General managers in the top domestic baseball league are considering abolishing the salary cap imposed on foreign players, a senior league official said Friday, after a series of offseason transactions raised questions about the rule's effectiveness.According to Yang Hae-young, secretary general of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), general managers of the 10 clubs agreed "in principle" to get rid of the current cap of $300,000 during their meeting this week. Yang insisted, however, that no

 영화 ‘변호인’이 이틀 연속 박스오피스 1위를 차지하며 순항 중이다. 20일 영화진흥위원회 영화관입장권통합전산망 집계에 따르면 ‘변호인’은 19일 하루 811개 상영관에서 23만 2247명의 관객을 모아 박스오피스 1위를 차지했다. 누적 관객 수는 37만 2256명이다. 영화 ‘변호인’은 1980년대 초 부산을 배경으로 화려한 ‘스펙’ 없는 세무 변호사 송우석의 인생을 바꾼 다섯 번의 공판과 이를 둘러싼 사람들의 이야기를 그린 작품이다. 특히 1981년 제5공화국 정권 초기 부산 지역에서 벌어진 ‘부림사건’을 모티브로 해 눈길을 끈다.‘부림사건’은 1981년 제5공화국 군사독재 정권이 집권 초기에 통치기반을 확보하기 위하여 일으킨 부산 지역 사상 최대의 용공조작 사건이다. 1981년 9월 공안당국은 부산에서 사회과학 독서모임을 하던 학생,교사,회사원 등을 영장 없이 체포한 뒤, 짧게는 20일에서 길게는 63일 동안 불법으로 감금하며 구타와 살인적인 고문을 가했다. 같은 해 7월 서

Actress Kim Youn-ju Thursday denied reports that her marriage had been called off.“The wedding was not canceled, it was just postponed for a bit,” said an official from her agency, S&L company. “I don’t know why these reports keep popping up. And without any evidence, either.”Earlier in the day, a news outlet reported that Kim had broken off her wedding, which was to take place on Dec. 6. It said the 33-year-old canceled the ceremony for “personal reasons,” but did not specify what they were.Kim

배우 김연주가 최근 파혼했다는 보도에 대해 부인하고 나섰다.김연주의 소속사 S&L 컴퍼니 관계자는 19일 언론과의 통화를 통해 “파혼한 것이 아니라 결혼식을 잠시 연기할 뿐”이라며 “정확한 근거도 없이 이런 이야기가 어디서 나오는지 모르겠다”고 말했다.이어 “남녀관계라는 것이 좋을 때도 있고 나쁠 때도 있는 것인데 ‘파혼’이라는 극단적 단어로 보도돼 당혹스럽다”며 결혼 준비는 계속 진행중이라고 밝혔다.이날 한 매체는 김연주가 지난 6일 서울 장충동 신라호텔에서 3세 연상의 건설회사 대표와 결혼식을 올릴 예정이었으나 사실상 파혼했다고 보도했다. 보도에 따르면 김연주는 지인들에게 청첩장까지 돌린 상태였으나 결혼식 당일 이를 돌연 취소했다.한편 김연주는 1980년생으로, 지난 1999년 제 43회 미스코리아 선발대회 진에 선발되며 얼굴을 알렸다. 이후 2000년 MBC 드라마 “엄마야 누나야”로 데뷔했으며 최근에는 MBC 일일드라마 “오로라 공주” 황마마(오창석 분) 옛 연인인 윤상아 역

South Korean stocks traded 0.15 percent higher late Friday morning, led by gains in machineries and financial firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.97 points to 1,978.62 as of 11:20 a.m.Doosan Infracore, a leading construction equipment maker, shot up 3 percent and No. 3 lender Hana Financial Group advanced more than 2 percent. But shares of textile and IT service companies lost ground. Major apparel firm LG Fashion dipped 2.5 percent, with NC Soft,

