Yonhap News Summary

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

-----------------
(LEAD) S. Korea's new envoy for N.K. rights vows efforts for 'human security'

SEOUL -- South Korea's new envoy for North Korean human rights emphasized her commitment Thursday to enhancing "human security" in the reclusive country, as she received her appointment certificate from Foreign Minister Park Jin.

Lee Shin-wha, political science professor at Korea University, filled the position that had been vacant for years since the inaugural ambassador, Lee Jung-hoon, left office in September 2017.

-----------------
(LEAD) Seoul shares up for 4th day to over 1-month high on eased uncertainty over Fed's rate hikes

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks advanced for a fourth consecutive session Thursday as the chief of the U.S. Federal Reserve has hinted at slowing the pace of its interest rate hikes down the road. The Korean won sharply rose against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 19.74 points, or 0.82 percent, to close at 2,435.27 points, the highest figure since June 17.

-----------------
(4th LD) Samsung Electronics logs record Q2 revenue on server chips, warns of market uncertainties

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday reported its second-quarter net profit of 11.09 trillion won (US$8.5 billion), up 15.2 percent from a year earlier, on the back of robust demand for server chips.

Operating profit for the April-June period rose 12.2 percent on-year to 14.09 trillion won, the company said in a regulatory filing.

-----------------
(2nd LD) S-Oil Q2 net more than doubles amid rising oil prices

SEOUL -- S-Oil Corp. said Thursday its second-quarter net profit more than doubled from a year earlier on the back of widened refining margins helped by higher oil prices.

Net profit came to 1.01 trillion won (US$775.2 million) in the April-June period, up 146.9 percent from 410.7 billion won a year earlier, the Seoul-based subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Aramco said in a regulatory filing.

-----------------
190 Army trainees accidentally given expired hemorrhagic fever shots

SEOUL -- South Korea's Army said Thursday its health authorities had accidentally given 190 trainees expired hemorrhagic fever vaccine shots, with none of them showing any health problems so far.

The new recruits at a base in Gyeonggi Province received the shots on July 21. The expiry date for the doses was July 9.

-----------------
Top court recognizes POSCO's subcontract workers as direct employees

SEOUL -- The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a ruling that ordered steelmaker POSCO to grant the status of direct employees to 55 of its former and current subcontract workers.

A total of 59 workers of POSCO's subcontractors filed suits in 2011 and 2016, demanding the company recognize them as direct employees as they worked for it for more than two years.

-----------------
Suspended jail term upheld for labor union leader for mass rallies defying COVID-19 rules

SEOUL -- An appellate court upheld a suspended one-year prison term Thursday for Yang Kyung-soo, the chief of one of the country's biggest umbrella labor unions, for organizing mass rallies in central Seoul last year in defiance of COVID-19 rules.

The chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) was indicted on charges of violating the demonstration and infectious disease prevention acts for organizing several large-scale labor rallies in central Seoul between May and July last year.

-----------------
(3rd LD) N.K. leader warns S. Korean gov't, military to be annihilated in event of preemptive strike bid

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned that South Korea's Yoon Suk-yeol government and its "military gangsters" will face annihilation should it make any "dangerous attempt" like a preemptive strike, according to Pyongyang's state media Thursday.

Kim issued the strongly worded, direct warning against the South's conservative administration, coupled with biting criticism of the United States, in his speech the previous day marking the 69th anniversary of the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War. Pyongyang calls the anniversary "Victory Day" and commemorates it in a celebratory mood.

-----------------
(LEAD) Top court confirms conviction of ex-presidential aides for destroying 2007 inter-Korean summit minutes

SEOUL -- The Supreme Court on Thursday finalized suspended prison terms handed down to two former presidential officials for destroying the minutes of the 2007 inter-Korean summit to cover up then President Roh Moo-hyun's alleged offer to surrender the de facto western sea border.

Upholding a lower court's ruling, the top court sentenced Baek Jong-chun and Cho Myoung-gyon -- national security aides for the late liberal president -- to one year in prison, suspended for two years. The ruling comes nearly 10 years after indictment.

(END)