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≡ Korea Expects US Pressure On Auto Industry In FTA Talks
Korea's trade ministry says it expects the United States will play hardball, especially when it comes to cars, when negotiations begin to revise the two countries' free trade agreement.
In its FTA plan, reported this morning to the National Assembly, the ministry said there's a chance the U.S. could even demand that Korea abolish all tariffs on goods to resolve the trade imbalance.
The ministry's plan for the negotiations is to start the talks within the next month or so, and then hold follow-up meetings every three or four weeks.
When it comes to agricultural goods, however, the ministry says it will resist opening the local sector any further.■[2017.12.18]
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≡ Govt To Set Up 1 Tln Won Fund For Restructuring Of SMEs
The government will set up a fund worth 1 trillion won to restructure struggling small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Financial Services Commission says, under the scheme, eight state-run and commercial banks, including Korea Development Bank, will raise 500 billion won by the end of next February.
The remaining 500 billion won will be raised from private investors, mostly private equity funds.
The fund is aimed at encouraging more private investors to join the corporate restructuring market and break away from measures led by the government.■[2017.12.18]
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≡ Ex-MBC President Denies Alleged Unfair Labor Practices
The former president of broadcaster MBC, Kim Jang-kyom, has once again strongly denied allegations that he violated labor laws in dealing with unionized employees.
On his way into the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office this morning for questioning, he called the accusations "groundless" but refused to answer any other questions.
Kim is accused of unfair labor practices when he served as head of MBC, such as assigning producers and reporters to work irrelevant to their previous duties.
After the questioning, the prosecution is expected to decide whether to indict Kim and other former and current executives of MBC who face similar accusations.■[2017.12.18]
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≡ Atlanta Airport Restores Power To One Concourse
Officials at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport say power has been restored to at least one concourse.
Atlanta is the world's busiest airport and had lost electricity on Sunday, causing all flights to be grounded.
The local power company says the outage was likely caused by an electrical fire underground, and that it expected to have power back on by midnight, local time.
With Christmas just days away, the delays could cause chaos in one of the year's busiest weeks for travel.■[2017.12.18]
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≡ Seoul Stocks In Mid-Day Trade
Turning to the local bourse, stocks in Seoul are trading _________ at this hour.
As of noon, the benchmark KOSPI was up/down _____ percent at _______, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ was up/down _____ percent at _______.
The local currency was trading at _______ won against the greenback, up/down/unchanged _____ won from last Friday's close.■ 1,090
[2017.12.18]
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≡ (BBC) Pinera Wins Chile's Runoff Presidential Election
[Anchor]
One of Chile's richest men, the conservative businessman Sebastian Pinera, has won Sunday's presidential election runoff.
Pinera, who was president until 2014, has promised to work together with the opposition to overcome the country's historic division and give a better life to all Chileans.
[Clip - 00:19]
[Anchor]
Pinera secured nearly 55 percent of the vote defeating the left wing senator and journalist Alejandro Guillier by 10 percentage points.■
[2017.12.18]
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≡ Kim Jong-Un Pays Respects To Father, Kim Jong-Il: KCNA
North Korea's Kim Jong-un reportedly paid respects to his father, Kim Jong-il, yesterday, on the sixth anniversary of the late leader's death.
The North's state-run Korean Central News Agency said Kim visited the Kumsusan mausoleum.
He also reportedly visited his father's grave.■[2017.12.18]
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≡ Govt Launches Safety Inspections Of PyeongChang Olympic Venues
The government was set today to launch safety inspections of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic venues.
From today through Friday, the safety ministry will work with the infrastructure ministry and fire officials to check facilities, including the main stadium, the athletes' village and broadcast centers.
Nine KTX stations between Seoul and Gangneung will also be inspected.■[2017.12.18]
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≡ Consumers To Spend Less On Gift-Buying This Holiday Season: Poll
A recent survey suggests Korean consumers will be spending less on gifts for the holiday season than they did last year.
According to market researcher DMC Media, Koreans are putting aside an average of 203,000 won for gifts this year, a decline of 58,000 won.
The pollster attributed the fall to rising unemployment, a lack of job security and rising home prices affecting consumer confidence.■[2017.12.18]
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≡ Weather Update 1200
Taking a look at the weather, light snow continues to fall in parts of Seoul and the surrounding areas at this hour.
It's soon expected to clear up but start back up again this evening.
Daytime highs, meanwhile, will hover in the low to mid single digits.
The local mercury will get up to 5 degrees.
Looking ahead, chilly conditions are forecast once again tomorrow, with temperatures dipping back below zero.
As for the current reading in central Seoul, it is ___ degrees Celsius or ____ degrees in Fahrenheit.■[2017.12.18]