Paris protests, European protests and Additional detention warrant for Kim Keon-hee | 2026-10-23

HUMBLE WAS HARDReading conversations in contextENGLISH DAILY EDITION

Friday, October 23, 20267 stories · English translationUnofficial fan edition

A reader’s guide to the day’s conversations

This unofficial fan edition translates our reviewed Korean editorial summaries, not full broadcast transcripts. It is not an official programme publication or independent fact-checking. Statements and viewpoints remain attributable to the original speakers; consult the linked Korean sources for context.

Guest names use editorial romanizations. Korean identities remain available in portrait descriptions and linked Korean profiles. Illustrations are caricatures, not photographs.

01 / Brief Interview

Ryu Mil-hee’s observations of protests and damage to shops from accommodation in Paris

Guests: Ryu Mil-hee
Fan-edited summary · English translation

Caricature pending
Ryu Mil-hee

Joining by video from accommodation in Paris, Ryu Mil-hee said Ryu had personally seen tear gas go off immediately outside the accommodation and riot police pass by, and that smoke entered the building and was inhaled by a team member. Ryu also described shops boarding up, cafés removing outdoor furnishings or posting notices that there was no cash or valuables inside, and residents urging vigilance over shared building entrances. The account of Monoprix staff fleeing through a back door or into storage when people descended on the store was something Ryu heard from a staff member while reporting, not an event personally witnessed. Ryu introduced local-media analysis that citizens struggling with living costs had joined protests that began with students’ complaints about educational inequality and schools, and described looting damage in upscale shopping districts and ordinary shops, alongside indications of riot-police positions being shared and secondhand sales conducted through social media. Ryu also relayed a sequence in which a student group obtained an injunction after a ban on rallies and police then issued another order restricting gatherings, as well as Foreign Ministry advice to refrain from going out and local-media warnings that tourists could be detained. These measures were not separately checked against their original texts, and this was not reporting that confirmed actual detentions of tourists. Ryu said the area around the restaurant mentioned on Friday Gourmet Club was relatively calm and undamaged when personally checked again during the day, but this was an observation of a particular place and time, not an assurance of safety across Paris.

Read article (Korean) ↗Watch video (Korean) · 00:21:42 ↗Original source (Korean) ↗

READING GUIDE

Lead story keywords

01Paris protests
02Ryu Mil-hee
03Damage to shops
04Live local connection

Editorial keywords, not direct quotations.

More conversations

02 / Humble NSC

Interpreting European cost-of-living protests, an end to war, North Korea–U.S. talks, and wartime operational control

Guests: Kim Joon-hyung · Kim Hee-kyo · Je Sung-hoon · Yoon Seong-uk
Fan-edited summary · English translation

Yoon Seong-uk interpreted the expansion of European protests as the combined result of inequality, energy and living-cost burdens since the war began, rising housing costs, and discontent with education administration. Kim Hee-kyo saw military spending, debt, and a lack of future industries as increasing pressure on welfare, arguing for avoiding involvement in war and securing technological sovereignty. Kim Joon-hyung linked energy-procurement costs with refugee issues, and Yoon considered that anti-refugee sentiment could favor the far right but that runoff voting might provide a brake. Preference surveys and approval ratings appearing in the text were not reproduced as figures or rankings because survey methods and sources were absent. Explaining U.S. easing of sanctions on Russia and pressure concerning satellite communications and arms supplies to Ukraine, Je Sung-hoon forecast that, because Russia and Ukraine still had different objectives, even a U.S.–China–Russia summit might remain symbolic. Kim Hee-kyo interpreted China as seeking to provide a venue for talks to mediate an end to the war and enhance APEC’s standing while remaining wary of a nuclear-disarmament agenda and Europe’s reaction. Kim Joon-hyung introduced conversations with the Russian ambassador to South Korea and experiences on an overseas parliamentary audit, but matters such as when the war might end and Ukraine’s reactions were views and reports conveyed to Kim. Kim hoped diplomatic conflict would not lead to severed relations and Je also emphasized keeping channels for cooperation open, while Kim Eo-jun advocated a firmer response. On North Korea–U.S. talks, Kim Hee-kyo left the possibility open based on the atmosphere sensed in meetings with scholars at the Tumen River Forum and trends in North Korea–China exchanges, while Kim Joon-hyung offered reports of contacts and a different interpretation of a deadlock over prior commitments. Neither amounted to official confirmation that talks would take place. Finally, Kim Joon-hyung and Kim Eo-jun interpreted Brunson and U.S. working-level officials as trying to delay the transfer of wartime operational control, and argued for a deadline for transfer. Summits, an end to war, the far right taking power, and transfer of wartime operational control are the guests’ forecasts or proposals, not independently established facts or completed measures verified by this transcript review.

