A human rights group said Wednesday that it has produced a video clip highlighting the North Korean regime violating the freedom of religion for its citizens. The 6-minute-long clip to be posted on YouTube features Pyongyang's human rights violations in cracking down on religious freedom among its people, according to the International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea.It is available in eight different languages: Korean, Chinese, English, Spanish, French, German, Russian

South Korean stocks extended losses in late Wednesday morning as institutions dumped over 36 billion won ($32 million) worth of shares amid worries of a possible rate hike in the United States.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 8.87 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,038.89 as of 11:20 a.m.Retail investors also offloaded a net 1.2 billion won. But foreigners were net buyers of local stocks worth 15 billion won.The decline followed overnight losses on Wall Street.The Dow Jones indust

The Seoul city government on Wednesday rolled out its plan to support young and emerging artists, who often have irregular jobs and low income, by providing housing and career opportunities.The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to create some 15,000 jobs in the public sector and provide 1,000 apartments in long-term public rental housing for artists by the end of 2020.The housing location will be near developing areas so as to contribute to revitalizing the region, the city government said. It

South Korea's imports of Iranian crude oil more than doubled in the second quarter of the year from a year earlier following the lifting of international sanctions against the Middle East country, government data showed Wednesday.A total of 25.35 million barrels of crude oil was imported from Iran during the April-June period, soaring 123.3 percent from 11.35 million barrels tallied over the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Iran

South Korea's top portal operator Naver will soon launch a new, improved online map service that will not only show its users how to get to a desired destination, but also how to get there in the least time possible, company and government officials said Wednesday.The National Transport Information Center will begin providing its traffic information to Naver, which in turn will use the information to provide online map and mobile navigation services that will offer the currently best available r

South Korea's agriculture ministry said Wednesday it has launched its Chinese website (chinese.mafra.go.kr) in the latest move to provide better information on the country's agricultural products.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it plans to boost exchanges and cooperation with China in the agricultural sector. The ministry also said it will publicize South Korea's rural areas to attract Chinese tourists by collaborating with Weibo, China's version of Twitter.The move came

The government plans to allow wider access to an Internet site for information on state research and development projects next year in an effort to promote collaborative study and innovation, the science ministry said Wednesday.Starting Jan. 1, the public will be allowed to download information on state R&D projects from the National Science & Technology Information Service, which is reserved for universities, state-funded think tanks and business members.Currently, the general public is permitt

South Korea is studying a plan to unveil a list of North Korean violators of human rights as a new law aimed at improving the North's rights situation is set to take effect next month, a government source said Wednesday.Seoul is carefully reviewing whether to make public its own list of North Korean perpetrators following Washington's latest move to impose sanctions on the North's human rights offenders and agencies, the source said.Last month, Washington blacklisted North Korean leader Kim Jong

The operating profit of automakers and their vendors in South Korea came in at a disappointing level last year with each firm making only about $0.05 for every $1 in sales, industry data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by a local research institute, combined sales of 1,079 South Korean auto companies, including auto parts makers, came to about 234.8 trillion won ($213.96 billion) in 2015.Their combined operating profit came to some 12.18 trillion won, less than 5.2 percent of the

식습관, 신체활동, 체중 등 3가지 조건이 알츠 하이머 치매에 영향을 미칠 수 있다는 과학적 증거가 제시됐다.미국 로스앤젤레스 캘리포니아 대학 신경과학-인간행동연구소(Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior)의 데이비드 메릴 박사는 건강에 좋은 식습관(지중 해 식단), 높은 신체활동량, 정상 체중 등 3가지 조건을 갖춘 사람은 뇌세포에 나타 나는 2가지 치매 표지물질인 베타 아밀로이드와 타우 단백질 수치가 낮다는 연구결과를 발표했다고 영국의 텔레그래프 인터넷판과 메디컬 익스프레스가 16일 보도했다. (123RF)뇌세포 표면에 쌓이는 베타 아밀로이드 단백질 응집(plaque)과 뇌세포 안에서 발생하는 타우 단백질 엉킴(tangles)은 뇌세포들 사이의 신호가 전달되는 통로를 차 단, 뇌세포가 죽으면서 치매를 유발하는 것으로 알려져 있다. 치매는 아니고 가벼운 기억력 저하를 보이는 44명(40~85세, 평균연령 62.6세)을 대상으로 식습관, 신

