New York stocks close mixed as Trump targets China…Most of the country 'autumn rain' [Morning Briefing]

◆ Trump criticism again, Nasdaq 0.8%↓

U.S. President Donald Trump on the 14th (local time) criticized China's halt of U.S. soybean imports and warned of countermeasures, leading the three major New York indices to close mixed. On that day in New York trading, the Dow Jones 30 Industrial Average closed at 46,270.46, up 202.88 points (0.44%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index closed at 6,644.31, down 10.41 points (-0.16%), and the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite closed at 22,521.70, down 172.91 points (-0.76%). President Trump posted on the social network Truth Social shortly before the close, "I believe China's intentional decision not to buy American soybeans and thereby hurt our soybean farmers is an economically hostile act," and "As retaliation, we are considering severing business relations with China related to cooking oil and other trade items." Following the president's remarks, the S&P 500, which had been showing an intraday rebound, gave back its gains and turned negative. China’s Ministry of Commerce also announced a ban on organizations and individuals within China from engaging in transactions or cooperation activities with five companies, including the Philadelphia Hanwha shipyard and Hanwha Shipping, which was also assessed as having a negative effect on investor sentiment.

◆ Arrest warrant for 'involvement in insurrection' Park Seong-jae denied

Former Justice Minister Park Seong-jae, accused of participation in the December 3 emergency martial law-related insurrection, escaped the risk of detention. Judge Park Jeong-ho of the Seoul Central District Court, who is in charge of warrants, conducted the pre-detention suspect hearing (warrant substantive review) for Park and today denied the warrant, stating that "there is insufficient demonstration on the substantiality (appropriateness) of detention or the risk of flight/evidence destruction." The court explained, "There is room for dispute regarding how the suspect came to recognize the illegality, the specific content of the recognized illegality, and the presence or degree of illegality of the measures objectively taken." It added, "Considering the degree of demonstration so far, the progress of the investigation, and the suspect's attendance record, the principle of non-detention outweighs concerns about flight or evidence destruction." The special prosecutor team led by Cho Eun-seok, investigating allegations of insurrection and foreign exchange offenses related to the December 3 emergency martial law incident, had requested an arrest warrant for Park on the 9th on charges of engaging in important duties related to insurrection and obstructing the exercise of rights by abuse of authority. Park is accused of conspiring and participating in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's illegal proclamation of martial law and failing to prevent it. The special prosecutor team viewed that, as the justice minister whose core duties include the protection of human rights and the maintenance of legal order, Park bore relatively greater responsibility than other cabinet members for failing to stop the proclamation of martial law. The special prosecutors judged that Park not only abetted the proclamation of martial law but sequentially participated in Yoon’s alleged insurrectionary acts. At the hearing, the special prosecutor team argued for the necessity of detention based on a 230-page written opinion and 120 pages of PPT materials, but Park’s defense reportedly denied all charges. The defense stated it could not agree that the mere proclamation of martial law constitutes insurrection and that Park, as justice minister, had merely performed routine duties and never gave improper orders. The special prosecutor team plans to review the reasons for the warrant denial and then decide whether to reapply for an arrest warrant.

◆ Kim Keon-hee, second trial today…Witness Kang Hye-kyung to be questioned on 'primary candidate intervention' allegations

The second trial of Kim Keon-hee, who was indicted on charges including stock price manipulation of Deutsche Motors and interference in primary candidate selection, will be held today. The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Woo In-seong) will hold a continuation hearing this morning on Kim's charges of violating the Capital Markets Act, violating the Political Funds Act, and receiving bribes under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes for mediation. The so-called 'Myeong Tae-gyun primary candidate intervention allegation' whistleblower Kang Hye-kyung will appear as a witness at this trial. Kang is the person who first alleged that during the process of the 20th presidential election, the Yoon Suk Yeol couple received public opinion polls worth a total of 270 million won free of charge from Myeong, and in return intervened so that former lawmaker Kim Young-sun could be nominated in the June 1 by-elections of the same year. Kang is known to have served as deputy director of the polling firm Mirae Korea Research Institute, which Myeong actually operated, and as the accounting manager for former lawmaker Kim. Kim was indicted and detained on August 29 on charges including colluding with former Deutsche Motors chairman Kwon Oh-soo and former Black Pearl Invest CEO Lee Jong-ho from October 2010 to December 2012 to manipulate Deutsche Motors' stock prices and obtain illegal gains worth about 810 million won (violation of the Capital Markets Act). She also faces charges of receiving public opinion polling worth 270 million won free of charge from Myeong (violation of the Political Funds Act) and, together with Seong-bae Jeon, a leader known as Geonjin Buddhist priest, receiving a total of about 80 million won in valuables including an expensive necklace from Unification Church affiliates between April and July 2022 in exchange for requests related to church support (receiving bribes under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes for mediation).

◆ Over 4,000 YouTubers earning 100 million won, a 64% increase in two years

The number of YouTubers earning more than 100 million won has rapidly increased, exceeding 4,000. According to data on YouTuber income for the tax years 2021–2023 submitted by the National Tax Service to Cha Gyu-geun of the Innovation Party on the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee, the number of YouTubers whose total income exceeded 100 million won was 4,011 for the 2023 tax year. The number of YouTubers earning over 100 million won increased from 2,449 in 2021 to 3,359 in 2022 and exceeded 4,000 in 2023, a 63.8% increase in two years. Notably, those in their 30s were the largest group. Among YouTubers with income over 100 million won, 2,088 were male and 1,923 were female; among males, 1,065 (about half) were in their 30s. Among females, those in their 30s were also the largest group at 896, accounting for 53.4%.

◆ Nationwide autumn rain brings temperatures down…morning low around 12°C

On Wednesday, autumn rain will fall across most regions of the country. The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast rain across most of the country from this afternoon through the 16th. In the morning, rain will fall in the Jeonnam area, from the afternoon in the Chungcheong region and southern areas, and rain will reach the Seoul metropolitan area and western Gangwon province from tonight. Morning lows are expected to be 12–20°C and daytime highs 20–26°C; morning temperatures will be higher than average for the time of year for the time being, while daytime temperatures will be similar to or slightly higher than average. In Seoul, the low is expected to be 16°C and the high 24°C. From dawn to morning, there may be areas in Jeonnam with visibility under 1 km due to fog, so extra caution is advised for vehicle travel. In the southern East Sea maritime area, winds will be very strong at 30–60 km/h through the morning and waves will be high at 1.0–3.5 m, so vessels engaged in navigation and fishing should take special care.

Kim So-yeon, Hankyung.com reporter sue123@hankyung.com