Japan’s economic growth rate is expected to surpass that of Korea for the first time in 15 years as the world’s third-largest economy gains momentum on the yen’s rapid depreciation.South Korea is estimated to grow at an annual rate of 2.6 percent this year from a year earlier, while Japan is forecast to advance 2.9 percent, according to the data by the Bank of Korea and the Bank of Japan. If the estimates come true, South Korea's economic growth rate would fall behind that of Tokyo for the first

South Korea has placed Israeli precision-guided missiles capable of striking North Korean coastal artillery on its Yellow Sea border islands, a military official said Sunday."Dozens of Spike missiles and their launchers have recently been deployed on Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands," an official for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. "They can destroy (North Korea's) underground facilities and can pursue and strike moving targets."The satellite-guided Spike missile has a range of about 20

Nam Duck-woo, a former prime minister and finance minister who led the country's rapid economic development in the 1970s, died of complications from testicular cancer at a Seoul hospital late Saturday, his family said. He was 89.Nam had been battling testicular cancer for the past few years and his condition had worsened with age, his family added.Nam, who earned a doctorate in economics at Oklahoma State University, was appointed finance minister by President Park Chung-hee in 1969 and served i

The country's largest law firm is preparing to draft legislation aimed at compensating companies that have taken a hit from the suspension of an inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea, a law firm official said Sunday.The factory complex in the North's border city of Gaeseong has remained idle since early April as Pyongyang pulled all its workers from 123 South Korean companies there, citing South Korea's provocations."A task force of lawyers has started its research on the special compen

정치권은 14일 아베 신조(安倍晋三) 일본 총리가 최근 자위대 기지를 방문, 생체실험을 자행했던 일본 관동군 세균부대인 '731부대'를 연상케하는 '731'숫자가 적힌 전투기에 탑승, 사진을 촬영한 데 대해 또다른 형태의 역사부정 행위로 규정하고 강력 비난했다.새누리당 정몽준 의원은 보도자료에서 "우리나라와 중국 등 피해국에 대한 명백 한 도발행위"라면서 "독일의 메르켈 총리가 나치 문양을 한 전투기에 타고 기념촬영 하는 장면은 상상할 수 없는 일인데도 아베 총리는 이와 유사한 일을 버젓이 행하고 있다"고 비판했다.정 의원은 "아베 총리와 그 주변 인사들의 침략역사 부정은 한국, 중국 등 피해 국에 대한 모욕 차원을 넘어 동아시아 지역의 새로운 불안 요인이 되고 있다"면서 "일본은 역사를 거꾸로 되돌리려는 어리석고 위험한 행동을 즉각 중단해야 한다"고 촉구했다. 우리 정부에 대해서도 "중국, 미국 등 관련국과 협조해 일본의 폭주를 막 기 위한 조치를 취할 것을 강력히 촉구한다"고 밝

최문기 미래창조과학부 장관이 1등 포털업체 네이버가 지나치게 지배적이라며 일침을 가했다.최 장관은 15일 과천 정부청사에서 열린 출입기자단 정책간담회에서 “(네이버는) 시장의 상당한 부분을 점유하고 있는 것 같다”며 기업이 어느 선을 넘었을 땐 사회 공헌에 더 초점을 맞추는 방식으로의 전환이 필요하다"고 말했다. 그는 “그러나 네이버는 아직도 회사를 키우는데 주력하는 것 같다”고 기자회견에서 말했다. 최 장관은 “김상헌 NHN 대표이사가 자신의 목표를 달성하는데 꽤 공격적인 것 같다"고 말했다. 그러면서도 그는 공정거래위원회가 현재 조사 중인 네이버에 대해 앞으로 일주일간 언급 하지 않겠다고 말했다.   공정위는 현재 검색 광고 시장에서 점유율 70% 이상을 차지하고 있는 네이버의 공정거래 실태 파악을 위해 조사에 들어갔으며 이는남양유업 사건 이후 갑을관계와 그 안에서 일어나는 불공정한 거래 행위를 척결하겠다는 정부의 의지에 대한 후속 조치이다. 최장관은 공정위가 네이버 조사에 조심