  [기사 요약] 동북아시아는 북한의 지도부 변동으로 인한 내부 불안정성 증가, 그리고 지속되고 있는 영토 분쟁과 역사적 증오심으로 인해 불확실한 안보상황을 맞고 있다. 박근혜 대통령은 최근 이런 안보상황을 보다 효율적으로 관리하기 위해서 국가안보보장회의 상설 사무국 설치 검토를 지시했다.Park seeks security office boost as N.K., regional uncertainties grow[1] Seoul is seeking to revive the standing secretariat of the National Security Council as security concerns increase due to shifts in the North Korean leadership and the region’s simmering territorial rows and historical animosities.seek: 찾다, 추구하다shift: 변화 simmering:

Police arrested another union leader of the state-run rail operator on Friday as part of their investigation into an ongoing controversial strike by thousands of unionized workers, which the government calls illegal. With a court-issued warrant, police arrested the union leader of the state-run Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL), only identified by his surname Koh, in Daejeon, 150 kilometers south of Seoul, after days of tracking him down.More than 6,500 unionized KORAIL workers walked off the job fo

New Mexico became the latest state to legalize gay marriage Thursday as its highest court declared it is unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.Justice Edward L. Chavez said in a ruling that none of New Mexico's marriage statutes specifically prohibits same-gender marriages, but the state's laws as a whole have prevented gay and lesbian couples from marrying. The justices said same-sex couples are a discrete group that has been subjected to a history of discriminat

Less than three years after its creation, the world's newest country is beginning to fracture along ethnic lines in violence that has killed hundreds of people, including three U.N. peacekeepers. What could come next, some warn, is ethnic cleansing.  South Sudan's numerous ethnic groups have battled each other for decades, but for years their animosity was united in hatred of the government in Khartoum, Sudan, the country's former capital. When the south gained independence in 2011, the groups'

The ceiling of a London theater partially collapsed Thursday night, showering a packed audience with heaps of plaster, wood and dust. More than 80 people were injured _ at least seven seriously _ and several trapped theater-goers had to be rescued, authorities said.The collapse at the Apollo Theatre took place at 8:15 p.m. during a performance of “The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time” at the height of the Christmas holiday season.  Plaster from a section of the ceiling tumbled down,

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin Dempsey, who oversees field operations of American troops, voiced strong concerns Thursday about increased uncertainties surrounding North Korea and the possibility of additional provocations.Hagel stressed that North Korea's execution of Jang Song-thaek, a putative number two official, demonstrates the unpredictability of the communist regime. It is "very concerning to everyone and reality of that uncertainty heightens the tensions," Hagel s

The local financial markets reacted well to the impact of the Federal Reserve's decision to taper its stimulus program, the country's top central banker said Friday."Net buying occurred in the local stock and bond markets. The financial markets were well adapting to the Fed's move to reduce quantitative easing," Bank of Korea (BOK) Kim Choong-soo said in a meeting with local bank heads.The governor said that as the size of the tapering largely met market expectations, the yield on 10-year U.S. T

North Korea has threatened to strike South Korea in response to conservatives' anti-Pyongyang rallies here on the second death anniversary of its leader Kim Jong-il earlier this week, a senior military official said Friday. The North's powerful National Defense Commission on Thursday sent a fax to South Korea's National Security Council through the western coastal military hotline to threaten to strike the South "without notice," the official said.  The latest threat came after several conservat

South Korean stocks turned higher Friday after a weak start as investors stayed on the sidelines amid growing concerns about the yen's descent, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 1.62 points, or 0.08 percent, to 1,977.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI began 0.13 percent lower at the opening bell. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics lost 0.35 percent, while Hyundai Motor gained 0.5 percent following a steep fall in the previous session, wei

K-pop legend Cho Yong-pil was selected as South Korea's best singer of 2013, beating out global star Psy in an annual poll released on Thursday.Cho received the most votes at 17.6 percent in a survey conducted by Gallup Korea on 4,263 people aged 13 or older across the country for three times from July through November.Voters could choose up to three favorite singers among those who were active this year.The 63-year-old singer, dubbed "the king of singers" in South Korea, has made a splash in th

