Yonhap News Summary

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

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Yoon condemns alleged corruption in previous government's power project

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday condemned recent findings that 261.6 billion won (US$187.5 million) of government money was misappropriated under a power project pursued under the previous Moon Jae-in administration.

Speaking to reporters as he arrived for work, Yoon called the findings by the Office of Government Policy Coordination under the prime minister "deplorable" and suggested the need for legal consequences.

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(Yonhap Interview) S. Korea, U.S. to craft 'tailored' responses to potential nuclear crises: defense chief

SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States will formulate concrete contingency plans for various nuclear crisis scenarios in their joint deterrence strategy to be revised in order to counter North Korea's evolving military threats, Seoul's defense chief said.

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup unveiled the scheme in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency following the North's recent codification of an assertive nuclear policy that leaves the door open for launching a preemptive strike in case of a regime security threat.

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(Yonhap Interview) N. Korea has no other option than denuclearization talks: envoy

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's top envoy in the United States stressed the need for North Korea to return to denuclearization talks, saying it has no other option when it comes to dialogue.

"Now, North Korea has one thing to do. It should come to dialogue for denuclearization," Ambassador Cho Tae-yong said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday.

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Mother of two children found dead in New Zealand nabbed in South Korea

SEOUL -- A woman believed to be the mother of two children whose bodies were found in suitcases in New Zealand last month was apprehended in South Korea on Thursday, police said.

The woman, known as a South Korean-born New Zealand citizen in her 40s, was arrested at an apartment in Ulsan, 307 kilometers southeast of Seoul, the National Police Agency said.

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Samsung Electronics unveils vision for carbon neutrality by 2050

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it will try to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 as part of its efforts to tackle the worsening climate crisis and increase the use of renewable energy.

Samsung, one of the world's biggest manufacturers of electronic devices and semiconductors, said it will try to achieve that goal by investing billions of dollars in the coming years in technological innovations for higher energy efficiency and swifter transition to clean energy in its entire manufacturing supply chain.

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Constitutional Court begins deliberations on Cold War-era National Security Act

SEOUL -- The Constitutional Court was to hold an open hearing Thursday on whether the National Security Act is constitutional, the first public hearing on the law enacted during the Cold War in response to threats from communist North Korea.

The case follows a total of 11 petitions filed by individuals and district courts challenging the anti-communist law that was enacted in late 1948 in the height of ideological rivalries between the democratic South Korea and the communist North Korea.

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S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases drop to 70,000s amid concern of possible 'twindemic'

SEOUL -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the 70,000 range Thursday amid a moderate declining trend, but health authorities remain concerned over a possible "twindemic" -- a simultaneous outbreak of COVID-19 and the seasonal influenza.

The country reported 71,471 new COVID-19 infections, including 352 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,264,470, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
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