Morning Briefing 文 First Apology for Real Estate Policy… Trump impeachment proceedings launched

◆ President Moon apologizes for the first real estate policy through New Year’s Address

President Moon Jae-in said in his New Year’s address on the 11th that he is very sorry to the people who are discouraged by the difficulties of housing. This is the first official apology for real estate issues. President Moon Jae-in appeared in a dialogue with the public in 2019, saying, “Our government is confident in the real estate issue,” and said, “The country is stabilizing to the extent that real estate prices have fallen. In his New Year’s speech, President Moon Jae-in said, “We will not hesitate to prepare necessary measures for housing stability. We will put emphasis on supply expansion, and we will quickly come up with various housing supply measures that can be effective quickly.”

◆ US Democracy, Trump impeachment begins in earnest… Proposal for’Applying Civil War Incitement’

The Democratic Party of the United States launched the impeachment proceedings in earnest on the 11th (local time), asserting President Donald Trump’s responsibility to incite civil war. It is saying that on the 6th, protesters in support of Trump will be held accountable for causing the congressional occupation. The voting quorum on this agenda is a majority vote. Currently, the Democratic Party is expected to pass, with 222 seats, a majority of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Following the “Ukrainian scandal” at the end of 2019, President Trump was disgraced as a president who passed two impeachment bills in the House of Representatives during his tenure. However, in order for the 100-seat Senate to be finalized, at least 67 votes (over two-thirds) are required, and the Democratic Party has failed to take this seat on its own.

◆ New York Stock Market’Secret’… Dow 0.29%↓, Nasdaq 1.25%↓

In the New York Stock Market, the leading index declined due to uncertainty in the US government and concerns over regulation of tech companies. On the 11th (hereafter Eastern Time), the Dow Jones 30 Industrial Average closed at 31,008.69 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), down 89.28 points (0.29%) from the battlefield. The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 index closed at 3,799.61, down 25.07 points (0.66%) from the battlefield, while the technology stock-oriented NASDAQ index closed at 13,036.43, down 165.54 points (1.25%).

◆ International oil prices mixed with COVID-19 Gold price 0.8%↑

International oil prices showed mixed trend amid the spread of a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) on the 11th (local time). On the same day, West Texas crude oil (WTI) for February delivery on the New York Commercial Exchange (NYMEX) closed at $52.25, up 0.02% ($0.01) per barrel from the previous trading day. The March Brent crude on the London ICE Futures Exchange is trading at $55.44, down 1% ($0.55) per barrel at 3:50pm. International gold prices have rebounded. Gold for February deliveries on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed at $1,850.80, up 0.8% per ounce ($15.4).

◆ Free vaccination for nationals… No vaccine options

The government announced that 11 days ago, the people were given free vaccines sequentially. The government is planning to finalize the vaccine vaccination plan during this month as the Corona 19 vaccine will be introduced in Korea as early as February. The government has previously considered vaccination targets for workers in medical institutions, people living in group facilities, and those aged 65 or older and those aged 19 to 64 with a moderate or higher risk of chronic diseases, but recently expanded the target to include adults aged 50 to 64. However, Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Defense Countermeasures Headquarters (Bang Dae-bon), said at a regular briefing on the day, “Because the time of introduction and quantity of vaccines are different, it will be difficult to give individuals a choice of vaccine type.”

◆ Recovery of temperature video zone from daytime… Snow all over the inland

On Tuesday, the 12th, as the temperature rises from daytime amid heavy clouds throughout the country, most regions of the country will be in the video zone. The highest temperature during the day was predicted to be -1-6 degrees. It will snow from afternoon to night, mainly in inland areas. Gangwon Yeongseo, Chungbuk, North Gyeongbuk inland, Gyeongbuk mountains, Ulleungdo and Dokdo will have 1~5cm of snow, metropolitan area and Chungnam area 1~3cm, and northern Jeonbuk will have about 1cm of snow. The concentration of fine dust is expected to be’bad’ in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, Sejong, Chungbuk and Chungnam, and’normal’ in other areas. However, Incheon, Gangwon Youngseo, Daejeon, Gwangju, Jeonbuk, and Daegu were expected to be’bad’ in the morning and at night.

Until now, I have been reporter Kim Myung-il of Hankyung.com.