South Korean stocks fell on Tuesday, derailed by sell-offs by foreign investors over concerns of a strong US dollar. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 6.87 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 1,967.53. Trade volume was moderate at 371 million shares worth 5.01 trillion won ($4.28 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 446 to 369.With the US dollar expected to gain strength under Donald Trump's presidency, foreign inve

Innovation centers, a centerpiece of the "creative economy" policy initiated by President Park Geun-hye, are at risk amid a widening influence-peddling scandal surrounding the president and her confidante, government sources said Tuesday.Since taking office, Park has pushed forward the "creative economy" policy that seeks new and inventive business opportunities and more jobs through the fusion of information technology and other industries.To push for the initiative, the central government, in

President Park Geun-hye's attorney on Tuesday called for more time to prepare for a planned inquiry into the embattled head of state over her alleged link to a corruption and influence-peddling scandal involving her close confidante.Just a day after his appointment as Park's legal representative, Yoo Yeong-ha effectively rejected the prosecution's request to question Park by Wednesday, saying he needs "considerable time" to review the high-profile case that has plunged Park into the worst crisis

A senior North Korean diplomat is set to hold talks with United States experts in Europe, but the meeting is nothing out of the ordinary, the foreign ministry here said Tuesday."Our government is aware of the North Korean foreign ministry's Deputy Director for North American affairs Choe Son-hui's layover at Beijing en route to a European country where a (non-governmental) track-two meeting with US experts is reportedly scheduled," ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said in a press briefing. The

최근 중국에서 환경호르몬 등의 영향으로  불임환자가 늘어나면서 여성들의 난자 불법거래가 성행하고 있다.특히 난자 채취시술을 받던 한 여학생이 숨지는 사고가 발생하면서 논란이 일고 있다.15일 중국 언론에 따르면 최근 남부 광둥(廣東)성 광저우(廣州)에서 17세 여학생이 돈을 받고 난자 채취시술을 받다가 부작용으로 인해 사망했다.당국의 조사 결과 이 여학생은 병원에서 1주일 정도 난자 촉진제를 연속해 맞고 21개의 난자를 채취하는 과정에서 난자가 촉진제 주사의 영향으로 지나치게 확대되면서 내부 출혈로 숨진 것으로 드러났다.숨진 여학생이 난자를 판 댓가는 1만 위안(약 170만원)에 불과했으며, 난자 불법거래 가담자들 모두 경찰에 체포됐다.중국에선 최근 십수년새 불임환자들의 수요로 난자 거래 암시장이 형성됐다.   지난 2015년 말 현재 중국의 불임환자수는 4천만명, 난자공급이 필요한 여성환자 수는 300만명에 달했다.베이징(北京) 등 대도시 지하철 입구엔 '난자 판매', '난자 제공

미국 흑인 여성 언론인 그웬 아이필이 14일(현지시간) 워싱턴 호스피스 센터에서 암으로 별세했다고 일간 뉴욕타임스(NYT) 등이 전했다. 향년 61세.아이필은 미국에서 주요 전국방송의 정치쇼 진행을 맡은 최초의 흑인 언론인 가운데 한 명이다. 1970년대 보스턴 헤럴드, 볼티모어 이브닝 선을 거쳐 워싱턴 포스트(WP), 뉴욕 타임스(NYT) 등 유력 신문의 기자로 활동했다.  그웬 아이필 (연합)이후 NBC뉴스, PBS 등 방송으로까지 영역을 확장, 언론계의 유리천장을 깨고 1999년 PBS의 정치쇼 '워싱턴 위크 인 리뷰' 진행자 자리까지 오른 자수성가형 언론인이다.그가 언론계에 발을 들여놓았던 1970년대에는 신문사와 방송사에서 흑인 언론인, 특히 흑인 여성 언론인은 드물었다.아이필은 2004년과 2008년 대선 당시 부통령 후보 TV토론 때 공정한 사회로 정치권 안팎의 찬사를 받기도 했다. 올해 2월 민주당 대선 경선 때는 힐러리 클린턴과 버니 샌더스의 토론 사회를 맡기도 했다

Opposition parties on Tuesday agreed to submit a motion later this month to recommend the dismissal of Defense Minister Han Min-koo to make good on their pledge to unseat him for the provisional signing of a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan.The Democratic Party, the People's Party and the Justice Party made the agreement to submit the motion on Nov. 30 and put it to vote during the National Assembly's plenary session slated for Dec. 2. Defense Minister Han Min-koo is seen attending

South Korea's rice output dropped slightly in 2016 from last year due mainly to the bad weather conditions in the harvest season, government data showed Tuesday.The country's rice production reached 4.2 million tons this year, down 3 percent from 4.33 million tons in 2015, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.But the 2016 figure marks a 6.1 percent gain from the five-year average of 3.96 million tons amid years of bumper harvests.The statistics agency said the weather condition in

