Yonhap News Summary

The following is the second summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Friday.

Diplomats of S. Korea, U.S. hold talks ahead of FM Kang's visit to U.S.

SEOUL -- Diplomats of South Korea and the United States held talks in Seoul on Friday to discuss pending bilateral and regional issues, the foreign ministry said, ahead of Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha's trip to Washington next week.

The meeting between Koh Yun-ju, the ministry's director general for North American affairs, and Marc Knapper, deputy U.S. assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, came just days after the U.S. presidential election.
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Participants in Jeju forum call for 'reinventing' multilateralism in tackling COVID-19, global challenges

SEOUL/JEJU-- Former and current U.N. chiefs, leading politicians and scholars made emphatic calls Friday to strengthen multilateralism in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and other transnational challenges, calling it an essential value in times of crisis.

During the opening ceremony of the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, the participants highlighted the pressing need for multilateral cooperation, which has been eroded by a great-power rivalry, nationalism, protectionism and unilateralism in some quarters of the world.
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S. Korea, Uzbekistan agree to push for launch of trade talks

SEOUL -- South Korea and Uzbekistan agreed Friday to announce the launch of trade talks at an opportune time in an effort to expand bilateral trade, the government said.

The agreement was made between South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo and Sardor Umurzakov, Uzbekistan's deputy prime minister for investment and foreign economic relations, during a videoconference of a bilateral trade and economic committee, the trade ministry said.

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Hyundai, Kia rank 4th in electrified car sales in 2019

SEOUL -- Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. ranked fourth in global electrified vehicle sales last year, helped by increased exports, industry data showed Friday.

Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 350,000 electrified models in global markets in 2019, up 25 percent from a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) said in a statement.

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Prosecutors raid Kumho Asiana's offices over unfair trade allegations

SEOUL -- Prosecutors raided offices of Kumho Asiana Group on Friday as part of a probe into an alleged unfair trade among affiliates, which resulted in huge gains for its owner family.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said its investigators seized accounting records and computer data from the headquarters of the conglomerate and the office of its affiliated Asiana Airlines Inc., both in Seoul.

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Seoul stocks up for 5th day on easing U.S. election uncertainties

SEOUL-- South Korean stocks extended their winning streak to a fifth day Friday, helped by massive foreign buying amid eased uncertainties over U.S. election results. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.71 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 2,416.5.

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Lotte Shopping swings to black in Q3 amid pandemic

SEOUL-- Lotte Shopping Co. said Friday it swung to a net profit in the third quarter on robust performance in its non-department store business amid the new coronavirus outbreak.

Net income reached 3 billion won (US$2.7 million) in the July-September period, a turnaround from a net loss of 23.3 billion won a year earlier, the key unit of retail giant Lotte Group said in a regulatory filing.
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