Markets & Rates: Global bond yields are back near 2008-era highs, with investors pricing faster tightening outside the US; Bloomberg says South Korea leads the tightening outlook with more than 100 basis points priced, raising refinancing pressure and valuation risk for richly priced assets. Semiconductors & Consumer Tech: “Chipflation” is pushing up electronics costs as memory prices surge on AI-driven demand, while South Korea’s chip rally keeps drawing foreign money back into the market. Trade & Policy Shock: South Korea’s chief trade negotiator Yeo Han-koo was dismissed amid growing US tariff pressure, adding uncertainty to ongoing sensitive talks. AI Security: A Seoul-hosted security summit spotlighted how the Model Context Protocol is being exposed at scale, with many internet-facing servers lacking basic protections. Industrial Robots: The world hit 4.6 million industrial robots running simultaneously, with Asia dominating new deployments—another signal for automation-heavy manufacturing. Energy & Supply Chains: Strait of Hormuz disruption continues to ripple through petrochemicals, plastics, fertilizers and industrial gases, keeping freight and inflation pressure elevated. Local Industry & Infrastructure: South Korea deployed about 200 fire trucks and 400 firefighters to move water into drought-hit South Gyeongsang as reservoir storage sinks to 33.5%. Manufacturing Abroad: LG Electronics began operations of a new refrigerator plant in Brazil, targeting 600,000 units annually and using the site as a regional export hub.