Thais wept in grief across the nation Thursday after the palace announced the death of their beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the politically fractious country's unifying figure and the world's longest-reigning monarch. He was 88.Hundreds of people had gathered since Wednesday at Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital, where Bhumibol had been treated for various ailments for much of the past decade. Many sobbed loudly, clutching each other in anguish and shouting “Long live the king.” “There is no word to e

이솝 우화 속 토끼와 거북이 경주가 실제로 펼쳐졌다. 　　지난 10일 사회공유망서비스 (SNS)에 올라온 한 영상에선 동남아시아 국가의 이색 경주가 담겼다. 　　참가자들의 반려동물들이 달리기 경기를 펼치는 이 행사에서 토끼와 거북이가 대결을 펼친 것이다. 　　엉금엉금 걷는 거북이를 앞질러 뛰어나간 토끼는 이내 영문 모를 이유에 멈춰 서선 더 이상 나아가지 않았다. 　　주인이 결승선 앞에서 손뼉을 치며 불렀지만 토끼는 꿈쩍도 하지 않았다.　　그 사이 거북이는 천천히 움직여 느긋이 완주하며 승리했다.　 (사진=페이스북)　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　

A tourist bus caught fire on an expressway near the southeastern city of Ulsan on Thursday, killing 10 people trapped inside, police said.The bus was carrying 20 people when one of its tires exploded, causing it to slam into the guardrail and catch fire on the Gyeongbu Expressway near Ulsan, about 300 km southeast of Seoul, at 10:11 p.m., police said. (Yonhap)The fire gutted the bus, leaving 10 people dead. The 10 others managed to escape from the bus and were taken to hospitals for smoke inhala

South Korea's financial watchdog said Thursday it will step up efforts to early detect possible risks in the local banking sector amid a full-fledged corporate restructuring drive at home and unrelenting uncertainties abroad.Speaking to lawmakers, Zhin Woong-seob, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, reminded domestic banks of the need for stricter credit risk assessment of firms that may go insolvent anytime soon.The FSC is at work with a "higher sense of tension and alertness than an

International ratings agency Standard and Poor's said Thursday the global recall and discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone will not affect its ratings on Samsung Electronics Co. "We believe the impact on the ratings will be limited at this stage" mainly due to Samsung's significant net cash holdings of about 65 trillion won ($57.3 billion) as of June 30, the ratings agency said in a statement. Standard and Poor's said the financial impact of the Note 7 recall will be "limited," because

아동 성폭행범을 추적하는데 일조한 미국 신기술이 화제다. 　　지난 4월 CNN의 보도에 따르면 미국 사이버 범죄 센터의 피해자 신원 확인 팀 요원은 온라인에 게재된 아동 성폭행 현장 사진 속 희끄무레한 단서들을 분석해 내는데 성공했다.　　흐릿한 해상도로 식별이 어려웠던 사진을 분석해 의약 봉투에 적힌 피의자의 이름과 처방 번호를 알아낸 것이다.　 (유튜브)　그 뿐이 아니다. 　　사진 속 보이는 성폭행범의 손가락 이미지를 확대해 지문 추출까지 해냈다.　　이 같은 지문 추출은 이번 최초 성공한 것이라고 한다. 　　뚜렷한 증거로 체포된 스티븐 키팅은 110년 형을 받았다. 　　그가 납치해 감금 중이던 14명의 아동 피해자는 구조되었다.　　수사에 기여한 이 센터의 요원은 수 많은 사진 중 겹치지 않는 피해자를 식별하고 구출해 내는 것이 강건이라 말했다. 　　기술의 진보로 이전엔 9개월 걸릴 일이 한 달이면 파악 가능하다고 한다. 　　아동 관련 성범죄물은 온라인상 수도 없이 많아 이 단체는

중동 이란의 제이나브 세카안반드 (Zeinab Sekaanvand)는 오늘 (13일) 이후 언제든 교수형에 처할 수 있다.　　독자가 이 글을 읽는 순간 세카안반드는 마지막 숨을 내쉬고 있을지도 모른다.　　아직 22세의 세카안반드는 5년전 남편 살해 혐의로 구속되었다.　 (앰네스티 인터네셔널)　구속 당시 17세였던 그가 현재 22세가 되기까지 국제 인권 활동가들은 세카안반드를 구하기 위해 분투했지만 지난 2014년 10월, 이란 법원은 그에게 교수형을 선고했다.　　세카안반드는 15세때 정략 결혼을 피해 집을 도망쳐 나와 4살 연상의 남자와 결혼했다. 　　하지만 남편 호세인 사르마디 (Hossein Sarmadi)는 어린 부인에게 욕설과 주먹을 던지며 폭력적인 결혼 관계를 가졌다는 국제 인권 단체 앰네스티 인터네셔널과 휴먼 라이츠 워치의 증언이다. 　　세카안반드는 수 차례 이혼을 요구했으나 남편은 수락하지 않았고, 가족은 그녀와 의절해 도움을 주지 않았다.　　결혼 4년째에 접어든 201

South Korea's central bank said Thursday it has revised down its growth outlook for next year for Asia's fourth-largest economy to 2.8 percent from the 2.9 percent forecast three months earlier.The outlook is lower than the government's estimate that the local economy could reach the 3 percent range next year.Still, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol said South Korea will not have difficulties in achieving 2.7 percent economic growth this year.Lee said that the central bank took into account fal

