Yonhap News Summary

President Lee Jae Myung called on Wednesday for a major police reform in South Korea, urging the force to address wrongful practices and systems. He emphasized the need for a special system to independently verify police investigations, following the administration's move to strip the police of investigative powers. This shift occurred after prosecutors' investigative authority was removed, leaving the police solely responsible for indictments and maintaining them.

The KOSPI, Korea's main stock market index, rose 4.1 percent on Wednesday morning, with technology stocks leading the gains. Tech stocks recovered despite worries about the high investment into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Meanwhile, the National Museum of Korea's director, You Hong-june, offered to resign over a controversy involving a misattributed calligraphic work from his personal collection.

The piece, created by a pro-Japanese collaborator during Japan's colonial rule of Korea (1910-45), was falsely credited to a Korean independence activist. The museum found the artwork in his personal collection, sparking the controversy. Finally, the ruling Democratic Party issued warnings to Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae and a lawmaker after they made remarks seen as disparaging firefighters.

Governor Choo had labeled the firefighting service as the biggest "headache" and "fiscal drain" for local governments during a parliamentary audit.