Read article (Korean) ↗Watch video (Korean) · 00:47:46 ↗Original source (Korean) ↗

03 / Funny Four

Forecasts for Kim Keon-hee’s additional warrant hearing, approaches to judicial reform, predictions before Oh Se-hoon’s ruling, and Hangang Bus documents

Guests: Park Joo-min · Kim Eui-kyeom · Hong Sa-hoon · Joo Jin-woo
Fan-edited summary · English translation

Kim Eui-kyeom and Park Joo-min reported that a request for an additional detention warrant in the case against Kim Keon-hee concerning alleged buying and selling of official posts had been assigned to a small bench with Justice Oh Kyung-mi in charge and a hearing scheduled for October 27, assessing issuance as likely. This was an expectation at the time of broadcast, not a decision to issue a warrant or extend detention. Park mentioned possible referral to the full bench as a variable but regarded it as unlikely, while Joo Jin-woo said conversations with court officials had conveyed concern over the expiration of detention. Kim Eui-kyeom explained that a judge seconded to the National Assembly had said assignment was random. By contrast, the host suggested the possibility of deliberate assignment to Justice Oh within the court and interpreted a publicly released singing video as publicity preparing for release, but Joo said the intent behind the assignment was unknown and Hong Sa-hoon also pushed back that the inference went too far. Internal court agreement, the chief justice’s intentions, and prior knowledge on Kim Keon-hee’s side cannot be established from this transcript alone. On Cho Hee-dae’s impeachment, Kim Eui-kyeom said the Legislation and Judiciary Committee had never received instructions from the leadership and questioned the effectiveness of a parliamentary investigation, saying it would be difficult to uncover additional facts without witnesses appearing and documents being submitted. Kim explained having personally advocated impeachment but that persuasion within the party had been insufficient and conflict among supporters was also a concern, offering as a personal idea for breaking the deadlock that the president’s side restate the grounds for requesting resubmission of the nomination. Park proposed moving ahead first with already submitted court-reform bills, particularly discussion of abolishing the National Court Administration, rather than a parliamentary investigation or a tug-of-war between the president and chief justice. Hong and Joo also criticized delays, but Kim reported that judges were sensitive to matters such as the share of outside members on a judicial administration committee. Drawing on experience in the 21st National Assembly, when there had been common ground with the court on abolition itself but disagreement over the composition of the replacement body’s personnel subcommittee, Park argued for progress through revisions and consultation. When the host said it had passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Hong and Kim corrected that it was still only before a subcommittee and had not passed. On Oh Se-hoon’s appeal ruling, Park predicted that acquittal would be difficult given the case structure and first-instance judgment, and Joo also predicted guilt, but the broadcast did not report the ruling’s outcome. Park said there was a willingness to run if a by-election arose but that it would not be easy, and disclosed that the account of a leadership atmosphere in which the People Power Party wanted an early by-election had been heard through another lawmaker. Hong offered the political opinion that a by-election could give the Democratic Party an opportunity for renewal. A final judgment, loss of the mayoralty, and the occurrence or timing of a by-election cannot be established from this conversation alone. Finally, Park explained that MBC reporting based on materials from Park’s legislative office included an internal Seoul report expressing concern about the contract with Gadeok Heavy Industries, and that Hangang Bus documents also mentioned the possibility of the mayor’s early resignation. This was document content introduced by Park, not verification of the originals or a finding of corruption. Earlier, Hong emphasized reclaiming wartime operational control as a sovereignty issue and expressed concern about risks to U.S. military bases in South Korea in a Taiwan contingency, but these were geopolitical interpretations and arguments, not an actual attack or a government decision.

