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) Yoon names new prosecutor general, chief of antitrust regulator

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol has named the deputy chief prosecutor to be the new prosecutor general while also nominating a law professor to head the state antitrust regulator, Yoon's chief of staff said Thursday.

Lee One-seok, the deputy chief prosecutor who has been serving as the acting prosecutor general since May, has been tapped to be the prosecutor general, while Han Ki-jeong, a law professor at Seoul National University, has been tapped to head the Fair Trade Commission, presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki said during a press briefing.

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(LEAD) Ex-ruling party chief files another lawsuit against leadership switch

SEOUL -- The former chair of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), Lee Jun-seok, has filed another lawsuit against the party's leadership transition, escalating his legal fight against the PPP, according to legal sources on Thursday.

Lee filed the lawsuit with the Seoul Southern District Court, asking the court to nullify the validity of the party's emergency committee, on Tuesday, a day before the court held a hearing on his motion for an injunction against the PPP's leadership switch, the sources said.

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Man gets one-year prison term for throwing soju bottle at former president

DAEGU -- A man who was arrested for throwing a soju bottle at former President Park Geun-hye in front of her home in the southeastern city of Daegu in March was sentenced to one year in prison Thursday.

The Daegu District Court handed out the sentence to the 47-year-old man known only as Lee and ordered the confiscation of his utility knife, scissors and hacksaw that he possessed at the time of the attack on March 24.

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(LEAD) Gov't to create condition for N. Korea to accept 'audacious' offers, minister says

SEOUL -- The Yoon Suk-yeol administration will strive to create a condition for North Korea to embrace the "audacious initiative" intended to support its economic development for its denuclearization steps, Seoul's point man on Pyongyang told lawmakers Thursday.

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said the government plans to send more specific messages to the North, going forward, and have related consultations with such other major countries concerned as the United States and China.

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S. Korea launches committee to support nuclear exports

SEOUL -- South Korea on Thursday launched a committee to help local companies win contracts to build nuclear power plants overseas amid renewed interest in nuclear power in Europe due to energy shortages.

The move came as the government is pushing to rebuild the nuclear industry in a reversal of the preceding liberal administration's nuclear phase-out policy.

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S. Korea eyes stricter rule to improve fiscal health

SEOUL -- South Korea aims to draw up a stricter fiscal rule that would mandate a sharp reduction of the deficit if the national debt exceeds 60 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the finance minister said Thursday.

The move is aimed at improving fiscal soundness that has been compromised by years of expansionary fiscal spending under the preceding liberal government as the Yoon Suk-yeol government seeks to implement a belt-tightening fiscal policy.

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(LEAD) Seoul shares down amid Fed rate hike woes; Korean won sharply down

SEOUL -- Seoul shares closed lower Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve's minutes that hinted at more aggressive interest rate hikes to temper inflation. The Korean won sharply fell against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.42 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 2,508.05 points.

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Preorders for BLACKPINK's second LP surpass 1.5 mln copies

SEOUL -- BLACKPINK's upcoming second full-length album has sold over 1.5 million copies in preorders, its agency said Thursday.

Preorders for "Born Pink" surpassed 1.5 million units on Wednesday, six days after the advance purchase began, YG Entertainment said.

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