On the 27th, the Financial Supervisory Service announced the main contents of the "Automobile Insurance Standard Terms" that will change from January 1st to receive medical certificates for long-term hospitalization for more than 4 weeks. Korea's first lunar orbiter "Danuri," launched on August 5, successfully settled on its mission orbit on the 27th, will check the initial operation of the payload in the new year and start full-fledged initial operation. The National Police Agency said on the 29th that it will respond to the crowd management of the event, expecting 1.26 million people to gather at the New Year's event in three years. In the new year, public utility charges such as nationwide taxi, bus, subway, water and sewage charges, and garbage-based bags will be raised.
A North Korean drone invaded our airspace for the first time since 2017. Several North Korean drones were detected in Gyeonggi Province at 10:25 a.m. on the 26th. The military found the drone, broadcasted warnings and fired warning shots several times, and launched a shoot-down operation with responding forces such as air force fighters and attack helicopters, but failed to shoot it down. The Joint Chiefs of Staff apologized to the public for failing to shoot down the North Korean drone on the 27th and said it would strengthen its response to the drone. On the 27th, President Yoon Suk Yeol strongly rebuked Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop, saying, "What have you been doing?" Regarding the controversy over the non-hosting of the National Security Council at the time of the drone invasion, the president's office said on the 28th that President Yoon sent two to three times the number of drones to the North and ordered them to shoot down the North Korean drones.
Regarding the prosecution's demand for attendance due to the Seongnam FC case, Democratic Party Chairman Lee Jae-myung said on the 26th, "The form of the prosecution is difficult to understand, but we will make sure to act confidently." On the 26th, Lee urged the Ministry of Justice to withdraw the inclusion of former President Lee Myung Bak on the pardon and lottery list and former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo on the pardon list without lottery, calling it "a preferential pardon that violates public common sense and expectations and hinders national unity." Regarding the prosecution's all-round investigation into him on the 28th, Lee said, "Will killing Lee Jae-myung cover the government's incompetence and irresponsibility?" and "Please pay attention to when the investigation will be conducted on the president's family." Representative Lee visited Bongha Village in Gimhae on New Year's Day and visited the tomb of former President Roh Moo Hyun.
President Yoon Suk Yeol said on the 26th that union corruption should be prevented and transparency should be strengthened. "Consider establishing a union accounting disclosure system like the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, 'DART'." President Yoon visited the Defense Science Research Institute in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon on the 29th to check the overall development of the domestic weapons system, including the South Korean military's surveillance and reconnaissance intercept system, against North Korea's recent drone threat. The Supreme Court confirmed the ruling that President Yoon's mother-in-law Choi Eun-soon lost some of the civil lawsuits caused by the controversy over forgery of the balance certificate. In a New Year's address broadcast live at the presidential office building on the 1st, President Yoon said, "We can no longer postpone the three major reforms of labor, education, and pension, which depend on the future of the Republic of Korea and the future generation."
JTBC's Friday, Saturday and Sunday drama "The Youngest Son of a Jaebeol House" ended with a rating of 26.94%. "The Youngest Son of a Jaebeol House" started with a 10.8% viewer rating in the first week of the show, rose to its highest rating in the last episode on the 25th, ranked No. 1 overall viewer rating this year, No. 2 non-reality drama ratings this year, and became the most popular drama in Korea on Netflix. In the last episode, JTBC's highest viewer rating of 28.4%, but it swept the small screen with Song Joong-ki's syndrome.