The head of NongHyup Financial Group Inc. on Wednesday offered to resign following the massive hacking attack in March that paralyzed the network of its banking unit and the group's weaker earnings.Shin Dong-kyu, the president of the group, said in a statement that he offered to step down from the top post as he believed it would be desirable for a new head to lead the group, given "an array of difficulties facing the group."His resignation came as computer networks at Korea's major broadcasters

Japan did not inform South Korea or the United States of an "unexpected" visit by an adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to North Korea, a Seoul government source said Wednesday, raising concerns that the trip may undermine efforts in forging a coordinated approach toward the belligerent country. North Korea's state media confirmed that a Japanese delegation led by Isao Iijima flew to Pyongyang earlier Tuesday. Japan's Kyodo news agency had also reported on lijima's trip to North Korea

여행수지가 엔저의 직격탄을 맞아 7분기만에 가 장 큰 적자 규모를 기록했다. 상품 무역 수지는 엔화 가치 하락의 영향이 아직 크지 않지만 여행 수지는 상당 한 타격을 받고 있는 것이다.14일 한국은행에 따르면 올해 1분기 여행 수지는 20억4천410만달러 적자로, 2011년 2분기(22억5천920만달러)이후 7분기만에 최대의 적자를 기록했다.여행수지는 계절 요인이 큰 만큼 1분기의 적자액만 비교하면 2011년 25억590만 달러에서 2012년 16억4천10만달러로 줄었다가 다시 증가세로 돌아선 것이다. 올해 1분기 여행수지 적자는 한국인이 외국여행을 하며 쓴 돈(여행수지 지급)은 51억9천10만달러로 작년 동기보다 5.7% 증가했지만 외국인 여행객들이 한국에서 쓴 돈(여행수지 수입)은 31억4천600만달러로 3.8% 감소한 데 따른 것이다.엔저로 한국을 찾는 일본인들이 감소한 데다가 일본을 찾는 한국인은 늘어난 영향이 가장 크다. 실제 1분기에 한국을 찾은 외래 관광객은 중국인이 3

㈜STX에 대한 채권단 자율협약이 극적으로 타결됐다. 이로써 STX그룹의 구조조정은 큰 고비를 넘기게 됐다.14일 금융권에 따르면 ㈜STX 채권단 소속 금융기관들은 이날 주채권은행인 산업 은행에 자율협약 동의서를 일제히 보냈다.만기가 돌아온 ㈜STX의 회사채 2천억원에 대한 결제 대금과 이번 달에 사용할 긴급 운영자금 1천억원 등 3천억원을 지원하는 데도 의견을 모았다.산은이 일괄적으로 3천억원을 집행하고, 나머지 채권금융기관이 ㈜STX에 대한 채권 규모에 비례해 산은에 사후 정산한다.자율협약에 참여한 ㈜STX 채권금융기관은 산은(44.9%), 우리은행(25.7%), 농협 은행(16.8%), 신한은행(8.8%), 정책금융공사(3.8%) 등 5곳이다.채권단은 다음 주부터 2~3개월간 ㈜STX에 대한 실사에 착수, 구조조정과 자산매 각 등 구체적인 경영정상화 방안을 마련하고 자율협약을 정식 체결할 방침이다.채권단 관계자는 “실사를 거쳐 자금지원 규모를 확정짓고 어떤 자산을 팔고 인력을

