USJobsShock·Kospi7000 GoogleArgon·AnthropicIPO

Google launched Gemini 4 Argon at $2 per million tokens but restricted certain capabilities due to cybersecurity concerns, reigniting the big-tech AI model competition.

Anthropic's IPO prospectus flagged existential AI risk and disclosed $42 billion in cumulative losses, setting what analysts call a new transparency benchmark for AI company listings.

Meta introduced a mascot for its AI agent Muse, escalating a trust and approachability competition with OpenAI's Jolly Dots branding across the big-tech AI landscape.

KOSPI rose 0.46% to 7,003.74, reclaiming the 7,000 level for the first time in five sessions, led by institutional buying in energy and defence stocks. Foreign investors net sold over 1 trillion won.

The won strengthened 7.8 won to close at 1,350.6 per dollar, its lowest in more than 20 days, driven by corporate foreign-exchange selling from heavy-industry exporters.

U.S. September nonfarm payrolls increased by only 29,000, far below market expectations. Unemployment climbed to 4.2%, raising uncertainty over the Fed's rate-cut trajectory.

Russian drone and missile strikes destroyed a key bridge in Kyiv, severely disrupting traffic. Ukraine urged Western partners to impose additional sanctions.

President Trump threatened Iran with new airstrikes and dispatched a third U.S. aircraft carrier group to the region. A tanker was struck in the Strait of Hormuz amid the escalating tensions.

OPEC+ indefinitely postponed a meeting to review production capacity, citing Iran-related geopolitical uncertainty. International crude oil prices declined amid IEA emergency reserve release talks.

Typhoon Krathon adjusted its track westward and is expected to strengthen to Category 4 before heading toward Japan. Direct impact on the Korean Peninsula is assessed as low.

The government unveiled its long-term climate technology strategy, targeting tandem solar cell efficiency above 35% and commercialisation by 2030, alongside a superconducting grid buildout plan.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment officially launched a nuclear energy public deliberation committee to discuss the share of nuclear power in South Korea's electricity supply plan.

Ulsan City upgraded its citywide disaster-resilience performance targets in advance of the heavy rain season, responding proactively to increased risk of localised downpours from climate change.

KT unveiled a medical AI standard model automating reception, medical records and cancer diagnostics, with plans to expand it to top-tier general hospitals.

Research confirmed that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines enhance immune responses in brain tumour patients. Synergy with tumour immune checkpoint inhibitors is drawing attention as a potential cancer treatment approach.

NASA and SpaceX's Crew-13 docked with the International Space Station just 8 hours after launch, setting the fastest crewed docking record in U.S. history.

A space mission captured daytime aurora borealis over Earth's polar regions for the first time, offering new insights into the mechanisms of high-latitude aurora formation.

NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day featured a complete visualisation of all 313 nebulae in the Sharpless catalog, covering the full expanse of the catalogue in a single image.

Saturn approaches opposition between October 2 and 9, offering the best viewing conditions of the year with optimal ring angle and closest approach to Earth.

The winners of the 21st Seoul International Drama Awards were officially announced, reaffirming the global reach of Korean drama and signalling the start of the K-drama autumn season.

Doctor X, a remake of the Japanese original starring Kim Ji-won, was confirmed to air simultaneously on SBS and Netflix in October, highlighting growing Korea-Japan content collaboration.

Netflix officially confirmed its 12-title Korean drama lineup for October, including 100 Days of Lies, signalling continued strength of the Korean Wave heading into autumn.

South Korea drew 0-0 with FIFA No. 48 Venezuela in Ulsan, trailing 7-12 in shots. Son Heung-min's attempt to set a new national team scoring record was not achieved.

Kim Min-jae publicly criticised the team after the draw, saying everyone must play as one. A moment of him throwing his boots in frustration was caught by cameras.

The KBO League officially surpassed 12 million attendance for the second consecutive year in just 684 games. The league is 240,000 fans away from its all-time single-season record.

