People Power Party lawmakers walked out or boycotted parliamentary votes Thursday as the Democratic Party advanced confirmation hearing reports for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won and Defense Minister nominee Ret. Gen. Kang Shin-chul. The judiciary committee adopted Kim’s report after PPP lawmakers left 10 minutes into the meeting, while the National Defense Committee approved Kang’s report the same day. The Daily Debrief also highlighted growing investment in Korea’s AI data centers, led by KKR and Brookfield, with power demand potentially pushing facilities toward less densely populated regions. Other items covered pressure on the Bank of Korea after a Federal Reserve rate hike, projected population decline by 2043, action against ticket scalpers’ illegal profits, a procedural delay involving $350 billion in U.S. investment, and IVE’s Jang Won-young becoming the Asia-Pacific face of UGG. Separate features examined misconduct at Seoul’s royal palaces, a North Korean defector’s testimony before a U.S. congressional hearing, Chuseok traffic, and the Korean musical "You & It" heading to London.