Yonhap News Summary

Justice Minister nominee Lee Yong-cheol has reiterated his support for a special counsel probe into President Lee Jae Myung's allegedly fabricated indictments, emphasizing the need to uncover the truth. The National Assembly's passage of the special counsel bill last week has been criticized by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) as a potential means to cancel all indictments against the president.

South Korea added 139,000 jobs in October, marking the fourth consecutive month of job growth exceeding 100,000. The employment rate stood at 29.17 million people in October, compared to 29.04 million a year earlier, according to Ministry of Data and Statistics data.

Seoul shares turned higher after a weak opening, despite concerns about U.S. inflation surpassing expectations and potentially leading to future rate hikes. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 13.71 points, or 0.26 percent, to 5,252.84 by 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday.

National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik has vowed to push for constitutional revision, firmly rejecting suggestions that the move would enable President Lee Jae Myung to run for a second term. Opposition lawmakers have questioned whether the speaker has left open the possibility of the president's eligibility to seek a second term, following his July press conference statement that the decision would ultimately be left to the people.