North Korea has attempted to obtain foreign currency via patent translations into Korean for several years, targeting foreign companies that want to apply for patents in South and North Korea, a US broadcaster, monitored here, reported Tuesday. "I've received emails from a North Korea translation company starting in 2013 under the title of 'Application for International Patent in South and North Korea,'" the Radio Free Asia (RFA) cited a Korean-American lawyer as saying. The lawyer said he regul

Prosecutors raided the offices of Cheil Worldwide Inc., the advertising unit of the country's largest business group Samsung, on Tuesday over its alleged involvement in a snowballing influence-peddling scandal rocking the country.The prosecution team looking into the Choi Soon-sil scandal said its investigators raided the ad agency located in the group's headquarters in southern Seoul and confiscated computer hard drives, accounting books and other documents related to the latest scandal involvi

The chief of South Korea's Marine Corps on Tuesday inspected front-line troops along the tense western sea border with North Korea.The Marine Corps' commander, Lt. Gen. Lee Sang-hoon, called for full readiness and a swift response against any provocations by the North during the visit to the islands of Yeonpyeong and Udo, the Marine Corps said in a statement. In this photo taken on Nov. 15, 2016, the Marine Corps' commander, Lt. Gen. Lee Sang-hoon, speaks during his visit to Yeonpyeong Island, a

South Korea's science ministry said Tuesday that it will launch a pilot program using roaming data provided by mobile carriers to monitor and further prevent the spread of infectious diseases.Under the program, the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) will provide information about virus outbreaks in other countries to people using roaming service overseas. Also, mobile carriers will deliver roaming data pertaining to whether their users had visited disease outbreak places to t

Home transactions gained 2.2 percent from a year earlier last month, government data showed Tuesday, amid an apparent rise in demand triggered by a government plan to limit the supply of new homes.The number of home transactions came to 108,601 in October, compared with 106,274 in the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.October marked the third consecutive month of on-year gain.From the previous month, the October tally marked a 18.5 percent spik

A Chinese bank has opened a new branch in a special economic zone in North Korea, which can be a violation of the latest UN resolution against the North's nuclear test early this year, a US broadcaster, monitored here, reported Tuesday.Adopted on March 2 following the North's nuclear test in January, the UN Security Council Resolution 2270 prohibits UNmember nations' financial institutions from operating existing branches or opening new ones in the North.The resolution also obliges member nation

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday rebuked media for publishing a slew of "regrettable" articles regarding a corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye's close confidante, calling for prudence. One of the latest reports alleged that Park's remarks portraying the reunification of the Korean Peninsula as an "economic bonanza" were made by Choi Soon-sil at the center of the scandal -- a claim Cheong Wa Dae has dismissed as "clearly false."The presidential office has said tha

The free trade deal between Seoul and Washington has contributed to increasing job opportunities in the United States by enhancing bilateral trade and investment, South Korea's vice finance minister said Tuesday."South Korea and the U.S have expanded economic cooperation that mutually benefited each other, and the Korea-US free trade agreement is an example," Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said in a Seoul seminar co-hosted by the Korea Economic Institute of America, a Washington-based nonpr

President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday appointed an attorney as prosecutors are preparing to directly question the embattled head of state this week over her alleged link to a corruption and influence peddling scandal involving her close confidante.Park tapped Yoo Yeong-ha, a former member of the standing committee of the National Human Rights Commission as her legal representative, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.Prosecutors have told the presidential office that it hopes to question Par

A stem cell line developed by South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk will be formally registered, local health authorities said Tuesday, a move expected to restart stem cell research here that has been in a deep freeze.The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said it has concluded that the human embryonic stem cell line, called NT-1, was developed by a process of parthenogenesis, also known as the "virgin birth." This is when an egg develops on its own without fertilization.The f

South Korea logged a trade surplus for 57 straight months in October as imports fell at a faster pace than exports, customs data showed Tuesday.The country's trade surplus came to $6.97 billion last month, up 5.7 percent from $6.59 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.For the January-October period, the surplus edged up 2.2 percent on-year to $74.7 billion from $73.1 billion.The on-year gain in trade surplus was led by a steep decline in imports th

Google Inc.'s products were found to have the highest number of Internet security vulnerabilities, accounting for 22 percent of risks found in the third quarter, a report out Tuesday said.According to the Korea Internet & Security Agency, 155 of 694 reported common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE) were discovered in Google devices. Adobe came next at 107 (15 percent), followed by Oracle's 71 (10 percent), Microsoft's 65 (10 percent) and Apple's 54 (8 percent).The report was drawn among high-s