Today's News..

1. Former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak won the conservative opposition's presidential primary yesterday, cementing his front-runner position in the December election race..

2. President Roh sent a personal letter to the North leader Kim Jong-il, expressing deep sympathy and consolation over the heavy flood damage recently sustained by the North..

3. Seoul stocks posted their biggest signgle day gain after the U.S. Federal Reserve intervened to ease credit concerns on deepening subprime mortgage turmoil by slashing its key interest rate on loans to banks..

4. The government is to extend the tax deduction on credit card spending by three years, until 2010 from the current deadline of November 2007..

5. The government will decide whether to resume the quarantine inspection on U.S beef within this week, which has been halted citing the discovery of a prohibited vertebral column..


Lee Myung-bak wins GNP primary..

In a decision announced yesterday, former Seoul mayor Lee was picked to the presidential candidate of the Grand National Party..Voting took place on Sunday, and was announced to a crowd of 15,000 at the party's convention.. Korea's main opposition party's nomination put Lee in position to win the nation's presidency in Decembrer as the incumbent president Roh's Uri Party is in shambles.. Lee beat his main opponent by about 1.5 percent.. Lee's platform includes lofty promises regarding the economy and a proposal for building multi-billiion dollar canals.. Lee was the target of allegations regarding the suspicious land deals during the primary campaign from both prosecutors and GNP rivals.. Lee is now calling for unity among the party, and an agrement has been drawn up that states the losing nominee will not interfere with the winner's presidential run..



Close call for passeners as plane explodes..

165 passengers and crew aboard a China Airlines Boeing 737 breathed a sigh of relief on Monday after they evacuated the aircraft only moments before it erupted into flames.. The plane exploded at an airport terminal in Okinawa Japan, after it had initially lit up after skidding on the tarmac on its way to a gate.. The passengers were evacuated via inflatable slides, and two were taken to hospital for feeling ill, although they were not injured.. The fire was completely extinguished about an hour later, leaving the plane's burnt and distorted chassis behind.. Early investigation and passenger reports of smoke and flames entering the cabin led to the possibility that a fuel leak may have cause the explosion.. However, aircraft reporters had not heard from the pilots that anything had gone awry.. The incident is a setback to the Taiwan-based airline, which had previously been on track to improve its safety record..



From Morning Special..