Tesla Hits Record High…National Assembly to Hold Coupang Hearing Today [Morning Briefing]

◆New York stocks mixed on employment concerns…Tesla hits record high

The New York market, which received public data on the U.S. labor market after a six-week gap caused by a federal government shutdown, closed mixed today amid caution. At the New York Stock Exchange early today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.62%, the S&P 500 fell 0.24%, and the Nasdaq Composite alone rose 0.23% from the previous trading day. According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payrolls increased by 64,000 month-on-month in November. Although it was a slight increase, there has been no substantial change tracked since April. The November unemployment rate was 4.6%, the highest in about four years since September 2021. International oil prices fell to a four-year low, hitting energy stocks. Tesla rose 3.07% to $489.88 per share on robo-taxi hopes, reaching an all-time high.

◆Wi Seong-rak: "Possible separate U.S.-ROK agreement on nuclear submarines to be discussed"

Wi Seong-rak, director of the National Security Office who visited the United States, said that it may be possible to seek a separate agreement between the U.S. and South Korea regarding the construction of nuclear-powered submarines. Speaking to reporters at Washington Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., in the early morning Korea time today, Wi said that, as in Australia's case, applying an exception under the U.S. Atomic Energy Act would require a bilateral agreement, and that he would discuss the related possibilities. Regarding the U.S.-ROK consultative body for nuclear submarine construction, he said, "We are preparing on our side and will try to ascertain U.S. preparations," and that he would seek ways to facilitate consultations. During his U.S. visit, Wi plans to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright to discuss South Korea's uranium enrichment and nuclear submarine construction issues and to exchange views on coordinating North Korea policy.

◆National Assembly to hold 'Coupang hearing' today

The National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee will hold a hearing this morning related to the personal information breach, with Harold Rogers, Coupang's newly appointed CEO, among those scheduled to testify. Bom Kim, regarded as Coupang's de facto controller, is expected not to attend the hearing. Committee Chair Choi Min-hee disclosed on the 14th that Kim submitted a written notification of absence citing a "business schedule." Coupang Eats CEO Kim Myung-gyu and Senior Vice President for External Relations Min Byung-ki of Coupang are also expected to appear as witnesses. The committee has indicated that if Kim and others actually fail to appear at the hearing, it will file charges for violations of the Act on the Examination of Witnesses and related laws while simultaneously pushing for a parliamentary probe into Coupang's personal information breach.

◆Korea's private orbital launch vehicle 'Hanbit-Nano' first commercial launch

Innospace's domestically developed launch vehicle 'Hanbit-Nano' will be launched tomorrow at 3:45 a.m. from the Alcântara Space Center in Brazil. The mission, named 'Spaceward,' aims to carry eight payloads to an altitude of 300 km, including five small satellites for insertion into Brazilian and Indian orbits and three non-separating experimental devices. The payload mass is 18 kg. A model aluminum can from Korean beverage company Bruguru will also be carried. Through this mission, Innospace will become the first domestic private company to place customer satellites into low Earth orbit. Hanbit-Nano is a two-stage space launch vehicle measuring 21.8 m in length and 1.4 m in diameter, capable of delivering a 90 kg payload to a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit. The liftoff mass is 18.8 t; the first stage is equipped with one 25t-class hybrid rocket engine, and the second stage with one 3t-class liquid methane rocket engine.

◆Cloudy with snow and rain mainly in eastern Gangwon

On Wednesday, the nation will be mostly cloudy, becoming clear from the morning in the Seoul metropolitan area and Chungcheong regions. Jeolla, Gyeongsangnam, and Jeju will clear gradually from the afternoon. Some rain will fall in Jeju until the morning, and rain or snow will fall from the morning into the night in Gangwon highlands and the East Sea coast; rain or snow is expected from late afternoon on the northern Gyeongbuk East Sea coast and northeastern highlands. Daytime temperatures are forecast at 5–12°C, higher than the seasonal average (typical lows -9–1°C, highs 2–10°C). Thick fog will linger in the central inland until the morning, and icy roads and road black ice may form mainly in central inland areas and high southern mountains, so caution is advised. Fine dust concentrations are expected to be 'bad' in Seoul, northern Gyeonggi, southern Gyeonggi, Sejong, Chungbuk, and Daegu, and 'moderate' in other regions.

No Jeong-dong, Hankyung.com reporter dong2@hankyung.com