Yonhap News Summary

The following is the first summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday.

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(LEAD) Prosecutors to grill ex-presidential secretary over scandal this week

SEOUL -- Prosecutors said Tuesday they summoned a former presidential secretary to undergo questioning as a suspect this week over a string of allegations surrounding a corruption scandal that led to the removal of former President Park Geun-hye from office.

Prosecutors summoned Woo Byung-woo, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs from 2015 to 2016, to appear at the prosecution on Thursday 10 a.m., they said.

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(LEAD) Moon's camp takes issue with unfavorable survey result

SEOUL -- Presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in's campaign is considering asking the national election watchdog to look into an opinion poll that placed his rival ahead of him in a hypothetical matchup, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Moon, who has maintained a firm lead in nearly all presidential polls, was overtaken by Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the centrist People's Party in a survey released by pollster The Opinion on Monday.

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(Yonhap Interview) Tourism key to reducing world poverty, promoting unity: UN foundation chief

SEOUL -- Tourism is an essential instrument that can serve to alleviate the chronic poverty in underdeveloped countries and lay the groundwork for economic growth, the head of a United Nations-affiliated organization said Tuesday.

"The tourism industry can provide livelihoods for 2 billion people in the world who are living in absolute poverty at the moment. It gives them jobs as souvenir sellers and tourist guides. It can really be a driving force that brings changes in their lives," Doh Young-shim, the chairperson of the Seoul-based U.N. ST-EP Foundation, said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.

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(2nd LD) S. Korea's consumer prices growth hits almost 5-yr high in March

SEJONG -- South Korea's consumer prices shot up at the fastest clip in nearly five years in March on a sharp rise in gas prices, government data showed Tuesday.

The country's consumer price index gained 2.2 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from the previous month's 1.9 percent rise, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

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(LEAD) U.S. House overwhelmingly passes legislation calling for relisting N.K. as terror sponsor

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly passed legislation calling for relisting North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism and a resolution condemning North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile development.

The swift passage of the bipartisan measures, which came just five days after they passed through the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was seen as a message to China in the run-up to the first summit talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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(News Focus) With improved fitness, skills, S. Korean women's hockey continues growth

GANGNEUNG, South Korea, April 4 -- Two games into the women's hockey world championships on home ice this week, it's been quite evident that South Korea has become an infinitely better team since its last international competition less than two months ago.

South Korea has defeated Slovenia 5-1 and then Britain 3-1 to open the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World Championship Division II Group A in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. With two consecutive wins and three matches remaining, the host nation has positioned itself to capture the tournament and earn a promotion to Division I Group B next year.

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S. Korea's national debt hits record high in 2016

SEJONG -- South Korea's national debt surpassed the 600 trillion-won (US$536.7 billion) mark to hit a record high last year due to an expansionary fiscal policy to bolster the sluggish economy, the finance ministry said Tuesday.

The national debt that covers the central and provincial governments' accounts and funds reached 627.1 trillion won in 2016, up 35.7 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the 2016 settlement of accounts endorsed by the Cabinet. The report will be submitted to the National Assembly by May after a review by the Board of Audit and Inspection.

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