Micron's Q2 2026 DRAM market share reached 25%, narrowing the gap with SK Hynix to just 1 percentage point. Samsung Electronics retained the top spot with more than 39%.

OK Financial Group's deal to acquire MG Non-Life Insurance for $1.1 billion is reported to be in the final stages, potentially resolving a four-year stalemate.

Naver launched a map application in Saudi Arabia, taking on Google Maps in its overseas super-app expansion strategy.

Han & Company decided to exit its SK Shipping stake via IPO rather than a direct sale.

Daegu City announced a comprehensive housing market stabilisation plan on October 2, including supply and demand support measures to revive the sluggish regional property market.

The Vice Minister of Land reaffirmed the government's target to break ground on 62,000 public housing units in the Seoul metropolitan area by year-end.

The Vice Minister of Land announced plans to supply 1.19 million public housing units by 2030, with a strategic emphasis on regional cities outside the capital.

The South Korean government officially launched a nuclear energy public deliberation committee on October 2 to discuss the share of nuclear power in future electricity supply plans.

Ongoing negotiations over IEA emergency fuel reserve releases contributed to downward pressure on international crude oil prices.

The South Korean government officially announced a target to add 10 GW of new renewable energy capacity annually starting from 2027.

A major electricity grid overhaul is being pursued to support connection of more than 100 GW of renewable energy, with transmission and distribution infrastructure as the key challenge.

GIST revealed the educational framework for its AI gifted school opening in 2029, centred on cultivating students who ask bold questions, with a two-day residential admissions process under consideration.

Thirty-five recipients were recognised at the 27th Social Welfare Day ceremony in Seoul's Yeongdeungpo district, accompanied by a healing concert.

Daegu Southern Education Office's Wee Centre will conduct school-visit mental health counselling at seven schools throughout October.

Tesla Q3 2026 deliveries of 486,532 units exceeded the Wall Street consensus of 461,974 by 5%. Year-over-year deliveries declined 2%, but the beat pushed shares up 2%.

Mercedes-Benz confirmed it will discontinue the EQE sedan, Maybach EQS SUV and one other EV model from its 2027 lineup.

Hyundai Motor's September global sales fell 16.0% year-on-year to 307,998 units, while Kia rose 5.1% to 281,984 units.

BYD's September domestic China sales fell approximately 22% month-on-month, attributed to seasonal adjustment and intensifying domestic EV competition.

The AI agent systems of Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Hana Bank were simultaneously hacked, exposing the personal data of 89 individuals. Police have opened a preliminary investigation.

The 16-year-old leader of the KillSec ransomware group was arrested in Spain through a European joint law enforcement operation, with servers seized.

A Symantec report identified the Warlock ransomware group exploiting SharePoint vulnerabilities to attack water utilities, telecommunications providers and government agencies.

Bitcoin approached $85,000 as buying sentiment built ahead of the U.S. jobs report, with Ethereum rising in parallel.

The IMF approved an exemption from El Salvador's mandatory Bitcoin legal-tender provisions and resumed a $138 million loan disbursement.

Crypto markets on October 2 saw Bitcoin maintain strength as participants monitored regulatory developments from the IMF, SEC and the EU's MiCA framework.

South Korea's September consumer price index rose 2.9% year-on-year, with fuel, processed food and IT devices all contributing to the broad-based price increase.

Nonghyup Economic Holdings expanded its rice procurement volume to support paddy prices during the harvest season.

Nongshim's Lyphil product won the Innovation Selection award at SIAL Paris 2026, the world's largest food trade fair, reinforcing K-food's global standing.

The Korea Food Industries Association expanded its K-food flagship pavilion at SIAL Paris to strengthen exposure and market penetration for Korean food brands globally.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' union voted to reject the tentative wage agreement by 52.14%, with the deal averaging 40.56 million won per worker.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor carried out a large-scale senior reshuffle and established an independent investigative authority for labour compliance inspectors.

The Samsung Biologics union announced a second general strike of three weeks' duration starting October 26, raising concerns about disruption to key biomanufacturing capacity.