Yonhap News Summary

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

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(News Focus) Hopes for bigger dividend boosts market, but market watchers have questions

SEOUL -- The government's new push to funnel corporate money to households through bigger dividends proved a quick remedy for the dull local bourse, but market watchers largely remain doubtful of its goal of boosting domestic consumption.

As soon as he took office on July 16, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said big companies were sitting on too much cash and pressed them to increase investments and dividend payments to create jobs and raise household income.

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LG Chem to spend US$450 mln on EV battery plant in China

BEIJING -- LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's largest chemicals company, plans to spend US$450 million on a plant for electric vehicle batteries in China, local media reported Friday.

LG Chem and its Chinese partners formerly signed a contract to build the factory in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing on Thursday, with Kwon Young-soo, president of LG Chem's battery division, and Nanjing Mayor Miu Ruilin attending, the Nanjing Daily reported.

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S. Korean girl group SPICA to debut in U.S.

SEOUL -- South Korean girl group SPICA will advance to the U.S. market by releasing an English debut single next week, the group's management agency said Friday.

SPICA will release "I Did It" in the United States on Wednesday in partnership with the U.S. music magazine Billboard, B2M Entertainment said.

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Hyundai Motor CEO appeals to union on wage negotiations

ULSAN -- The CEO of Hyundai Motor Co. on Friday appealed to union workers to think about the fallout from a strike, reiterating that they should wait for the courts to determine what constitutes standard wages, an issue that is plaguing major conglomerates in labor talks this year.

In a statement released a day after union leaders declared a breakdown in negotiations, Yoon Gap-han stressed that management is committed to resolving this year's wage and collective bargaining agreement (CBA) talks in a peaceful manner.

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Ruling party to form committee for ferry victims

SEOUL -- The ruling Saenuri Party will establish a committee dedicated to helping the families of the victims of April's deadly ferry sinking, the party's floor leader said Friday, amid an impasse in efforts to draw up parliamentary measures.

The plan comes as the ruling party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) have been locked in a bitter dispute over a special bill calling for the creation of a fact-finding committee to determine the cause of the April 16 disaster that claimed the lives of more than 300 people, mostly high school students.
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