Yonhap News Summary

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

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Presidential office denies rumor of IMF rescue fund
SEOUL -- The presidential office on Wednesday denied a stock market rumor about
the nation's possible application for an International Monetary Fund (IMF)
bailout fund, stressing that South Korea is not vulnerable to a financial
meltdown.
"I can confidently say that there would never be an outbreak of a foreign
exchange crisis in South Korea," presidential office spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said
in his daily media briefing.
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Seoul shares end sharply lower on IMF bailout rumors
SEOUL -- South Korean stocks fell more than 3 percent Wednesday on rumors that
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has offered to provide the country with
dollar liquidity, analysts said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) tumbled 30.19 points, or
3.02 percent, to 968.97 after surging nearly 8 percent in morning trading on
overnight U.S. rallies. Volume was heavy at 754.6 million shares worth 8.2
trillion won (US$5.74 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 526 to 320.
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(LEAD) S. Korean currency surges against dollar
SEOUL -- South Korea's currency rose against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday for the
first time in seven sessions after the U.S. stock market rallied in the previous
session, dealers said.
The local currency closed at 1,427 won to the greenback, up 40.8 won, or 2.9
percent from Tuesday's close, marking the first gain in seven sessions. The won
has declined more than 34 percent to the dollar so far this year.
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Lee orders gov't to shift to emergency footing
SEOUL -- President Lee Myung-bak said on Wednesday that the presidential office
and other government bodies should all shift to emergency footing in the face of
the global financial crisis.
"This is an emergency situation. Not only the parliament, but also Cheong Wa Dae
and the administration should renew their determination to fight the economic
crisis," Lee was quoted as saying in a meeting with senior presidential
secretaries.
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S. Korean economy forecast to grow 3.4 pct in 2009
SEOUL -- The South Korean economy is forecast to grow 3.4 percent next year due
mainly to faltering domestic demand and slowing export growth while the country's
inflation will likely ease to 3.5 percent, a private think tank said Wednesday.
Asia's fourth-largest economy is expected to expand 2.9 percent in the first half
of next year before growing 3.8 percent during the last six months of 2009, the
Korea Institute of Finance (KIF) said.
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(LEAD) U.N. envoy urges China not to deport N. Korean defectors
SEOUL -- A U.N. human rights envoy Wednesday called on China to stop sending back
North Korean defectors to their communist homeland and accused the Chinese
government of paying rewards for the successful arrest and deportation of North
Korean asylum seekers.
"This (dislocation of North Korean defectors) is compounded by human trafficking
and smuggling which often prey on those who are already vulnerable," said Vitit
Muntarbhorn, a U.N. Special Rapporteur on North Korean human rights, at an
international symposium arranged here by South Korea's Human Rights Commission.
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S. Korea likely to send warship to Somalia
SEOUL -- South Korea is expected to dispatch a fleet of Navy ships to waters off
Somalia in a bid to protect its fishing and cargo ships from piracy, an informed
source said Wednesday.
"There is consensus that we send warships there, although a final decision has
yet to be made through consultations among related ministries," the source said.
(END)