Yonhap News Summary

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

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(5th LD) Striking cargo truckers vote to end weekslong walkout

SEOUL/GUNSAN, South Korea -- Striking cargo truckers voted Friday to end their weekslong walkout after their collective action incurred massive supply disruptions across industries and prompted the government to issue back-to-work orders.

In a plenary vote conducted in the morning, nearly 62 percent voted in favor of ending the strike while about 38 percent objected, according to the results of the vote released by the North Jeolla branch of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union.

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Yoon's office promises to seek institutional improvements after truckers vote to end strike

SEOUL -- The office of President Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday the government will work to improve labor conditions and cultures while sticking to laws and principles after a cargo truckers union voted to end their weekslong strike.

Senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye issued the statement shortly after the vote by the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union.

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Britain likely to OK Korean Air-Asiana combination: sources

SEOUL -- Britain's antitrust regulator is likely to approve Korean Air Co.'s planned integration with smaller local rival Asiana Airlines Inc. early next year after Korean Air offered solutions to a possible monopoly on routes between the two countries, industry sources said Friday.

Last month, Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the buyout of Asiana by Korean Air could lead to higher prices for passengers flying between London and Seoul as well as impact air cargo services.

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S. Korea to offer 100 tons of aid items to Ukraine this month: ministry

SEOUL -- South Korea plans to offer some 100 tons of humanitarian aid items to Ukraine, which is suffering power shortages this month amid its war with Russia, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.

The items, which include power generators, children's vaccines, medical devices and emergency medicines, are scheduled to be sent in two batches on Sunday and Dec. 25 via chartered flights.

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S. Korea's military draws up maiden 'defense space strategy'

SEOUL -- South Korea has drafted its first defense space strategy charting the future course of the military's drive to develop operational capabilities for the crucial security domain, the defense ministry said Friday.

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and other key members of the Defense Space Development Committee met to discuss the draft, as Seoul seeks to build its space capabilities amid growing competition among advanced countries for primacy in the domain.

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(2nd LD) Opposition leader's closest aide indicted in real estate development scandal probe

SEOUL -- A key aide to opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was indicted Friday on charges of receiving bribes amid speculation that the investigation will now head toward Lee.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office charged Jeong Jin-sang, a vice chief of staff to DP Chairman Lee, as part of its widening investigation into a high-profile real estate development scandal allegedly connected to Lee.

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(LEAD) Seoul shares end higher ahead of key U.S. inflation data

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks ended higher Friday, snapping a five-day losing streak, as foreigners and institutions picked up oversold shares amid uncertainty over the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy direction. The Korean won sharply strengthened against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.96 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,389.04. The main index fell 2.6 percent this week through Thursday.

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Kim Go-eun says acting for musical film 'Hero' was process of trial and error

SEOUL -- Actress Kim Go-eun said Friday her decadelong acting career has been marked by the constant process of facing and overcoming challenges, but simultaneously acting and singing for her first musical film "Hero" was the toughest of them all.

In the upcoming musical adaptation "Hero" about Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910), Kim plays a fictional character Seolhui, Empress Myeongseong's last court lady who later becomes a secret spy for independent fighters abroad.
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