Yonhap News Summary

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

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(2nd LD) N. Korea fires 2 SRBMs toward East Sea; U.S. aircraft carrier due in S. Korea for joint training

SEOUL -- North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) toward the East Sea on Monday, Seoul's military said, as a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier plans to hold joint drills in waters near the peninsula.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC) said it detected the launches from the Chunghwa County area in North Hwanghae Province between around 7:47 a.m. and 8 a.m. The missiles flew some 370 kilometers before splashing into the sea, it added.

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Yoon replaces foreign affairs secretary

SEOUL -- The presidential foreign affairs secretary has recently been replaced, an official said Monday, just one month before President Yoon Suk Yeol goes on a state visit to the United States.

Lee Moon-hee, a career diplomat, has been replaced after suffering from a heavy workload over the past year, the official said, rejecting speculation about why one of the main officials handling the upcoming presidential trip to the U.S. had to go.

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Supreme Court finalizes decision not to punish Iranian refugee for illegal entry

SEOUL -- The Supreme Court has finalized a decision not to punish an Iranian national charged with obtaining a visa based on a fake document, citing an international refugee convention prohibiting the punishment of refugees for illegal entry.

The Iranian applied for refugee status in South Korea in March 2016 after entering the country on a short-term visa he got from the Korean Embassy in Iran using a falsified invitation letter from a South Korean company.

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S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases post on-week rebound amid post-pandemic recovery

SEOUL -- South Korea's new COVID-19 cases bounced back to over 4,000 from a week earlier Monday, as people increasingly adapt to post-pandemic everyday life with the relaxation of most of the COVID-19 rules coming into effect.

The country reported 4,204 new COVID-19 infections, including nine cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,773,460, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

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Actor Yoo Ah-in appears for questioning over alleged drug use

SEOUL -- Actor Yoo Ah-in appeared before police for questioning Monday over allegations of illegal drug use.

The 37-year-old actor, whose real name is Uhm Hong-sik, entered the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency building in Seoul without responding to any questions from reporters.

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Yoon appoints new chief of National Office of Investigation

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol named Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police chief Woo Jong-soo on Monday as the new head of the National Office of Investigation in charge of commanding police investigation forces nationwide.

Woo's appointment came after Yoon's previous designation of Chung Sun-sin, a prosecutor-turned-lawyer, as police investigation chief was canceled following revelations that his son seriously bullied one of his schoolmates in high school.

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Local banks show no signs of withdrawal problems: regulator

SEOUL -- South Korea's financial regulator said Monday that local banks showed no signs of abnormality in their withdrawal and deposit operations.

The assessment by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) came amid concerns of a global banking crisis following the recent failures of two U.S. banks -- Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank -- and the stock plunge of Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank.
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