The following is the second summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Friday.
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(LEAD) Yoon approves dismissal motion of commissioner for conflict of interest violation
SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk Yeol approved a motion for the dismissal of a left-leaning commissioner of the state media regulation agency Friday for violating conflict-of-interest rules, the presidential office said.
Earlier in the day, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced that Choung Min-young, one of the nine commissioners of the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) recommended by the opposition bloc, had breached the law prohibiting commissioners from engaging in personal activities related to their duties.
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S. Korea deplores N. Korea's launch of nuclear attack submarine
SEOUL -- South Korea's unification ministry on Friday condemned North Korea's launch of a "tactical nuclear attack submarine," saying the North's "futile" attempt to build weapons would only undermine the country's livelihood affairs.
The ministry's response came shortly after North Korea's state media reported that the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, attended a launching ceremony for the new submarine capable of carrying out an underwater nuclear attack.
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Yoon, Indonesian president agree to strengthen security, economic partnership
JAKARTA -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Indonesian President Joko Widodo agreed Friday to strengthen their countries' security and economic partnership, including by boosting cooperation in arms and electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure.
The two leaders reached the agreement during a summit at the presidential palace in Jakarta, which came on the last day of Yoon's four-day visit to Indonesia to attend annual summits involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Indonesia.
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Yoon says he will discuss defense, supply chain cooperation with India's Modi
JAKARTA -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has said he plans to discuss ways to strengthen defense and supply chain cooperation when he meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this weekend, according to an interview published Friday.
In a written interview with The Times of India, Yoon said he is looking forward to his second bilateral meeting with Modi, which will take place on the margins of a Group of 20 summit in New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday.
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Civic groups file complaint against ban on sex education books for kids from local libraries
SEOUL -- Civic groups filed a complaint against a provincial governor and the culture minister Friday, calling for the reversal of a recent decision to remove sex education books for children from public libraries.
Some 10 children's books on sex education have been ousted from 36 public libraries in South Chungcheong Province since July 25, after civic and parents groups complained that they justify homosexuality or promote the premature sexualization of children.
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S. Korea, U.S. to hold talks on extended deterrence next week
SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States plan to hold high-level talks on extended deterrence next week to discuss ways to better deal with evolving North Korean threats, according to Seoul's foreign and defense ministries Friday.
The fourth meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG), a gathering of the two countries' vice ministerial defense and diplomatic officials, is scheduled to take place in Seoul on Sept. 15, they said.
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Busan's education chief fined for premature electioneering
BUSAN -- Busan's education chief was sentenced to 700 million won (US$5,252) in fines Friday for using a private education forum for his election campaign, a sentence that would remove him from office if finalized at the Supreme Court.
Superintendent Ha Yun-su of the office of education in the southeastern city was indicted in November last year on charges of premature electioneering for using the education forum he founded in 2021 for his campaign for last year's local elections.
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Bank official indicted for embezzling nearly 140 billion won
SEOUL -- The prosecution indicted an employee of BNK Kyongnam Bank on Friday for embezzling 138.7 billion won (US$104 million) from the lender, officials said.
The 51-year-old suspect, identified by his surname Lee, is accused of siphoning off 69.9 billion won between August 2016 and October 2021 from loan payments made by three real estate development companies.
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Prosecutors raid election watchdog over alleged illegal donations to Lee
SEOUL -- Prosecutors on Friday raided the National Election Commission (NEC) over suspicions that opposition leader Lee Jae-myung accepted a large amount of political donations exceeding the legal limit from an underwear tycoon during his party's presidential primary in 2021.
The Suwon District Prosecutors Office sent prosecutors and investigators to the NEC head office in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, in the morning to search and seize documents related to the suspicions, including a list of donors for Democratic Party (DP) primary candidates.
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PM Han holds talks with Serbian counterpart
SEOUL -- South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo held talks with his Serbian counterpart, Ana Brnabic, on Friday to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations, Han's office said.
During the talks, Han welcomed the signing of a bilateral investment treaty aimed at promoting mutual investments between the two countries, according to the Prime Minister's Office.
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S. Korea, Western Australia seek stronger ties on energy, key minerals
SEOUL -- South Korea and Western Australia agreed Friday to boost bilateral cooperation on key minerals, clean hydrogen and other energy sectors, Seoul's industry ministry said.
South Korea's Second Vice Industry Minister Kang Kyung-sung and Western Australia's Premier Roger Cook met in Seoul and agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that calls for enhancing bilateral ties on investment and exports of major minerals, clean hydrogen and carbon capture technology, among other fields, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
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(LEAD) BTS' V drops debut solo album 'Layover'
SEOUL -- V, a member of the K-pop giant BTS, put out his first solo album, "Layover," on Friday.
The singer has released various original soundtracks for TV dramas, including "Christmas Tree," and self-composed songs on SoundCloud and YouTube. However, he had never dropped an individual album before "Layover."
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PPP files ethics complaint against opposition lawmaker for calling defector-turned-lawmaker 'trash'
SEOUL -- The ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Friday filed a complaint with the parliamentary ethics committee against an opposition lawmaker for openly calling a North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker "trash."
Rep. Park Young-soon of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) hurled the insult toward Rep. Tae Young-ho of the PPP during a parliamentary interpellation earlier this week after Tae accused DP lawmakers of remaining silent about the North's human rights issue.
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S. Korean, Japanese, Chinese culture ministers agree to strengthen exchanges, cooperation
SEOUL -- The culture ministers of South Korea, Japan and China agreed to work closely to enhance cultural exchanges and cooperation among the Asian neighbors, Seoul's culture ministry said Friday.
South Korean Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Park Bo-gyoon and his Japanese and Chinese counterparts, Keiko Nagaoka and Hu Heping, respectively, adopted a joint declaration at the end of the 14th trilateral cultural ministerial meeting held in Jeonju, 192 kilometers south of Seoul.
Source: Yonhap News Agency