The South Korean government said Friday that it has issued a warning to 43 local stores caught with open doors while their air conditioners were running during business hours, as part of its energy-saving measures in the midst of a weeks-long heat wave.Earlier this week, the government said that it will levy a fine of up to 3 million won ($2,711.4) on shops, restaurants and other businesses that are caught leaving their doors open with the air conditioning on. A shop leaves its door open with it

Seoul's Bamdokkaebi Night Markets, which feature food trucks and various cultural attractions, have been chosen as the city's best policy by hundreds of foreigners who took part in a survey last month, the municipal government said Friday.The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it conducted an online English survey between July 26 and Aug. 4 to determine which of its policies are the most popular among foreigners worldwide.In first place were the Bamdokkaebi Night Markets, which the city began op

Unionized workers at Hyundai Motor Co. were again set to stage a partial walkout Friday, further undermining the carmaker's output and sales.According to union leaders at Hyundai, some 15,000 workers will put down their tools for four hours from 11:30 a.m., while another 13,000 union members who belong to the company's second work shift will follow suit for four hours from 8:20 p.m.The partial strike will mark the third of its kind just this week, and the eighth since the union and management la

Beer sales are soaring this summer as South Korean drinkers strive to fight the choking heat wave gripping the Korean Peninsula for weeks, industry data showed Friday.Local drinkers have shown particular enthusiasm towards imported beers this year due to the options of various flavors and a flurry of discount events, they said.Discount and convenience stores nationwide reported a steep jump in sales of imported beers, compared with far slower sales growth of mostly lager-dominated domestic beers

President Park Geun-hye will host a luncheon for those who devoted themselves to South Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule and their families Friday, three days ahead of Liberation Day.Some 163 people, including 25 former independence fighters and 85 relatives of those that sacrificed for their country, will attend the luncheon at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Park's spokesman Jung Youn-kuk told reporters. (Yonhap)Among the invitees are a great grandson of Can

North Korea's state radio station on Friday resumed the broadcast of mysterious strings of numbers after a two-week silence, which some experts say are coded messages for North Korean spies in South Korea.A female announcer at Radio Pyongyang read numbers for more than four minutes starting at 12:45 a.m., mentioning the numbers in such a way as "No. 68 on Page 509."The announcer said she is "giving review works in basic information technology lessons of the remote education university for No. 27

고양이는 애교가 없고 제멋대로라던 사람들, 이 영상을 보면 생각이 바뀔지 모른다.　　　　　작년 7월 동영상 공유 플랫폼 유튜브에 게재된 ‘인간 아기가 좋은 고양이들’ 영상엔 각종 고양이가 아기들과 우애를 나눈다. 　　아기와 함께 낮잠을 자고 곁을 지키는 고양이들은 보디가드라도 된 양 싶다. 　　　　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　　

Fuel cell vehicles might just be a solution to various environmental issues, including climate change, as they can help reduce fine dust without even trying, a study by a local automaker showed Friday.According to local industry leader Hyundai Motor Co., a fuel cell electric vehicle can collect up to 20 milligrams of fine dust for every kilometer it travels.An FCEV is a type of hybrid vehicle that uses a fuel cell and a battery to power an electric motor instead of an engine. Because its fuel ce

North Korea has publicly executed some 60 people so far this year as the reclusive country's leader Kim Jong-un strengthens his reign of terror, a source said Friday.The move aimed at putting fear into the people comes as more ordinary North Koreans are expressing dissatisfaction as Pyongyang has been forcing people to work longer hours and pay money to the regime in the face of economic hardships stemming from international sanctions, according to an insider familiar with the matter."As of Augu

President Park Geun-hye will finalize her plan to grant special pardons mostly to those convicted of livelihood-related crimes on Friday, three days ahead of Liberation Day, her office Cheong Wa Dae said. Park will preside over an extraordinary Cabinet meeting at the presidential office to confirm the list of those to be granted pardons.This photo, taken on Aug. 10, 2016, shows President Park Geun-hye attending a meeting on science and technology strategy at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae

South Korea's import prices shifted back to a decline in July, affected by falling oil prices and stronger local currency, central bank data showed Friday.The nation's import price index dropped 2.8 percent on-month to 75.85, according to the Bank of Korea. It marks the first decline in three months.The BOK attributed the decrease to external factors, such as global oil prices and currency exchange rates.The monthly average price of Dubai crude oil shed 8.1 percent to $43.52 a barrel from $46.3

