News Briefing: Major News of the Day... 9 South Koreans Still Uncontactable in Nepal's Great Flood

1. Authorities in Nepal and China have announced that at least 160 people have been confirmed dead following massive floods and landslides in the border region between Nepal and China that have shocked the world. In addition, 484 people remain missing, including 391 foreign nationals and 93 Nepalese. Nine South Korean employees belonging to Korea South-East Power and Doosan Enerbility, who were working on the construction of a hydroelectric power plant locally, are still out of contact. The government announced that it has urgently dispatched a rapid response team composed of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Fire Agency, and the Korean National Police Agency to the site. President Lee Jae-myung is scheduled to cancel a senior secretaries meeting planned for this afternoon (the 27th) and hold an emergency meeting to review damage to citizens.

2. Many of you must have seen the footage of this flood damage, showing people swept away by rushing currents in clear weather without even any rain. The United States Geological Survey stated that it has determined the earthquake pointed to as the cause of this landslide and flood was actually shaking that occurred during the collapse of a glacier. A similar flash flood occurred in the affected area in August of last year, and it is presumed that water melted from adjacent glaciers in Tibet due to global warming filled a lake and then poured downstream in an instant.

3. The Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Board has raised the base rate by 0.25 percentage points from 2.75 percent per annum to 3 percent. This marks the first time the Monetary Policy Board has raised the base rate consecutively in 3 years and 7 months, following seven consecutive hikes from April 2022 to January of the following year. The Monetary Policy Board explained the background for the hike, stating, "While the economy continues to maintain a higher-than-expected growth momentum driven by robust exports and a recovery in domestic consumption, the inflation rate is projected to remain above the target level for a considerable period. It is important to prevent the spread of upward pressure on inflation through preemptive responses." The Bank of Korea also revised upward its economic growth forecast for South Korea this year from 2.6 percent to 3.3 percent.

4. The Jeju Provincial Police Agency chief officially apologized today regarding the false closure of the missing persons case involving the late Jang Mi-ran. This comes 13 days after an investigation into the responsible police officers began. During a command meeting this morning, Jeju Provincial Police Agency Chief Go Pyeong-gi bowed his head and apologized, stating that the police shirked their responsibilities and inflicted indelible wounds on the bereaved family through false words and actions. Chief Go also promised to conduct a full reinvestigation into all missing persons cases within the province moving forward.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.