Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) Most of S. Korean Ebola team returns home

SEOUL -- The majority of a South Korean Ebola response team returned home Friday after visiting Britain and Sierra Leone to conduct a field study on a future dispatch of medical personnel to the African country, the foreign ministry said.

Seven of the 12-member team of government officials and civilian experts flew into Seoul from Britain after evaluating the situation in the West African country. They visited a British Ebola clinic center being built in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital, to which Seoul's medical workers will be sent.

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(LEAD) Korean won rebounds from 15-month trough

SEOUL -- South Korea's currency rebounded from a 15-month low on Friday, snapping a three-day losing streak as it paralleled the Japanese yen's ascent to the greenback.

The Korean won closed at 1,113.80 per U.S. dollar, up 1.3 won from the previous session's close, after rising as high as to 1,106.60 at one point.

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(LEAD) Ex-first lady Lee to make overland trip to N. Korea

SEOUL -- North Korea agreed Friday to former South Korean first lady Lee Hee-ho's plan to make an overland trip to the communist country, one of her aides said.

The North also promised to allow the wife of late former President Kim Dae-jung to stay at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse in Pyongyang, according to former culture minister Kim Sung-hoon.

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(LEAD) Seoul shares bounce back on strong U.S. data

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks rebounded Friday after backtracking for two sessions, buoyed by encouraging economic data from the United States and net buying by foreign investors and institutions. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.

Starting the day in positive territory, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) pared some early gains but ended the day at 1,964.84, up 0.35 percent, or 6.80 points, from Thursday's close.

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Sales bid for Pantech fails

SEOUL -- The auction to sell South Korea's No. 3 smartphone maker Pantech Co. failed again Friday from a lack of bidders, the sale manager said, casting a cloud over the company's normalization.

Samgjong KPMG said there were no bidders to acquire the troubled firm, although a handful of tech firms from home and abroad had previously handed in letters of intent. The bidding was originally due to be completed last month, but it was extended to open it up to more firms.

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(LEAD) Chinese boats-seizure
(LEAD) 15 Chinese boats seized for poaching in S. Korean waters

SEOUL -- Fifteen Chinese boats were seized for fishing illegally in South Korean waters in an overnight crackdown conducted by a new Seoul ministry in charge of national safety and security, officials said Friday.

The special crackdown was held simultaneously in four areas off the country's west and south coasts, involving 22 medium and large-sized Navy vessels, the Ministry of Public Safety and Security said.

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Olympic speed skating champ Lee Sang-hwa finishes second at World Cup on home ice

SEOUL -- Olympic champion Lee Sang-hwa finished second in the opening 500-meter race at the International Skating Union (ISU) Speed Skating World Cup in Seoul on Friday, as her early season winning streak was snapped unceremoniously on home ice.

Lee, the two-time Olympic champ, finished second among 20 skaters with a time of 38.18 seconds at Taeneung International Rink. Nao Kodaira of Japan,
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