인기밴드 FT아일랜드와 씨엔블루가 오는 8월 10-11일 도쿄와 오사카에서 열리는 음악 페스티벌 ‘서머소닉(SUMMER SONIC) 2013’ 무대에 선다.13일 공식사이트(www.summersonic.com)의 발표에 따르면 FT아일랜드는 지난 201 0년 행사 때 오사카 공연에 참가한 이래 3년 만이며, 씨엔블루는 서머소닉 무대에 처음 오른다.FT아일랜드와 씨엔블루는 8월 10일 도쿄 공연을 소화한 뒤 11일 오사카 공연에도 참가한다.한편, FT아일랜드는 6월 5일 세 번째 앨범 ‘레이티드(RATED)-FT’ 발매와 함께 1 5일 미야기를 시작으로 일본 주요 도시를 돌며 공연한다. 씨엔블루는 7월 24-25일 삿포로를 시작으로 전국의 제프 공연장 무대에 오른다.　<관련 영문기사>FTIsland, CNBlue to rock out in JapanBy Julie JacksonThe local boys of FTIsland and CNBlue are joining an all-star

South Korea took the third spot among 143 countries in terms of the number of secure Internet servers in 2011, the country's ministry in charge of IT and science said Tuesday.The country had 2,496 secure Internet servers per million people in 2011, the third-largest after Iceland and the Netherlands, the Ministry of ICT, Science and Future Planning said, citing data compiled by the World Economic Forum (WEF).Secure Internet servers are servers using encryption technology in Internet transactions

Korea saw its travel account deficit surge to its highest in seven fiscal quarters in the months between January and March this year due to the rapid depreciation of the Japanese yen, according to the Bank of Korea on Tuesday.The shortfall reached some $2 billion in the first quarter, the highest since the second quarter of 2011 when the travel deficit under the services account in the balance of payments hit almost $2.26 billion.This is primarily due to the increasing number of Koreans travelin

The government plans to newly hire more than 100 personnel to supervise sex offenders and other violent criminals as part of efforts to eradicate such violent crimes, officials said Tuesday.According to the plan endorsed by the Cabinet, the Ministry of Justice will expand its structure to hire 125 more employees, including probation officers and researchers, who will oversee the criminals.There have been consistent calls for beefing up manpower in the wake of a series of repeated crimes by serio

About two-thirds of smartphones shipped globally in the first quarter ran on Google Inc.'s Android platform, data showed Tuesday, further cementing its dominance over other operating systems (OS).Shipments of Android-powered smartphones totaled a record 161 million units in the January-March period, according to the data by Strategy Analytics.That translates into the Android platform powering 75.2 percent of smartphones shipped during the cited period, also a record high, the data showed.The sur

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, as fears of a weak Japanese yen eased following a market rattle last week, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 11.70 points, or 0.6 percent to 1,960.40 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top-listed firms drove up shares, with Samsung Electronics rising 0.7 percent and auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis jumping 1.5 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,111.80 won against the U.S. dollar, down 0.1 won from Mon

Manchester City fired manager Roberto Mancini on Monday, exactly one year after he delivered the club's first English league title in 44 years.The Italian coach, who had four years remaining on his contract, was ditched just as players from rival Manchester United were being cheered through the streets as they paraded the Premier League trophy that they re-captured from their neighbors.City said its end-of-season review was brought forward ``out of respect for Roberto'' after it was reported tha

The Associated Press said Monday the U.S. Justice Department had secretly obtained two months of phone records from its news operations, calling it a "massive and unprecedented intrusion."The U.S. news agency protested the seizure in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder saying "there can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters."The AP said in a news dispatch that the records may be sought in a cri

A North Korean academic says an American sentenced to 15 years' hard labor has called his family and urged Washington to push for his amnesty.Ri Gyong Chol, section chief of the North Korean Academy of Social Sciences' Institution of Law, also told The Associated Press Sunday that Kenneth Bae informed his family on Friday that he couldn't appeal his April 30 sentence.Ri's information came from authorities in charge of Bae's case. Washington has called for Bae's release.North Korea accuses Bae of

The U.S. government drew a clear line Monday between a sex scandal roiling South Korea and Seoul-Washington relations.Police in Washington, D.C., apparently at the instruction of federal prosecutors, are looking into allegations that then-presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jung sexually abused a Korean-American woman during his stay here last week as part of the entourage accompanying President Park Geun-hye. The scandal has already dealt a heavy blow to the image of the Park administration, alth