Everything seems to have gone well during the Lee-Takaichi summit. Hopefully the positive direction of Korea-Japan relations continues:

President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi agreed to strengthen cooperation on supply chains, including crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), during a bilateral summit in Lee’s hometown of Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday.

The agreement was reached as the two neighbors are deepening bilateral ties through continued summit diplomacy, amid heightened global energy security risks stemming from the U.S. war on Iran.

“We agreed that close bilateral cooperation is needed more than ever amid the instability in supply chains and energy markets arising from the recent situation in the Middle East,” Lee said in a joint press statement after the summit.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

My big question is who is considered a tourist? Is it only foreigners or does it include someone from Busan taking the train to spend a weekend in Seoul?:

For Chong Won-o, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s Seoul mayoral candidate, the city’s tourism boom is testing its ability to manage its own popularity, with complaints of tourist overcharging beginning to undercut its global appeal.

Seoul has rapidly emerged as a new hotspot for international tourists in recent years, drawing visitors with its blend of cultural richness and hypermodern energy, as reflected in Netflix hits such as “KPop Demon Hunters” and “Made in Korea.”

But that rise has come with a hidden cost: A mismatch between surging demand and limited local capacity has created room for some vendors to charge arbitrary or inflated prices for goods and services.

Chong, who is campaigning ahead of the June 3 local elections, said in an interview with The Korea Herald on Friday that managing the imbalance through a new pricing strategy could be key to the long-term sustainability of tourism in South Korea’s capital.

“It is just a raw concept for now, but we may introduce peak season rates for tourists, aligning with the global trend in major tourist destinations,” Chong said at his election campaign office in Jung-gu, Seoul. “Otherwise, Seoul could face severe criticism for overcharging tourists.”

Rather than cracking down on vendors here or overlooking their transgressions, Chong said a two-tier pricing system for tourists during high season in sectors beyond accommodation could alleviate concerns about overtourism in the city.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

This is pretty surprising that a year and a half after this disaster that remains from victims are still being found:

President Lee Jae Myung visited the renewed recovery operation site for victims of the Jeju Air passenger jet crash at Muan Airport, calling for a full investigation into shortcomings in the government’s initial recovery efforts.

The visit on Monday came after victims’ remains were discovered during a reinvestigation launched by the Lee administration in February this year, more than a year after the country’s deadliest aviation disaster on Dec. 29, 2024.

The discovery sparked public outrage, with the earlier recovery operation criticised as careless and incomplete.

Lee expressed frustration over the prolonged recovery process, saying, “The recovery of the remains has been delayed far too long.”

“This renewed search must be conducted thoroughly. Please also examine whether there are problems with the existing manuals,” Lee told officials at the recovery site at Muan Airport in South Jeolla Province. “It does not appear that the existing manuals were faithfully followed. Please look carefully into the causes as well.”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

Hopefully this summit continues to the positive direction of ROK and Japanese relations:

Takaichi will be received at Daegu International Airport, near Andong, by South Korea’s Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jina before heading to a hotel, where she will meet Lee for talks.

Honor guards in traditional costumes and gear will escort Takaichi as she is ushered into the hotel, where a 12-member color guard will welcome her at the entrance, according to presidential officials.

Lee and Takaichi will first hold a small-group meeting, followed by an expanded meeting, before making a joint press announcement on the results of their talks. 

Agenda items will likely include bilateral cooperation in response to the ongoing Middle East conflict, security in Northeast Asia and efforts to address disruptions in global supply chains.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

What was Starbucks thinking with this promotion? There is no way this guy could have been this clueless. I wonder if anyone on his staff tried to warn him this was not a good idea?:

President Lee Jae Myung delivers a speech during a ceremony on May 18, 2026, in Gwangju, commemorating the 1980 democratization movement in the city located some 270 kilometers south of Seoul. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

The head of Starbucks Korea was dismissed Monday after the coffee chain faced strong backlash over a promotional event that evoked painful memories of South Korea’s military rule on a pro-democracy movement anniversary, Shinsegae Group said. 

Son Jung-hyun, head of SCK Company, which operates Starbucks Korea under E-Mart, was fired hours after the coffee franchise launched its “Tank Day” online promotional event, which offered discounts on “Tank” tumbler sets along with the phrase, “Put it on the table with a sound of ‘Tak!'”

The event quickly drew criticism from civic groups and online users, who argued that the word “tank” recalled the military vehicles deployed by martial law troops during the uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju on May 18, 1980, while the phrase “tak” was seen as evoking the 1987 torture death of student activist Park Jong-chol. 

Hours later, Starbucks Korea suspended the promotional event and issued an apology to those who were involved in the nation’s democracy movement, including victims of the Gwangju uprising and the bereaved family of Park.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

With US having a hard time keeping up with demand for Patriot interceptors causing the Gulf states to look at other options to rearm:

“Six weeks of relentless air bombardment sapped air defense stocks in the Middle East. Now begins the scramble to rearm.

With a fragile cease-fire in place between the U.S. and Iran, America’s closest allies in the region—and some of the best customers for U.S. weapons systems—are scanning the world for alternative missile defenses, getting creative about ways to bolster defenses quickly.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are turning to South Korean missile-defense systems, Ukrainian drones that smash into targets midair and traditional American Gatling guns. ”

Wall Street Journal

You can read more at the link, but Hanhwa’s M-SAM is a top priority for these countries to acquire before round three of the Iran War kicks off.