Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., a major shipping line here, said Monday that its talks to join a global shipping alliance will be completed this month, denying news reports that the financially-troubled shipper has failed to join 2M, one of the key conditions for financial help from its creditors."We are still in negotiations (with 2M) to iron out differences," said an official at Hyundai Merchant. "Our plan to complete the partnership talks by this month has not changed."Since May, Hyundai Merchan

Close to 40 percent of South Koreans would be classified as financially underprivileged if their income and assets were viewed together as their economic resources, a report released Monday argued.The report from the Gyeonggi Research Institute (GRI) questioned the conventional way of looking mostly at income to define the middle class, which it said can easily underestimate or overestimate the size of the economic segment. The institute conducted its own study to count household assets in the f

저명한 배우 레오나르도 디카프리오의 이복형제 애덤 파라르 (Adam Farrar)가 둘 사이 소원해진 관계에 아쉬움을 표했다. 영국 타블로이드 데일리메일은 20일 애덤이 "레오가 최근 환경 보호에 빠져있다. 이젠 형보다 환경에 더 신경 쓰는 것 같아 마음이 아프다"고 말한 내용을 전했다. (사진=데일리메일 캡쳐)할리우드 유명 배우 레오나르도 디카프리오는 1세 때 부모가 이혼해 친부를 따라 애덤과 애덤의 친모와 가족이 되었다.애덤은 세 살 아래 레오나르도와 피는 섞이지 않았지만 그 어떤 형제보다 끈끈한 정으로 자랐다고 말했다.그는 "하지만 아버지의 친자는 레오였고, 어릴 때부터 그 때문에 차별대우 받았다"고 주장했다. 레오나르도는 교육비가 더 높은 사립학교에 다녔지만 애덤은 공립학교에 진학하는 등의 차별이 있었다는 것이다.이 같은 환경에서 먼저 배우 일에 뛰어든 것은 애덤이었다. 단역 배우로 수입을 얻기 시작한 애덤을 보고 이내 레오나르도도 연기에 관심을 보였다.애덤은 "숙제보다 배우

벨기에 인기 만화 '탱탱의 모험' 그림 한 장이 20억원에 가까운 가격에 낙찰됐다.프랑스 경매업체 아르퀴리알은 19일(현지시간) 파리에서 열린 경매에서 만화 탱탱의 모험의 '달 탐험가들' 한 장짜리 원본이 155만 유로, 한화로 19억4천만원에 낙찰됐다고 밝혔다고 AFP 통신 등이 보도했다. 19억원에 낙찰된 탱탱의 모험 (사진=아르퀴리알 홈페이지 캡처)이 그림은 높이 50㎝, 너비 35㎝짜리 크기에 먹으로 채색했으며, 작가 조르주 레미(1907∼1983·필명 에르제)가 명작을 쏟아냈던 1954년 작이다.당초 예상 낙찰가는 70만∼90만 유로였다.아르퀴리알의 에릭 르로이는 "이 작품은 에르제의 전후 시기에 가장 중요한 작품 가운데 하나"라며 "'티베트에 간 탱탱'과 '카스타피오레 에메랄드'와 비슷한 급"이라고 설명했다.그는 "이는 정말 환상적인 일"이라며 "특별한 작품이 특별한 가격에 팔렸다"고 덧붙였다.한 장짜리 만화가 이처럼 높은 가격에 낙찰된 것은 처음 있는 일이다.앞서 201

(123RF)온라인 항공사 평가단 에어라인레이팅스 (AirlineRatings)가 19일 발표한 2017년 최고 항공사 10곳 리스트가 CNN에 보도되는 등 관심을 끌고 있다. 에어라인레이팅스의 평가 항목은 국제 민간 항공 기구의 인정과 지지를 받고 있다.이 평가에서 10순위에 들어가기 위해 항공사들은 지속적인 소비자 만족과 안전을 추구해야 한다.아래는 종합 순위이다. 1, 에어뉴질랜드 (뉴질랜드) 2. 콴타스 (호주)3. 싱가포르 항공 (싱가폴) 4. 캐세이 퍼시픽 (홍콩) 5. 버진 애틀랜틱/버진 오스트레일리아 (미국-호주)6. 브리티시 에어웨이 (영국)7. 에티하드 에어웨이 (아랍 에미리트) 8. 올 니폰 에어웨이 (일본)9. 에바 에어 (대만) 10. 루프트한자 (독일)에어뉴질랜드는 모든 항목에서 비할 데 없이 훌륭한 평가를 받았다.콴타스는 라운지에 샤워 공간을 마련하는 등의 편의시설 확장 노력으로 순위가 급부상했다.프리미엄 비행을 즐기고 싶다면 에티하드와 버진 오스트레일리아

North Korean train service has virtually come to a stop due to a nationwide power shortage, a US-based media outlet said Sunday.The train from the border city of Hyesan now takes 10 days or longer to get to Pyongyang, US radio broadcaster Radio Free Asia reported, citing Japanese media outlet Asia Press. "Before (the power shortage,) the Hyesan-Pyongyang route took about 24 hours. Now nobody wants to ride on that train," a source in Hyesan told the Asia Press.Similarly, a source in Musan, North

