Yonhap News Summary

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

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S. Korea, int'l seabed agency discuss expanding cooperation

SEOUL -- South Korea and the International Seabed Authority (ISA) discussed expanding cooperation in establishing international standards for managing commercial productions of deep-sea mineral resources, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.

Park Yong-min, deputy foreign minister for multilateral and global affairs, met with ISA Secretary-General Michael Lodge a day earlier in Seoul and assessed there were many areas for cooperation in terms of supporting deep-sea mineral resource development for developing nations.

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Main opposition party vows to work to make safe freight rate system permanent

SEOUL -- The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Friday vowed to improve working conditions for truck drivers by making a freight rate system that guarantees basic wages for truck drivers permanent.

DP floor leader Park Hong-geun made the remarks in a meeting with members of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity, under the wing of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, who are currently on a general strike against a planned phaseout of the system.

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(LEAD) S. Korea, Canada to sign agreement on supply chains of key minerals

SEOUL -- South Korea and Canada agreed Friday to expedite their push for signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on key minerals in a move to enhance cooperation on supply chains of secondary cells, electric vehicles and broader industry fields, Seoul's industry ministry said.

The consensus was made during a meeting between South Korea's Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang and Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada's minister for innovation and economic development, held in Seoul, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

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Court approves asset freeze on close aide to opposition leader Lee

SEOUL -- A Seoul court has approved an asset freeze on one of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung's two closest aides, now standing trial on charges of receiving illegal political funds, legal sources said Friday.

The Seoul Central District Court granted the freeze order on Nov. 11, permitting prosecutors to freeze 600 million won (US$453,137) of assets belonging to Kim Yong, a former deputy head of the Democratic Party's Institute for Democracy think tank, the legal sources said.

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(LEAD) Truckers' strike cripples shipments in cement, steel industries

SEOUL -- The nationwide strike by truck drivers caused supply disruptions across the cement and steel industries on Friday, with other sectors like auto and petrochemicals feared to bear the brunt if the protest prolongs.

Cement factories were unable to ship most of the daily supply of 200,000 tons the previous day as bulk cement tanker drivers joined the strike, the cement industry association said Friday.

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'Squid Game' actor O Yeong-su indicted for alleged sexual misconduct

SEOUL -- "Squid Game" actor O Yeong-su has been indicted on charges of sexual misconduct, judicial officials said Friday.

The Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors Office indicted the 78-year-old O without detention Thursday over an allegation that he inappropriately touched the body of a woman in mid-2017, the officials said.

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(LEAD) Two S. Korean sailors kidnapped by pirates in West Africa released unharmed: ministry

SEOUL -- An oil tanker, with two South Koreans and 17 Indonesian sailors aboard, was hijacked by pirates in international waters off of West Africa earlier this week then released a day later, according to South Korean foreign ministry officials Friday.

They said the sailors on board a 4,000-ton tanker, B Ocean, owned by South Korean shipping company SK Shipping Co. lost contact at around 7 a.m. Thursday (Seoul time) in international waters 200 nautical miles south of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The two South Koreans were the captain and the ship's engineer.
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