Yonhap News Summary

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

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Ratio of babies born to multicultural families hits new high in 2019

SEJONG -- The proportion of babies born to multicultural families out of all childbirths in South Korea reached an all-time high in 2019 due to the country's low birthrate, government data showed Thursday.

The number of babies born to multicultural married couples came to 17,939 last year, down 0.8 percent from a year earlier and accounting for 5.9 percent of total newborns in the country, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

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Supreme Court confirms life imprisonment for woman in murder of ex-husband

SEOUL -- The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a sentence of life imprisonment for a 37-year-old woman who shocked the country last year by brutally killing her former husband, mutilating his body and throwing away the dismembered body parts.

The nation's top court confirmed lower courts' life sentence for Koh Yu-jeong after finding her guilty on charges of murdering her ex-husband and abandoning his body.

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Military inspects security posture following N. Korean's border crossing

SEOUL -- The military has launched an inspection into a border security failure that enabled a North Korean man to cross the heavily guarded border into the South unhindered earlier this week, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said (JCS) Thursday.

The man, whose identity was withheld, was captured 14 hours after he crossed the border late Tuesday following the military's extensive search operations.

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(2nd LD) S. Korea's current account surplus hits 2-year high in Sept. on export recovery

SEOUL -- South Korea's current account surplus hit a two-year high in September as exports rebounded for the first time in seven months on brisk shipments of chips and autos amid the new coronavirus outbreak, the central bank said Thursday.

The current account surplus reached US$10.21 billion in September, compared with $6.57 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.

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(2nd LD) (US election) Biden inches closer to possible election victory with Trump still leading in major battleground states

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, were locked in a surprisingly close race a day after the presidential election as Biden came from behind Wednesday to hold razor-thin leads in several battleground states.

The former vice president was projected to have secured at least 253 electoral votes, just 17 short of the 270 needed to win the White House as of 8 p.m.

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LG Chem, Neste sign strategic partnership on renewable sources

SEOUL -- LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's leading chemical firm, said Thursday it will collaborate with Finland-based bio diesel producer Neste to develop renewable materials for its chemical products.

LG Chem and Neste signed a strategic long-term partnership to develop biopolymers and biochemicals to reduce use of fossil feedstock in the Korean company's manufacturing process.

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(Yonhap Feature) Going the extra mile: Airlines woo passengers with flights to nowhere

SEOUL -- Lee Joo-mi, 25, didn't have high expectations when she arrived at Incheon International Airport on Oct. 23. All she had signed up for was a flight from Incheon -- to Incheon.

The coronavirus pandemic forced the graduate student to return home early from her university in Leicester, Britain. What she didn't know was that it was also pushing airlines to begin fun-filled, entertainment-packed "flights to nowhere" to survive the economic blow dealt by the infectious disease.

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N.K. holds rare meeting of Supreme People's Assembly

SEOUL -- North Korea held a rare meeting Wednesday of the Supreme People's Assembly to adopt laws on tobacco prohibition and enterprises, state media reported the following day.

"The 11th Plenary Meeting of the 14th Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) took place at the Mansudae Assembly Hall on Nov. 4," said the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling party.
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