The following is the first summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday.

The following is the first summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday.

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Seoul shares up nearly 1 pct late Tue. morning

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks traded 0.98 percent higher late Tuesday morning, as large-cap tech and auto stocks extended gains.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had advanced 23.63 points to 2,426.27 as of 11:20 a.m.

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Banks' FX liquidity conditions 'sound' despite uncertainties: finance ministry

SEOUL -- South Korean banks are maintaining sound foreign exchange liquidity conditions, the finance ministry said Tuesday, despite the growing uncertainties in the global foreign exchange market.

The assessment came after First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun held a meeting with officials from the Bank of Korea and other financial regulators to check South Korea's health in the FX market, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

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(LEAD) Finance minister urges passage of bill on tax incentives for chipmakers

SEOUL -- South Korea's chief economic policymaker called Tuesday for parliament to promptly pass a bill on providing more tax incentives to chipmakers amid the prolonged downturn in exports.

At a Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho pointed out that the passage of the bill is necessary to beef up the competitiveness of the chip industry.

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4 ex-ministerial officials indicted over alleged involvement in N.K. deportation case

SEOUL -- Four ministerial-level figures of the previous Moon Jae-in government were indicted Tuesday over their alleged involvement in the forced repatriation of two North Korean fishermen in 2019, prosecution officials said.

The four are former national security adviser and foreign minister Chung Eui-yong; Noh Young-min, former presidential chief of staff; Suh Hoon, former chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS); and former unification minister Kim Yeon-chul.

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Monthly salary of wage earners up 4.1 pct in 2021

SEOUL -- The average monthly salary of wage earners in South Korea rose 4.1 percent on-year in 2021, data showed Tuesday, on the back of higher salaries in the finance and energy industries.

Wage earners in Asia's fourth-largest economy took home a monthly average of 3.3 million won (US$2,669) in December 2021, up from 3.2 million won a year earlier, according to the report from Statistics Korea.

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S. Koreans' overseas direct purchases hit fresh high in 2022

SEOUL -- South Koreans' direct purchases of foreign goods hit a fresh record high last year, data showed Tuesday, on the back of stronger demand for dietary supplements and electronics.

South Korean shoppers bought a total of US$4.72 billion worth of foreign goods directly from overseas in 2022, compared with $4.65 billion the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Korean Customs Service.

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Cabinet endorses upgrading veterans ministry, overseas Koreans agency

SEOUL -- The Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed a parliament-approved bill upgrading the state agency on veterans affairs to a ministry-level body and establishing a new government agency handling policies on overseas Koreans.

The bill promulgating a revised Government Organization 프로그램개발 Act was approved a day after the revision passed through the National Assembly, interior ministry officials said.

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Court upholds constitutionality of law mandating school bully's apology to victim

SEOUL -- The Constitutional Court has ruled that the school violence prevention law mandating a school bully's apology to the victim and other countermeasures is constitutional, officials said Tuesday.

The court made the decision 6-3, rejecting a middle school student's petition claiming that the anti-school violence law infringes upon the freedom of conscience and personality rights by forcing an apology to a victim of school bullying.
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