Yonhap: Approval rating for South Korea's President Lee falls to 55%.

After a 10-month halt, restart rumours around CATL's Yichun Jianxiawo lithium mine intensified after Credit China on July 7 posted that Yichun Times New Energy Mining Co. had obtained a non-coal mine safety production enterprise change permit with a 30 mln t/yr scope. A source close to CATL said core mining, beneficiation and smelting have resumed and could reach full production within one to two weeks. On-site reporting found no transport trucks at the concentrator; workers were taking measurements and placing flags, and excavators were operating on slopes. A legal expert said such activity may constitute preparatory work rather than formal production. The main outstanding issue is environmental impact assessment (EIA) approval: the project’s first EIA public notice was issued in Dec 2025, but subsequent EIA report preparation and approval have no public record and EIA progress has been absent for about six months. While a CATL insider said prerequisite approvals including the EIA have been obtained, the EIA report has not been publicly posted in line with statutory procedure, leaving the mine’s formal resumption legally unresolved.

An official at South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday's policy measures are not targeted at foreign broker-dealers.