South Korea's financial market has maintained stability in general this year, but it's coming under growing pressure from massive household debt and troubles in the corporate sector, the nation's central bank said Tuesday.The Bank of Korea raised the possibility going forward that "financial system stability could decline," citing the household debt problem.  A scene of household loan services at a South Korean bank in this file photo. (Yonhap)Household credit here jumped 11.2 percent on-year to

South Korea's ratio of tax burden to the gross domestic product will likely reach an all-time high of 19.6 percent next year on increased government spending, the finance ministry said Tuesday.Government spending has been on a steady rise for years in a way to buttress Asia's fourth-largest economy suffering from faltering exports and sluggish domestic demand.For 2016, it mapped out a 398 trillion won budget, including a 10 trillion won supplementary budget, and came up with a 400.5 trillion won

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling that convicted Seoul's chief educator of running a smear campaign during the 2014 election, however suspended his sentence, allowing him to retain his job.In the decision, the court's First Petty Bench rejected an appeal from prosecutors and the defendant, Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. The Seoul High Court in September 2015 overturned a district court ruling that fined Cho 5 million won ($4,600

미국 유명 팝가수 브리트니 스피어스가 26일(현지시간) "불의의 사고로 숨졌다"는 가짜 트윗글이 올라오면서 온라인상에서 한바탕 소동이 빚어졌다.CNN을 비롯한 미국 언론들에 따르면 이 트윗글은 이날 오전 소니뮤직 글로벌 공식 계정을 통해 처음 올라왔다.내용은 "영면(RIP·Rest In Peace) @britneyspears #RIPBritney 1981-2016", "브리트니 스피어스가 불의의 사고로 사망했다. 자세한 소식을 조만간 전할 예정" 등이다. 스피어스, 지난 3일 美 LA서 `징글볼' 공연 (사진=AP연합뉴스)이 트윗글은 전날 영국의 팝가수 조지 마이클이 별세한 데 이어 나온 것으로 #RIP Britney 해시태그가 줄을 이었다. 심지어 올해 노벨 문학상 수상자인 밥 딜런의 트위터 계정에서도 브리트니 스피어스 사망을 애도하는 글이 올라왔다.이에 브리트니 스피어스의 매니저 아담 레버는 CNN과의 인터뷰에서 "스피어스는 현재 살아있으며 건강하다"면서 '브리트니 스피어스 사망

이슬람 극단주의 무장단체 보코하람에 납치됐다 풀려난 치복 출신 여학생들이 2년8개월여 만에 고향으로 돌아와 가족과 재회했다.26일 영국 BBC와 아랍권 방송 알자지라에 따르면 나이지리아 소녀 21명이 성탄절인 25일 고향인 나이지리아 동북부 치복에 있는 가족과 상봉했다.이들은 보코하람이 2014년 4월 납치·억류했다가 지난 10월 풀어 준 이른바 '치복 소녀들' 중 일부이다.이들은 자유의 몸이 되고 나서 나이지리아 정부의 보호 아래 조사를 받으며 모처에서 지내다가 이날 고향으로 돌아왔다. 보코하람에 납치됐다 풀려난 여학생과 부모의 상봉 (사진=AP연합뉴스)대부분 기독교도인 치복 소녀 중 한 명인 아사베 고니(22)는 가족에 둘러싸인 가운데 행한 언론 인터뷰에서 "집에 다시 돌아오게 된 것은 기적"이라고 소감을 전했다.그는 또 성탄절에 교회를 가게 돼 흥분된다며 "(억류 당시) 집으로 돌아갈 수 있을지 전혀 알 수 없었고 그러한 희망도 포기했었다"고 말했다.그러면서 그는 억류돼 있을

동아프리카 우간다의 호수에서 배가 뒤집히는 바람에 선상 파티를 즐기던 축구선수 등 30명이 목숨을 잃었다고 현지 경찰이 26일(현지시간) 밝혔다.존 루타기라 경찰청장은 "앨버트 호수를 지나던 배 위에서 파티가 벌어졌다. 승객들은 술에 취한 채 춤을 추고 있었다. 배에는 현지 축구팀 선수들과 팬 등 45명이 타고 있어 과적 상태였다"라고 말한 것으로 AFP가 보도했다.루타기라 경찰청장은 "호수는 잠잠했으나 (파티) 분위기가 무르익자 승객들이 한쪽으로 몰리면서 배가 뒤집혔다"면서 "30명이 물에 빠져 숨졌다"라고 설명했다. 우간다 앨버트 호수 전경 (사진=구글 자료)루타기라 청장은 경찰이 마을 어부들과 협력해 15명을 구출했다고 전했다.사고 선박의 승객들은 서부 불리이사 행정구역의 카웨이반다 마을에서 호이마 행정구역으로 성탄 맞이 친선 축구경기를 관전하기 위해 이동하던 중이었다고 덧붙였다.우간다에서는 과적 등에 의한 선박 전복 사고가 빈번히 발생하고 있다. 지난 23일에도 인근 빅토리아

