Yonhap News Agency: Summary of Major Stories (August 21, 2026)

The labor union of Hyundai Motor Co. launched a full-day strike Friday after failing to reach an agreement with management over wages, raising concerns about further production disruptions amid sluggish vehicle sales.

It marks the first time in 10 years that the automaker's union has staged an eight-hour strike.

President Lee Jae Myung has appointed senior trade official Park Jung-sung as the new trade minister, a presidential spokesperson said Friday, filling the post immediately tasked with leading the talks with Washington over South Korea's investment pledge to the United States.

Park, formerly vice trade minister, will replace Yeo Han-koo, according to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung. Yeo was dismissed last week for unknown reasons.

Seoul stocks ended higher on Friday as investors pin hopes on large-scale shareholder return schemes from the country's top two chipmakers -- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed up 60.37 points, or 0.88 percent, to 6,912.95, after rising as high as 6,954.12.

Samsung Electronics Co. is poised to return at least 100 trillion won (US$72.4 billion) to shareholders, industry sources said Friday, following a similar announcement by its chipmaking rival SK hynix Inc. amid record earnings driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

The world's largest memory chip maker is expected to announce what could be its largest-ever shareholder-return initiative at a board meeting as early as later Friday or next week, according to the sources.

When pitching for the NC Dinos last year, left-hander Logan Allen put up good numbers against the KT Wiz but that did not mean the starter found them easy to handle. Though he posted a 2.70 ERA against the Wiz in five starts, his second-best mark against any opponent in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in 2025, Allen said he "always knew they had good hitters."

Allen is glad he no longer has to face them. He is pitching for the Wiz now and has been one of their top starters for the past two months.