A Seoul appellate court on Friday commuted the sentence of a pro-baseball player-turned-entertainer, charged with fraud, from 18 months to one year.Kang Byeong-gyu, 40, was found guilty of failing to return 300 million won ($273,822) that he borrowed from an acquaintance."A jail term is inevitable as the damage has not yet been reimbursed, although (Kang) came to an agreement with the victims,"Lee Jong-un, a judge of the Seoul Central District Court, said in his ruling.In the same ruling, the co

South Korean stocks traded slightly higher late Friday morning, as shares of large-cap exporters pared earlier losses, analysts said. In a choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 2.89 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,886.86 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech giant Samsung Electronics shot up 1.5 percent, with chipmaker SK hynix jumping nearly 3 percent. In contrast, chemical and telecom issues lost ground. LG Chem shed 1 percent, and top mobile carrier SK Telecom slid 0.7 pe

The top-division Dutch football club PSV Eindhoven has confirmed that South Korean footballer Park Ji-sung will return to the Netherlands on a one-year loan deal.PSV's technical director Marcel Brands announced on the team's website late Thursday, Korean time, that Park will rejoin the team from the English side Queens Park Rangers (QPR)."Park has passed a medical in Eindhoven and will train with his new PSV teammates for the first time on Thursday morning," the website reported. "The South Kore

The government said Friday it will impose tax on more plastic surgeries starting next year, in line with its tax code overhaul aimed at broadening the tax revenue base.Starting in March of 2014, Seoul will expand its 10 percent value-added tax on plastic surgeries to include more procedures such as jaw reconstruction surgery, pimple treatment and hair removal, the country's health and finance ministries said.Current rules on tax have only applied to a limited number of operations, such as liposu

A U.S. trade commission is expected to rule in favor of Apple Inc.'s patent infringement claims against Samsung Electronics Co. this week, granting another home-turf victory to the iPhone maker and raising concern over an import ban on Samsung's smartphones and tablets, industry watchers said Friday.The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is scheduled to give its final ruling on Apple's patent infringement claims against Samsung Friday (U.S. time).Last year, ITC made a preliminary ruling t

전설적인 힙합 듀오 ‘듀스’의 전 멤버 이현도가 듀스 해체 이유에 대해 털어놨다.이현도는 지난 7일 방송된 MBC ‘라디오스타-힙합의 조상 듀스특집’에 출연해 “서로 전문적으로 가고 싶은 길을 함께 걷기 위해서였다. 나는 프로듀서, 성재는 엔터테이너로 독립하고 싶어했다”고 설명했다. 듀스는 지난 1993년 데뷔, ‘나를 돌아봐,’ ‘여름 안에서; 등의 곡을 히트시켰으나 2년 뒤인 1995년 해체했다. 한때 서태지와 아이들에 필적할 만큼의 인기를 끌었던 듀스의 해체를 두고 “한 여자를 두고 멤버들이 싸웠기 때문”이란 소문이 돌았으나 이날 방송에서 이현도는 이를 부인했다.듀스 해체 이후 같은 해 11월, 김성재가 의문사하는 사건이 일어났으며 당시 김성재의 여자친구가 살인용의자로 체포되었으나 훗날 증거불충분으로 풀려났다.이현도는 이날 방송에서 “김성재 이야기를 할 때마다 가슴이 아프다”면서도 “가슴 아파도 말할 의무도 있다고 생각한다”고 말했다. (코리아헤럴드)<관련 영문 기사>Forme

Lee Hyun-do, a former member of iconic hip-hop duo Deux, denied on Monday rumors that he and his former bandmate, the late Kim Sung Jae, were involved in a violent quarrel over a woman. The supposed dispute has been rumored to be the main reason for the premature break-up of Deux.“The break-up was strictly ‘strategic,’” Lee said on “Golden Fishery-Radio Star,” a popular talk show on broadcasting network MBC. “I wanted to be a music producer and Kim wanted to become a solo artist.”Lee said that i

