Yonhap News Summary

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

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(2nd LD) Opposition leaders quit over election defeat

SEOUL -- The two leaders of the main opposition party quit Thursday over a crushing defeat in parliamentary by-elections seen as a midterm referendum on President Park Geun-hye's conservative administration.

The move by Kim Han-gil and Ahn Cheol-soo came a day after New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) gained only four out of the 15 seats at stake.

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S. Korea puts 'peace train' to Cherwon in service

SEOUL -- South Korea launched a highly symbolic railroad service Thursday between its capital and the eastern border town of Cherwon, as President Park Geun-hye endeavors to keep the momentum of her stated reunification vision.

Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) began the operation of what is called the Peace DMZ (demilitarized zone) Train on a route stretching around 100 kilometers, carrying 100 families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

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S. Korea to open consulate in Cebu this year

SEOUL -- South Korea's foreign ministry said Thursday it plans to open a consulate in Cebu in the Philippines this year to better provide consular services as the growing number of Korean students and travelers are visiting there.

The foreign ministry said that it is working on necessary process to set up the new consulate in Cebu, about 600 kilometers south of Manila.

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Big-name opposition politician retires from politics

SEOUL -- A former opposition leader often mentioned as a potential presidential candidate announced his retirement from politics Thursday after suffering a humiliating defeat in parliamentary by-elections a day earlier.

Sohn Hak-kyu, a former four-term lawmaker and ex-leader of what is now the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), lost to Kim Yong-nam, a political novice of the ruling Saenuri Party, in Wednesday's by-elections seen as a midterm referendum on President Park Geun-hye's conservative government. The ruling party won a landslide victory, taking 11 of the 15 seats up for grabs.

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(LEAD) Investors to be compensated up to half of their losses from Tongyang Securities' failure

SEOUL -- The financial watchdog on Thursday ordered a local securities firm to compensate investors up to 50 percent of their losses for misleading them into betting on its financially troubled parent group.

A mediation panel led by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said Tongyang Securities Inc. misled investors in 24,028 cases, or 67.2 percent, out of 35,754 cases filed.

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(LEAD) Seoul shares retreat on weak corporate earnings

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks ended lower on Thursday, snapping its four-session winning streak as investor sentiment was battered by sluggish second-quarter corporate earnings by tech companies, analysts said. The South Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 6.49 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,076.12. Trading volume was moderate at 377.4 million shares worth 5.98 trillion won (US$5.82 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 427 to 382.

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(LEAD) Korean Air net hits 346.7 bln won in Q2

SEOUL -- Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's largest full-service air carrier, said Thursday it has posted a net profit of 346.7 billion won (US$337.8 million) in the second quarter, thanks to increased passenger and cargo traffic and a stronger won.

The positive bottom line represents a turnaround from a net loss of 358.7 billion won tallied for the same period in 2013.

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(4th LD) Samsung Electronics logs 6.25 tln won in Q2 net profit

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top maker of smartphones, said Thursday its second-quarter net profit fell 19.5 percent from a year earlier as its mainstay handset business suffered from rising competition in the global market.

Net income came to 6.25 trillion won (US$6.1 billion) in the April-June period, compared with 7.77 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.
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