S.Korea's Yoon calls strategy meeting to boost chip, battery sectors

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered on Monday a national strategy meeting to boost the competitiveness of the country's rechargeable battery and semiconductor sectors, a presidential spokesperson said.

The spokesperson did not provide further details, but the comment came a day before the country's central bank is widely expected to leave the interest rates steady for a second consecutive meeting on Tuesday to support the slowing economy.

South Korea's economy, heavily dependent on trade and chip exports, has been decelerating in the face of a weakening global economy and still-sluggish demand from neighbouring China. Local consumers are also holding back on spending after interest rate rises.

South Korean battery and chip shares rallied in early trade on Monday. LG Energy Solution shares were up 2.76% as of 2:36 p.m.(0536 GMT) compared to the wider KOSPI's 0.94% rise, while SK Hynix shares saw a 2.58% jump.

(Reporting by Choonsik Yoo and Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Tom Hogue and Jamie Freed)