The government will boost next year’s spending on gender-responsive policies by 68 percent as part of its efforts to promote public awareness of gender equality and boost women’s status and economic participation, officials said Monday.According to a budget draft submitted by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance to the parliament, the government plans to spend 22.4 trillion won on a range of policies related to gender equality, a 68 percent increase from 13.3 trillion won set aside this year.The

The presence of South Korea's top 10 conglomerates on the local stock market decreased through October this year, though their total market capitalization gathered ground, data showed Monday.The combined market cap of the top 10 conglomerates reached 750.68 trillion won ($707.3 billion) as of Wednesday, up 1.63 percent from end-2012, according to the data compiled by the bourse operator Korea Exchange (KRX).The figure represents some 57.08 percent of the aggregate market capitalization of the fi

Luxembourg's veteran Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker took a clear lead at snap elections Sunday, but after 18 years in office Europe's longest-serving leader lost ground, official figures showed.Despite the slide, Juncker immediately announced he would try to form a workable coalition government.His conservative Christian Social People's Party (CSV) led the field with 33.6 percent of the vote -- against 38 percent four years ago -- meaning it looked set to lose three of 26 seats in the 60-mem

The European Union and Canada signed Friday a free trade accord after more than four years of sometimes difficult talks, a huge deal that both said will boost growth."We have taken a crucial step forward in strengthening relations between the European Union and Canada," the European Commission said while Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper hailed "the biggest (trade) deal our country has ever made.""This is a highly ambitious and far-reaching trade agreement of great importance for the EU's e

Major League Baseball (MLB) has tendered a status check on the South Korean pitcher Yoon Suk-min, baseball officials here said Friday, a formal administrative step before a big league club can sign any professional player from here.According to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), MLB on Friday asked for Yoon's status in the top domestic league. The KBO said it informed MLB that Yoon, 27, is currently under contract with the Kia Tigers and will be eligible for free agency after the end of the

Former world No. 1 Rory McIlroy moved into contention at the Kolon Korea Open golf tournament here on Friday, despite committing five bogeys in an up-and-down round.McIlroy fired a 2-under 69 at the par-71 Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan, south of Seoul, to reach 3-under for the tournament, good for a tie for fifth. He is sitting two shots behind the leader, Hong Soon-sang of South Korea, who shot a bogey-free round of 68.McIlroy, currently ranked sixth, is seeking his first win of 2013,

Foreign and information technology ministers from around the world agreed to cooperate in securing online safety and freedom as an international conference on cyberspace finished its two-day run in Seoul on Friday.Wrapping up the conference, called the Seoul Conference on Cyberspace 2013, participating foreign and information technology ministers made commitments that were laid out in the chair's summary, released under the name of South Korean Minister Yun Byung-se, along with two annexed docum

LG Chem Ltd., the world's largest lithium-ion battery maker, said Friday its net profit fell 23.3 percent in the third quarter of this year from a year ago on sluggish performance in the rubber sector. Net profit came to 352 billion won ($332 million) in the July-September period, compared with 459 billion won a year ago, LG Chem said in a regulatory filing. Sales rose a mere 0.5 percent to 5.87 trillion won in the same period, while operating profit fell 14 percent to 516 billion won.LG Chem sa

Saudi Arabia on Friday rejected its freshly-acquired seat on the U.N. Security Council, saying the 15-member body is incapable of resolving world conflicts such as the Syrian civil war. The move came just hours after the kingdom was elected as one of the Council's 10 nonpermanent members.In a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, the Foreign Ministry said the Council has failed in its duties toward Syria.This, the ministry said, enabled Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime to p

 케이블 방송 tvN의 ‘SNL 코리아’와 원조격인 미국의 새터데이 나이트 라이브(이하 SNL)이 내년, 서로간의 크루를 교환하는 이벤트를 계획중이다.한 매체가 SNL 관계자를 인용해 18일 보도한 바에 따르면, 미국 SNL이 방영되는 NBC 방송국에서 40주년 특집 프로그램을 계획하고 있으며, 그 내용은 한국과 미국의 SNL 제작진이 서로의 크루를 맞바꿔서 출연시키는 콩트가 될 예정이라고 한다.보도에 따르면, 한국에서는 신동엽을 포함한 고정멤버들이 미국으로, 미국에서는 프레드 아미센 등 미국 SNL의 멤버들이 내한할 것이라고 한다.이 특집 프로그램은 내년 9월께 방송될 예정이다.tvN의 홍보팀은 본지와의 통화를 통해 보도가 사실이라고 확인하며 “이러한 내용이 긍정적으로 검토되고 있지만 아직 기간이 1년 가까이 남아 구체적으로 정해진 것은 없다”고 전했다. <관련 영문 기사>‘SNL’ to exchange crews with ‘SNL Korea’ for single episode“S

일본 아베 신조(安倍晋三) 내각의 신도 요시타카(新藤義孝) 총무상이 야스쿠니(靖國) 신사 추계 예대제(例大祭•제사•17∼20일)를 맞아 18일 야스쿠니 신사에 참배했다. 또 여야 국회의원 157명도 참배 대열에 합류했다. 일본 언론에 따르면 신도 총무상은 이날 오전 7시40분께 야스쿠니신사에 도착한 뒤 본전에 올라 참배했다. 신도 총무상은 참배 후 현장의 기자들과 만난 자리에서 "개인 입장에서 사적으로 참배했다"며 "전쟁에서 목숨을 잃은 사람들에 대한 추도와 평화를 비는 마음에 더해 내 할아버지가 잠들어 있는 곳이기도해서 참배했다"고 말했다. 신도 총무상은 제2차 세계대전 말기 이오지마(硫黃島) 수비대를 지휘해 미군을 상대로 '옥쇄작전'을 펼친 구리바야시 다다미치(栗林忠道.1891∼1945) 육군 대장의 외손자다. 그는 이어 "(참배는) 개인의 마음의 자유의 문제"라며 "외교상 문제가 될 것으로는 전혀 생각하지 않는다"고 부연했다. 신도 총무상은 앞서 올 4월 춘계 예대제 때와 일본

