total revenue.
Kospi closed August 13 at 6,813.34, up 234.30 points (3.56%). Easing July US CPI relieved rate concerns. The won-dollar rate closed at 1,416.1 won, down 7.7 won from the previous trading day.
Samsung Electronics surged 4.50% and SK Hynix 7.25% as easing US CPI data drove foreign and institutional buying into large semiconductor stocks, propelling Kospi gains.
Democratic Party chair candidates Jeong Cheong-rae, Kim Min-seok, and Song Young-gil engaged in sharp exchanges calling each other 'betrayers' in their final TV debate ahead of the August 17 party convention.
TerraPower founder Bill Gates arrived at Gimpo Airport on August 13. During his visit he will discuss small modular reactor (SMR) supply chain cooperation with domestic companies including SK and HD Hyundai.
President Trump stated negotiations with Iran are a 'last chance,' saying he will prioritize reopening the Strait of Hormuz before continuing nuclear program discussions.
As of August 10, heat-related deaths in 2026 reached 30, exceeding last year's full-year total of 29, per the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Total heat-related cases hit 3,320, with those aged 80+ comprising 76.9%.
Joint analysis by Greenpeace and researchers shows Korea's compound disasters of heavy rain and heat waves increased 5-fold in frequency and 3-fold in intensity over the past four years compared to historical averages.
South Korea recorded record high temperatures this summer, with Yangsan in South Gyeongsang reaching 41.4°C. Experts stated that climate change driven by human activity is intensifying heat wave frequency, intensity, and duration.
A US cohort study found that the cardiometabolic index (CMI), combining waist-to-height ratio and triglyceride/HDL ratio, independently predicts all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk in type 2 diabetes patients.
UK c-TRAK phase 2 trial showed blood-based ctDNA can track triple-negative breast cancer recurrence without tissue biopsy. ctDNA positivity was associated with 27-fold higher recurrence risk, confirming its utility as an early surveillance tool.
IL-6 receptor inhibitors showed superior outcomes compared to conventional immunomodulatory therapy in polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) patients refractory to or relapsing on glucocorticoids, according to reported research.
A US-led research team discovered 'black hole stars' using Webb telescope data from 660 million years after the Big Bang. The solar-system-sized object is 100 billion times brighter than ordinary stars and harbors a black hole 100,000 times the sun's mass, the team reported.
A total eclipse passed over Greenland, Iceland, and Spain on August 12, 2026. Spain witnessed its first total eclipse since 1905. NASA selected a photo of the eclipse reflected in Zaragoza's Ebro River as the August 13 Astronomy Picture of the Day.
KATSEYE, under HYBE UMG and Geffen Records, released their 3rd EP 'WILD' on August 14. The Ed Sheeran co-written track 'Animal' debuted at No. 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Singer-songwriter HYNN released her 6th mini album 'Traces of Summer' on August 13, featuring title track '3 Days Later' and other summer-themed songs.
TXT member Yeonjun released the music video for his solo track 'Fxxking Star' on August 13, drawing fan attention to his individual project outside the group.
Samsung Lions defeated KIA Tigers 9-8 in a KBO regular season game at KIA Champions Field in Gwangju on August 13, ending a 4-game losing streak.
The LA Lakers were sold for $12 billion to Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger, announced August 12 (local time). This marks the highest price ever for a sports franchise sale.
The SMEs Ministry and Korea Venture Investment held the LP Growth Fund launch ceremony in Seoul on August 13. The structure includes 20% government and 80% private capital, with 18 institutions including pension funds and financial firms confirmed as investors.
KAIST Graduate School of Biomedical Innovation is recruiting 5 biotech companies for its Bio Venture Acceleration Program by August 15. The program targets companies 6-18 months after Series A-C funding and provides venture capital guidance on fundraising strategy.
The government announced comprehensive real estate finance measures on August 13. Non-resident single-property owners leasing Seoul metro area apartments will face jeonse loan guarantee restrictions starting January next year.
As part of the Aug 13 measures, the Youth Future Housing Loan launches in January 2027. A three-part youth housing package enables purchase of non-apartments like officetels and villas up to 400 million won at deposit-equivalent monthly payments.
National apartment prices rose 0.08% and jeonse prices 0.09% in the Korea Real Estate Board's second-week August survey. Seoul rose 0.21%, slowing from the prior week's 0.26%. The Seoul metro area also decelerated to 0.14%.
