Yonhap News Summary
Yonhap News Summary
The following is the first summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Friday.
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(LEAD) S. Korea proposes 14 tln-won extra budget to support pandemic-hit merchants
SEOUL -- South Korea proposed an additional extra budget of 14 trillion won (US$11.8 billion) Friday to support small merchants hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic amid extended virus curbs.
This year's first extra budget will be financed with a bond sale worth 11.3 trillion won, according to the finance ministry. It marked the seventh round of supplementary budgets aimed at coping with the fallout of the pandemic.
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Lee, Yoon neck-and-neck at 34 pct vs. 33 pct: poll
SEOUL -- Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is running neck and neck with his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol at 34 percent support against Yoon's 33 percent, a poll showed Friday.
Lee of the liberal Democratic Party lost 3 percentage points from last week, while Yoon of the conservative People Power Party added 2 points, according to the Gallup Korea survey conducted on 1,002 adults from Tuesday to Thursday.
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(LEAD) Exports rise 22 pct in first 20 days of Jan.
SEOUL -- South Korea's exports grew 22 percent on-year in the first 20 days of January on the back of solid demand for chips and petroleum products, customs data showed Friday.
The country's outbound shipments stood at US$34.4 billion in the Jan. 1-20 period, compared with $28.22 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.
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(LEAD) Gov't to lower age of eligibility for COVID-19 treatment pills from 65 to 60: PM
SEOUL -- The government will lower the age of eligibility for COVID-19 treatment pills from 65 to 60 to better contain the spread of the omicron variant, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday.
Kim announced the measure during a COVID-19 response meeting held a day after President Moon Jae-in said omicron has become the dominant strain in the country.
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(3rd LD) Moon, Egyptian leader to make joint efforts for K-9 howitzer deal
CAIRO -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday he will make joint efforts with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for the conclusion of negotiations for a deal to sell Seoul's K-9 self-propelled howitzers to the African state.
Moon made the remarks during a joint announcement on the conclusion of his talks with the Egyptian president, raising hopes for another K-9 howitzer export deal, following a 1.9-trillion won contract signed during Moon's visit to Australia last month.
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(LEAD) Daily cases over 6,000 for 2nd day amid omicron woes
SEOUL -- South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed over 6,000 for a second straight day Friday amid concerns over the spread of the omicron variant ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
The country added 6,769 new COVID-19 infections, including 6,482 local infections, raising the total caseload to 719,269, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
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S. Korean women's short track team to miss top qualifiers to suspension, injury
SEOUL -- The South Korean women's short track speed skating team will be without two of its top three qualifiers at the Beijing Winter Olympics next month.
The Korea Skating Union (KSU) finalized the national men's and women's entries for Beijing 2022 on Thursday night. South Korea has been the most successful country in Olympic short track history with 24 gold medals and will look to add to that total with a depleted women's team.
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Political drama, pirate film set to compete at holiday box office
SEOUL -- Two homegrown movies will hit local theaters next week to lure film buffs and holiday shoppers ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.
"Kingmaker" and "The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure" will open Wednesday, three days before the five-day Lunar New Year holiday begins. The first day of the new year based on the lunar calendar falls on Feb. 1 this year.
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