음란 화상채팅을 유도해 영상을 촬영한 뒤 유포 하겠다고 협박해 거액을 뜯은 중국동포 일당이 경찰에 붙잡혔다.부산경찰청 사이버수사대는 공갈 등의 혐의로 중국동포 A(37)씨 등 2명을 구속하고 중국에 있는 B(33)씨에 대해 국제공조수사를 요청했다고 17일 밝혔다. (123RF)A씨 등은 지난 3월 18일부터 이달 3일까지 자영업자 김모(45)씨 등 11명에게 알몸으로 음란 화상채팅을 하자고 제의해 채팅 장면을 촬영한 뒤 가족 등에게 영상을 유포하겠다고 위협, 1천100여만원을 받아 챙긴 혐의를 받고 있다.이들은 피해자 가운데 1명이 150만원을 요구했는데도 50만원만 송금했다는 이유로 아내와 장모 등 가족 10여 명에게 음란 영상을 보내기도 했다. 경찰 조사 결과 이들은 미모의 여성이 음란 화상채팅을 하는 영상으로 김씨 등에게 접근한 뒤 "음성 파일을 내려받아야 한다"며 해킹 프로그램을 내려받도록 해 피해자들의 개인정보를 빼냈다.A씨 등은 또 조건만남이나 부유층 여성과의 성매매를 알

Carbonated drinks have enjoyed rising popularity in South Korea over the past three years as younger customers are drinking more soda with fast food and Westernized meals, industry data showed Wednesday. The carbonated drink market was estimated at 936.2 billion won ($856.1 million) in 2015, up from 848.6 billion won in 2013 and 884.1 billion won in 2014, the beverage industry data showed.  The market expanded 4.2 percent in 2014, and 5.9 percent in 2015, and rose 5.6 percent in the first five m

South Korean chip giant Samsung Electronics Co. garnered an all-time high presence in the global mobile DRAM market in the second quarter, data showed Wednesday, apparently helped by increased orders from smartphone makers, in particular, Chinese players.According to the data compiled by industry tracker DRAMeXchange, Samsung Electronics took up 61.5 percent of the mobile DRAM market in the April-June period, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous quarter.Samsung sold $2.42 billion worth of

South Korea's trade minister on Wednesday called on the local automobile industry to make a big investment in renewable energy-powered vehicles, such as hydrogen and electric cars, as a way to seek a new growth engine for Asia's fourth-largest economy, the trade ministry here said."The paradigm of the global car industry is changing rapidly as China has emerged as a leading country in the electric car sector," Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan said in a breakfast meeting in Seoul with the heads of f

North Korea on Wednesday condemned President Park Geun-hye's latest speech calling for Pyongyang to end its nuclear and missile programs, saying that she is to blame for worsening inter-Korean ties.On Monday, Park gave a speech to mark the 71st anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.In her address, Park urged North Korea to immediately end its nuclear and missile programs while defending Seoul's planned deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system on its so

South Korea's exports to China dropped for the 13th consecutive month in July, the longest losing streak, data showed on Wednesday, as a slowdown in the world's No. 2 economy is showing no signs of a recovery.According to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association, shipments to China, South Korea's largest trading partner, dropped 9.4 percent on-year to reach US$10.13 billion last month, marking the 13th straight month of decline.China, grappling with slow growth, is South Ko

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 0.38 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,047.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The decline followed overnight losses on Wall Street.The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.45 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index decling 0.66 percent.Large-cap stocks were mixed across the board. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. lost 0.32 percent.Top automa

South Korean credit card companies saw their first-half earnings inch down from a year earlier due mainly to a cut in their fee rates imposed on member stores, the financial watchdog said Wednesday.The combined net income of eight stand-alone card firms stood at 1.05 trillion won ($960 million) in the January-June period, down 0.88 percent from a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The slight drop was attributed to the fee-rate cut conducted in late January. The card iss

A group of South Korean scientists has developed a new treatment system for breast cancer by enhancing the effectiveness of hormonal treatment, the science ministry said Tuesday.The team led by Park In-cheol discovered that administering dichloroacetate with the hormonal drug tamoxifen increases cell deaths in breast cancer by more than two times, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said."Dichloroacetate is originally a drug used to lower lactate density but we have discovered that

South Korea is considering selling state bonds that mature in 50 years as part of efforts to manage fiscal policy in a more stable manner, the finance ministry here said Tuesday.It will decide the exact timing of the issuance and detailed terms and conditions, as well as the amount, after collecting opinions from experts later this month, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The ministry said that a low interest rate trend and narrowed difference between long-term and short-term ra