NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

Residents' foreign currency deposits recorded 69.6 billion dollars in the month of July, down 710 million dollars from the previous month. The Bank of Korea says residents' foreign currency deposits contracted for the first time after posting an increase for three consecutive months.
A survey conducted by the job search site Incruit shows that about 79 percent of conglomerates have hiring plans in the second half of the year, a decrease of 11.9 percentage points from last year.
To prevent food poisoning at schools, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will conduct a one-week food sanitation inspection at school cafeterias and food supplying firms starting August 29.
A contest for writing a song representing Gyeonggi-do Province will be held through November 8. The current song representing the province is banned because of the controversy over pro-Japan acts committed by its composer, Lee Heung-ryeol.