News Briefing: Today's Top Stories... Chung Mong-gyu and Hong Myung-bo Bow Their Heads, But Claim "No Special Treatment"

1. Boosted by a semiconductor boom, Samsung Electronics recorded an operating profit of 89.5 trillion won in the second quarter of this year. This marks a record-breaking performance for the third consecutive quarter. More than 99% of the operating profit came from the semiconductor division. Buoyed by the strong semiconductor performance, Samsung Electronics' stock surged by over 7% during intraday trading at one point, but is currently hovering around a slight gain. The KOSPI, which temporarily turned upward during the morning session, is also lingering near a slight decline.

2. The U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve, has frozen its benchmark interest rate once again at the 3.6% level. This marks the second consecutive rate freeze since Chair Kevin Warsh took office, following all five meetings held this year. Among the 12 members who attended the rate decision meeting, 9 voted in favor of a freeze, while only 3 argued for a rate hike. More than 70% of market experts forecast that the Fed will ultimately raise interest rates in September when the next meeting is held.

3. Rival parties have agreed to process a special counsel bill to uncover the truth behind the ballot paper shortage incident during the June 3 local elections. The floor leadership of both the Democratic Party and the People Power Party agreed today (July 30) at noon to process the special counsel bill and begin detailed drafting work in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The agreed-upon special counsel bill is expected to be submitted to a plenary session and processed today. While the parties agreed on the method for recommending the special counsel, they have continued negotiations over whether to include the National Election Commission server in the special counsel's scope of investigation. The rival parties also agreed to extend the activity period of the National Assembly's parliamentary investigation special committee, which was scheduled to end on August 1, by an additional 30 days.

4. Former Korea Football Association (KFA) President Chung Mong-gyu and former national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo repeatedly apologized for the poor performance at the North and Central America World Cup. The two appeared as witnesses at a parliamentary hearing on the football association held by the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee today. While apologizing for failing to meet the public's expectations at the World Cup, former coach Hong Myung-bo stated that he understands there was no special treatment involved in the process of his appointment. Former KFA President Chung Mong-gyu also apologized for the controversies that arose during his tenure and the World Cup slump. However, he strongly denied allegations of closed-door administration, including the process surrounding the appointment of former coach Hong Myung-bo.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.