Actress and TV show host Han Hye-jin will marry her Premier League footballer boyfriend Ki Sung-yueng in July, her agency said Friday.“Han and Ki have decided to get married this summer, after considering each other’s schedule,” Han’s agency, Namoo Actors, said in a press release. The agency said that the couple had “very recently” decided to tie the knot and details of the wedding including the exact date, the venue and others had yet to be set. Han and Ki, who had known each other for years be

배우 한혜진 (32)과 축구 국가대표 선수 기성용(24.스완지시티)이 7월 결혼식을 올릴 예정이다.한혜진의 소속사 나무액터스는 10일 두 사람이 “올해 여름 결혼을 하기로 결정했다”고 발표했다. 나무액터스는 결혼이 “아주 최근에 결정됐다”며 “아직 장소나 축가, 주례, 신혼여행지 등은 결정되지 않았다”고 전했다.결혼 이후 한혜진과 기성용은 각자 활동을 지속할 것으로 알려졌다. 기성용은 결혼 이후 영국으로 돌아가 시즌에 임할 것이며 한혜진은 영화 ‘남자가 사랑할 때(가제)’ 촬영에 집중할 것으로 알려졌다.올해 1월부터 교제 중인 것으로 알려진 두 사람은 3월에 교제사실을 공식적으로 인정했다. 한편 한혜진 측은 일각에서 제시되고 있는 임신설에 대해 부인했다. (코리아헤럴드)<관련 영문 기사>Actress Han to marry footballer Ki in July: agencyBy Yoon Min-sikActress and TV show host Han Hye-jin will marr

South Korean stocks fell 1.75 percent Friday despite the central bank cutting its key interest rate this week as the weak yen dented investors' sentiment, analysts said.The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 34.7 points to finish at 1,944.75. Trading volume was low at 277.7 million shares worth 4.1 trillion won (US$3.74 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 560 to 248.Analysts said the decline came as the yen-dollar exchan

A local construction contractor has admitted to playing a role in hiring women to provide sexual favors to a number of high-profile figures in return for business benefits, an officer close to the investigation said Friday.The 52-year-old construction contractor, surnamed Yoon, returned home earlier in the day after being quizzed for more than14 hours over allegations that the social elites, including former and incumbent high-ranking government officials and the head of a hospital, received sex

North Korea on Friday denounced South Korean President Park Geun-hye's first visit to the United States and summit with U.S. President Barack Obama as a prelude to war aimed at escalating conflict with her countrymen.Park was headed home Friday after wrapping up her five-day trip to the United States. The visit to Washington and her meeting with Obama marked her first overseas tour since taking office in February.The spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK), res

박근혜 대통령의 방미 기간 동안 성추행 의혹에 휘말린 이후 경질된 윤창중 전 청와대 대변인을 해외 언론도 보도하고 나섰다.비즈니스 인사이더는 9일 (현지시간) 조선일보와 연합뉴스 등을 인용해 박 대통령이 “불미스러운” 일을 저지른 윤 전 대변인을 경질했다고 보도했다.AFP통신 역시 연합뉴스를 인용해 이번 사건을 보도했으며, 싱가포르의 아시아원 온라인판은 이번 사건에 대한 코리아헤럴드의 기사를 그대로 게재했다.그 외에 월스트리트 저널, CNN, 호주의 시드니모닝 헤럴드 등도 윤 전 대변인의 기사를 비중 있게 다루며 해외에서도 이번 사건에 대한 관심이 뜨겁다는 것을 짐작하게 했다.이에 대해 네티즌들은 “국제적 망신이다,” “살다보니 이런 일은 처음. 대변인이 외국에서 성추행??” “국격을 완전히 무너뜨리는군요” 등 격렬한 반응을 보였다.윤 전 대변인은 한미 정상회담이 개최된 지난 7일 워싱턴 시내 한 호텔에서 밤늦게까지 술을 마신 뒤 함께 있던 주미대사관 소속 인턴 여성 A씨를 성추행한

South Korea is busy crafting measures to deal with the impact of the continued descent of the Japanese yen against the dollar amid worries that its exporters will likely take the brunt of such currency risks, government officials said Friday.The move comes as the yen-dollar exchange rates earlier breached the 100 mark, raising concerns that the weak yen will take its toll on the South Korean economy whose companies have to compete with Japanese rivals in many areas on the global stage. The weak

North Korea's defiant pursuit for nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles will move it closer to the deployment of a nuclear-armed missile within five years, a senior Seoul official warned Friday, in what would be the first such assessment on the North's nuclear weapons capability. Yun Duk-min, the president of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy affiliated with the foreign ministry, also said that, "The countdown for North Korea's deployment of nuclear-armed missiles has begun

Japan’s current-account surplus rose in March to the highest level in a year as a depreciating yen boosted repatriated earnings and brightened the outlook for the nation’s exports. The excess in the widest measure of trade was 1.25 trillion yen ($12.4 billion), the Ministry of Finance said in Tokyo today. That exceeded the 1.22 trillion yen median estimate of 23 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The yen breached 100 per dollar for the first time in four years in New York trading yesterday a

