Yonhap News Summary

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

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Inflation expectations at 1-yr low in May

SEOUL -- South Korea's inflation expectations fell to the lowest in a year in May on a slide in prices of petrochemical goods, a central bank survey showed Tuesday.

Ordinary people expected consumer prices to rise 3.7 percent for the year ahead, down 0.2 percentage point from what was surveyed a month earlier, according to the poll conducted by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

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(LEAD) S. Korea defeat France to open FIFA U-20 World Cup

SEOUL -- South Korea upset France 2-1 to kick off their FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, a winning start to the tournament that few had envisioned.

Captain Lee Seung-won had a goal and an assist in the narrow victory in Group F action at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, western Argentina, on Monday (local time).

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S. Korean space rocket to be positioned on launch pad ahead of launch

SEOUL -- South Korea on Tuesday began the process to position the homegrown rocket Nuri on the launch pad at Naro Space Center, a day ahead of its liftoff to send multiple satellites into orbit.

Nuri, also known as KSLV-II, will reach the launch pad about an hour after it left an assembly building at 7:20 a.m., according to the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).

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Ko Jin-young back as No. 1 in women's golf rankings

SEOUL -- On the strength of her recent LPGA victory, South Korean star Ko Jin-young has returned to the top of the women's golf rankings.

Ko climbed a spot to No. 1 in the latest rankings announced Monday (U.S. time), reclaiming the place she had last occupied on Oct. 24, 2022.

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S. Korean space rocket to be positioned on launch pad ahead of launch

SEOUL -- South Korea on Tuesday began the process to position the homegrown rocket Nuri on the launch pad at Naro Space Center, a day ahead of its liftoff to send multiple satellites into orbit.

Nuri, also known as KSLV-II, will reach the launch pad about an hour after it left an assembly building at 7:20 a.m., according to the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).

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Ex-ambassador likely to head new gov't agency for overseas Koreans

SEOUL -- A former ambassador and foreign ministry official is being strongly considered as head of a new government agency tasked with supporting overseas Koreans, officials said Tuesday.

Lee Key-cheol, former deputy foreign minister for overseas Koreans, is likely to be tapped as chief of the agency set to launch next month, according to the presidential officials.

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S. Korea, Chile hold talks to upgrade bilateral FTA

SEOUL -- South Korea and Chile have launched another round of talks on upgrading a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in line with changing global trade circumstances, Seoul's industry ministry said Tuesday.

The seventh round of negotiations to revise their FTA began Monday in Santiago and is set to run until Wednesday, during which they will deal with upgrading rules on a wide range of sectors, including goods trading, trade facilitation, intellectual property, labor and environment, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

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Nat'l pension reports worst returns in 2022 amid global jitters: data

SEOUL -- South Korea's state pension operator saw its returns fall to a record low level in 2022, data showed Tuesday, due to the instability in the global financial market amid monetary tightening moves.

The National Pension Service (NPS) logged negative returns of 8.28 percent in 2022, marking the lowest level since it was launched in 1988, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

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DSME renamed Hanwha Ocean for new start as Hanwha unit

SEOUL -- Major South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) was rebranded as Hanwha Ocean Co. on Tuesday, opening a new era as a unit of Hanwha Group, the seventh-largest conglomerate in the country.

The embattled shipyard also appointed Kwon Hyuk-woong, president of Hanwha's support division, as its new CEO and picked its new management at an extraordinary shareholders meeting.
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