Siblings of South Korean Spies Sent to NK Applied for Reunion

Siblings of South Koreans sent to North Korea on espionage missions were confirmed to have applied for inter-Korean family reunions, a ruling party policymaker revealed during the Assembly inspections on the Unification Ministry Nov. 6.
"Lee Chae-pil, and Choi Tae-uk, both applied for their reunion with their brothers Chae-sung and Chin-uk, who were dispatched to North Korea as spies in 1970s and 50s, respectively," said Kim Seong-ho of the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) Nov. 6, calling for the government? recognition of the spies sent to the North.
Choi Tae-uk, an Anyang resident, applied to the Unification Ministry to be reunited with his brother. As for the reason for separation, he wrote, "dispatched to the North on a spy mission around 1959-1960." The paper was turned in as evidence.


Population Move Declines

As an affect of the lingering economic slowdown, the number of those moving to different residences has continually decreased.
But an increasing number of people have begun flow into Seoul and its metropolitan area, with its relatively favorable conditions for economic activities.
The National Statistical Office Nov. 24 released the outcome of a survey on moving during the third quarter period, which shows that 1.91 million people moved beyond the "up," "myon" and "dong" administrative unit boundaries in the July-September period.


Gov. You Arranges Export of Daewoo Cars

The North Cholla Provincial government said Nov. 24 that 20,000 commercial cars and buses produced by the bankrupt Daewoo Motor would be exported to Indonesia between next year and 2003.
North Cholla Province Governor You Jong-keun and Indonesian officials agreed to the US $110-million deal before signing an official contract.
The agreement will be signed between Korea? Chonbuk Corp. and DTD Organda Corp., Indonesia? public transportation organization.


Telecommunication Firms Face Rough Time in Attracting Foreign Capital

Efforts to attract foreign investment in the telecommunications industry have been going nowhere despite the pressing need for huge capital input.
Leading telecommunications companies like Korea Telecom and SK Telecom have all been trying to negotiate foreign equity investments to finance major upcoming projects.
However, owing to the size of investments and the sluggishness of the domestic stock market, the telecommunications companies face difficulty in concluding their respective deals.

Carmakers Rush to Introduce New Models

Local and foreign carmakers are rushing to introduce new models.
Hyundai Motor Co. has already introduced two new diesel engine sports utility vehicles (SUVs), the Santa Fe and the Trage XG, which both have quieter engines.
Hyundai said the new models will offset the drop in sales of its LPG engine models following the gas price hike.