Yonhap News Agency declares new start

SEOUL, June 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Yonhap News Agency on Monday declared a
new beginning as the country's key news wire, following recent passage of the
News Agency Promotion Law at the National Assembly.

Yonhap was designated earlier this month for the second time by the National
Assembly as South Korea's official news agency under the News Agency Promotion
Law. The law was passed unanimously with bi-partisan support.
As mandated by the law, Yonhap will implement a series of reform measures,
including setting up a client rights committee to accept criticism and
recommendations and an editorial committee to improve balance of coverage, the
company said.
Responding to national efforts to cope with the economic crisis, Yonhap will
adopt belt-tightening measures and work to raise its competitiveness through
labor-management cooperation.
Yonhap will also seek ways to help other local media firms, many of which are
struggling under financial difficulties.
Founded in 1981, Yonhap currently runs nearly 30 bureaus around the world and has
news exchange contracts with over 50 news outlets worldwide, including the AP,
Reuters, AFP, Kyodo and Xinhua.

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