1. The government has decided to create a “Korean-style sovereign wealth fund” next year based on Singapore’s Temasek and Australia’s Future Fund. In order to increase national assets, a separate organization must systematically invest at home and abroad in accordance with a long-term and comprehensive strategy. Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance Koo Yoon-chul said, “We will systematically accumulate and multiply the national wealth by promoting the establishment of a Korean-style sovereign wealth fund and transfer it to future generations.”
2. Hyundai Motor Group’s self-driving subsidiary in North America, “Mothernal,” has decided to introduce a paid robotaxi service in major U.S. cities next year. Mural will demonstrate private technology for the commercialization of robo-taxi at CES 2026, the largest consumer electronics exhibition in North America, which will be held early next year, and is the final stage of checking the completeness of the technology before its official launch. If the target level of performance is proven, we plan to start the service within 2026 after a pilot project.
3. The Federal Reserve (Fed), the U.S. central bank, has cut its benchmark interest rate for the third consecutive time. However, the Fed has predicted that next year’s rate cut will be only one. The employment situation is not good, but optimism remains dominant about the U.S. economy next year, and prices, which have risen to the 3% level, are a bigger burden.
4. Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Jeon Jae-soo, who was suspected of receiving money and valuables from the Unification Church, stepped down on his own on the 11th. This is the first time that an incumbent minister has been eliminated from the Lee Jae-myung administration. Minister Jeon said, “It is a public official to put down the ministerial post and respond confidently because the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and the Lee Jae-myung government should not be shaken,” but denied that “there was by far no illegal receipt of money.”
5. KAIST (KAIST) has decided to establish an “AI college” starting next year and increase the number of students by 300, including 100 undergraduate students Starting with KAIST, the government decided to establish AI colleges sequentially in other three major science and engineering institutions, including Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), and Ulsan Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), to establish an “AI talent training belt” by 2027.
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