Yonhap News Summary

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

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Hotel next to alley of Halloween crush illegally extended terrace

SEOUL -- A hotel located along a sloped alley, where the deadly crowd crush happened, illegally extended its terrace, a document showed Tuesday, suggesting the construction made the narrow path even narrower.

At least 156 people, mostly in their 20s, were killed and 30 others were seriously injured in South Korea's deadliest crowd surge that happened in the famous nightlife district of Itaewon on Saturday night, after tens of thousands of people visited the area for Halloween.

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Interior minister apologizes to people over Halloween crowd crush

SEOUL -- Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min apologized Tuesday over the Halloween crowd crush that killed at least 156 people.

The apology came amid growing media scrutiny that police and other government agencies failed to enforce crowd control in Itaewon, the site of the tragedy, despite anticipation that a huge crowd of people would flock to the area last Saturday.

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Police chief says he feels 'heavy responsibility' amid criticism of police response to deadly crush

SEOUL -- National police chief Yoon Hee-keun said Tuesday he feels "heavy responsibility" over the deadly crowd crush in Seoul's nightlife district of Itaewon, vowing to look thoroughly into what went wrong with the police response by launching an independent investigation team.

Yoon made the remark amid criticism of the police response to the Halloween crowd surge that has left at least 156 people, mostly in their 20s, killed and 30 others seriously injured in South Korea's deadliest disaster in eight years.

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FSS chief asks for financial firms' cooperation to ease liquidity shortages

SEOUL -- South Korea's financial regulator called Tuesday for cooperation from major banks and other financial entities to ease market jitters over liquidity shortages.

Lee Bok-hyun, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), asked for cooperation when he met with top officials of financial institutions, including KB Kookmin, Shinhan Bank and other credit providers, according to his office.

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(LEAD) Seoul shares soar nearly 2 pct on tech, chemical gains ahead of Fed meeting

SEOUL -- Seoul shares spiked by nearly 2 percent Tuesday on the back of a sharp rise in tech and chemical stocks ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 41.61 points, or 1.81 percent, to 2,335.22.

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DP leader says Itaewon tragedy is outcome of gov't incompetence, carelessness

SEOUL -- Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung lashed out at the government Tuesday, claiming the deadly crowd crush that occurred over Halloween weekend is a man-made disaster deriving from the government's "incompetence and carelessness."

"It's clearly a man-made disaster and a disaster that derives from the government's incompetence and carelessness," Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party told a general meeting of lawmakers.

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(LEAD) S. Korea co-sponsors U.N. draft resolution on N.K. human rights: ministry

SEOUL -- South Korea has co-sponsored a U.N. draft resolution condemning North Korea's human rights conditions in an about-face from a low-key approach for four years under the preceding liberal administration, according to Seoul's foreign ministry Tuesday.

"Our government has actively joined in discussions on the U.N. resolution on North Korea's human rights and has participated (in the campaign) as a co-sponsor country," the ministry's spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said, announcing the decision during a press briefing.

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Hyundai's Oct. sales rise 12 pct despite chip shortage

SEOUL -- Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Tuesday its sales rose 12 percent last month from a year earlier despite an extended chip shortage.

Hyundai sold a total of 347,324 vehicles in October, up from 309,481 units a year earlier on steady sales of high-end models, the company said in a statement.

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