(ATTN: RECASTS headline; ADDS more info in paras 4,7-10)
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will seek to provide about 50 trillion won

BEIJING, Jan 8 (Bernama) - An estimated 50 million mainland Chinese tourists
will holiday abroad this year, growing at a low of 9 percent because of the

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's arable land declined 1.3 percent in 2008
as more farming land was used to build apartments, roads and other facilities, a

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- The growth of South Korea's money supply slowed to an
eight-month low in November as local banks curtailed lending and foreign

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korean bank loans to firms declined in December
on seasonal factors as they beefed up their risk management to bolster falling

By Sam Kim
GYERYONGDAE, South Korea, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- Hundreds of South Korea's top
military commanders assembled Thursday to run down a series of defense policies

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- The former chairman of Samsung Group, South Korea's
largest conglomerate, has given up his rights as a member of the International

By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Lotte Group is aggressively expanding
efforts to acquire blue-chip companies amid aggravating global economic

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's petrochemical producers are expected to
undergo tough times this year due to slumping exports and slowing global demand,

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks dropped 1.91 percent late Thursday
morning as investor sentiment was hurt by overnight U.S. losses, analysts said.