Streaking domestic league striker Kim Shin-wook made it back on the national football team on Monday for two friendly matches set for later this month.Much-maligned forward Park Chu-young, meanwhile, remained on the outside looking in, despite making his long-awaited appearance for Arsenal in the English Premier League last week.Head coach Hong Myung-bo announced the team of 23 players for the Nov. 15 match against Switzerland at home and the Nov. 19 contest against Russia in Dubai.Kim, a toweri

Independent lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo called for bipartisan support on Monday to launch a special investigation into several government bodies and the military embroiled in an online campaign scandal in connection with last year's presidential election."I think a comprehensive investigation by an independent counsel can clear up the allegations," Ahn said in a press briefing held at the National Assembly. "I doubt the ongoing probes separately conducted by state prosecutors and military prosecutors

South Korean stocks traded 0.36 percent lower late Monday morning, led by bearish builders and telecoms, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 7.43 points to 2,031.99 as of 11:20 a.m.Builders continued to lose ground, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction falling 0.33 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Construction losing 2.14 percent. Daelim Industrial edged down 0.1 percent.Mobile carriers also traded lower, with leading SK Telecom falling 1.5 percent

Prosecutors have summoned Moon Jae-in, former presidential candidate of the opposition Democratic Party, for questioning as their investigation into the missing 2007 inter-Korean summit transcript nears conclusion.According to the prosecution, Moon was told to appear for questioning as soon as possible. Moon is said to have informed the prosecution that he would answer the summons, and the two sides are now working out the date. Moon was chief of staff to late President Roh Moo-hyun, and has bee

North Korea lambasted South Korea Monday for pursuing an inter-Korean trust-building policy that it claims will only fuel tensions on the Korean Peninsula.An article carried by the Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of (North) Korea, said the Korean Peninsula trust-building process is a plot to spark confrontation between different political systems and is based solely on hostile intent.The North has opposed all forms of political unity and said unification should be achieved w

South Korea's health authorities said Monday that high blood pressure and diabetes are among the most common diseases affecting South Korean adults.The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said one out of every four people aged 30 or older suffered from high blood pressure as of last year, while one out of every 10 people had diabetes.The findings are based on a survey of 3,840 households across the country in 2012, according to the KCDC.Diseases caused by high blood pressure

U.S.-based LG Electronics Inc.'s high-end smartphone, the LG G2, was included on a list of the top 10 electronic devices by a U.S. magazine, according to the magazine's website Monday.Selected from among the thousands of electronics tested in the past year, the ten standout products were chosen because each pushes technology or performance to new heights, Consumer Reports said."The LG G2 has a stunning 5.2-inch display and a battery that doesn't know when to quit. The power and volume button clu

The government and the ruling party agreed Monday to retroactively apply a proposed tax cut on home purchases as part of efforts to encourage transactions in the sluggish property market, a ruling party lawmaker said.The proposal, announced by the government on Aug. 28, calls for lowering the acquisition tax rate on houses valued at less than 600 million won ($565,000) to 1 percent from the current 2 percent. The tax levied on homes valued at between 600 million won and 900 million won would rem

South Korea's top credit appraisers are found to be granting inflated ratings for bonds issued by local firms, data showed Monday, sparking concern for their trustworthiness.Three local appraisers -- Korea Ratings Co., NICE Investors Service Co. and Korea Investors Service Co. -- have granted top ratings of between "AAA" and "A" on 78.9 percent of corporate bonds floated here as of Friday, market data showed.Korea Investors Service has given such investment grades on 82.6 percent of bonds evalua

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest smartphone maker, logged the largest revenue among global IT firms during the third quarter of the year and was the second most profitable player, industry data showed on Monday.According to the data, Samsung posted a record 59.08 trillion won ($55.66 billion) in sales in the July-September period, backed by strong demand for its Galaxy smartphone line-up.Its archrival Apple Inc, came in second with sales totaling 40.22 trillion won in the third quart

South Korea's household debt problems are feared to worsen as the Federal Reserve's possible stimulus tapering is likely to spur foreign capital outflows, raising market rates, a report showed Monday.If the U.S. central bank begins to taper its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases, foreign capital is likely to exit from the Korean market, raising concerns that subsequent rises in market rates would worsen household debt problems, Jeong Young-sik, an economist at the Samsung Economic Research In

