Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) Yoon leaves for Southeast Asia for ASEAN, G-20 summits

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol left for Cambodia on Friday on the first leg of a two-nation tour that will include his attendance at various summits involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Group of 20 (G-20).

In Phnom Penh, Yoon is scheduled to attend a South Korea-ASEAN summit, an ASEAN Plus Three summit and the East Asia Summit during a three-day stay, with other bilateral and multilateral meetings expected to take place on the sidelines.

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S. Korea stresses no plan for lethal weapon supply to Ukraine

SEOUL -- South Korea's defense ministry on Friday reaffirmed its commitment not to provide Ukraine with lethal military support, responding to a news report that Seoul is working on a "confidential" arms deal with Washington on the exports of artillery shells for use by Ukraine in its war against Russia.

According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed U.S. officials, the U.S. plans to buy 100,000 rounds of 155mm artillery from South Korea for delivery to Ukraine.

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(LEAD) BOK chief says continued monetary tightening necessary but worries about 'growing signs of stress'

SEOUL -- South Korea's top central banker said Friday that it is a top priority to ensure price stability and reduce inflation pressure through monetary tightening but worried there are "growing signs of stress" in various sectors amid recent steep interest rate hikes.

Rhee Chang-yong, governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK), also voiced worries over money moving from non-banking sectors to the banking sector due to fast-rising deposit rates, saying that it is an "important issue" to turn the tide around.

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(LEAD) S. Korea seeks to return body of presumed N. Korean found near border river in July: ministry

SEOUL -- South Korea has tried to notify North Korea of its plan to return the body of a presumed North Korean woman found near the inter-Korean border in July, Seoul's unification ministry said Friday.

The body was discovered around the Imjin River on July 23 and related investigations showed that she is believed to be a North Korean, according to the ministry.

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SsangYong Motor graduates from court-led debt rescheduling program

SEOUL -- SsangYong Motor Co. said Friday it has graduated from the court-led debt rescheduling program 1 1/2 years after it was placed under court receivership amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

SsangYong Motor applied for court receivership on April 15, 2021, after its Indian parent Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. failed to attract an investor due to its worsening financial status amid the pandemic.

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Seoul shares up 2.6 pct late Fri. morning on U.S. rallies

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks continued to trade bullish late Friday morning on overnight Wall Street rallies, largely as weaker-than-expected inflation data in the United States raised speculation of the Federal Reserve going easy on a tightening mode.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had jumped 62.52 points, or 2.6 percent, to 2,464.75 as of 11:20 a.m.
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