Yonhap News Summary

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

-----------------
(3rd LD) Interior minister likens collective police protest to military coup

SEOUL -- Interior Minister Lee Sang-min on Monday slammed police officers taking collective action against the envisioned establishment of a ministry bureau overseeing the law enforcement agency, even likening them to a coterie of elite military commanders behind a 1979 coup.

The remark came two days after about 50 senior superintendents across the nation held a meeting Saturday to protest the envisioned establishment of a "police bureau," a move that they claim would compromise their political neutrality and accountability.

-----------------
S. Korea pushes to restore defense policy dialogue with Japan

SEOUL -- South Korea is seeking to restore a bilateral working-level defense policy dialogue with Japan that has been stalled since 2018 amid stand-offs between the two countries, an informed source said Monday.

The move comes as the Yoon Suk-yeol administration has vowed to foster a "future-oriented" partnership with Tokyo despite prolonged diplomatic rows stemming largely from Japan's 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. It has stated a commitment to stronger trilateral security cooperation also involving the United States.

-----------------
Inflation expected to peak in late Q3 or early Q4: finance minister

SEOUL -- South Korea's consumer inflation is likely to peak late in the third quarter or early fourth quarter if there is no sharp hike in global oil and grain prices, Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said Monday.

Consumer prices may markedly stabilize starting in October if the harvest of farm products is not seriously hampered by typhoons after the Chuseok fall harvest holiday, set for Sept. 9-12, according to the minister.

-----------------
(LEAD) Seoul shares end higher on institutional buying

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks closed higher Monday, as institutions and foreigners went on a buying mode, with automakers and car parts suppliers leading the gains. The Korean won declined against the U.S. dollar.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 10.55 points, or 0.44 percent, to close at 2,403.69.

-----------------
Yoon to meet with new parliamentary leaders next month

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol plans to meet with the new leaders of the National Assembly next month, a presidential official said Monday.

The meeting was proposed during a weekly meeting between the president and his senior secretaries earlier in the day, and will need to be discussed with the National Assembly, the official told reporters.

-----------------
DP calls for explanation over attendee at Yoon's inauguration ceremony

SEOUL -- The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Monday urged the presidential office to reveal why the son of a businessperson under investigation over a stock manipulation case allegedly involving first lady Kim Keon-hee attended President Yoon Suk-yeol's inauguration ceremony.

Earlier Monday, a local news outlet, Sisa Journal, reported that the son of Kwon Oh-soo, the chairperson of Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in South Korea, attended the ceremony held at the National Assembly complex in May as a VIP guest.
(END)