U.S. stocks tumble on Greenland-driven trade fears… President Lee to hold New Year press conference today [Morning Briefing]

◆Wall Street slides on 'Greenland dispute'

Major Wall Street indexes fell sharply across the board amid the Greenland dispute. In early trading today at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.76% from the previous session, while the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 fell 2.06%. The S&P 500 posted its biggest one-day decline since October last year. The Nasdaq Composite also slid 2.39%. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened eight NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) member states opposing the purchase of Greenland, saying he would “raise tariffs from 10% to 25% until the deal goes through,” and warning he would “impose a 200% tariff on French wine and champagne,” stoking fears of a trade war that swept the market. Danish pension fund AkademikerPension said today it will sell its entire holdings of U.S. Treasuries worth $100 million (about 148 billion won), citing “deteriorating U.S. public finances and a growing debt burden.”

◆President Lee Jae-myung’s New Year press conference

President Lee Jae-myung will hold a New Year press conference this morning at the State Guest House at Cheong Wa Dae to lay out his policy agenda for the year ahead. It will be his third press conference during his term—following the one-month and 100-day briefings—and his first official press conference since moving his office back to Cheong Wa Dae. Today’s event is set to run about 90 minutes under the slogan “A great transformation we achieve together, a great leap forward enjoyed by all.” The president is expected to thank the public for their patience and cooperation in overcoming the fallout from the martial-law episode, while underscoring his resolve to deliver the fruits of growth through a major shift in state administration as he enters his second year in office. He is also expected to seek support for the government’s foreign and security policies and appeal for the urgent need for national unity. Attention is also on whether he will address his stance on Lee Hye-hoon, nominee for minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, and how to break the deadlock over a hunger strike by Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the main opposition People Power Party.

◆First-instance verdict for Han Duck-soo

A first-instance verdict will be delivered today in the case involving former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on charges including aiding and abetting the ringleader of an insurrection. This will be the judiciary’s first ruling on whether the Dec. 3 martial-law episode constitutes an “insurrection.” Criminal Division 33 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jin-kwan) will hold the sentencing hearing at 2 p.m. today for Han on charges including aiding and abetting the ringleader of an insurrection and performing key duties in an insurrection. Han was indicted last August on allegations that, despite his duty as prime minister to check the president’s arbitrary abuse of power, he failed to stop and instead abetted the illegal declaration of martial law. He is also accused of signing a post hoc declaration—along with former President Yoon Suk Yeol and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, among others—to remedy legal defects in the initial proclamation, and then discarding it. The special counsel team led by Cho Eun-seok sought a 15-year prison sentence at the closing arguments hearing.

◆Lee Hye-hoon hearing 'for now' likely to fall through

Amid a standoff between the ruling and opposition parties, the confirmation hearing for Lee Hye-hoon, nominee for minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, is increasingly likely to be called off, drawing attention to whether Cheong Wa Dae—now in line to take the matter—will again request submission of the hearing report. With one day left until the deadline to adopt the hearing progress report on the nominee, lawmakers from both parties on the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee reportedly failed yesterday to narrow their differences over the key issue of document submissions by Lee’s side. The first deadline to adopt the progress report expires today. Under the National Assembly Confirmation Hearings Act, if the Assembly fails to adopt a hearing report within the deadline, the president may set a new deadline of up to 10 days and request resubmission of the report. Accordingly, Lee Jae-myung’s next move is expected to determine whether a hearing will be held going forward.

◆Morning lows as cold as -17°C in intense cold wave

On Wednesday, cold weather will persist nationwide as frigid air from the north remains in place. Morning lows in most areas are expected to fall to around -10°C, with some places dropping to as low as -17°C. Snow is possible in parts of the west coast of Jeolla, inland areas of southern North Jeolla, inland areas of Gwangju and central South Jeolla, and Jeju Island. Snow is expected along the west coast of South Chungcheong and in Sejong and northern inland South Chungcheong through the morning; from late afternoon in Sejong and northern inland South Chungcheong and in central and southern North Chungcheong; and from night in Daejeon and the western south coast of South Jeolla. Through the morning, light flurries of less than 0.1 cm may occur along the southern west coast of Gyeonggi and in other parts of the Chungcheong region, central and southern North Chungcheong, and other parts of the Jeolla region. Today’s daytime highs are forecast to range from -6°C to 3°C. Fine-dust levels are expected to be “good” across all regions thanks to smooth atmospheric dispersion.

Noh Jeong-dong, Hankyung.com reporter dong2@hankyung.com