South Korean shares opened higher on Friday, thanks to a rebound in global oil prices and bullish sentiment in U.S. stock markets.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 6.98 points, or 0.34 percent, to 2,055.78 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Most large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics gaining 0.32 percent. Major chipmaker SK hynix declined 0.72 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor edged up 0.74 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO rose 1.86 percent.Naver,

태국 남서쪽 해안 휴양지인 후아힌에서 11일(현지시간) 밤 폭탄이 잇따라 터져 1명이 죽고 외국인을 포함해 19명이 다쳤다. 현지언론에 따르면 이날 오후 10시께 태국 남서부 해변도시 후아힌의 유흥가에 있는 술집 인근에서 20분 간격으로 2차례 소형 폭발물이 터졌다. 폭발이 일어난 지점 간 거리는 50m였다. 폭발이 일어난 장소는 관광객들이 야간에 주로 찾는 선술집과 음식점이 밀집한 시장이다.폭발의 충격으로 태국인 여성 1명이 숨지고 외국인을 포함해 19명이 부상했다. 사망한 태국 여성은 '솜 땀'(파파야 샐러드)을 파는 노점상으로 첫 번째 폭발의 영향으로 숨졌다. 후아힌 경찰 책임자인 숫띠차이 스리소파차렌랏은 "맥주집 앞에서 노점을 하던 여성이 폭발의 충격으로 다쳐 병원으로 이송했으나 끝내 숨졌다"며 "19명의 부상자 가운데 3명은 상태가 위중하다. 부상한 외국인은 모두 7명으로 여성이 4명, 남성이 3명"이라고 설명했다. 폭발 현장을 지키는 경찰 (AFP-Yonhap)또 병원 관

The U.S. State Department issued a new warning against traveling to North Korea on Thursday, saying the communist regime threatens to treat detained American citizens according to its "wartime law."Pyongyang made the threat after the U.S. imposed sanctions on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for his roles in the country's human rights abuses. U.S. officials say the North has also been refusing to grant consulate access to two American citizens detained in the country."The State Department strongl

Recent satellite imagery shows continued activity at North Korea's nuclear test site, a U.S. website monitoring the North said Thursday.The Aug. 4 imagery of the North's Punggye-ri underground test site shows a large net erected immediately south of the support building at the North Portal, the site of the North's fourth nuclear test in January, 38 North said. This satellite imagery dated Aug. 4, 2016, shows continuing activities at the site of North Korea`s fourth nuclear test, including the se

Beating up on South Korea is not the right response from China to Seoul's decision to host the U.S. THAAD missile defense system because the agreement does not reflect hostility toward Beijing, a U.S. expert said Thursday.Instead, China should focus on reining in North Korea as Pyongyang's provocations not only provided justification for the deployment, but are endangering important Chinese security interests as well, Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, said."There is no

A man killed himself with a hunting rifle when he visited a gun shop in the central South Korean city of Daejeon on Thursday in an apparent suicide case, police said.Around 11:25 a.m., the 50-year-old man, one of the shop's regular customers, took a gun out of its showcase, loaded it with a bullet that he brought with him, and then pointed the gun at himself while the shop owner's attention was elsewhere.According to witnesses and footage from a CCTV camera located in the shop, the customer, who

South Korea's electricity use hit a new record high again on Thursday as the country has been simmering in a weeks-long heat wave, the authorities said.The maximum electricity load soared to 84.49 million kilowatts as of 3 p.m., breaking the previous record of 83.7 million kilowatts set on Monday, according to the state-run Korea Power Exchange.The electric power reserve ratio went down to 8.5 percent, or 7.19 million kilowatts, marking the fourth single-digit ratio throughout the year. If the f

A group of opposition lawmakers, who visited China this week to discuss the planned deployment of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system to South Korea, defended their controversial trip Thursday, saying it helped bilateral diplomatic relations.Six first-term lawmakers of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) visited Beijing from Monday to Wednesday to discuss with Chinese officials and scholars the plan to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery to the peninsula by end-2017

South Korea will "very soon" unveil details on the follow-up measures for a recently launched foundation that aims to help Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery during the Japanese colonial period, a foreign ministry official said Thursday. The foundation was launched late last month under a deal reached between the two countries in December to resolve their deep-running rift over the victims, euphemistically called comfort women. Tokyo promised to contribute 1 billion yen ($9.9 milli