Yonhap News Summary

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

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PM orders emergency measures to cut emissions against ultrafine dust

SEOUL -- Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Friday instructed relevant authorities to take emergency measures to cope with ultrafine dust plaguing the nation.

"With the environment minister taking the lead, ministries and local governments should thoroughly implement emergency reduction measures in accordance with the current high-concentration ultrafine dust measures," Han said in a statement.

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S. Korea to hold public hearing on wartime forced labor issue next week

SEOUL -- South Korea will hold a public hearing next week to discuss ways to resolve the long-standing issue of compensating victims of Japan's forced labor during World War II, according to officials and representatives of the victims Friday, amid strong opposition by victims to a "proposed" resolution on the matter.

A legal representative for the South Korean wartime forced labor victims and a civic group supporting the victims said they will attend the hearing, co-organized by the Seoul foreign ministry and the South Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union, scheduled to be held at the National Assembly in Seoul next Thursday.

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PPP lawmaker slams China for criticizing S. Korean lawmakers' visit to Taiwan

SEOUL -- A ruling People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker lashed out at China on Friday for criticizing a South Korean parliamentary delegation's recent visit to Taiwan.

A delegation of the South Korea-Taiwan inter-parliamentary friendship group, led by PPP Rep. Cho Kyung-tae, visited Taipei from Dec. 28-31 to meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Legislative Speaker You Si-kun.

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(LEAD) Opposition leader Lee to appear for questioning next week

SEOUL -- Main opposition Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung will appear at a prosecutors' office for questioning next week in connection with a corruption investigation surrounding a football club, a party spokesperson said Friday.

Prosecutors suspect Lee, who served as the mayor of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, is linked to allegations that the city government attracted some 16 billion won (US$12.6 million) in corporate donations to its municipal football club in return for administrative favors between 2016 and 2018.

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S. Korea reports first ASF case in about 2 months

SEOUL -- South Korea reported its first African swine fever (ASF) case in about two months, officials said Friday, sparking concerns about the spread of the fatal animal disease in the country.

The latest ASF case was found in Pocheon in Gyeonggi Province, 46 kilometers northeast of Seoul, the provincial government said.

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Nat'l Assembly passes motion to extend parliamentary probe into Itaewon tragedy

SEOUL -- The National Assembly on Friday passed a motion to extend the parliamentary investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush by 10 days following criticism the probe has been delayed due to its handling of the state budget plan for this year.

The passage came a day after the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) reached an agreement on the plan.
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