Yonhap News Summary
Yonhap News Summary
The following is the first summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday.
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S. Korea, Japan seek ways to mend ties in bilateral talks
WASHINGTON -- Vice foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan held rare bilateral talks in Washington on Monday, seeking to mend ties soured by the prolonged issue of Japan's wartime forced labor.
South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong said the sides will continue to hold discussions but that they have yet to reach any conclusion.
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Hybe CEO says company will ensure independence of SM after acquisition: sources
SEOUL -- Park Ji-won, CEO of local K-pop powerhouse Hybe, has said his company will ensure the independence of its rival SM Entertainment even after becoming its top shareholder and that SM founder Lee Soo-man will stay away from management, according to sources in the music industry.
Park made the remarks during a briefing session for Hybe employees held Monday after the company announced last week that it will acquire a 14.8 percent stake in SM Entertainment to become its largest shareholder, according to the sources.
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S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases in 14,000s as virus wanes
SEOUL -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit around 14,000 on Tuesday, marking a moderate fall from the previous week amid a declining virus trend.
The country reported 14,371 new infection cases, including 26 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,369,744, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
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Big listed firms' 2022 dividends dip nearly 14 pct amid economic slump
SEOUL -- Major listed companies in South Korea cut their dividends by nearly 14 percent in 2022 from a year earlier amid an economic slump, a corporate tracker said Tuesday.
Combined dividends paid out by 50 of South Korea's top 100 firms in terms of market capitalization came to 15.7 trillion won (US$12.3 billion) last year, down 13.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the Leaders Index.
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Kakao taxi app fined for secretly giving more calls to franchise cabs
SEOUL -- South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to slap fines of 25.7 billion won (US$20 million) on Kakao Mobility Corp., the nation's leading taxi-hailing service, for manipulating its algorithm to give more calls to cabs under its franchise.
The punishment on the operator of the app, Kakao T, came after the company gave preferential treatment to franchise taxis under the Kakao brand, dubbed Kakao T Blue, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). The app is open to both franchise and non-franchise taxis.
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Seoul shares up late Tue. morning on Wall Street gains
SEOUL -- South Korean stocks traded higher late Tuesday morning on overnight Wall Street gains ahead of the release of the United States' key inflation data.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had risen 17.94 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,470.64 as of 11:20 a.m.
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PPP lawmaker says Jeju uprising triggered by N. Korean founder's instruction
SEOUL -- Rep. Tae Yong-ho, a North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), has caused a controversy by insisting that a civilian uprising on Jeju Island in the late 1940s was obviously triggered by the instruction of North Korea's late founder, Kim Il-sung.
Tae, who defected to South Korea in 2016 and was elected to the National Assembly in 2020, said on his Facebook page that he made the remarks at a PPP event on the southern resort island Sunday.
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Leaner and meaner, Padres infielder Kim Ha-seong ready to attack fastballs in Year 3
LOS ANGELES -- In his second major league season in 2022, San Diego Padres infielder Kim Ha-seong was named a finalist for the National League Gold Glove at shortstop. He didn't win the big prize but earned wide acclaim as one of the game's top defenders.
And for Year 3, Kim would like his hitting to catch up to his fielding. To that end, Kim has changed both his body and his swing.
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S. Korea and NATO hold 1st military staff talks
SEOUL -- South Korea and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held their first military staff talks in Seoul this week, officials said Tuesday, in a sign of growing security cooperation between the two sides.
Maj. Gen. Kim Su-kwang, a senior official at the directorate of strategic planning at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and Lt. Gen. Francesco Diella of the Italian Army, director of NATO's cooperative security division, led the two-day session that began Monday, according to the JCS.
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