Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) S. Korea to inject 40.7 tln won for economic recovery

SEJONG -- South Korea plans to implement a macroeconomic policy package worth about 40.7 trillion won (US$39.7 billion) to kick-start an economic recovery beset by anemic domestic demand, slowing exports growth and deepening uncertainties at home and abroad, the finance ministry said Thursday.

The government will also execute its macroeconomic policy in an "expansionary" manner until its intended impact materializes, the ministry added. The stance will be maintained when drawing up a budget for next year as well.

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(2nd LD) LG Electronics net jumps 164.8 pct

SEOUL -- South Korean tech giant LG Electronics Inc.'s net profit jumped 164.8 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier on the strong performance of its mobile communications division, helped by its flagship G3 smartphone, the company said Thursday.

Net profit came to 411.8 billion won (US$402.18 million) in the April-June period, rising from 155.5 billion won a year earlier, LG Electronics said in a regulatory filing.

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(2nd LD) Hyundai Motor's net earnings drop 6.9 pct in Q2

SEOUL -- Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker, said Thursday its net earnings for the second quarter dropped 6.9 percent to 2.35 trillion won (US$2.29 billion), mainly due to unfavorable exchange rates.

Operating profit also plunged 13.3 percent to 2.08 trillion won in the same period, with sales falling 1.9 percent to 22.75 trillion won, the company said in a regulatory filing.

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(2nd LD) POSCO's net doubles in Q2

SEOUL -- POSCO, South Korea's top steelmaker, said Thursday its second-quarter net income more than doubled from a year ago, mainly due to better earnings from its foreign operations.

Net profit stood at 487.16 billion won (US$475 million) in the April-June period, up 102.6 percent compared to 240.5 billion won tallied a year earlier, POSCO said in a regulatory filing.

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China calls for U.S. to lower bar for nuclear talks with N. Korea

BEIJING -- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui has told a group of South Korean lawmakers that the United States must lower the bar for resuming long-stalled multilateral talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program, a South Korean delegate who attended the meeting said Thursday.

The rare comments by Zhang were in line with China's policy toward North Korea, but highlighted a fundamental gap that remains between Washington and Beijing over how to restart the six-nation talks that have been dormant since late 2008.

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(3rd LD) Ssangyong Motor strikes wage deal without walkout

SEOUL -- Ssangyong Motor Co., the local unit of Indian sport utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra, said Thursday that its management and union have agreed to raise wages and count regular bonuses as ordinary wages, the first South Korean carmaker to do so this year.

The agreement marks the fifth year in a row that Ssangyong has settled its annual wage negotiations without work disruptions.

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(LEAD) Two opposition candidates unite in Seoul district by-elections

SEOUL -- The candidate of the main opposition party for the upcoming by-elections in a Seoul constituency dropped out of the race on Thursday in an apparent move to boost the opposition bloc's chance of victory.

Ki Dong-min, affiliated with the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), declared the withdrawal of his candidacy in the Dongjak-B constituency for the July 30 by-elections to support Roh Hoe-chan of the minor opposition Justice Party.

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(3rd LD) Football body names TV analyst as new technical chief

SEOUL -- The national football governing body on Thursday named a popular television analyst as its new technical chief.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced that Lee Yong-soo, commentator for KBS and professor of physical education at Sejong University in Seoul, will be the new head of its technical committee. Lee, who served in the same role during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, replaces Hwangbo Kwan, who resigned in the wake of South Korea's early exit from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
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