[Morning Briefing] President Lee Holds Press Conference Marking One Month in Office Today... National Assembly to Vote on 'Kim Min-seok Appointment'

◆ President Lee holds press conference marking one month in office today

President Lee Jae-myung is scheduled to hold his first press conference on the 3rd at 10 a.m., marking 30 days since his inauguration. The event will also be broadcast live on YouTube. According to the Presidential Office, the press conference will be held in a town hall meeting format with unscripted Q&A, without prior arrangement. President Lee plans to cover three main topics—people's livelihood and economy, politics/diplomacy/security, and society/culture—and will separately address other areas for a wide-ranging session of questions.

◆ National Assembly to vote on Kim Min-seok's appointment as Prime Minister today

The National Assembly will convene a plenary session on the 3rd to vote on the proposal to appoint Kim Min-seok as Prime Minister. The People Power Party regards Kim as an unqualified nominee and is calling for his voluntary withdrawal or the withdrawal of his nomination. However, the Democratic Party of Korea has stated that it is willing to unilaterally proceed with the appointment if bipartisan agreement fails. Given the Democratic Party's 167 seats and the composition of pro-government parties, it is possible to pass the vote on the Prime Minister's appointment without the People Power Party's consent. In addition, a bill to amend the Commercial Act—expanding directors' fiduciary duty to shareholders—is scheduled to be tabled at the plenary session. The parties previously agreed to include a provision limiting the voting rights of the largest shareholder and related parties to 3% in the appointment of audit committee members, to be handled during the June extraordinary session.

◆ US-Vietnam trade agreement reached… Second after the UK

The United States has reached a trade agreement with Vietnam, exchanging tariff reductions and market opening measures. President Donald Trump announced a 20% tariff on all Vietnamese goods entering US territory and a 40% tariff on goods exported to the US via Vietnam from a third country (transshipment). The 40% tariff on transshipped goods appears to target Chinese products entering the US via Vietnam. In April, President Trump had imposed a 46% reciprocal tariff on Vietnamese goods, but this agreement drastically lowers the rate to 20%. According to Politico, Vietnam also agreed to address non-tariff barrier issues such as intellectual property infringement, and confirmed memorandums of understanding to introduce 50 Boeing aircraft worth $8 billion and purchase $2.9 billion of US agricultural products. The US explained that reciprocal tariff rates were determined considering the size of the trade deficit and import amounts from each country. According to US statistics, Vietnam has given the US the fifth-largest trade deficit for January-April this year, following China, Ireland, Mexico, and Switzerland.

◆ New York Stock Exchange rises on news of US-Vietnam trade deal

News of the US trade agreement with Vietnam pushed the S&P 500 index—which represents the New York Stock Exchange—up to another record high on the 2nd local time. The S&P 500 rose 0.47% from the previous session, surpassing the high set on May 30. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index climbed 0.94%. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -0.02% from the previous close. This optimism likely stems from President Donald Trump's announcement about the deal, raising hopes for progress in ongoing trade talks with other countries. Nike, which is heavily dependent on Vietnamese footwear manufacturing, gained 4.06% after the announcement. However, the news that private sector employment shrank more than expected put a damper on investor optimism. US employment information provider Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reported a decrease of 33,000 private sector jobs in June compared to the previous month.

◆ Heat wave continues... Daytime highs up to 37°C

The heat wave is expected to continue on Thursday the 3rd. The daytime high is forecast to be between 30 and 37°C. Most regions across the country will experience a maximum perceived temperature over 33°C, so be cautious of heat-related illnesses. Light rain (less than 0.1 mm) is expected in Seoul, Incheon, northern Gyeonggi, and northern Gangwon until midday, while the five western islands will see about 5-20 mm of rain. Fine dust concentrations are projected to remain in the 'good' to 'moderate' range nationally due to adequate atmospheric dispersion. On coastal bridges (Yeongjong Bridge, Incheon Bridge, Seohae Bridge, Cheonsa Bridge, Geoga Bridge, etc.), as well as near inland rivers, lakes, valleys, and tunnel entrances/exits, visibility may be significantly reduced due to fog, so exercise caution for traffic safety. Sea waves are forecast at 0.5–1.0 m in the near seas of the East, West, and South Seas. For offshore waters (further than 200 km from the coast), wave heights are expected to be 0.5–1.0 m in the East and South Seas and 0.5–1.5 m in the West Sea.

Choi Su-jin, Hankyung.com journalist naive@hankyung.com