Yonhap News Summary

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

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(LEAD) Moon heads to U.S. for talks on upcoming U.S.-N. Korea summit

SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in headed to Washington on Monday on an apparent mission to help broker a nuclear deal between the United States and North Korea ahead of their first-ever summit next month.

Moon's trip follows his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the border village of Panmunjom on April 27. He will hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Washington time).

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(LEAD) Parliament rejects proposal to approve opposition lawmakers' arrest

SEOUL -- The National Assembly on Monday rejected the prosecution's request for consent to arrest two opposition lawmakers, sparking criticism of a "bulletproof" parliament shielding fellow lawmakers accused of wrongdoing.

In a plenary session, the Assembly voted down the government's proposal to permit the arrest of Hong Moon-jong, a fourth-term lawmaker, and Yeom Dong-yeol, a second-term politician, both from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP).

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Businessmen, politicians pay respects to late LG chairman

SEOUL -- Prominent South Korean businessmen and politicians paid their respects to late LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo on Monday, expressing their condolences to family members of the deceased.

Koo died on Sunday at the age of 73, with LG Group spokespersons saying the businessman died peacefully while his family watched on. Koo had several brain surgeries earlier this year, and was recently hospitalized when his condition deteriorated.

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Consumer activists call for compensation over 'radon mattress' scandal

SEOUL -- Dozens of consumer activists on Monday pressed a local bed company to compensate consumers for selling beds that have been found to emit radiation levels that exceed safety limits.

The activists also called on the government to ensure that Daijin Bed Co. will compensate consumers over the matter, with many at the gathering in downtown Seoul holding pickets that read "Swift handling of radon bed compensation."

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(LEAD) Nat'l football team vows to meet fans expectations at 2018 FIFA World Cup

SEOUL -- The South Korean national football team on Monday vowed to give its best and meet fans' expectations at the 2018 FIFA World Cup before they start training together for the quadrennial event.

Some 3,000 football fans gathered for an event at Seoul Plaza in Seoul to celebrate the launch of South Korea's World Cup squad that will compete in Russia next month.

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(LEAD) Seoul shares end higher as tech gains

SEOUL -- Seoul shares ended higher Monday as gains in technology stocks helped offset declines in other major stocks. The won fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.92 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,465.57. Trade volume was moderate at 570.42 million shares worth 5.97 trillion won (US$5.5 billion), with decliners outnumbering advancers 415 to 412.

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(2nd LD) Customs service seizes suspected smuggled goods at Korean Air supplier

SEJONG -- Customs authorities said Monday officials have raided a supplier of Korean Air Lines Co. and seized dozens of boxes of goods believed to have been smuggled for members of the family of the national flag carrier's chairman.

The Korea Customs Service (KCS) has been looking into allegations that Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho's family smuggled certain goods without paying due taxes while reportedly disguising them as corporate assets.

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Ex-President Chun asks for defamation case to be tried in Seoul

GWANGJU -- Former President Chun Doo-hwan has asked to be tried in Seoul, not in the southern city of Gwangju, in a defamation case involving his memoir about the military's bloody crackdown on a 1980 pro-democracy revolt in Gwangju, officials said Monday.

Prosecutors in Gwangju indicted Chun without physical detention early this month on charges of libelling victims of the uprising with a false statement in the memoir published last year that there was no shooting from helicopters during the brutal crackdown.

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