Yonhap News Summary

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

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(2nd LD) Moon says S. Korea commencing gradual return to normal life from November

SEOUL -- South Korea will commence a gradual return to normal life from the COVID-19 pandemic next month, President Moon Jae-in said Monday, as the nation's vaccination rate surpassed the key milestone of 70 percent.

Small businesses and self-employed people hit hard by antivirus measures will be able to see their sales pick up while in-person classes will fully resume and welfare centers will get back to normal operation, Moon said in a budget speech at the National Assembly.

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Infection rates continue to trend downward with S. Korea hitting vaccine milestone

SEOUL -- South Korea reported 1,190 new cases Monday, continuing a sustained decline in the number of coronavirus cases as its vaccination rate reached the milestone of 70 percent over the weekend.

Monday's tally, including 1,167 local infections, raised the total caseload to 353,089, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It is down from the 1,423 counted the previous day. New virus cases stayed below 2,000 for the 17th day in a row.

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No unusual N.K. military activities after S. Korean space rocket launch: JCS

SEOUL -- South Korea's military has detected no unusual North Korean military activities, its officials said Monday, amid concerns Pyongyang could stage another show of force in response to Seoul's recent space rocket launch.

"The intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States have been closely cooperating and keeping close tabs on the (North Korean military) movements," Col. Kim Jun-rak, the spokesperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a regular press briefing.

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(LEAD) Citibank Korea to close retail banking 'in phases'

SEOUL -- Citibank Korea Inc., the Korean unit of U.S. banking giant Citigroup, said Monday that it will close its retail banking services "in phases" in line with a global business reorganization drive.

Citibank Korea held a board meeting on Friday and made the decision to pull out from consumer banking in South Korea. In April, Citigroup said that it will exit consumer banking operations in 13 markets, including South Korea, as part of its global business reorganization.

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(LEAD Apple TV+ to land in S. Korea on Nov. 4

SEOUL -- Apple TV+, the subscription-based streaming service of tech titan Apple Inc., will be launched in South Korea next week, the company said Monday, heating up the competition in the local streaming market.

Apple announced on its website that it will launch Apple TV+ and its set-top box Apple TV 4K on Nov. 4 here, in partnership with local internet service provider (ISP) SK Broadband Co.

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Over 80,000 dating violence cases reported in past 5 yrs: police data

SEOUL -- More than 80,000 cases of dating violence were reported in the past five years nationwide, with more than 200 cases resulting in murder, police data showed Monday.

According to the data of the National Police Agency, obtained by Rep. Yang Ki-dae of the ruling Democratic Party, 81,056 cases of dating abuse were reported to police between 2016 and last year.

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(LEAD) POSCO's Q3 net rises more than 4-fold on robust demand

SEOUL -- POSCO, the world's fifth-largest steelmaker by output, said Monday its third-quarter net profit rose more than four-fold from a year earlier on robust demand amid the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Net profit reached 2.63 trillion won (US$2.24 billion) on a consolidated basis in the July-September period, compared with a profit of 510 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

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Seoul says pope's possible N.K. visit to 'greatly' contribute to regional peace

SEOUL -- Pope Francis' visit to North Korea, if made, will "greatly contribute" to establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula, South Korea's unification ministry said Monday, as Seoul prepares for President Moon Jae-in's papal meeting at the Vatican this week.

Moon is scheduled to meet with Pope Francis on Friday in Rome, where he plans to attend the Group of 20 Leaders' Summit before traveling to Glasgow to join a U.N. climate change conference next week.
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