Yonhap News Summary

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

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(2nd LD) BIE delegates visit Busan to inspect bid to host 2030 World Expo

BUSAN, April 4 (Y-- A delegation from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) visited Busan on Tuesday for an on-site inspection to evaluate the southeastern port city's bid for the 2030 World Expo.

The eight-member team led by Patrick Specht, president of the BIE administration and budget committee, arrived at Busan Station at 11:20 a.m. by KTX train from Seoul amid enthusiastic welcome and applause from about 5,000 citizens packing the station plaza.

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Yoon visits Samsung Display campus to hail new investment plan

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the Asan campus of Samsung Display Co. on Tuesday to celebrate a new large-scale investment deal between the company, and materials, parts and equipment makers, his office said.

Samsung Display, the display panel making unit of Samsung Electronics Co., held a ceremony at its campus in Asan, 87 kilometers south of Seoul, to announce its decision to invest 4.1 trillion won (US$3.1 billion) in upgrading production lines for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels for tablets, laptops and other IT devices by 2026.

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(LEAD) Main body of wildfire in central county brought under control

HONGSEONG/DAEJEON -- Firefighters brought the main body of a wildfire in the central county of Hongseong under control Tuesday three days after the blaze broke out to burn down dozens of houses and factories.

The fire had been mostly under control as of 4 p.m., some 53 hours after it engulfed a hill in Hongseong, 114 kilometers south of Seoul, according to forestry authorities.

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S. Korea, China, Japan may resume three-way summit this year: Seoul official

SEOUL -- A trilateral summit between South Korea, China and Japan could take place this year if there are no "major obstacles," a senior Seoul foreign ministry official said Tuesday.

The remarks are seen as further raising prospects of the resumption of three-way summit diplomacy following a recent attempt to mend long-strained ties between Seoul and Tokyo.

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S. Korean foreign minister to visit India for talks on bilateral ties

SEOUL -- South Korea's top diplomat plans to visit India later this week to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral ties between the countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.

According to the ministry, Foreign Minister Park Jin plans to hold talks with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, during the two-day trip from Friday.

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(LEAD) '60s Korean pop diva Hyun Mee dies at age 85

SEOUL -- Hyun Mee, who was one of the most popular Korean pop singers in the 1960s, died Tuesday, police said. She was 85.

According to the police and music industry sources, the singer whose original Korean name is Kim Myeong-seon, was found dead at her home in Ichon-dong, central Seoul, by the head of her fan club at about 9:35 a.m.

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(LEAD) Police looking into possible mastermind behind abduction murder of woman

SEOUL -- Police investigating last week's kidnapping and murder of a woman are expanding their probe considering the possibility of a mastermind behind the crime, officials said Tuesday.

Three suspects were formally arrested Monday for allegedly abducting a 48-year-old woman in Seoul's posh Gangnam district last Wednesday and killing her the following day.

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(LEAD) Main opposition slams Yoon's veto of grain bill

SEOUL -- The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) denounced President Yoon Suk Yeol's veto of a contentious bill requiring government purchase of surplus rice Tuesday, calling it a "frontal rejection" of the National Assembly's legislative right.

Yoon vetoed the revision to the Grain Management Act, which the opposition-controlled National Assembly passed on March 23, in a Cabinet meeting, marking his first veto of a bill since he took office.

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N. Korean hacking group Kimsuky funds Pyongyang's espionage operations through cybercrimes

SEOUL -- A North Korean hacking group known as Kimsuky has hacked cryptocurrency to fund the country's espionage operations related to its nuclear program, Mandiant, Google's cybersecurity unit, said Tuesday.

In a recently published report, Mandiant said it has tracked the state-backed hacker group, classified as APT43, over the past five years and found out that Kimsuky has committed cybercrimes to financially support Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

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