[Today's Hot Issue] Gallup: 61% Say Hyein Yong Not Suitable as Minister [Sisa Show]

[Top 5 Hot Issues for September 11]

Prosecutors Reject Arrest Warrant for Lawmaker Byungki Kim

U.S.-Iran Tensions Push Oil Prices to 107 Dollars

1. Another poll shows that a significantly higher number of respondents believe that Seungwon Kim and Hyein Yong are not suitable for ministerial positions than those who believe they are suitable.

According to a public opinion poll conducted by Gallup Korea on 1,000 adults aged 18 and over nationwide from September 8 to 10 and released today, 61% said that candidate Yong is "not suitable as a minister," and 43% said the same about candidate Kim. Meanwhile, President Jaemyung Lee's approval rating fell to 38%, marking a new low. In Seoul, it declined by 9 percentage points to 29%. (The survey was conducted by interviewers via randomly generated mobile numbers. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, contact rate is 46.7%, and response rate is 9.4%. For more details, visit the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.)

2. Democratic Party of Korea leader Minseok Kim said, "Seungwon Kim is a good personnel decision," pledging to stand by him.

Leader Kim stated regarding candidate Kim, who is embroiled in the "new drug lobbying" allegations, that the more you watch, the more it proves to be a good personnel choice and emphasized, "We will stand by him." The Democratic Party responded to the opposition's suspicions and criticisms by labeling them a "conspiracy to derail prosecutorial reform."

Independent lawmaker Byunggi Kim, who is under suspicion of bribery, appeared on April 8 at the Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Mapo-gu, Seoul for questioning. Photo by Yonhap News

3. Prosecutors have rejected the arrest warrant request for independent lawmaker Byungki Kim, which had been sought by the police.

Prosecutors explained their decision by citing that Assemblyman Kim had complied with seven summons for questioning and that about five months had passed between the final questioning on April 10 and the application for the arrest warrant. They concluded that the need for detention was insufficiently substantiated. Prosecutors also called for supplementary investigations, stating, "There is a need to bolster the evidence for certain charges," prompting criticism of the police's investigative capabilities.

4. Exports reached a record high in early September, driven by semiconductors.

According to Korea Customs Service data, exports from the 1st to the 10th of the month totaled USD 34.97 billion, up 82.6% from the same period a year ago—the highest ever for this time frame. Semiconductor exports soared by 270.1% to USD 16.483 billion, raising their share of total exports to 47.1%.

5. As U.S.-Iran tensions intensify, oil prices have climbed to USD 107 per barrel.

On the London futures exchange, November Brent crude rose 6.3% from the previous day to USD 107.63 per barrel. Goldman Sachs suggested that if attacks on ships in the Hormuz Strait and Red Sea intensify, prices could exceed USD 120 next year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.