Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) N. Korea illegally running 30 S. Korean-owned facilities at Kaesong complex: Seoul

SEOUL -- North Korea has been operating some 30 South Korean-owned facilities at a now-shuttered inter-Korean joint industrial park in the North without authorization, Seoul's unification ministry said Friday.

The government also said North Korea has been removing debris from an inter-Korean liaison office that Pyongyang blew up in 2020. The office was located in the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the namesake border city.

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National Assembly approves Supreme Court chief justice nominee

SEOUL -- The National Assembly on Friday approved the nomination of Cho Hee-dae as the new Supreme Court chief justice, filling a leadership vacuum in the country's top court, which lasted for more than two months.

The motion to approve Cho's nomination passed the Assembly in a 264-18 vote with ten abstentions.

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Nat'l security advisers of S. Korea, Japan discuss N.K. threat

SEOUL -- The national security advisers of South Korea and Japan agreed Friday on the need to strengthen solidarity with the international community in order to respond firmly to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations, the presidential office said.

National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong and Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary General Takeo Akiba held talks in Seoul ahead of Saturday's trilateral meeting with their U.S. counterpart, Jake Sullivan.

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MLB player Kim Ha-seong denies assaulting ex-teammate in blackmail case, vows legal fight

SEOUL -- South Korean major leaguer Kim Ha-seong on Friday denied that he had physically assaulted an ex-teammate, against whom Kim had earlier filed a complaint over blackmail charges.

In a statement released Friday, Kim's Seoul-based law firm, Best Way, said Kim has fully cooperated with police in the investigation into Kim's charges against his former South Korean league teammate. Kim had earlier lodged the complaint with police, accusing the former teammate of demanding money following a physical altercation they had in 2021, even after he had already received a lump sum of money in settlement.

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Ruling party recruits N.K. defector engineer, 4 other figures ahead of general elections

SEOUL -- The ruling People Power Party (PPP) said Friday a North Korean defector engineer has joined the party along with four other figures, as it unveiled the first batch of newly recruited talents ahead of the April general elections.

Some are expected to run as candidates in the parliamentary elections, while others will take various roles within the party, including policymaking, said Rep. Lee Chul-gyu, the head of the PPP's committee for recruitment.

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S. Korea aims to attract 20 mln foreign tourists in 2024: PM

SEOUL -- South Korea aims to attract more than 20 million foreign visitors next year by offering additional perks, such as visa and duty-free benefits, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday.

Han announced the goal during a government meeting held to boost the tourism industry in the southern city of Gwangju, as the government aims to achieve a record-high of US$24.5 billion in tourism revenue for 2024.

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Top U.S. envoy on N. Korea, Sung Kim, to join Hyundai Motor as adviser

SEOUL -- Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker, said Friday it will appoint Sung Kim, the top U.S. envoy on North Korea, who is widely expected to retire later this month, as an adviser for the company's global business.

Kim will join Hyundai Motor in January after retiring from the U.S. State Department in the coming weeks, according to Hyundai Motor.

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(LEAD) Seoul shares up over 1 pct on strong techs; won sharply up

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks gained more than 1 percent Friday, led by the strong performance of big-cap tech shares that tracked overnight gains on Wall Street. The local currency sharply rose against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 25.78 points, or 1.03 percent, to finish at 2,517.85. The secondary KOSDAQ jumped 2.11 percent to end at 830.37.
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