Prosecutors on Thursday indicted 12 individuals without detention in connection with an alleged celebrity prostitution ring. The Ansan branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office is reported to have delved into the case after securing related information during a drug-related case in May.Unlike earlier reports, none of the big-name celebrities rumored to be involved were among the three men and nine women indicted. Although the prosecution did not release any names, rumors circulated that a

LG전자와 LG디스플레이가 18일 세계 최대 크기인 105인치 곡면(curved) 울트라HD TV를 공개했다.지금까지 개발된 곡면 디스플레이는 LCD(액정표시장치) 65인치, OLED(유기발광다이오드) 77인치가 최대 크기였다.LG전자는 이 제품이 풀HD TV 해상도보다 5배 뛰어난 1천100만화소를 곡면 LCD에 적용, 어느 위치에서 바라봐도 균일한 고화질 영상을 구현한다고 설명했다.아울러 영화제작에 사용하는 시네마스코프 화면비율 21:9 화면비를 채택, 영화감상에 최적 환경을 만들었다고 LG전자는 전했다.100인치가 넘는 곡면 LCD로 울트라HD급 해상도를 구현하려면 휘어진 부분에서 빛이 새는 현상을 막아야 하는데, LG디스플레이는 개별 화소를 구동하는 TFT회로와 광학기구 설계로 화질이나 시야각 저하를 없앴다.이 제품은 내년 1월 7∼10일 미국 라스베이거스에서 열리는 세계 최대 가전제품 전시회 CES 2014에 전시된다. <관련 영문 기사>LG unveils world's l

LG Electronics Inc., one of the leading manufacturers of household appliances and electronic devices, unveiled the world's largest curved 105-inch ultra high definition (UHD) TV set on Thursday.The move effectively ups the ante in the escalating race with its archrival Samsung Electronics Co. to field the largest TV set ever made.Before the latest unveiling in Seoul, the highest watermark for a curved liquid crystal (LCD) display TV was 65 inches diagonally, while organic light-emitting diode (O

영국에서 노숙자인 척하고 구걸을 해온 52세 남성이 최근 벌금형을 받았다고 현지언론이 18일 (현지시간) 보도했다.데일리 메일 등이 보도한 바에 따르면 크리스토퍼 터너는 지난 5년간 런던 남부 서비튼에 있는 HSBC 은행 앞에서 구걸을 해왔다고 한다. 그는 "노숙중, 도와주십시오. 감사합니다. 신의 축복이 있길" 등 다양한 메시지가 적힌 카드보드지를 들고 구걸행위를 해왔다.그러나 지난 10월 그가 구걸과 사기 행위로 체포되면서 밝혀진 사실은 충격적이었다. 터너는 노숙자이긴커녕 월세 1,000 파운드 (한화 약 173만원) 짜리 아파트에 살면서 정부로부터 다양한 보조금을 받고 있었던 것.터너는 매일 개를 데리고 은행 앞으로 "출근"해 규칙적으로 "일"을 해온 것으로 알려졌다. 보도에 따르면 그가 구걸을 통해 번 돈은 많을 때는 하루 80파운드 (한화 약 13만 8천원)에 달했다고 한다.법원은 그가 벌금으로 113 파운드 (한화 약 19만 6천원)을 낼 것을 명령했다.그의 행각은 서비튼

The proportion of senior citizens in South Korea has increased to nearly 11 percent in 2010, data showed Thursday, indicating that the country's population is aging at a fast pace. According to the data by Statistics Korea, the proportion of those aged 65 or older accounted for 10.9 percent of the country's total population in 2010. It is higher than 7 percent in 2000 and 8.9 percent in 2005.The agency earlier expected the ratio will continue to rise to 15.7 percent in 2020 and 32.3 percent in 2