Yonhap, National Assembly Library agree to cooperate in sharing academic info

SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) -- Yonhap News Agency said on Friday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Assembly Library (NAL) to cooperate in using and sharing the national archives in a bid to make effective use of electronic academic information. The MOU was signed by Yonhap President and CEO Park Jung-chan and Yoo Jae-il, the chief librarian of the NAL, at Yonhap's headquarters in downtown Seoul. Under the MOU, Yonhap will gain access to some 140 million copies of digitalized books and journals at South Korea's biggest library, the company said. Yonhap is South Korea's premier news agency with the country's largest pool of both domestic and international reporters. It offers more than 3,000 real-time news stories, photos and video clips on politics, economics, social affairs, culture and sports everyday. The company said the agreement is expected to contribute to promoting information democracy and narrowing information gaps in the country. The NAL has made efforts to establish digital networks with 1,117 institutions of the media, colleges, government agencies and public libraries to widen national information and knowledge sharing.