Read article (Korean) ↗Watch video (Korean) · 01:17:21 ↗Original source (Korean) ↗

More perspectivesTHE REST OF THE DAY

04 / Meet at Noon

Halted consideration of Solidigm’s IPO, changing shareholder rights, causes of the market plunge, and investors’ concerns

Guests: Lee Gwang-su · Park Si-dong · Kwon Da-young · Kwon Min-jeong
Fan-edited summary · English translation

At a public broadcast, Lee Gwang-su, Park Si-dong, and Kwon Da-young explained how the situation had changed from the previous day’s expectation that a listing would proceed, focusing on news that SK hynix had announced it was halting consideration of Solidigm’s IPO. They first relayed the company’s explanation that, in light of capital-market conditions and share-price movements, it needed to reconsider whether this was a favorable choice for existing shareholders. They then shared their interpretation that shareholder opposition and financial regulators’ criticism of duplicate listings had influenced the decision, while the account of numerous protest calls was something Lee said had been heard from others, not a direct investigation. Lee assessed this as a change in which shareholders had influenced corporate decision-making, while Park saw reduced concerns about value dilution and the burden of conflict with the authorities. They nevertheless distinguished the halted IPO review as removal of a negative factor, rather than an immediate new positive guaranteeing a sharp rise in the share price. Expectations that the following week’s earnings announcement might provide explanations of long-term profitability and shareholder returns were likewise forecasts not yet realized. They discussed Samsung E&A’s share-buyback and cancellation plans and intraday gains as an example of shareholder-policy effects. Kwon reported weakness in domestic and overseas technology and semiconductor shares, foreign selling, and a stronger won, and examined Meta’s increased spending commitments, concerns about cash-generating capacity, and rising CDS premiums. Kwon distinguished spending commitments from spending all occurring in the current year, and the guests interpreted large AI investments as carrying greater financing burdens under high interest rates. Lee offered the hypothesis that negotiations between companies unable easily to stop investing and their lenders could raise funding costs, while Park thought Meta’s results alone could not sufficiently explain simultaneous falls across other technology stocks. They connected past examples of hedge-fund competition with recent reports of increased short selling, but did not establish that a particular group had caused this decline. A short squeeze, introduced as a warning from Goldman Sachs, was explained as a possibility if conditions changed, not as meaning a rebound had already begun. Views that risks could be overstated and expectations of the market’s self-correcting function were also the guests’ judgments. They discussed how U.S.–Iran tensions and political uncertainty ahead of Israel’s general election and the U.S. midterms affected oil prices and investor sentiment. Reports of possible renewed air strikes must be distinguished from confirmed military action, and they acknowledged limits to knowing the war’s course or when it would end. They interpreted declining U.S. Treasury yields despite rising oil prices as demand for safe assets, and also offered the outlook that Iran’s negotiating leverage might change after elections. These were the broadcast’s scenarios, not a fixed path for war or interest rates. In the A/S Center segment, joined by announcer Kwon Min-jeong, they introduced accounts from novice investors who had missed stop-loss thresholds during the plunge, losses in children’s accounts, and questions about institutional and pension-fund responses, possible further declines, and the continuity of AI development. Kwon Min-jeong said investing personally had also prompted reflection on an impatient disposition, while another panelist, not named in the source summary, likewise described holding power-sector stocks and having sold some at a loss as that person’s own situation. Lee suggested making new plans and setting tolerable standards from the present rather than fixating on the amount already lost. Park explained that responses to the same index movement should differ depending on borrowing, equity exposure, and available cash. The broadcast’s hypothetical index levels and selling proportions were individual examples, not trading instructions provided by this summary. On children’s accounts, they offered the view that the holdings and the long investment horizon needed to be considered separately, and analyzed constraints on immediate pension-fund purchases, including asset allocation and preserving response capacity, while proposing institutional improvements such as turning retirement pensions into funds. This did not mean an actual deployment of funds had been decided. Park considered it excessive to interpret a break below a particular support level as an immediate market collapse, but Lee drew a boundary by saying securities-industry forecasts could also be wrong, so it was necessary to think through responses to different cases rather than rely on predictions. In response to the AI question, Kwon Da-young introduced a memory-shortage forecast and physical-AI vision conveyed in a Jensen Huang interview, without converting them into a guarantee of semiconductor profits. Asked what their selves in 2030 would want to say to their October 2026 selves, Kwon Da-young, Park, and Lee spoke of hopes for Korean companies and the investment process, while Kwon Min-jeong looked back on the attitude of preserving cash and buying slowly. They concluded by reporting a narrowing of intraday losses and sharing expectations for shareholder participation and institutional change. This recounts the guests’ optimism and personal investment experience; it is not an investment recommendation or a guarantee of recovering losses or future returns.

