The International Monetary Fund put the estimated cost of South Korea's ongoing corporate restructuring drive at 31 trillion won ($27 billion), saying it will be offset by various benefits in a decade, according to a recent report.It used loss given default data for corporate debts and employment impact assumptions under a scenario that corporate restructuring in Asia's fourth-largest economy will proceed in the most effective manner."Our method gives that cost at about KRW 31 trillion in the ad

The number of North Koreans displaced by devastating floods that ravaged northeastern parts of the country hovers around 300,000, a local researcher said Sunday.The total estimate is four times larger than what Pyongyang announced in the past after Typhoon Lionrock caused heavy rainfall, landslides and flooding. North Korean news outlets said the typhoon that affected the country from Aug. 29 through Sept. 2 caused 68,900 people to abandon their homes.Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at t

North Korea's state radio station resumed broadcasting mysterious numbers Sunday after a nine-day break that could be some kind of coded message to its agents operating in South Korea.An announcer at Radio Pyongyang, started reading a series of messages shortly after midnight (Seoul time), calling out a series of numbers. The announcer said she is "giving review work in metal engineering to No. 21 expedition agents." The content was the same as those transmitted in the early hours of Oct. 9.Sinc

President Park Geun-hye will deliver an annual speech to outline her government's budget plans for next year at the National Assembly this week, her office Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday.Park will make the speech Monday. It will mark her fourth budgetary address to the nation."Since her inauguration (in February 2013), President Park has explained the government's budget plans and the direction for her state management each year (through a parliamentary speech)," presidential spokesman Jung Youn-kuk

Plane tickets bought online are eligible for full refund within seven days of being purchased regardless of clauses set by airlines, court records showed Sunday.The ruling by the Seoul Central District Court said the country's Electronic Transactions Act requires carriers to provide refunds on airfare within a set period of time and that this rule takes precedence over terms set by airlines. The ruling was made after a person, whose identity was withheld, bought two tickets for himself and his w

지난 21일 베이징 2016 세계 로봇 전시회에 소개된 휴머노이드가 눈길을 끌고 있다. 　　틀림없이 사람처럼 보이지만 실제는 인공 지능을 탑재한 기계인 것이다. 　　이 전시는 세계 로봇 컨퍼런스 행사 (World Robot Conference)의 일부로 이달 21일-25일 사이 중국 수도 베이징에서 진행 중이다.　 (사진=신화-연합뉴스)　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　

여성이 만족스런 성생활을 가지려면 남성의 사이즈보다 성관계 체위가 더 중요하다는 연구 결과가 화제다.　 (123RF)　지난 4월 발표된 인디애나 주립대 의학 대학의 한 연구는 여성의 성 만족도에 심리적 요인, 페니스 사이즈, 성감대 자극 등이 중요하게 작용하지만 그 중 클리토리스(음핵) 자극이 가장 중요하다고 주장했다.　　연구에 따르면 “남성에겐 애무가 중요하며 여성에겐 음핵을 질벽 쪽으로 움직이는 행위가 성 만족도에 큰 영향을 끼친다”고 한다. 　　이를 위해선 후배위보다 정상위(일반적인 선교사 체위)나 기승위 (여성이 남성 위에 앉는 자세)가 가장 적절하다고 한다.　　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　

North Korea said Thursday it will continue to launch satellites into space despite South Korea's condemnation, which analysts said points toward Pyongyang testing a long-range rocket soon.North Korean satellites will continue going up even as South Korea condemns Pyongyang's move, an unidentified spokesman at North Korea's bureau on space development was quoted as saying by the country's media."We will march toward the goal of conquering space by firing off more satellites in accordance with our

"South Korean flag carriers will be required to have more aircraft on standby as a way of reducing their number of delayed flights, the government said Thursday.The requirement is part of government measures aimed at reducing delayed flight departures and arrivals, which, in the long run, will require construction or expansions of airports and their runways."The measures include an expansion of related infrastructure, such as airports and air routes, as part of mid- and long-term measures, as we

최근 미국에서 경찰에 의한 흑인 사살 사건이 연이어 일어나자 이에 저항하는 내용의 동영상 운동이 일어나고 있다. 　지난 9월 한 흑인 여성은 실오라기 한 올 걸치지 않은 채 온몸에 흰색 페인트를 칠하며 페이스북 생중계했다. 　그녀는 경찰 폭력을 막으려면 “백인이 되는 수밖에 없다”며 반어적 표현으로 “세상 모든 생명 중 가장 중요한 것은 백인의 생명이다”고 질타했다. 　온몸을 하얗게 칠한 그녀는, ‘”경찰이 만일 날 체포한다면 난 ‘항복했다, 쏘지말라’는 말을 하지 않아도 된다”며 “그들은 나를 가만히 둘 것이다. 왜냐? 나는 ‘백인’이기 때문이다”고 말했다.　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　　　

