Yonhap News Summary

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

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(2nd LD) Canada calls for setup of WTO panel on S. Korea's beef ban
SEOUL -- Canada has called on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to set up a
dispute settlement panel to deal with South Korea's ban on its beef, the
government here said Friday.
Seoul has banned Canadian beef imports since May 2003 after the country reported
its first case of mad cow disease, the brain wasting illness suspected of causing
the fatal variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.
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Police conclude late actress was forced to serve men by her agency
SEOUL -- Police concluded Friday that a former talent agency chief assaulted,
threatened and coerced a late actress, who committed suicide after accusing him
of abusing her, to serve men at drinking parties as it turned the case over to
the prosecution.
Identified only by his surname of Kim, the 39-year-old suspect was arrested three
days after being extradited from Japan on Monday. He had been hiding in Japan
since December last year, prolonging his stay while attempting to flee to another
country.
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S. Korean, Chinese nuclear envoys to meet next week
SEOUL -- Top nuclear negotiators from South Korea and China will meet next week
in Seoul to discuss pending issues surrounding Pyonyang's recent military
provocations, the foreign ministry here said Friday.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, who chairs the six-nation
denuclearization talks, is scheduled to visit Seoul on Sunday for a two-day visit
as part of a regional tour, the ministry said. Wu visited Russia and the United
States and is currently in Japan.
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N. Korea putting final touches on joint census with U.N.
SEOUL -- North Korea's state media said Friday that the country is wrapping up a
census believed to be its first joint survey with the United Nations in 15 years.
The door-to-door survey was conducted between October 1-15 last year, with the
final tally expected to be released in October this year. The preliminary count,
reported in February, was 24,050,000.
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Pope raises concerns over Seoul's private school law
SEOUL -- The Pope expressed concern over Seoul's private school law at a meeting
with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, saying it may undermine the autonomy
of the country's Catholic schools, South Korea's ambassador to the Vatican said
Friday
"Pope Benedict XVI raised his concerns that (the law) could breach the school's
educational autonomy due the issues over the school foundations and restrictions
on the selection of boards of directors," Amb. Kim Ji-young said in radio
interview with Seoul's Catholic channel, Pyeonghwa Broadcasting Corporation.
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S. Korea moving to ditch race-based exception in military service: official
SEOUL -- The government is moving to scrap a law that allows "clearly black or
white" South Koreans born out of interracial marriages to be exempt from
compulsory military service, an official said Friday.
The law, which has been in effect since 1985, applies to an average of six or
seven people a year, according to Kwak Yu-seok, a spokesman at the Military
Manpower Agency (MMA).
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Investigative panel broadens list of colonial-era collaborators
SEOUL -- A presidential panel said Friday it will announce a new list of
suspected collaborators with Japan during its 1910-45 colonial rule over Korea,
including those in the military, police and artistic community at the time.
"The panel will disclose the identities of the suspected collaborators next month
on Aug. 15, Liberation Day, along with those already named," the Investigative
Commission on Pro-Japanese Collaborators' Property said.
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(LEAD) Seoul shares end 0.16 pct lower on foreign selling
SEOUL -- South Korean stocks closed 0.16 percent lower Friday as foreign
investors turned net sellers, analysts said. The local currency fell against the
U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.27 points to
1,428.62. Volume was moderate at 449.5 million shares worth 4.65 trillion won
(US$3.63 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 451 to 338.
(END)