PRESS DIGEST - South Korean newspapers - June 9

SEOUL, June 9 (Reuters) - The following is a summary of major South Korean newspapers on Monday, prepared by Reuters in Seoul. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not guarantee their accuracy.

CHOSUN ILBO

President Lee Myung-bak is likely to replace his Chief of Staff Yu Woo-ik and 4-5 presidential aides. Also, he is said to consider naming Park Geun-hye, Lee's main opponent for last year's Grand National Party presidential nomination, as a new prime minister, according to key Blue House officials.

Australian miners Rio Tinto (RIO.AX)(RIO.L) and BHP Billiton (BHP.AX)(BLT.L) requested Asian steel firms including POSCO (005490.KS) for a price hike of nearly 100 percent in iron ore prices.

DONG-A ILBO

President Lee Myung-bak is poised to announce a reshuffle of his aides and cabinet members on June 10 as all of his chief secretaries offered to resign and the ministers are expected to follow this move, according to the sources familiar with the situation.

JOONGANG ILBO

North Korea and Japan have agreed to hold working-level talks June 11-12 in Beijing for normalizing bilateral ties, said Saiki Akitaka, Japan's chief envoy to six-party talks.

Agriculture Ministry seeks to send back or scrap imports of U.S. beef from cattle more than 30 months old, according to an official.

MAEIL BUSINESS NEWSPAPER

POSCO (005490.KS), the world's fourth-largest steel maker, is expected to increase its steel price by 15 percent per tonne this month, according to the steel industry.

International flight fees are expected to rise as early as June to reflect higher oil prices, according to an airline official.

A labour union of transportation sector is set to vote June 9 for a general strike. In the meantime, the bus industry said it would cut back on its bus service routes by 30 percent unless the government increases fares by 40 percent.