Read article (Korean) ↗Watch video (Korean) · 00:10:39 ↗Original source (Korean) ↗

This source includes automatic captions. They may contain errors and are not a verified transcript.

05 / The Hong Sa-hoon Show

Commentary on Oh Se-hoon’s appellate acquittal, criticism of the judiciary, a structural majority and debate within the Democratic Party

Guests: Hong Sa-hoon · Choi Kang-wook · Shin Jang-sik
Fan-edited summary · English translation

Hong Sa-hoon hosted former lawmaker Choi Kang-wook and Shin Jang-sik, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party. Roughly the first 11 minutes of the video were highlights from the October 22 broadcast and were excluded from this edition’s main programme. The first topic in the main programme was the news that Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon had been acquitted on appeal, reversing the first-instance verdict, in a case concerning allegations that another party paid polling expenses on Oh’s behalf. The guests criticised the court for rejecting the credibility of Myung Tae-kyun’s statements and selecting only circumstances favourable to Oh; they also forecast that little could be expected from a Supreme Court appeal and argued that impeaching Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae was urgent. These were on-air assessments and forecasts made without reviewing the full judgment, and do not mean that judicial intervention or an impeachment outcome has been established. The positions of Oh and Myung as relayed by the host, along with comments from the governing and opposition parties, were also material introduced during the broadcast. On the possibility of efforts to resume President Lee Jae-myung’s trial, the guests countered that this would be legally impossible and voiced concern that the issue would be used as a political attack, but no actual effort was confirmed. The discussion also covered forecasts for next year’s Seoul mayoral race, the Constitutional Court’s assessment of seriousness and criticism of internal conflict within the governing party. Later, the speakers discussed the president’s concept of a structural majority, including ways to consolidate core supporters and mobilise people who had not voted, and the personal view of one audience member was introduced. Finally, the programme addressed a demand that the basis for Shincheonji-related claims within the Democratic Party be disclosed, but the truth of those claims was not established in the broadcast.

Read article (Korean) ↗Watch video (Korean) · 00:11:00 ↗Original source (Korean) ↗

This source includes automatic captions. They may contain errors and are not a verified transcript.

06 / Five O'Clock with Lee Jae-seok

Controversy over Oh Se-hoon’s appellate acquittal, a Gallup poll, a girl-group topic and a public autumn-baseball cheer broadcast

Guests: Lee Jae-seok · Lee Bong-woo · Lee Yong-ju · Cho Ho-je · Park Hyun-kwang · Oh Myung-seop · Kim I-re · Kwak Su-san
Fan-edited summary · English translation