남성 솔로가수 케이윌이 18일 4번째 미니 음반 '윌 인 폴(Will in FALL)'로 올 가을 팬들 곁을 찾았다.케이윌은 '음원의 제왕'이라는 수식어에 걸맞게 지난 2007년 '왼쪽 가슴'으로 데뷔, '눈물이 뚝뚝', '선물', '가슴이 뛴다', '이러지마 제발' 그리고 '러브 블러썸(Love Blossom)'에 이르기까지 7연타 히트라는 쾌거를 달성했다.이번 새 음반은 케이윌의 다양한 음악적 스펙트럼을 반영하듯 이단옆차기, 김도훈 그리고 더 네임까지 가세, 초특급 스케일을 자랑하고 있어 가요계는 물론 팬들의 관심을 집중시키고 있다. 기쁨, 절망, 떨림, 슬픔 등 사랑에 관한 단상들을 특유의 음악적 코드로 표현하여 대중의 감성을 자극해 온 케이윌이기에 올 가을 가요계 '컴백 대란'에 커다란 파장을 예고하고 있다.작곡가팀 이단옆차기와 케이윌이 호흡을 맞춘 타이틀곡 '촌스럽게 왜 이래'는 어쿠스틱 한 알앤비 장르의 곡으로, 재지(Jazzy)한 피아노 선율과 레트로 알엔비 리듬의 넘실

South Korea's No. 3 banking group Hana Financial Group Inc. said Friday its third-quarter earnings jumped 63 percent from a year earlier on lending growth and smaller loan-loss reserves.Net profit amounted to 377.5 billion won (US$356 million) in the July-September period, compared with 231.6 billion won the previous year, the group, which bought Korea Exchange Bank early last year, said in a regulatory filing.Compared with three months earlier, net income jumped 62.9 percent in the third quarte

Mike Napoli homered and the Red Sox tagged Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez for four runs Thursday in a 4-3 win that put Boston on the brink of returning to baseball's World Series.The victory gave the Red Sox a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series, which shifts to Boston for game six on Saturday and game seven, if necessary, on Sunday.The Red Sox are trying to get back to Major League Baseball's championship showcase for the first time since 2007, when they won their

South Korean stocks closed 0.58 percent higher Friday as investors' sentiment got a boost from abated concerns over political impasses in the United States,analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 11.79 points to finish at 2,052.40. Trading volume was light at 251.5 million shares worth 4.38 trillion won (US$4.13 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 454 to 342.Analysts said the local stock market gathered g

아이폰5s•5c의 국내 온라인 예약판매가 시작한 지 7∼13분만에 마감됐다.SK텔레콤과 KT는 25일 출시가 예정된 아이폰5s와 아이폰5c의 예약판매를 온라인 T월드다이렉트(tworlddirect.com)와 올레닷컴(olleh.com)을 통해 받은 결과, 선착순 5천명분이 각각 13분과 7분만에 마감됐다고 18일 밝혔다.양사는 오프라인 대리점을 통한 예약가입은 출시 직전까지 계속 받는다고 설명했다.아이폰5s의 출고가는 기존 아이폰5와 같이 16GB 모델이 81만4천원, 32GB 모델이 94만6천원, 64GB 모델이 107만8천원이다. 아이폰5c 16GB 모델 출고가는 70만4천원이 다.이통사들은 중고 스마트폰 매입 서비스인 '에코폰', '그린폰'을 통해 아이폰5s •5c 구입시 이용할 수 있는 중고 스마트폰 보상판매 등도 운영한다. 이를 이용하면 아이폰5s를 최저 20만원대에 구입할 수 있다.SK텔레콤은 아이폰 이용자가 젊은 층이 많다는 점에 착안해 아이폰5s•5c 출시에 맞춰 '심

South Korea's two mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co. and KT Corp. -- said Friday they have begun taking preorders for Apple Inc.'s latest iPhone models that are expected to hit the local market later this month.South Korean customers can preorder the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on the operators' websites. Preorders for the newest iPhone line-up can also be made at the mobile carriers' local retail stores.The 16-gigabyte iPhone 5s is priced at 814,000 won ($767), with the comparable figure for the iPh

Ten financial firms including Shinhan Financial Group made the shortlist to acquire two smaller banks of state-invested Woori Finance Holdings Co., the financial watchdog said Friday. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said that the committee on overseeing sales of public assets selected 10 bidders out of 11 candidates for the group's two smaller units -- Kwangju and Kyongnam -- after reviewing their proposals.Shinhan Financial, the country's No. 4 banking group, is seeking to buy Kwangju B

North Korea will jointly build a hi-tech industrial park in its border city of Kaesong with a consortium of foreign firms from Singapore and other nations, according to the communist country's official media.The firms include Jurong Consultants and OKP Holdings of Singapore, P and T Architects and Engineers of Hong Kong and other "well-known" companies in East Asia and the Middle East, according to a brief dispatch released Thursday by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)."The consortium agreed

State prosecutors said Friday they have questioned three agents of the state intelligence agency on suspicion of posting political comments on Twitter ahead of the last presidential election.The questioning is part of the prosecution's ongoing probe into a high-profile election meddling scandal allegedly involving the National Intelligence Service (NIS), they said.The spy agency has been probed over allegation that it launched an online smear campaign to sway public opinion in favor of President