Yonhap News Summary

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

-----------------
(2nd LD) Former President Roh Tae-woo dies at 88

SEOUL -- Roh Tae-woo, South Korea's last general-turned-president who played a key role in a 1979 coup before winning election through a direct vote at the start of South Korea's democratization, died Tuesday, aides said. He was 88.

Roh, who served as president from 1988-93, was recently admitted to a hospital after his health deteriorated but failed to recover, they said.

-----------------
(News Focus) Late ex-President Roh was accused of military coup, but paved path to democratic reform

SEOUL -- Former President Roh Tae-woo was accused of deep involvement in a military coup and a brutal crackdown on a pro-democracy civil uprising in the southern city of Gwangju. Ironically, however, he also paved the path to South Korea's democratic reform.

Roh, who died on Tuesday at the age of 88, was a close friend of former President Chun Doo-hwan, an ex-Army general who seized power through a 1979 coup after then-President Park Chung-Hee was assassinated by his spy chief.

-----------------
(LEAD) Moon asks DP nominee Lee to develop many good policies during presidential race

SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in met with Lee Jae-myung, presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party, on Tuesday, offering words of advice and exchanging pleasantries in a move that could help solidify Lee's standing within the party after a bitter primary.

The 50-minute tea meeting at Cheong Wa Dae came 16 days after Lee was nominated as the DP's presidential candidate on Oct. 10. It also came a day after Lee announced his resignation as Gyeonggi Province governor to focus on the presidential election scheduled for March 9.

-----------------
Moderna vaccines made by Samsung Biologics to be available in S. Korea this week

SEOUL -- The first batch of 2.43 million doses of Moderna vaccines manufactured by South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics Co. will be provided here this week, health authorities said Tuesday.

In May, the biotech unit of Samsung Group signed a contract with the U.S. drugmaker to provide contract manufacturing organization (CMO) services for its mRNA vaccine at its local plant.

-----------------
Samsung to quickly finalize U.S. fab investment: vice chairman

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics Co. will quickly decide on a foundry investment in the United States, a senior executive said Tuesday, as the South Korean tech giant seeks to become the world's No. 1 player in the logic chip and foundry sectors.

Samsung Electronics, the world's No. 2 foundry firm behind Taiwan's TSMC, announced in May that it will build a US$17 billion fab in the U.S.

-----------------
KT CEO apologizes for nationwide network outage

SEOUL -- Ku Hyeon-mo, CEO of KT Corp., apologized Tuesday for the abrupt disruption of network services that crippled businesses across the country earlier this week.

On Monday, KT's wired and wireless network services, including the internet, payment and phone call services, were disrupted for around an hour, causing inconvenience to its customers at hospitals, schools, restaurants and other facilities.

-----------------
Military to open its first hydrogen charging station for vehicles

SEOUL -- South Korea's military said Tuesday it will open its first hydrogen charging station this week, helping accelerate the country's drive to promote the use of renewable energy sources.

The government has been proactive in efforts to boost the hydrogen economy under the goal of going carbon neutral by 2050.
(END)