Yonhap News Summary

The following is the second summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday.
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N. Korea accuses South's unification minister of destroying ties
SEOUL -- North Korea hurled a biting criticism on Tuesday at South Korea's
unification minister visiting China, calling him a "lunatic" who destroys
inter-Korean relations with confrontational policies.
Kim Ha-joong, Seoul's chief policymaker on inter-Korean affairs, is now in
Beijing meeting with senior Chinese officials to discuss North Korean issues.
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Seoul, Tokyo discussing Aso's visit to S. Korea: presidential office
SEOUL -- The governments of South Korea and Japan are discussing the timing of
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso's visit to Seoul in early 2009, the office of
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Tuesday.
"The Japanese government has officially proposed opening discussions on the
timing of Aso's visit to South Korea," presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan told
reporters in his daily media briefing.
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Liberal lawmakers join forces to rescue FTA dissenter colleague
SEOUL -- There are many South Korean lawmakers who are critical of ratifying a
free trade deal with the United States, but only few are known well enough to
wield extraordinary influence on the issue, and a farmer-turned-legislator Kang
Ki-kab is one of them.
The solemn-faced lawmaker, who has long put up a lonely fight for the country's
underprivileged, is now fighting for his own fate as he awaits the court's
decision on his alleged election irregularities.
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(LEAD) Seoul shares plunge 3 pct on auto, tech falls
SEOUL -- South Korean stocks tumbled 2.99 percent Tuesday as investors dumped
automakers and tech shares, analysts said. The local currency sharply fell
against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 35.3 points to
1,144.31. Volume was moderate at 429.6 million shares worth 4.05 trillion won
(US$3.02 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 630 to 205.
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Six BOK policymakers vote for 0.25 percentage point rate cut: minutes
SEOUL -- Six policymakers at the Bank of Korea (BOK) voted to cut the key
interest rate for November by a quarter percentage point while one sought a
bigger reduction in a bid to bolster the slowing economy, according to its
minutes released Tuesday.
On Nov. 7, the central bank's monetary policy committee decided to slash the
benchmark seven-day repo rate to 4 percent, marking the third rate cut in a
month.
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Leading portals indicted on on-line piracy charges
SEOUL -- Prosecutors indicted NHN Corp. and Daum Communications Corp., the
nation's two largest Web portal operators, on Tuesday on charges of facilitating
on-line piracy.
The Seoul Central District Public Prosecutors' Office said it indicted NHN,
operator of the country's largest portal Naver, and Daum and one affiliate under
each company for not restricting illegal trading of copyrighted music files
through their various services.
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Renault Samsung to idle sole plant in S. Korea for 12 days
SEOUL -- The South Korean unit of French automaker Renault SA said Tuesday it
will shut down its sole assembly plant here for the first time amid a sharp slump
in vehicle sales.
The factory in the southeastern port city of Busan, which builds SM7, SM5 sedans
and QM5 crossover vehicles, will be idled from Wednesday until Jan. 4, company
officials said. Its some 2,700 factory workers will be granted paid leave.
(END)

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