South Korea's major beauty trade show kicked off Thursday to present the latest makeup and beauty trends and help local companies pave the way for tapping the global market.The eighth K-Beauty Expo opened for a three-day run at KINTEX in Goyang, north of Seoul, gathering 450 companies, overseas buyers and experts in various beauty sectors. KINTEX and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency co-host the event to promote South Korea's beauty industry, which has rapidly expanded its global prese

An increasing number of Chinese visitors to South Korea are shopping at downtown and suburban outlets thanks to a rise in visits by young and individual tourists, industry sources said Thursday.Chinese tourists have recently emerged as big spenders in South Korea, a great boon for South Korea's major retailers, as they are increasingly flexing their financial muscles here.Lotte Outlets, a subsidiary of the retail and food conglomerate Lotte Group, said sales of its store at Seoul Station spiked

Owners of the Galaxy Note 7 in South Korea on Thursday started getting a refund or swapping their phones for another smartphone, two days after Samsung Electronics Co. decided to discontinue the device over safety concerns. Consumers who have a Note 7 in their possession must visit stores where they bought the devices to get a refund or exchange. The refunds and exchanges in South Korea will be completed by the end of this year, according to local mobile carriers. Buyers of the Note 7 had receiv

[코리아헤럴드(더인베스터)=김영원기자] 중국인들의 숫자8 사랑은 익히 알려져 있다. 8의 발음 “바”가 재산과 번영을 의미하는 “파”와 비슷한 것은 물론 좌우, 위아래로 대칭인 형태 역시 음양의 조화를 중시하는 중국인들에게 행운의 상징이다. 최근 중국시장서 고전해 온 삼성전자로서는 2017년은 그야말로 “8의 해”이다. 주력 스마트폰인 갤럭시 S와 노트가 모두 8이라는 이름을 달고 출시 되기 때문이다. (사진=삼성)이를 의식한 것인지는 삼성은 올해 6번째 노트모델을 노트7으로 명명해 출시했다. 삼성전자 IM(모바일)부문 고동진 사장은 “상반기 S7, 하반기 노트7을 명명하면 내부적으로 마케팅이나 영업하기에 편한 점도 있는 것 같다,”고 밝힌바 있다. 하지만 이번 노트7의 발화 및 단종 사태는 삼성의 중국 마케팅 전략에 큰 걸림돌이 될 것으로 보인다. 비단 노트뿐 아니라 삼성의 주력제품인 갤럭시스마트폰 자체에 대한 소비자들의 신뢰가 심각하게 훼손됐기 때문이다. 실제 현지 언론들에 따르

South Korean institutional investors are struggling to chart new investment plans to cope with the seesaw share price of Samsung Electronics Co., stemming from its new smartphone fiasco, market watchers said Thursday.Samsung, the top cap and crown jewel of the South Korean stock market, said Tuesday that the tech giant had decided to suspend production of the Galaxy Note 7 and pull the plug on its flagship smartphone after failing to resolve the battery-fire problem.The surprise decision sent sh

More state-run corporations are set to withdraw from the Federation of Korean Industries, as the country's largest lobby is said to have coerced its member companies into funding two non-profit foundations, allegedly linked to aides to President Park Geun-hye, industry sources said Thursday.According to the sources, state-run utility firms -- Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. -- and seven other state-run corporations have already seceded from the FKI.A total of 19 state-run firms ha

South Korea's central bank held its policy rate steady for October on Thursday, extending its wait-and-see mode to four straight months after sending the key rate to a record low level to strengthen growth for Asia's fourth-largest economy.In a widely expected move, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted to keep the key rate at 1.25 percent.In June, the central bank made a surprise rate cut, citing a need to support the economy.South Korea's exports backtracked 5.9 percent from a y

The United States should seek a grand bargain with China that commits Beijing to use its leverage over North Korea to end its nuclear program in exchange for American concessions like the scrapping of a decision to deploy the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, a US expert said Wednesday.Amitai Etzioni, a George Washington University professor, made the point in an article in the National Interest, stressing that the "greatest threat" to US security that the new American president will

More than a third of North Korean asylum seekers settling in the South cited freedom as the key motivation for defecting, data showed Wednesday, reflecting the deteriorating civil rights conditions under the Kim Jong-un regime.Hanawon, a facility in which defectors receive three months of resettlement education after coming to the South, said 35 percent of the defectors surveyed in 2014 said they escaped their homeland to seek liberty, marking a sharp rise from 9.6 percent tallied in 2001.The po

South Korea's military said Tuesday it will greatly expand the capabilities of its special forces to strike key North Korean command facilities and its leadership in the event of a crisis.In a parliamentary audit, the Army said it is striving to be ready to carry out independent special operations against the North's provocations, with a plan to secure hardware, such as the latest MH-47 series choppers, compact satellite links and advanced small arms."The Army is seeking to have a special operat

A group of South Korean private aid providers said Wednesday it has provided North Korea with $187,000 through the Red Cross to help it fight the latest floods in the country's northeast area.The Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea said it has sent the first batch of $100,000 to North Korea with the plan to send the remainder by next Tuesday in accordance with its agreement with the Red Cross."The money will be used to help displaced North Koreans in North Hamgyong Province as rel

The city of Sokcho on South Korea's east coast will treat around 1,300 Chinese buyers and tourists to an outdoor party of fried chicken and beer, or "chimaek," this week as part of its efforts to deepen friendly relations with China on the sidelines of an international fair, city officials said Wednesday.Chimaek, a compound word combining chicken and "maekju," the Korean word for beer, has been a craze among young Chinese people since "My Love from the Star" aired in 2014, as a number of Chinese