Yonhap News Summary

SEOUL -- Justice Minister nominee Lee Yong-cheol on Wednesday reiterated that a special counsel probe into allegedly fabricated indictments against President Lee Jae Myung should focus on uncovering the truth, declining to offer a clear stance on whether he would seek to drop the indictments.

His remarks come after the National Assembly passed the special counsel bill last week, which the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has criticized as being aimed at ultimately canceling all indictments against the president.

SEOUL -- South Korea added 139,000 jobs in October from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday, with job growth exceeding the 100,000 mark for the fourth consecutive month.

The number of employed people came to 29.17 million in October, compared with 29.04 million a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

SEOUL -- Seoul shares turned higher after a weak start Wednesday amid concerns that hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation could prompt rate hikes down the road.

After opening 0.56 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) turned higher, trading up 13.71 points, or 0.26 percent, at 5,252.84 as of 9:15 a.m.

SEOUL -- National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik on Wednesday reaffirmed his commitment to pushing for a constitutional revision, rejecting opposition claims that the revision would be aimed at allowing President Lee Jae Myung to seek a second term.

Cho's remarks came as opposition lawmakers have questioned whether he had left open the possibility of Lee seeking another term after he told a press conference in July that an incumbent president's eligibility to seek another term would be up to the people to decide.

SEONGNAM, South Korea -- A bus plowed into more than 30 vehicles waiting at a traffic stop in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, during morning rush hour Wednesday, officials said, leaving 57 people injured.

The city bus, driven by a man in his 60s, struck four other buses, a cargo truck and 27 passenger cars before coming to a stop after hitting a traffic barrier in Seongnam's Bundang Ward at 7:34 a.m.