영국 일간지 텔레그래프 (Telegraph)가 한국의 황당 사건을 보도했다. 　　텔레그래프는 앞서 18일 인천의 한 인형뽑기 기계에 기어들어가 갇힌 한국 여성의 소식을 전달하며 “웃음을 일으키는 사건”이라 불렀다. 　(텔레그래프)　한국 여성 평균 신장을 웃도는 165cm 키로 알려진 이 20세 여성은 술에 취한 채 인형을 뽑으려다 잘 뽑히지 않자 가로 30cm, 세로 30cm의 기계 출구로 기어 들어갔다 나오지 못해 구출 받았다.　　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　

무엇이든 정도가 지나치면 좋을 게 없다지만 죽음에 이를 정도로 성행위를 하는 건 전혀 새로운 일이다. 　　호주 퀸즈랜드 공과대학은 지난 2015년 6월 새로운 소형 포유류 ‘엔테치누스’ 수컷이 “광란에 가까워 마치 자살과도 같은 성생활”을 가진다고 발표했다. 　(사진=퀸즈랜드 공과대학)　쥐를 닮은 이 동물은 2~3주 동안 최대한 많은 암컷과 짝짓기를 하는데, 가끔은 14시간 내내 짝짓기를 할 때도 있다고 한다. 　　포유 동물학자 앤드류 베이커 박사는 방송국 인터뷰에서 “체내 출혈, 궤양, 군데군데 털 빠짐, 가끔은 눈이 안 보이는 상태로 비틀거리면서도 짝짓기를 하려 한다”고 말한 바 있다. 　　이러한 엔테치누스는 기후 변화와 서식지 유실로 개체수가 줄고 있어 멸종 위기 종으로 분류될 가능성이 높다고 한다.　　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　

A Seoul district court on Thursday ruled against a group of 1,890 consumers who have filed a class-action lawsuit against Hyundai Motor Co. over the alleged exaggeration of the gas mileage of an SUV made by the country's No. 1 automaker.The Seoul Central District Court said that as the result of the transport ministry's fuel efficiency test on the Santa Fe 2-liter diesel SUV has not been fully substantiated, the automaker cannot be seen as having violated the Automobile Management Act.Under the

As consumers went crazy over their products, the companies simply built more plants to meet the soaring demand. Then the craze disappeared all of sudden, leaving them with idle capacity and huge losses.Industry gurus call it the "curse of capacity expansion." Small instant noodle maker Paldo suffered such a fate and Haitai Confectionery & Foods Co., South Korea's No. 3 confectionery, followed suit. And a sense of deja vu is hanging over major brewer Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co.Paldo put its white

Six residency programs, including urology and cardiothoraic surgery, have failed to meet 70 percent of their enrollment quota for medical students this year, a report showed Thursday, raising the need for more incentives to attract students to the less popular residency programs. No medical student applied for the tuberculosis residency program and a urology program met 37.8 percent of its enrollment quota, according to the report by the National Assembly Budget Office.Four other less popular re

The number of foreigners working in South Korea rose slightly this year from a year earlier amid a steady rise in foreign residents here, government data showed Thursday.Of the more than 1.42 million foreign residents aged 15 or older, about 962,000 were working as of May this year, according to the data provided by Statistics Korea. Their employment rate reached 67.6 percent, down 0.7 percentage point from an year earlier.Their jobless rate stood at 4.2 percent in May, also down 0.7 percentage

Around 4,000 people from around the world are to take part in a charity event in Seoul early next month to make kimchi for impoverished residents as the Seoul metropolitan government will hold a three-day festival to cherish the Korean tradition of making and sharing the iconic spicy fermented cabbage side dish, the local government said Thursday. (Seoul Metropolitan Government)The Seoul Kimchi Festival, which will open on Nov. 4, is aimed at promoting the Korean practice of making a great deal

The US Army said Wednesday it has started to rotationally deploy an armored combat brigade to South Korea as part of Washington's "extended deterrence" protection offered to its close ally against North Korean provocations."Extended deterrence" refers to the commitment to use nuclear weapons to deter attacks on allies. The US has provided extended deterrence to South Korea, after withdrawing nuclear warheads from the country in the early 1990s. The arrangement includes placing Seoul under Washin

North Korea launched what appears to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile Thursday (Korean time), but the launch ended in failure, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said."According to a joint assessment by Seoul and Washington, North Korea launched a ballistic missile at 7 a.m. near an airfield in the northwestern city of Kusong. The missile is presumed to be a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile," the JCS said in a text message.Kusong is near the North's "Dongchang-ri" or "Sohae" mis

Sales at South Korea's duty-free stores rose 36.4 percent in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier on increased buying by foreign tourists, especially Chinese, data showed Thursday.Sales at 50 duty-free stores nationwide came to 8.93 trillion won ($7.9 billion) in the January-September period, compared with 6.55 trillion won a year ago, according to data compiled by Korea Customs Service.If the current sales trend continues, annual sales at the duty-free stores could top 10 tril