Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) Yoon to review order to force striking truckers to return to work

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol will review an executive order to force striking truckers to return to work at a Cabinet meeting, a senior presidential official said Monday.

"(Yoon) will preside over a Cabinet meeting (Tuesday) to deliberate on the return-to-work order for the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union," Kim Eun-hye, senior presidential secretary for press affairs, said in a statement.

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(LEAD) Production suspension feared in cement industry over truckers' strike

SEOUL -- Cement companies said Monday they will be forced to suspend production in a week if truckers continue to stage a strike, calling for the government's swift resolution.

They made the appeal when Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang visited a factory of Asia Cement Co. in the central city of Jecheon to check the impacts of the nationwide strike and discuss measures with related firms, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

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S. Korea approves mass production plan for homegrown light armed helicopter

SEOUL -- South Korea approved a 5.75 trillion-won (US$4.3 billion) plan Monday to begin mass production of a homegrown light armed helicopter (LAH) in the coming months, the state arms procurement agency said.

The Defense Project Promotion Committee endorsed the LAH production plan to run through 2031 as part of efforts to replace the military's aging fleet of 500MD and AH-1S Cobra attack helicopters, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

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(LEAD) Seoul shares sink over 1 pct amid China uncertainties

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks closed more than 1 percent lower Monday, as investor sentiment remained wary amid the extended COVID-19 restrictions in China that have stoked concerns over global supply disruptions. The local currency fell sharply against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 29.59 points, or 1.21 percent, to 2,408.27.

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Yoon says S. Korea aims to land spacecraft on moon in 2032

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that South Korea will land a spacecraft on the moon in 2032 and begin exploring lunar resources under its ambitious roadmap for a "future space economy."

Under the long-term plan, South Korea aims to land a spacecraft on Mars in 2045, when the nation will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Liberation Day, Yoon told a meeting on space policies.

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(LEAD) Seoul police chief to be summoned soon for questioning over Itaewon crush probe

SEOUL -- The head of the Seoul police is expected to be summoned for questioning soon as part of an investigation into the bungled response to the crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood, police said Monday.

Kim Kwang-ho, the chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, is highly likely to be switched to a suspect as the special investigation team probing the fatal crush expands its investigation into the police leadership.

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Justice minister slams YouTubers descending on his home as 'political gangsters'

SEOUL -- Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon on Monday denounced a group of YouTubers who attempted to enter his house without notice the previous day as "political gangsters."

Five officials of Citizen Press The Tamsa TV, a YouTube channel, went to Han's apartment in the southern Seoul ward of Gangnam on Sunday afternoon without an appointment or permission from the minister.

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