News Briefing: Key Stories... Chung Mong-gyu Summoned as Suspect Over Alleged Interference in National Team Coach Appointment

1. Ground search operations are now fully underway to find the nine South Korean nationals missing following massive floods and landslides in Nepal. Our rapid response team is focusing its search around the water intake dam area in the upper reaches of the river, where one missing South Korean and local staff are believed to be located. Meanwhile, searches have not yet begun around the office building opposite the downstream power generation facility where the other eight individuals were staying. A 44-member Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) has also arrived in Nepal to support the rapid response team and assist with search and rescue operations.

2. Consumer prices rose 3.1% last month compared to the same month last year, returning to the 3% range for the first time in two months. Mobile phone service fees, which surged 26.7% year-on-year, are analyzed to have had a major impact on the inflation hike. This is attributed to a base effect stemming from August of last year, when SK Telecom halved monthly fees for one month as customer compensation following a hacking incident. Although prices of agricultural, livestock, and fishery products dropped by 2.6%, vegetable prices such as Napa cabbage, spinach, and cucumbers jumped significantly by 12.4% from a month earlier due to weather conditions.

3. President Lee Jae-myung stated, "Abandoning growth and expanding welfare is impossible, and expanding growth and welfare simultaneously is ideal but unrealistic," adding, "Inevitably, the current focus must be on growth to expand the pie." President Lee shared this view today (September 2) on social media X while sharing a newspaper editorial noting that the financial resources in next year's government budget draft are heavily concentrated on "growth," leaving "distribution" relatively insufficient and in need of reinforcement. President Lee added, "Regrettably, this is a 'growth lean period' created by the previous administration, so we must focus more on restoring growth for now," while also noting, "While it may be hard to be satisfied, we are also striving to expand welfare. Only a year has passed, so please give us a little more time."

4. Former national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo's appointment process is under suspicion of undue interference, and former Korea Football Association (KFA) President Chung Mong-gyu appeared before police today for questioning. Former KFA President Chung appeared before the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Financial Crime Investigation Unit as a suspect in connection with the allegations surrounding the coach's appointment. Speaking to reporters prior to entering, Chung stated, "I will faithfully cooperate with the police investigation. I believe there was no unfair interference in the appointment of the coach."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.