KOREA PRO Podcast

KOREA PRO Podcast

Lee’s economic gamble, BOK hike and military academy reform — Ep. 141

Jul 17, 2026 · 22 min · 10 segments

On this week’s episode of the Korea Pro Podcast, John and Joon Ha discuss President Lee Jae Myung’s new economic growth strategy for the second half of 2026, including his push for the state to play a…

On this week’s episode of the Korea Pro Podcast, John and Joon Ha discuss President Lee Jae Myung’s new economic growth strategy for the second half of 2026, including his push for the state to play a much more active role as an investor in South Korea’s future industries. They also break down the Bank of Korea’s decision to raise the base rate to 2.75%, as inflation, rising energy prices, household debt and a weak won continue to create financial stability concerns. The episode then turns to the Lee administration’s proposal to merge South Korea’s three main military academies into a single institution, a plan the government says would improve jointness and modernize officer education. John and Joon Ha also revisit South Korea’s defense export ambitions after Hanwha Ocean’s loss in Canada’s submarine procurement competition, looking at how Seoul is shifting attention to Southeast Asian markets such as Thailand and the Philippines as it seeks to become one of the world’s top arms exporters. About the podcast: The Korea Pro Podcast is a weekly conversation hosted by Korea Risk Group Executive Director Jeongmin Kim, Managing Editor John Lee and correspondent Joon Ha Park, delivering deep, clear analysis of South Korean politics, diplomacy, security, society and technology for professionals who need more than headlines. Uploaded every Friday. This episode was recorded on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Audio edited by Alannah Hill

On this week’s episode of the Korea Pro Podcast, John and Joon Ha discuss President Lee Jae Myung’s new economic growth strategy for the second half of 2026, including his push for the state to play a…

Top entities: South Korea×38 Lee Jae-myung×19 Seoul×3 Philippine Navy×5 Philippines×5

President Lee’s State-Led Growth Plan0:58 – 7:17

0:58

So this week started off with a bang.

1:00

Well, it was on Tuesday when President Lee Jae-myung announced the government's

1:06

economic growth strategy.

1:07

Yeah, it was a really long name, the Economic Growth Strategy for H2 2006, H2 being the second half of this year.

1:14

So there were a lot of things that the president mentioned.

1:18

But if we had to reduce it down into a nutshell, it was basically President Lee saying that now...

1:26

Well, not now.

1:27

This has always been the President Lee's real vision about the economy.

1:31

But it was his vision about how the state will have a much more robust role in economic growth.

1:39

So over the past several weeks now, we've heard the government talking about the National Growth Fund, the Future Response Fund.

1:48

They've talked about this national strategy, this national growth.

1:52

And now it is basically saying that the president wants the government to act as investors.

2:00

The rationale behind it is that, sure, right now, South Korea's economy is doing extremely well.

2:07

The past two months, South Korea has exported more than $100 billion worth of goods, and a significant chunk of that was from semiconductors because of increasing chip prices.

2:16

But everyone recognizes that eventually...

2:18

It's not going to last.

2:19

It's not going to last.

2:20

This market will moderate.

2:21

In fact, some might argue that it has already started.

2:24

If we look at the Kospi, for instance, several weeks ago, we were all celebrating when it went past the 9,000 mark.

2:31

And then Trump did something.

2:33

Well, it wasn't just Donald Trump.

2:35

Sure, it was the war in Iran, which jumped back up.

2:39

Sure, that has had an impact on energy prices, which has got a lot of investors spooked.

2:43

But it's not just him.