During the fourth autumn-special public broadcast, Lee Jae-seok led part one on news, part two on culture and part three featuring baseball guests with Lee Bong-woo, caster Lee Yong-ju, Cho Ho-je and Park Hyun-kwang. Lee Bong-woo reported that the Seoul High Court had overturned the first-instance guilty verdict and fine of 10 million won in Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s Political Funds Act case, acquitting Oh as well as the deputy mayor and Kim Han-jung, who had been indicted alongside Oh. The court’s reasoning was presented as finding Myung Tae-kyun’s statements unreliable, accepting a recording submitted by Kim Han-jung and viewing the 33 million won as money exchanged through a personal relationship rather than payment for polling. Lee said the special prosecutor had announced an appeal, arguing that direct evidence existed beyond the statements and that it was difficult to understand why the court accepted a recording containing only favourable portions. The participants criticised the judgment and the direction of the judiciary and forecast the conservative camp’s alignment, but these were their opinions. Lee Bong-woo introduced Gallup Korea’s fourth-week October poll, conducted by telephone interview on October 21 and 22 among approximately 1,000 people, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The results presented were 40 per cent approval and 50 per cent disapproval of the president’s job performance, 37 per cent for the Democratic Party and 28 per cent for the People Power Party, and 34 per cent support, 39 per cent opposition and 28 per cent “don’t know” on impeaching Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae. In part two’s “Hot Yong-ju” segment, Lee Yong-ju discussed the popularity of the nine-member girl group A2o Lite, described on air as created by Lee Soo-man and rendered that way in the captions, along with AI parodies, concern about inappropriate questions in an AI-member fan-communication app and reporting on trainee rights. Part three featured Oh Myung-seop, introduced as a former LG Twins cheerleading director and the current Fire Baseball cheerleading director; Kim I-re, who described past work on a Lotte Giants partisan broadcast; and broadcaster Kwak Su-san. Oh performed a cheer without accompaniment, the group demonstrated movements and a wave for a cheer song that Kwak said was made with AI, and Kim explained foul balls and strikeouts, intentional walks and sacrifice flies; this summary does not reproduce any lyrics. The account is based on the official video’s automatic Korean captions, and the judgment, poll and reporting were not independently verified.

Read article (Korean) ↗Watch video (Korean) · 00:11:53 ↗Original source (Korean) ↗

This source includes automatic captions. They may contain errors and are not a verified transcript.

07 / Joo Jin-woo Live

Debate over Oh Se-hoon’s appellate acquittal, a phone interview with Myung Tae-kyun and a review of the football association presidential by-election

Guests: Joo Jin-woo · Kim Ye-ni · Myung Tae-kyun · Lim Min-hyuk · Park Moon-sung
Fan-edited summary · English translation

After the main programme began at 10 minutes 57 seconds, Joo Jin-woo and current-affairs commentator Kim Ye-ni critically examined the same day’s appellate acquittal of Oh Se-hoon in the Political Funds Act case. Addressing the account of the judgment presented on air, namely that Myung Tae-kyun’s statements were inconsistent and difficult to trust and that those statements were the only direct evidence, the two argued that circumstances such as bank transfers, text messages and call records had been given too little weight. Their speculation that the panel’s assignment was connected to the chief justice’s personnel decisions, their argument that Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae should be impeached and their forecast that the case might be reconsidered by the Supreme Court were the participants’ views and predictions, not the outcome of the case or established facts. Joining by phone, Myung said that Myung had appeared in Myung’s own appellate trial in Changwon that day and claimed that the account given about the contact, the commissioning of polling and the introduction of Kim Han-jung had not changed. Myung added that, not being a lawyer, it was difficult to say whether the judgment was reasonable; no representative of Oh’s side appeared, and that side was mentioned only through quotations within the broadcast. An audience question prompted a hypothetical discussion about the relationship between the timing of impeachment and the judgment. Former K League player Lim Min-hyuk then said that Lim had spoken at the day’s National Assembly audit about professional-player welfare and military-service exemptions, and joined football commentator Park Moon-sung to discuss a Korea Football Association presidential by-election said to be scheduled for December 18. Despite an explanation that the electoral college would be expanded, the two guests and the host raised concerns about the lack of disclosed information on the schedule, candidate procedures and composition of the electoral college, as well as controversy over Asian Games military-service exemptions, the association’s existing system and the influence of the Hyundai family, while Park described difficulties experienced after remarks at a previous National Assembly audit and stated the view that change should be pursued from within the institutional system. Despite the phrase “Friday Ghost Story Meeting” in the title, the captions contained no ghost or supernatural stories; this summary instead records the participants’ discussion of Korean politics and football based on the automatic Korean captions and official description.