일제강점기 당시 위안부를 조직적으로 직접 관리했음을 보여주는 새로운 자료가 공개되었다. 고려대학교 한국사연구소는 8일 서울 성북구 안암동 고려대에서 기자회견을 열어 1942년 8월부터 1944년 말까지 미얀마와 싱가포르에 체류하면서 일본인이 운영하는 위안소에서 종업원으로 일한 조선인 (1905~1979)이 남긴 일기 원본을 공개했다. 이 일기에는 당시 일본군의 위안부 동원 및 운영 실태에 관한 기록이 여러 차례 수록되어 있다. 여기에는 일본군이 위안소로부터 영업 관련 보고를 받았으며, 군 사령부에서는 위안소 경영자 회의가 열렸고, 심지어 일본 군의관이 위안부를 직접 검사했으며 군이 위안소의 이동을 통제했다는 기록도 적혀 있다.1943년 7월 29일자 일기에는 결혼 후 위안부를 그만둔 여성이 일본군의 명령을 받아 다시 위안부로 일하게 되었다는 내용도 있다.또한 1944년 4월6일자 일기에는 “4차 위안단”이라는 표현이 보이는데, 이를 통해 일본군이 적어도 4차례에 걸쳐 조직적으로 위안

South Korean stocks closed marginally higher Thursday buoyed by China's upbeat trade data that eased concern on a hard-landing of Asia's No. 1 economy, analysts said.The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 5.64 points, or 0.3 percent, to finish at 1,883.97. Trading volume was moderate at 333.8 million shares worth 3.61 trillion won ($3.24 billion) with gainers outpacing decliners 427 to 335. "China posted fairly good exports,

A district court on Thursday sentenced a former professional basketball coach to 10 months behind bars for fixing games.Kang Dong-hee, 47, was found guilty of taking cash worth 47 million won ($42,000) from gambling brokers to fix four games during the 2010-2011 season of the Korean Basketball League (KBL) while heading the Dongbu Promy.It marks the first time that a coach from one of four profession sports in South Korea has received a prison term for fixing games, dealing another blow to the c

Naver Corp., South Korea's top Internet portal operator, said Thursday its second-quarter profit jumped 7.5 percent from a year earlier, buoyed by increased revenue from ad and messenger services.Net profit reached 123 billion won (US$110 million) in the April-June period, compared with 114 billion won the previous year, Naver, formerly known as NHN, said in a regulatory filing.Revenue rose 26.3 percent on-year to 723 billion won in the second quarter, and operating profit gained 19.6 percent to

Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo said Thursday that Korea might need to brace for rising inflationary pressure toward the latter half of this year as consumer prices were expected to climb further following the rainy season.The BOK chief added that the financial markets would continue to face periodic volatility until the U.S. Federal Reserve completely unwound its quantitative easing as its job market improved in 2014.Kim’s cautionary note came after the central bank’s monetary policy committe

A U.S. institute tracking North Korea's nuclear weapons program says recent satellite photos show Pyongyang is doubling the size of its uranium enrichment plant, jibing with the country's announced plans to expand technology that can be used both to create energy and the core of nuclear weapons.The imagery comes from two sources, satellite companies Digital Globe and Astrium Geoinformation Services, and was seen by The Associated Press ahead of publication by the Institute for Science and Intern

The trial of Maj. Nidal Hasan was halted after just one day, after he claimed responsibility for the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood. A court-appointed attorney on standby for the U.S. Army psychiatrist said Hasan was deliberately trying to receive a death sentence after he said the alleged murder weapon was his, even though no one asked.Hasan sometimes took notes while acting as his own attorney, but he mostly looked forward impassively and rarely asked for help as witness after witness said

A bomb threat investigation that prompted a search of a trans-Atlantic flight and questioning of its passengers has turned up nothing suspicious, officials said.US Airways Flight 777 from Shannon, Ireland, landed in an isolated part of Philadelphia International Airport on Wednesday afternoon and was met on the tarmac by fire trucks and federal and local authorities.A telephone threat about a bomb was made about the plane before it landed, Philadelphia police Chief Inspector Joe Sullivan said.Th

