Like all depressives, France likes to complain in front of the mirror. Nothing's going right. France is not alone in lamenting a paralyzing political crisis, consumption at half-mast, rising unemployment and a change of president in the US. South Korea is pining too, and indeed has more to worry about than France.

On Monday, January 20, South Korea's central bank revised its growth forecasts downwards for 2025, and even for 2024, a catastrophic fourth quarter of the year. The open war between the president of the Republic, Yoon Suk Yeol, and his Parliament, which he had tried to muzzle by force in early December 2024, ended with the arrest of the head of state on Wednesday, January 15. He is now behind bars but the protests continue. His supporters ransacked the Seoul courthouse on Sunday, January 19. Added to this instability was the worst air disaster in the country's history, with the crash of a Boeing on December 29, 2024, at a southern airport, killing 179 people.

This is a serious blow to consumers, who didn't need it. Consumption is at its lowest level in 24 years, debt is at its highest, and everyone is complaining about the rising cost of living. Added to this is the employment situation, the worst in four years, with 52,000 jobs lost by December 2024.

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