South Korea's trade promotion agency said Sunday it has opened a center to help small and medium-sized firms make inroads into Chile. The center, launched in Santiago last Friday, is offering marketing, legal and accounting advice to Korean firms that are trying to sell their products in Chile, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said. The center is expected to serve as a bridgehead for small and medium-sized enterprises to tap the South American country's market, it said. The center is

South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn met with Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski on the sidelines of the Asian-Pacific summit and pushed for stronger business cooperation in key infrastructure sectors, the government said Sunday.The premier is in Lima in the place of President Park Geun-hye, to attend the 24th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, being held in the Peruvian capital on Saturday and Sunday.South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (left) meets with Peruvian Presiden

Medipost Co., a South Korean biotechnology firm, said Sunday it has set up a joint venture in Japan to sell stem cell-based drugs in the Japanese market. Yang Yoon-sun, CEO of Medipost, said the 50:50 joint venture was launched early last month with a Japanese partner. "The joint venture will begin procedures to get approval for a clinical test of Medipost's stem cell-based drugs," Yang said.Medipost's stem cell-based treatment of damaged cartilage, named Cartistem, won approval for sales from t

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Sunday expressed regret over the prosecution's interim investigation result that implicated President Park Geun-hye in the corruption and influence-peddling scandal involving her longtime confidante."The prosecution's announcement of its investigation result is very regrettable," a presidential official told Yonhap News Agency over the phone, saying Cheong Wa Dae will issue an official statement on the issue later in the day. On Sunday, prosecutors first

President Park Geun-hye is suspected of having played a part in the corruption and influence-peddling scheme involving her close friend and key aides, prosecutors said Sunday, after weeks of an intensive investigation into the scandal that has been rocking the country.The prosecution team looking into the scandal announced in an interim probe result that it indicted Choi Soon-sil, Park's longtime friend, earlier in the day on a string of charges, including abuse of authority, coercion, attempted

North Korea's state radio station resumed broadcasting mysterious numbers Sunday that could be some kind of coded message to its agents that may be operating in South Korea.Radio Pyongyang, started broadcasting messages shortly after midnight (Seoul time), calling out a series of pages and numbers. This marks the third broadcast this month and comes as Pyongyang has stepped up its attacks against the Seoul government over the scandal involving President Park Geun-hye's confidante.stock image(123

South Korean women on average stay less at one job compared with men, mainly due to breaks in their careers caused by child bearing and other domestic responsibilities, official data showed Sunday.According to employment insurance data compiled by the Korea Employment Information Service, the average time a woman stayed at one job stood at 3.4 years as of 2015, more than 2.1 years shorter than the 5 1/2 years of her male counterpart.The findings are not different from information collected in 20

Sales of luxury imported cars rose in South Korea over the past 10 months of this year, despite a prolonged economic downturn, according to industry data Sunday. The data by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association showed that sales of luxury imported cars gained 3.2 percent on year to 136,523 vehicles for the January-October period. For the 10-month period, sales of all imported cars fell 5.5 percent on year to 185,801 vehicles. Premium marques, such as Jaguar Land Rover, Inf

New international sanctions being ironed out after North Korea tested its fifth nuclear device in September will include tighter exemption rules regarding the export of coal, diplomatic sources in Seoul said Sunday.Official insiders said that talks at the United Nations Security Council are in their final stages, and will include more stringent guidelines on the "livelihood exemption" clause in Resolution 2270 announced in March to penalize the North for its fourth nuclear test in January and th

The spike in cigarette prices last year did not help people give up smoking, the latest data by the Seoul city government showed Sunday.According to findings submitted to a city councilman by checking information gathered from stop smoking clinics and centers set up to help people end their tobacco dependence, there were some 69,982 enrolled in support centers in the capital city in 2014, with 39,858 succeeding in giving up the bad habit.In 2015, when the government raised prices for a pack of c

Prosecutors on Thursday grilled former presidential secretary over allegations he pressured local food and entertainment giant CJ Group to fire its vice chairwoman.The prosecution team, looking into the scandal involving President Park Geun-hye's close friend, called in Cho Won-dong to appear as a suspect before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to answer questions about the suspicions raised."I will tell everything to the prosecution," he told reporters before entering the prosecut

China will not give up North Korea as the country fits its need for a "strategic buffer zone" and its importance has increased due to the US efforts to isolate Beijing, a Chinese expert on Korean affairs said Thursday."Up until recently when ties between China and South Korea improved and the nuclear crisis on the peninsula repeatedly flared up, some even in our country mentioned giving up North Korea," Wu Peng, a politics professor at China's Southwest University, said during an international s

President Park Geun-hye's approval rating continued to decline amid a corruption scandal involving her confidante, data showed Thursday.According to Realmeter, Park's support came to 9.9 percent this week, dropping 1.6 percentage points on-week. It is the lowest to date in surveys by the pollster. The survey was conducted on 1,525 South Koreans with a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.A separate research conducted by Gallup Korea earlier pegged Park's approval rating at 5 percent.Park has

President Park Geun-hye on Thursday tapped a seasoned public servant as new vice culture minister, her office Cheong Wa Dae said.Yu Dong-hun, a senior official in charge of public communication at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will fill the post that has been left vacant since his predecessor Kim Chong resigned last month over his alleged link to an influence-peddling scandal involving the president's confidante.  Jung Youn-kuk, presidential spokesman, makes the announcement. (Yon