While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 4, 2025
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Mr Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, and his wife Kim Hye-gyeong at the party's election night event in Seoul, South Korea, on June 4.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
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Liberal Lee Jae-myung wins South Korea presidency
South Korea’s liberal party candidate, Mr Lee Jae-myung, was elected president in a June 3 snap election, six months to the day after he evaded military cordons to vote against a shock martial law decree imposed by his ousted predecessor.
Mr Lee’s victory stands to usher in a political sea change in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, after the backlash against the martial law brought down Yoon Suk Yeol, the conservative outsider who narrowly beat Mr Lee in the 2022 election.
Nearly 80 per cent of South Korea’s 44.39 million eligible voters cast their ballots, the highest turnout for a presidential election in the country since 1997, with Mr Lee terming the polls “judgment day” against Yoon’s martial law and the People Power Party’s failure to distance itself from that decision.
With 100 per cent of the ballots counted, Mr Lee had won 49.42 per cent of the nearly 35 million votes cast while conservative rival Kim Moon-soo had taken 41.15 per cent in the polls, according to National Election Commission data. A subdued Mr Kim conceded the race and congratulated Mr Lee in brief remarks to reporters.
Trump signs order hiking steel, aluminium tariffs to 50%
NYT
The United States will double its tariffs on imported steel and aluminium starting June 4, according to the White House, as it published an order signed by President Donald Trump.
The move marks a latest salvo in Mr Trump’s trade wars, taking levies on both metals from 25 per cent to 50 per cent.
But tariffs on metal imports from the UK will remain at the 25 per cent rate, while both sides work out duties and quotas in line with the terms of their earlier trade pact.
Elon Musk calls Trump Bill ‘a disgusting abomination’
AFP
Elon Musk on June 3 amplified his criticism of the sweeping tax and spending Bill that President Donald Trump has been pushing fellow Republicans in Congress to embrace, calling it a “disgusting abomination” that will increase the deficit.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” billionaire Musk wrote in an X post. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending Bill is a disgusting abomination.
“Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
Ukraine says it hit Russia’s Crimea bridge with explosives
Ukraine’s SBU security service said on June 3 that it had hit the road and rail bridge linking Russia and the occupied Crimean peninsula below the water level with explosives.
In a statement, the SBU said it had used 1,100 kilograms of explosives that were detonated early in the morning and damaged underwater pillars of the bridge, a key supply route for Russian forces in Ukraine in the past.
The SBU shared video footage that showed an explosion next to one of the many support pillars of the bridge.
Cartier tells customers some data stolen in cyberattack
REUTERS
Cartier, the luxury jewellery company owned by Richemont, had its website hacked and some client data stolen, it told customers, according to an email seen by Reuters on June 3.
The attack is the latest case of a company being targeted by cyber criminals, with several retailers including Marks & Spencer and Victoria’s Secret disclosing similar incidents.
“Limited client information”, such as names, e-mail addresses and countries, had been obtained, Cartier said in the email.