LG Electronics vice chairman Koo Bon-joon is not a man of many words, but he apparently took a liking to the company’s latest flagship phone, the G2.“He encouraged us to ‘sell as many as you can’ after seeing the phone,“ said Ma Chang-min, LG Electronics’ head of domestic marketing, following a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday.Hours later in New York City’s Lincoln Center, hundreds of reporters and guests were present to witness the unveiling of the long-awaited smartphone that LG is pinni

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Thursday on a technical rebound led by blue-chip gains, making up for bearish runs in the past few sessions, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 12.02 points, or 0.64 percent, to 1,890.35 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Defensive shares drove up the main index, with state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Power Corp. surging more than 4 percent. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics was up nearly 0.

South Korea will face Qatar in the quarterfinals at the ongoing Asian men's basketball championship in the Philippines.Qatar lost to the Philippines 80-70 Wednesday night to close out its second round at 4-1, good for third place in Group E. Later on Wednesday, South Korea routed India 95-54 to finish second in Group F at 4-1.The South Korea-Qatar showdown will be at 10:30 p.m. on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Philippines.The top four countries from Groups E and F advanced to the qu

정부가 개성공단 입주기업들에 대한 남북경협 보험금 지급을 결정한 것은 정부가 예고한 중대조치의 첫 신호탄으로 볼 수 있다.정부가 109개 입주기업에 2천809억원에 달하는 경협보험금을 지급키로 한 것은 정부가 북한에 경고한 중대조치를 처음으로 실행에 옮긴 것이라는 평가다.경협보험금 지급은 이번 사태로 인한 기업들의 피해를 보전해 주는 의미와 함께 사실상 기업들이 공단에서 철수한다는 함의가 있다.경협보험을 받는 기업은 정부에 공단 내 자산에 대한 소유권을 넘기고 정부가 이 재산을 처분할 수 있는 '대위권'을 행사한다는 점에서 이번 조치는 개성공단 폐쇄로 가는 실질적인 절차라는 분석이다.기업들이 보험금을 수령하면 수령액 한도 내에서 현지기업의 투자금에 대한 권리는 남북협력기금으로 이전된다.장용석 서울대 통일평화연구원 선임연구원은 "충분히 중대조치로 가는 첫 걸음으로 볼 수 있다"면서 "보험금 지급을 한 뒤에 북한이 손들고 나오면 우리 정부가 개성공단을 그냥 폐쇄할 수야 없겠지만, 정치적

삼성 전자가 휘는 화면을 적용한 스마트워치 "삼성 갤럭시 기어(Samsung Galaxy Gear)"를 다음달 공개할 지도 모른다는 전망이 나오고 있다. 삼성전자는 올해 초 특허청에 휘는 화면을 적용한 스마트 워치 디자인 특허 3건을 출원해 지난 3월 18일과 5월 31일 각각 등록을 마쳤다. 등록된 제품 디자인에서는 전원 버튼과 USB포트, 스피커와 마이크, 뒤로가기와 메뉴 버튼 등이 확인된다.이 제품은 손목에 찰 수 있도록 구부러질 수 있는 스크린을 부착하고 있으며, 다른 부분은 합성수지, 유리재, 금속 재질로 되어 있다.업계는 이 제품이 삼성이 최근 특허청에 상표출원한 "삼성 갤럭시 기어"로 추정하고 있다.갤럭시 기어는 디지털 카메라, 건강 모니터링 시스템, 위치추적(GPS), 텔레비전 수신기, 미디어 플레이어 등 다른 PC나 스마트폰에서 할 수 있는 여러 기능을 제공할 것으로 예상된다.특히 갤럭시 기어로 나올 것으로 예상되는 어플 중에는 사용자가 자신의 스마트폰에 전화를 건