Yonhap News Agency: Major Stories Summary for Wednesday

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

■ (3rd LD) S. Korea's monthly exports hit US$100 bln for 1st time in June

SEOUL -- South Korea's monthly exports hit a fresh high by surpassing the US$100 billion mark for the first time in June, amid the record-breaking performance of chips, data showed Wednesday.

Outbound shipments surged 70.9 percent on-year to $102.25 billion in June, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

■ Lee set to meet ex-President Moon over lunch ahead of party leadership convention

SEOUL -- President Lee Jae Myung was set to meet with former President Moon Jae-in over lunch on Wednesday, a meeting widely seen as an attempt to settle, if not quell, a growing rift within the ruling Democratic Party ahead of an upcoming national convention to elect new leadership.

The meeting at Cheong Wa Dae will be an opportunity for Lee to seek advice from the former president on improving people's livelihoods and promoting national unity, Hong Ik-pyo, presidential secretary for political affairs, said earlier.

■ Gov't denies rumors over new think tank on utilizing chipmakers' huge profits

SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's industry ministry on Wednesday denied recent rumors that the government is pushing to establish a new think tank tasked with utilizing chipmakers' massive profits generated by the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

"The rumor circulating online that Seoul has sent letters to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to launch a government-led think tank related to the sharing of profits is completely false," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said in a statement.

■ Defense minister says unified military academy necessary to break down silos

SEOUL -- Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Wednesday doubled down on the need to combine military academies into a single education entity, stressing the need to break down what he called "silos" between armed forces and achieve all-domain warfare capabilities.

Ahn made the remarks in a meeting with top commanders meant to review their progress in the first half of the year. His remarks come amid strong pushback from the armed services, as well as the alumni associations of the three separate academies of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

■ Watchdog launches review on Google's alleged fair trade violation

SEOUL -- Seoul's antitrust watchdog said Wednesday it has launched an investigation into U.S.-based Google LLC, as well as its Singaporean and South Korean offices, over allegations of violations of the fair trade law involving game developers on its app marketplace.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said its examiners' report showed Google has abused its dominance in the Android marketplace, with related sales totaling US$9.21 billion. Under the law, the watchdog may impose a fine of up to 6 percent of the amount following its deliberations.

■ (LEAD) New PM vows to help gov't keep up with fast-changing private sector

SEOUL -- New Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said Wednesday she will try to help the government keep up with the fast-changing private sector and implement necessary policies at the right time.

Han made the remark to reporters upon arrival at the government complex in Seoul on her first day in office, saying her lifelong career as an information technology expert before joining the government last year allows her to understand both the private and public sectors.