7세 딸에게 자살 폭탄테러를 시키는 이슬람 성전(聖戰) 추종자 부모의 영상이 최근 소셜미디어에 공개돼 충격을 주고 있다.최근 시리아 극단조직 소셜미디어에 확산한 영상을 보면 시리아 부모가 어린 딸과 작별 인사를 한 후 아이를 자살 폭타테러에 보냈다는 내용이 담겼다.동영상에는 두 딸이 등장하며, 각각 8세와 7세로 소개됐다. 7세 딸에게 자살 폭탄테러 시킨 아버지 (사진=시리아 극단주의조직이 인터넷에 올린 동영상 캡처)두 딸이 어머니와 작별하는 장면에서 촬영자가 왜 어린 딸을 지하드에 동원하느냐고 묻자 어머니는 "모든 무슬림은 지하드에 동참하게 돼 있으므로, 지하드에 뛰어들기에 어린 나이는 없다"고 대답했다.두 소녀는 어른들이 시키는 대로 '신은 위대하다'고 외쳤다.이어 아버지로 보이는 남성이 두 소녀를 양팔에 안고 '무엇을 하겠느냐'고 묻자 한 소녀가 "다마스쿠스에 가서 폭탄공격을 할 것"이라고 말했다."천국에 가니까 무서워하지 않을 거지, 그렇지?"라는 남성의 말에 아이는 간단히

South Korea's largest flag carrier Korean Air Lines Co. said Tuesday that it has instructed its flight attendants to more actively consider the use of force, including tasers, during cases of in-flight violence.The move follows a widely publicized incident where a 35-year-old South Korean man went on a near rampage while drunk on a Korean Air flight from Hanoi, Vietnam, to South Korea last week. This photo provided by Korean Air shows a 35-year-old South Korean passenger tied to his seat followi

The chief of South Korea's state-run pension fund was questioned by investigators looking into the scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her friend Tuesday over allegations he unlawfully influenced a decision to back Samsung Group's merger plan last year.Moon Hyung-pyo, chief of the National Pension Service, appeared before the special probe team's office in southern Seoul to undergo questioning over suspicions he played a role in the merger plan of the country's largest family-run bus

Samsung Electronics Co. retained its No. 2 spot in a global ranking for industrial research and development spending for the third consecutive year, a survey by the European Commission's Economics of Industrial Research and Innovation showed Tuesday. According to the annual survey, 75 South Korean firms were among the world's top 2,500 companies that invested a large sum into research and development. A total of 837 firms based in the United States are included in the ranking, followed by 590 fi

South Korea's top three shipbuilders are expected to suffer from tough business conditions in 2017 with their orders likely to reach levels similar to this year, industry sources said Tuesday.In the face of a global vessel glut and fiercer competition from Chinese rivals, the three shipyards -- Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. -- are struggling to set their order targets for next year, according to the sources.Industry le

A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday he demanded a South Korean magazine apologize and retract an article that alleged Ban took money from a South Korean businessman more than a decade ago."I have written to the author of the article to tell him that Ban Ki-moon has lived his whole life, especially during his distinguished career as a public servant both in the Republic of Korea and at the United Nations, with unblemished honesty and integrity, and that the story that he

A group of 29 lawmakers formally departed from the ruling Saenuri Party on Tuesday, declaring they will create a new party to lead the reform of political conservatives in tatters from a scandal involving President Park Geun-hye. They were set to register their own parliamentary negotiation group later in the day and will launch their party tentatively named the New Conservative Party for Reform, on Jan. 24. Their departure reduced the governing party to the second largest in parliament with 99

South Korea will remove import tariffs levied on 68 products including facility equipment for new industries next year as part of efforts to foster emerging industrial sectors, the finance ministry here said Tuesday.Starting from Jan. 1, the rate cut, which is part of the country's flexible tariff system, will be worth a combined 445.7 billion won ($372 million), down 8.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.The flexible tariff system refers to a governm

A declassified 1982 document shows that then-US President Reagan was briefed by top security aides that a Soviet nuclear attack on the United States could result in civilian casualties totaling about 80 million.The document, made public recently by George Washington University's National Security Archives, was used by then National Security Advisor William Clark, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman David Jones for a presidential briefing on the Soviet Union's c

South Korea's overall consumer sentiment hit the lowest in nearly eight years last month, the central bank said Tuesday, amid a prolonged economic slump.The composite consumer sentiment index came to 94.2 in December, the same recorded in April 2009, according to the Bank of Korea data.It marks a 1.6-point fall from a month earlier.A reading below the standard 100, based on related average figures between 2003 and 2015, means pessimists outnumber optimists in terms of consumer sentiment.A separa

Foreign tourists arrivals in South Korea are expected to surpass a record high of 17 million people this year on the back of a sharp increase in Chinese tourists, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Monday.The number of foreign tourists to South Korea fell 6.8 percent on year in 2015, hit by the spread of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus.In the first 11 months of this year, the number of foreign tourists to South Korea jumped 31.2 percent on year, according to the ministry

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is likely to return to South Korea around Jan. 15, and may push for a board-based political coalition in preparation for next year's presidential election, a close associate said Monday. Ban, the frontrunner among presidential hopefuls, will reach out to a wide range of political forces rather than enter an existing party, namely the ruling Saenuri Party, he told reporters, asking not to be named. "Rather than joining an existing party, he will engage in activiti

South Korea will shut down 10 aging coal-fired power plants by 2025 as part of its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and curb fine dust, a related ministry said Monday. The government also plans to replace environmental facilities at 43 other coal plants in the nation in the initiative expected to cost a total of 11.6 trillion won ($9.67 billion) by 2030, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The ministry has signed an accord with five local power plant operators on the p

South Korea's Constitutional Court said Monday it will start the official review of the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye next week.The National Assembly voted on Dec. 9 to oust Park from office over a corruption and influence-peddling scandal involving her and her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil.The top court said its preparation procedure will be complete this week after it receives the results of the prosecution's investigation into the case. The court has around six months to come up