Today's headlines

1. When Hyundai Chairman Chung Mong-koo stood for his third trial on June 26, Hyundai plants came to a halt due to militant labor union’s strike. The labor union went on a partial strike in Ulsan, Asan, and Jeonju plants.

2. The financial authority comes up with drastic regulations to stabilize the property market with mixed results. In a bid to artificially lower house prices, authorities restrict bank’s mortgage loan for speculative purposes. But it turned out to lead to sluggish transactions of middle-sized apartments which have nothing to do with speculation.

3. Cyworld makes inroads into Germany. SK Communications revealed that it will join hands with German’s T-online company (t-online.de), a subsidiary of Deutche Telecom and an internet company with 14m members within the EU. Cyworld is currently up and running in China, Taiwan, and America.

4. Cheong Wa dae dismissed the speculation surrounding President Roh’s remark that the contents of a Korea-US FTA should not be compromised due to time constraints. His remark was interpreted by some as a willingness of the government that it would slow down the pace of FTA negotiation. The presidential office said the government, on the contrary, strongly forges ahead with the plan.