The dollar surged on Thursday against major currencies, topping the 100-yen level for the first time in four years, helped by new jobs data adding to confidence in the US economy.The dollar jumped to 100.55 yen at 2100 GMT, up from 99.01 late Wednesday, in a long-expected move above the 100 threshold as the Bank of Japan pumps out more liquidity to wrench the Japanese economy from a deflationary hole.The dollar has gained more than 30 percent on the yen since it bottomed out at 77 yen late last

Five workers suffocated to death on Friday at a steel plant in the port city of Dangjin after gas leaked from a furnace, authorities said.The workers, employed by a subcontractor of Hyundai Steel Co., were found dead at around 1:40 a.m. inside the 8-meter-deep rotating furnace in the city, some 123 kilometers south of Seoul, after argon gas leaked from the furnace, according to the authorities. The victims were removing the scaffolding that had been used for regularly scheduled repair work from

South Korean rapper PSY was welcomed to Harvard University on Thursday night by dozens of screaming and shouting students and fans, as the “Gangnam Style” star participated in a conversation inside an ornate church dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in World War I.PSY began addressing students and faculty by noting that his presence at the Ivy League school “is so weird.”He recalled spending four years studying management at Boston University while marveling at Harvard from af

Michael Jackson's longtime makeup artist testified Thursday that she overhead an executive for concert promoter AEG Live insist that the singer rehearse despite signs of Jackson's declining health.Karen Faye, who worked with Jackson for more than 27 years, told jurors she became increasingly concerned about Jackson's health and agreed with a fan's assessment that the singer might die if he was pushed too hard in preparations for his “This Is It” concerts.AEG executives continued to push Jackson,

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has irked Washington with his frequent criticism of American military operations in his country, said Thursday that his government is now ready to let the U.S. have nine bases across Afghanistan after most foreign troops withdraw in 2014.A border spat with Pakistan and a desire to test public opinion led Karzai to break months of public silence on this issue, according to Afghan analysts. They said Karzai is concerned that Pakistan is using the Taliban to give

The three women held in captivity inside a U.S. home for about a decade were starved and raped, and one woman had five pregnancies aborted when the suspect punched her in the stomach, a police report says. A prosecutor said he may seek the death penalty for the forced miscarriages.The report obtained by The Associated Press paints a grim picture of the women's ordeal before their dramatic escape Monday when one of them, Amanda Berry, kicked out a door.Berry told police that she delivered a baby

North Korea delivered its most in-depth account yet of the case against a Korean-American sentenced to 15 years' hard labor, accusing him late Thursday of smuggling in inflammatory literature and trying to establish a base for anti-Pyongyang activities at a border city hotel.Still, the long list of allegations included no statement from Kenneth Bae, other than claims that he confessed and didn't want an attorney present during his sentencing last week for what Pyongyang called hostile acts again

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as investors opted for profit-taking after the market closed bullish in the previous trading session following the central bank's rate cut, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 11.68 points, or 0.59 percent, to 1,967.77 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor losing 2.07 percent and market behemoth Samsung Electronics moving down 1.06 percent. Lead

Syria will supply “game-changing” weapons to Hezbollah, the chief of the Lebanese militant group said Thursday, less than a week after Israeli airstrikes on Damascus targeted alleged shipments of advanced Iranian missiles bound for Hezbollah. Israel has signaled it will respond with airstrikes to any future weapons shipments, meaning it could quickly get drawn into Syria's civil war if the Hezbollah chief's declaration is more than an empty threatTension has been rising in the region since Israe

Daum Communications Corp., the operator of South Korea's second-most visited portal, said Friday its first-quarter net profit fell almost 13 percent on a decline in its display advertising and game services.Net profit came to 20 billion won ($18.4 million) in the January-March period, compared with a profit of 23 billion won a year earlier, Daum said in a regulatory filing.Revenue rose 15.5 percent on-year to 119 billion won in the first quarter, while operating profit slumped 16.3 percent to 23

지난 5월 2일 발생한 삼성의 화성 반도체 공장 불산 노출 사고에 대해 삼성 측에서 “기본적으로 사고의 성격이 다르다”고 밝혔다.삼성 측 관계자는 9일 본지와의 인터뷰에서 과거와 달리 누출 사건에 대해 아직 공식적인 사과문이 없다는 지적에 대해 “최근에 발생한 사고에 대해서는 (예전의 사고와) 기본적으로 성격이 다르지 않느냐”고 말했다. 이 관계자는 또한 삼성이 책임을 피하고 있다는 주장과 관련해 사과문이 없다고 해서 삼성이 책임을 피했다고 볼 수는 없다고 강조했다. 연합뉴스에서는 7일, 고용노동부 관계자를 인용해 삼성이 5월 사고와 관련해 “원청업체의 책임이 없다고 주장했다”고 보도했다. 고용노동부 측은 연합뉴스 보도에 대해 별도의 언급을 피했다.지난 2일, 화성의 삼성 반도체 공장에서 불산이 누출되는 사고가 발생해 직원 3명이 부상했다. 이 공장에서 누출사고가 일어난 것은 올해 들어 이번이 두 번째로 지난 1월에 발생한 사고 당시에는 1명이 숨지고 4명이 다쳤다. 삼성 측은 1월