Yonhap News Summary

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

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Korea-EU FTA to offer new trade opportunities: EUCCK
SEOUL -- The free trade deal between South Korea and the European Union (EU) is expected to start a new chapter in bilateral trade, but there remain some unresolved market access issues, a European business body here said Friday.
In April, South Korea's parliament approved the free trade agreement (FTA), which was signed in October of last year. The accord will take effect on July 1. In February, the European Parliament ratified the accord.

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Finance minister vows to create 'biz-friendly' environment
SEOUL -- South Korea will continue its efforts to create a business-friendly environment by easing unnecessary regulations in a bid to boost business activities, the nation's top economic policymaker said Friday.
In his meeting held in central Seoul with heads of the nation's five major business lobby groups, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan also urged the corporate sector to "accelerate" its drive in taking the lead in economic growth.

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Samsung Heavy wins 650 bln won drill ship order
SEOUL -- Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a South Korean shipyard, said Friday that it has received a 650 billion won (US$608 million) deal to build a drill ship.
Under the deal with Ocean Rig of Greece, Samsung Heavy will deliver the vessel, used to find oil and gas wells in deep waters, by November 2013, the company said in a regulatory filing. The vessel will be 448 meters long and 42 meters wide, it added.

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China's rare-earth exports dip 8.8 pct
HONG KONG -- China's rare-earth exports fell 8.8 percent in the first five months of this year, a customs report said Friday, pointing to Beijing's control over trade in the strategic metals.
Statistics released by the General Administration of Customs showed that Chinese exports of rare earth elements stood at 23,742 tons from January to May, down from 26,033 tons in the same period last year.

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European firms offer internship to N. Korean defectors
SEOUL -- French luxury goods giant Louis Vuitton, HSBC Bank and several other European companies in South Korea plan to offer a rare internship program to dozens of North Korean defectors in a move to give them work experience, an official said Friday.
Under the initial program, 20 North Korean college students and graduates in the South are scheduled to work as interns at top European firms for up to three months, said Chun Hae-sung, a spokesman for the Unification Ministry handling inter-Korean affairs.

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Lee offers salute to Korean War veterans
SEOUL -- President Lee Myung-bak saluted hundreds of Korean War veterans from home and abroad Friday for helping to save South Korea from the North's invasion and vowed to bring home hundreds of prisoners of war still believed to be held in the communist nation.
"I deeply bow my head and express my respect to you who devoted your hearts and bodies to the country by putting studying behind and picking up guns despite young ages," Lee said during a reception that the government hosted in commemoration of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War.

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Korean Air to launch Incheon-Irkutsk flights next week
SEOUL -- Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's top carrier, said Friday that it will launch flights between Incheon airport, west of Seoul, and the Russian city of Irkutsk starting next Wednesday.
Korean Air said the new service will be available twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

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GNP leadership candidates gear up for party convention
SEOUL -- The race to become the next leader of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) began Friday with seven candidates set to announce their policy platforms on how to steer the struggling party through next year's parliamentary and presidential elections.
Most of the contenders -- Reps. Won Hee-ryong, Kwon Young-se, Hong Joon-pyo, Nam Kyung-pil, Park Jin, Yoo Seung-min and Na Kyung-won -- are in their late 40s and early 50s amid calls for a young leader who can bring changes to the conservative party.

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Six of 10 young S. Koreans unaware of when Korean War started
SEOUL -- Six out of 10 young South Koreans are not aware when the Korean War started, a government poll showed on Friday, raising concern about the fading public memory of the 1950-53 war.
In the telephone survey of 1,000 adults and another 1,000 middle and high school students nationwide by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, 57.6 percent of the adults and 55.1 percent of those in the 19-29 age bracket gave the wrong answer to a question on when the war began.

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FKI head may boycott parliamentary hearing
SEOUL -- The head of South Korea's top business lobby will likely boycott a public hearing organized by political parties that is expected to focus on his recent criticism of them, an official with the lobby said Friday.
The ruling and opposition parties earlier said they would ask Huh Chang-soo, chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), to attend the June 29 hearing and explain his earlier remarks that labeled several ruling and opposition party platforms, including the repealing of planned tax reductions, as "populist policies."

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service sector-market opening
S. Korea to boost service sector through opening: minister
SEOUL -- South Korea will lower "protective barriers" between industries through market opening in a bid to strengthen their competitiveness and enhance the nation's overall economic fundamentals, the top economic policymaker said Friday.
In his meeting with other policymakers to discuss trade issues, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan also vowed to enlarge the nation's economic territory by establishing a so-called global free trade agreement (FTA) network.

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Court confirms jail sentence for key figure of bribery scandal
SEOUL -- South Korea's appeals court confirmed a prison sentence for a former businessman convicted on bribery and tax-evasion charges on Friday, putting him back behind bars 19 months after he was released on bail.
The Seoul High Court handed down the 30-month prison term and a fine of 19 billion won (US$17.6 million) for Park Yeon-cha, former chairman of Taekwang Industrial Co., saying he deserves a heavy punishment because he actively used unlawful means for business gains.

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Regulator to inject 1.4 tln won to buy bad property loans
SEOUL -- South Korea's financial regulator said Friday it plans to inject 1.4 trillion won (US$1.29 billion) to buy up bad property project finance (PF) loans from savings banks as part of its efforts to prop up the ailing sector.
The move will help buy up 1.9 trillion won worth of sour loans equivalent to 27 percent of the 7 trillion won in outstanding PF loans, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said.
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