Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) Biden says U.S. not discussing joint nuclear exercise with S. Korea

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday his country has no ongoing discussions with South Korea on joint nuclear exercises against North Korea's threats.

He said, "No," responding to a reporter's question about whether the allies are in consultations over the issue, according to White House pool reports.

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S. Korean lunar orbiter sends photos of Earth, moon

SEOUL -- South Korea's unmanned space vehicle Danuri has sent videos of Earth and the moon after reaching the moon last month, the state space research center said Tuesday.

The orbiter performed three rounds of lunar orbit insertion (LOI) maneuvers from Dec. 17 to lower its speed and commit itself to the gravity of the moon before entering the selenocentric orbit on Dec. 27.

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Stock value of 33 conglomerate heads dips 29 pct in 2022 on bear market

SEOUL -- The value of shares held by South Korea's 33 major business group chiefs tumbled nearly 30 percent in 2022 amid a bearish stock market, a corporate tracker said Tuesday.

The business tycoons held stocks worth a combined 45.9 trillion won (US$35.9 billion) as of the end of December 2022, down 29 percent, or 18.7 trillion won, from the start of the year, according to a survey by the Korea CXO Institute.

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Hyundai Motor to accelerate EV push for growth

SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group said Tuesday it will accelerate a wider transition to electric vehicles (EV) this year as it aims to morph into a future mobility solutions provider.

In his meeting for the new year with employees, the group's Executive Chair Euisun Chung said the company will gain a bigger share in the global EV market and generate a new growth driver in autonomous driving, future mobility and robotics in 2023.

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LG unveils vision for more personalized, smarter TV ahead of CES 2023

LAS VEGAS -- LG Electronics Inc. unveiled a vision for its TV business on Monday ahead of the opening of CES 2023, emphasizing connectivity and customization.

The consumer electronics giant will dedicate itself to fulfilling the vision of Sync to You, Open to All, it said, based on its advanced organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display technologies and webOS, its own smart TV operating system.

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S. Korea's power use hits new high in Dec. on cold wave

SEOUL -- South Korea's electricity consumption touched a record monthly high in December as the country was gripped by a nationwide cold wave and heavy snow, the power operator said Tuesday.

The country's average maximum power consumption stood at 82,716 megawatts (MW) last month, up 5.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Power Exchange.

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Big leaguers expected to join KBO stars for S. Korea at World Baseball Classic

SEOUL -- A handful of current and former big leaguers should join domestic league stars when South Korea announces its roster for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) this week.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) is scheduled to unveil the national team roster for the March 8-21 tournament on Wednesday. As of Tuesday morning, however, it hadn't been determined whether national team manager Lee Kang-chul will announce the 35-man provisional roster or the 30-man final roster on Wednesday, well ahead of the Feb. 7 deadline.

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Seoul stocks down late Tue. morning on institutional selling

SEOUL -- Seoul stocks fell to a two-month low late Tuesday morning on institutional selling.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had declined 31.76 points, or 1.43 percent, to 2,193.91 points as of 11:20 a.m.
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