Read article (Korean) ↗Watch video (Korean) · 00:10:57 ↗Original source (Korean) ↗

This source includes automatic captions. They may contain errors and are not a verified transcript.

Edition keywordsParis protestsRyu Mil-heeDamage to shopsLive local connectionEuropean protestsWar-ending negotiationsNorth Korea–U.S. talksWartime operational controlAdditional detention warrant for Kim Keon-heeOh Kyung-miCho Hee-dae impeachmentNational Court AdministrationOh Se-hoon appeal rulingHangang BusHalted consideration of Solidigm IPOShareholder rightsAI investmentShort sellingInvestor sentimentNoon A/S CenterOh Se-hoon appellate acquittalCalls to impeach Cho Hee-daeStructural majorityCore supportersDemand to disclose basis for Shincheonji allegationsOh Se-hoon appealGallup KoreaA2o LiteAutumn baseballCheer songMyung Tae-kyun phone interviewDebate over the court’s judgmentFootball association presidential by-electionMilitary-service exemption

Original sources (Korean)

Ryu Mil-hee’s observations of protests and damage to shops from accommodation in Paris
Original source (Korean)https://humblefactory.co.kr/12461/2026%EB%85%84-10%EC%9B%94-23%EC%9D%BC-%EA%B8%88-%EB%A5%98%EB%B0%80%ED%9D%AC-%EA%B8%B0%EC%9E%90%C2%B7-%ED%85%90%EB%B0%80%ED%9D%AC-%EC%A7%84%ED%96%89%EC%9E%90%EC%99%80%EC%9D%98-%EC%9D%B8%ED%84%B0/
Interpreting European cost-of-living protests, an end to war, North Korea–U.S. talks, and wartime operational control
Original source (Korean)https://humblefactory.co.kr/12465/2026%EB%85%84-10%EC%9B%94-23%EC%9D%BC-%EA%B8%88-%EA%B2%B8%EC%86%90nsc-%EC%9C%A0%EB%9F%BD-%EC%A0%84%EC%97%AD-%ED%94%84%EB%9E%91%EC%8A%A4-%EB%84%98%EC%96%B4-%EB%8C%80%EA%B7%9C%EB%AA%A8/
Forecasts for Kim Keon-hee’s additional warrant hearing, approaches to judicial reform, predictions before Oh Se-hoon’s ruling, and Hangang Bus documents
Original source (Korean)https://humblefactory.co.kr/12467/2026%EB%85%84-10%EC%9B%94-23%EC%9D%BC-%EA%B8%88-%ED%8D%BC%EB%8B%88%ED%8F%AC-%EA%B9%80%EA%B1%B4%ED%9D%AC-27%EC%9D%BC-%EC%B6%94%EA%B0%80-%EC%98%81%EC%9E%A5-%EC%8B%AC%EB%AC%B8-%EB%8C%80%EB%B2%95/
Halted consideration of Solidigm’s IPO, changing shareholder rights, causes of the market plunge, and investors’ concerns
Original source (Korean)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qAbz5hzLG4
This source includes automatic captions. They may contain errors and are not a verified transcript.
Commentary on Oh Se-hoon’s appellate acquittal, criticism of the judiciary, a structural majority and debate within the Democratic Party
Original source (Korean)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZbjL-Yuvr0
This source includes automatic captions. They may contain errors and are not a verified transcript.
Controversy over Oh Se-hoon’s appellate acquittal, a Gallup poll, a girl-group topic and a public autumn-baseball cheer broadcast
Original source (Korean)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-pYzMIpqhg
This source includes automatic captions. They may contain errors and are not a verified transcript.
Debate over Oh Se-hoon’s appellate acquittal, a phone interview with Myung Tae-kyun and a review of the football association presidential by-election
Original source (Korean)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1qwZleboLA
This source includes automatic captions. They may contain errors and are not a verified transcript.