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While each Asian economy has its nuances, recent South Korean trends offer prime insight for understanding the wider regional market

Investors in South Korea’s stock market have been encouraged by Lee’s pledge to implement governance reforms. The election outcome triggered the sharpest rally in stocks in more than four years as traders ramped up bets on a reduction of the “Korea discount”, whereby the Kospi trades at much lower valuations than other major equity markets.

In South Korea’s housing market, policymakers face a tricky balancing act. On June 12, Bank of Korea (BOK) governor Rhee Chang-yong summed up the current dilemma confronting many Asian governments and central banks – stimulating growth without causing property markets to overheat and adding to affordability pressures – when he said it was necessary to “break away from the past practice of tolerating excessive investment in real estate”.

Unfortunately, it looks like the damage may already have been done. South Korea’s flat prices – one of the parts of Asia’s real estate market most prone to speculative bubbles – have risen at an annualised rate of 7 per cent since March while household lending in May increased at the fastest monthly pace since September 2024.

In a report on June 12, Nomura said looser financial conditions – the BOK has cut interest rates by one percentage point since October – were fuelling “the housing market rally and driving up household debt”. Perhaps one reason Seoul home values are accelerating again, despite the imposition of restrictions in March requiring buyers to gain approval for property purchases in wealthy districts, is Lee’s intention to address affordability concerns by boosting supply rather than curbing demand.

South Korea’s ‘jeonse’ real estate scams a housing nightmare for young tenants

Two PLA Navy aircraft carriers are pushing past the limits set by the US and its allies since the Cold War in the Pacific Ocean

The strategy was proposed in 1951 by the then US secretary of state John Foster Dulles, as a way of using American-aligned island bases to contain the communist Soviet Union and China in the Western Pacific.

Taiwan – famously described in 1950 by General Douglas MacArthur as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” – was pivotal to the concept. While the strategy became less prominent after the Cold War, it re-emerged strongly post-1991 as a way to counter a rising Beijing.

The first island chain runs along East Asia’s coastline, from the Kuril Islands through Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines down to Borneo. This marks the Chinese mainland’s near seas from the wider Pacific.

The second island chain is further east and includes the major US base at Guam. It extends through the Marianas to Palau and New Guinea.

Last year, police received 2,776 host club-related complaints, with many involving women being forced into sex work to cover unpaid bills

The revision to the Entertainment Business Law, which comes into effect on June 28, applies to both host and hostess clubs. However, it appears to target host clubs specifically, after recent reports of female customers being pressured into prostitution or acting in adult videos to repay their debt from overspending at these clubs.

Last year, police received 2,776 host club-related complaints nationwide, with many involving women being forced into sex work to cover unpaid bills, The Japan Times newspaper reported.

Under the new rules, hosts cannot emotionally manipulate customers into spending – a common tactic – by using lines like “if you don’t order, you won’t be able to see me” or “I’ll get demoted if I don’t increase my sales, so buy that bottle of champagne”, according to media website SoraNews24.

It will also be illegal for clubs to falsely advertise – by luring customers with cheap drinks only to charge exorbitant fees – or bill for unordered food and drinks.

A local public safety commission will instruct any club found violating these rules to stop and, if it fails to do so, it may lose its business license, according to Kyodo news agency.

The 27-year-old K-pop star said he was not aware of the hat’s historical and political significance

To many fans, the slogan – a play on former US President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign message, which has long been linked to nationalist sentiment – evoked bitter memories of Japan’s colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945.

“I think this is JK expressing what he actually feels to Korea and Koreans without saying anything,” an irate user posted on the allkpop website. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he renounces his Korean citizenship and decides to domicile elsewhere, and South Korea will lose his tax revenue forever.”

Another added, “Straight from coming out of the military and wearing an anti-Korean, right-wing hat is an interesting choice, to say the least.”

Yet another post read, “He bought that stuff not knowing what it was? Wasn’t he in the military? How does he have such a lack of basic political and historical issues that concern his country? It’s the history of Japanese imperialist right-wing oppression.”

Boy’s medical team reaches out to zoo last year to facilitate special visit to see Moo Deng, zoo quickly responds to accommodate

A six-year-old Thai boy with terminal cancer fulfilled his final wish by meeting Moo Deng, the world-famous pygmy hippo at a zoo in eastern Thailand, before passing away.

On June 2, the social media account managed by Moo Deng’s keepers, Khamoo and the team, announced the heartbreaking news of his death.

The boy, affectionately nicknamed Auto, had long dreamed of meeting Moo Deng in person at Khao Kheow Open Zoo, located in Chonburi province.

Moo Deng, an adorable pygmy hippo born in July last year, has a name that translates to “bouncy pork” in Thai, aptly reflecting her cute and playful character.

She rapidly gained international fame, with her social media accounts amassing over 2 million followers combined. Inspired by her charm, fans have created memes, and even food and make-up products. Long lines of eager visitors form outside her enclosure daily.

Auto’s medical team reportedly reached out to the zoo last year to arrange this special meeting with Moo Deng.