State prosecutors questioned several executives of telecom giant KT Corp. as part of their ongoing corruption probe into the company's chairman, prosecution officials said Monday. Chairman Lee Suk-chae, who tendered his resignation Sunday, is under suspicion of inflicting huge losses to KT, the country's top fixed-line operator and No. 2 mobile carrier, through poor investments and dubious business deals, they said.The executives, including the firm's official handling employee welfare only iden

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as investors sat on the sidelines amid weak growth momentum on the main bourse, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 14.91 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,024.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.2 percent and leading steelmaker POSCO moving down 0.32 percent. Top chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.3 percent.Builders also traded lower,

The gunman charged in the deadly shooting at Los Angeles International Airport lay bloodied and handcuffed on the floor of Terminal 3 after being gunned down by police, but he replied to critical questions that helped authorities lock down the scene.Paul Ciancia, 23, was hauled away moments later on a stretcher and later heavily sedated for medical reasons, but not before he told investigators he had acted alone when he opened fire in the terminal, a law enforcement official who has been briefed

South Korean President Park Geun-hye watched French fans of Korean TV dramas sing and dance to the tunes of theme songs of popular series in the heart of Paris on Sunday as she sought to promote Korean culture on the first full day of her visit to France.The Korean "Drama Party" was meaningful because the French fan club of Korean dramas, named "Bonjour Coree," organized the event voluntarily, officials said. It shows that not only Korean pop music, known was K-pop, but also dramas are gaining p

Africans were treated Sunday to a spectacular solar eclipse that swept across the continent, while sky-gazers in the United States and Europe also glimpsed the rare phenomenon.A total eclipse could be seen over parts of Africa and one of the best views was in northern Kenya's Sibiloi national park, where a few hundred tourists gathered on the edge of the desert lake Turkana.Alongside the tourists were colourfully dressed Kenyans from the Turkana, Rendile and Dasanach tribes, many draped in beads

Egypt's deposed Islamist president was brought from the secret location of his four-month detention to face trial Monday on charges of incitement of violence and murder. It was Mohammed Morsi's first public appearance since his ouster in a coup on July 3.If convicted, Morsi _ Egypt's first freely elected president _ could face the death penalty.Since his ouster, Morsi has been held at a secret military location. He was flown Monday to the venue of his trial _ a police academy in an eastern Cairo

South Korea's finance minister Friday voiced his opposition to the idea that increasing the salaries of workers could boost overall economic conditions, apparently objecting to a similar policy being undertaken by Japan.Japan has provided tax incentives for companies whose spending on salaries expanded -- a policy intended to raise income levels and boost domestic demand and economic recovery. Seen as successful in bolstering its slumping economy, the country is reportedly considering expanding

 (1)    Google chairman Eric Schmidt will be visiting Samsung on Wednesday to meet with top executives that may include Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jay-yong, sources told The Korea Herald.* meet with – 만나다, 회담을 가지다 (2) The focus seems to be not on hardware, but how to more efficiently run them on better software. * focus – 주요 핵심(3) The talks, the first this year but second following a meeting in 2012, are likely to address how Samsung can further develop applications for Google’s Andro

 개그맨 양상국이 탤런트 천이슬과의 열애설을 인정했다.1일 스포츠서울닷컴은 양상국과 천이슬이 지인의 소개로 만나 2개월째 사랑을 키워가고 있으며 같은 경상도 출신이라는 공통점 덕분에 빨리 가까워졌다고 보도했다. 이에 양상국 소속사측은 이날 오전 매일경제 스타투데이에 “양상국에게 확인한 결과, 천이슬과 교제중인 것이 맞다”면서 “아직 2개월도 안된 정말 막 시작하는 단계”라고 밝혔다.천이슬 측근 역시 스타뉴스와의 인터뷰에서 양상국과 천이슬의 연애를 인정하며 “천이슬에게 확인한 결과 교제를 시작한지 한 달 정도 됐다”고 밝혔다. 아울러 ”천이슬이 신인 배우인 탓에 이번 열애가 밝혀진 것에 많은 부담을 느끼고 있다. 외부와 연락을 조심스러워 하고 있다”고 설명했다.또 양상국과 천이슬 측은 “두 사람이 이제 막 연애를 시작한 만큼 좋은 시선으로 바라봐 주셨으면 좋겠다”라며 “서로 만남이 이제 시작된 만큼 결혼에 대한 언급은 조심스럽다”고 전했다. <관련 영문 기사>Comedian Yang,