On August 13, Cernavoda, Romania's only nuclear power plant, shut down its last operating reactor as record-low Danube water levels jeopardized cooling water supply. Cernavoda generates about 20% of Romania's electricity.
The German cabinet approved amendments to the domestic emissions trading law on August 13, freezing 2027 carbon pricing at 55-65 euros per ton. This maintains the price ceiling for Germany's national emissions trading system covering heating and transport sectors.
A new report shows 2025 global atmospheric CO2 and methane concentrations reached record highs, though the CO2 growth rate slowed somewhat compared to the previous year's record rate of increase.
The Ministry of Science and ICT selected 8 universities including Pusan National, Seoul National, Yonsei, and POSTECH for its 2026 Research Security Enhancement Program. Each university receives ~500 million won annually through end-2028 to develop research security specialists.
With 18 years of frozen tuition since 2009, universities face severe financial strain, with professors unable to afford electronic journal subscriptions. Calls are mounting to close the gap between per-student support for K-12 (15 million won) and universities (8.68 million won).
The Education Ministry and Korea Industrial Technology Promotion Agency held an AI talent development bootcamp matching day at Seoul's El Tower on August 14. Naver Cloud, Upstage, and LG AI Research shared results from practical curriculum development programs.
California's Teamsters union filed a lawsuit against the state DMV, challenging April regulations allowing full autonomy for vehicles over 10,000 lbs. The union argues the rules bypassed economic impact assessment through a streamlined regulatory process.
Kia announced the 2027 EV3 compact SUV US launch price at $31,385 including destination charges. It offers up to 321 miles of range, a standard NACS charging port, and fast charging in as little as 29 minutes.
Toyota announced a recall of approximately 48,000 Tacoma pickup trucks due to suspension component defects that could affect vehicle safety, as reported to regulators.
Compromise of AI library LiteLLM's CI/CD pipeline exposed 153GB of credentials from 2,500+ companies including AWS, Samsung, and Cisco, covering cloud keys, SSH keys, and AI API keys.
Lazarus group exploited a Windows Winsock driver privilege escalation flaw via fake job offers to target defense, aerospace, and drone firms. CISA added the CVE to its KEV catalog and ordered emergency patching for federal agencies.
Chinese-linked hackers used an open-source AI agent to autonomously scan and breach 21 Taiwan government systems, stealing 85+ accounts and over 2,500 personnel records, according to Israeli security firm Dream.
Active attacks on Adobe Commerce/Magento vulnerability CVE-2026-71362, enabling unauthenticated access to sensitive resources, have been detected. Security experts are calling for immediate patching.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission held a public meeting on August 14 to vote on establishing a customized offering framework for certain digital asset investment contracts. It is the SEC's first formal crypto rulemaking since Chairman Paul Atkins took office.
Harmony's cross-chain bridge suffered a security attack and service outage. Attackers minted ~4 billion tokens and sent 2.8 billion to exchanges to sell, causing ONE token to drop nearly 40% in a single day.
Fidelity announced plans to add ETH staking functionality and quarterly cash distributions to its ~$900 million Ethereum ETF.
Kurly's Q2 2026 revenue rose 27% year-over-year to 734.8 billion won. Operating profit surged 1,991% to 27.4 billion won, marking six consecutive quarters of profitability.
The Food Ministry announced month-long discounts of up to 57% on 3,838 products including instant noodles, beverages, and frozen treats with 10 food companies including CJ CheilJedang and Lotte Chilsung, available across major retailers and e-commerce.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy expanded unit price labeling requirements from August 7 to large e-commerce platforms with annual transactions above 10 trillion won. 114 items including 76 processed foods must display per-100g/100ml unit prices.
The Metal Workers Union announced cross-strikes on August 20 (auto parts/affiliates) and August 21 (full vehicle workers), demanding extended retirement age, halt to price-cutting pressure, and direct negotiations with auto makers.
A Coupang courier collapsed from dizziness on August 12 at the Jeonju Bongdong depot and was hospitalized. Delivery unions filed an Occupational Safety and Health Act violation complaint with the Labor Ministry, citing failure to communicate heat relief measures to the local depot.
An LS Electric Cheongju factory worker worked 41 weeks above the 52-hour weekly limit in the year before his death, and 56-58 hours per week during authorized extended overtime. The Labor Ministry failed to separately verify health protection measures, records show.
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