Job openings for Baidu’s annual AI recruitment drive are up 60 per cent this year, with positions across 23 of its core businesses

The Beijing-based firm said in a statement that job openings in its so-called AIDU annual recruitment drive – an initiative to attract and develop future AI tech leaders – had surged 60 per cent this year. The company did not specify the total number of positions.

Baidu is seeking candidates across 23 of its core businesses and 11 research areas, including large language model (LLM) algorithms, foundational LLM architecture, machine learning, speech technologies and AI agents, according to the statement released over the weekend.

“Baidu will train future AI navigators the way pilots are trained,” the company said, underscoring its commitment to the escalating battle for top-tier AI professionals.

Some have voiced concern that hospitals worried about accountability would stop taking in dementia patients

A hospital in Japan is facing a negligence lawsuit after an elderly patient was discovered to have swallowed a key in the ward and later died, sparking worries about dementia care in the rapidly ageing country.

Kenichi Onishi, 82, was admitted to the Osaka hospital in January 2022 after breaking his chest bone in a fall. A few months later, in September, he complained about throat pain and was diagnosed with Covid-19.

A chest X-ray, however, showed a large shadow in his throat, which was later identified as a 12cm (4.7 inch) key with a keychain attached.

“At first, I imagined it was a small key that he accidentally swallowed,” his 55-year-old son said, according to a Yomiuri TV broadcast on Wednesday. “But when I saw it, I was shocked. It was heavy and oddly shaped, and I could only think how much my father must have suffered.”

The metal key, which was on a goose-shaped chain with sharp edges, was a “clothing key” used to secure a special jumpsuit designed to prevent patients from tampering with medical equipment or diapers, Onishi’s son said. His father, who had been diagnosed with mild dementia, was wearing the suit during his stay.

Onishi, who ran a printing business in Osaka, died a few days after the X-ray was taken and the key was removed.

Support scheme started training workers in mid-2024 and is expected to serve over 3,000 people

A HK$290 million (US$36.9 million) support project has been launched to provide end-of-life care to Hong Kong’s disabled residents, with organisers expressing hope that it will plug a critical service gap while empowering the community.

The five-year initiative, funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, is expected to serve more than 3,000 physically and intellectually disabled people, those in mental recovery and about 4,000 carers, and builds on a decade-long support project targeting the elderly.

Professor Amy Chow Yin-man, project director and head of the department of social work and social administration at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), said on Monday that the end-of-life care model for the disabled was underdeveloped worldwide.

“In the past, there was little space for end-of-life care for disabled people because many were diagnosed with a terminal illness very late … primarily due to struggles in communicating their health conditions,” she said.

“But their needs started to be seen and catered to when their life expectancy grew longer, and more societal resources were available.”

Under the new scheme, frontline workers from 10 non-governmental organisations started receiving training from mid-2024 to deliver support services, ranging from advance care planning to life and death education, primarily in care home settings.

Japan’s advanced submarine warfare expertise could play a critical role in helping Manila develop undersea warfare capabilities, experts say

Observers say Japan’s advanced submarine warfare expertise could play a critical role in helping Manila build a credible ability to detect and deter Beijing’s underwater operations in the West Philippine Sea – Manila’s term for parts of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone.

Maritime security expert Ray Powell said Japan’s advanced anti-submarine warfare expertise, now more accessible to Manila through the RAA, could play a critical role in helping the Philippines address its capability gaps.

Powell, a retired US Air Force officer, added that as an archipelagic nation facing a persistent and aggressive maritime threat from China, the Philippines must prioritise the development of its undersea domain awareness and response capabilities.

“The documented discovery of Chinese underwater drones collecting bathymetric and acoustic data in Philippine waters demonstrates Beijing’s will and capacity to conduct undetected undersea operations, making it imperative for the Philippines to demonstrate a credible deterrent in this domain,” he told This Week in Asia.

“Japan’s advanced submarine warfare expertise and maritime surveillance technology, now more accessible as a result of the ratified Reciprocal Access Agreement, can be an important enabler in this regard.”

Vietnam, Indonesia and other emerging economies could emerge as winners, analysts say

Supply chain competition between China and the United States is set to intensify over the next five years, with eight developing countries – including four in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) – poised to benefit from the relocation of manufacturing from China, according to a recent study.

The research, published in the Chinese journal Economist, identifies Malaysia, Vietnam, Mexico, Turkey, Thailand, Indonesia, India and Brazil as the top candidates likely to benefit from shifting global production. All eight economies offer lower labour costs than China and maintain strong trade ties with Western markets, the authors said.

Driven by growing Chinese outbound investment and sustained US demand for exports, the eight economies could emerge as critical links in changing global supply chains, the study found.

The study was published last month as a second trade war between the world’s two largest economies severely disrupted global supply chains, raised costs and prompted strategic realignments.

Co-authored by a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a prominent state think tank, the paper links the US National Security Strategy for 2023–2033 – which casts the decade as “decisive” for US-China competition – with Beijing’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), seen as a critical window to achieve its 2035 modernisation goals.

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