South Korean shares traded sharply lower late Wednesday morning as institutions turned to massive selling after a buying streak that lasted four consecutive sessions.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 16.43 points to 2,025.74 as of 11:20 a.m.Institutions were net sellers, offloading a net 156.8 billion won ($129.8 million), while foreigners dumped a net 23.8 billion won.Retail investors scooped up a net 177.9 billion won.Most large caps were in negative terrain. Market bellweth

The floor leader of the splinter group of South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party said Wednesday he wishes to recruit former opposition leader Sohn Hak-kyu.The remark by Rep. Joo Ho-young came as the conservatives are casting a wide net for competent candidates to represent them in the next presidential election.   Rep. Joo Ho-young of the tentatively named New Conservative Party for Reform. (Yonhap)"Sohn has left the Democratic Party, and currently does not hold any party affiliation. He also served

A lawmaker who bolted from the ruling Saenuri Party said Wednesday he is concerned about the security stance of Moon Jae-in, a leading presidential contender from the opposition bloc."Just looking at his stance on North Korea or on national security, many people will become extremely anxious," Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the tentatively named New Conservative Party for Reform said during an interview with MBC Radio. Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the tentatively named New Conservative Party for Reform (Yonhap)

A former senior presidential secretary was questioned by investigators Wednesday over suspicions the presidential office created a "blacklist" of cultural figures who are critical of the government.Professor Kim Sang-yule at Seoul-based Sookmyung Women's University appeared at the office of the independent counsel looking into the alleged influence-peddling and corruption scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her close friend Choi Soon-sil.There have been suspicions that the presidenti

이제 갓 초등학교에 들어갈 6살의 A양은 엄마가 재혼한 이듬해인 2007년 의붓아버지로부터 처음 추행을 당했다.엄마가 집을 비운 사이 의붓아버지가 갑자기 다가와 입을 맞추고 가슴을 만졌다.추행은 그 이후로도 계속됐다.그해 여름에는 집에서 남동생과 물놀이를 하는데 의붓아버지가 또다시 가슴을 만졌다. (사진=연합뉴스)2010년 여름 방학 때는 남동생과 놀고 있는데 의붓아버지가 안방으로 불러 성폭행까지 했다.2011년 가족과 함께 여행을 간 민박집, 이듬해 또 다른 관광지 주차장의 자동차 안, 텐트 안에서도 추행은 멈추지 않았다.의붓아버지의 마지막 범행이 있던 2013년, 딸은 "너무 힘들다. 그만했으면 좋겠다. 엄마한테 말하겠다"고 애원했다.하지만 이에 아랑곳하지 않고 의붓아버지는 "엄마한테 말하면 너를 그냥 버릴 것이다"며 또 성폭행했다.딸은 범행 다음 날 견디다 못해 자살을 결심하고 학교에서 유서까지 썼다.딸은 이를 안 선생님과 여성 보호기관 상담사에게 "피해 사실을 혼자 떠안고 죽

대기업 회장의 아들이 술집에서 물컵을 던지는 등 소란을 피워 경찰에 입건됐다.서울 용산경찰서는 동국제강[001230] 장세주 회장의 장남인 장선익(34) 이사를 재물손괴 혐의로 불구속 입건했다고 27일 밝혔다.경찰에 따르면 장 이사는 전날 오후 8시 40분께 용산구의 한 술집에 지인 4명과 들어갔다가 술에 취한 상태에서 종업원과 시비가 붙자 술이 있는 진열장에 물컵을 던져 양주 5병을 깨는 등 소란을 피웠다.  동국제강 장세주 회장의 장남인 장선익(34) 이사 (사진=연합뉴스이날 모임은 장 이사의 생일을 맞아 마련됐는데 술집에서 케이크를 사다 주면서 30만원을 요구하는 바람에 실랑이가 붙은 것으로 전해졌다.장 이사는 혐의를 시인하며 배상을 약속했고 술집 주인도 장 이사의 처벌을 원하지 않는다고 한 것으로 알려졌다.경찰 관계자는 "재물손괴죄는 피해자가 가해자의 처벌을 원하지 않는다는 의사를 표시하면 처벌할 수 없는 '반의사불벌죄'가 아니어서 기소 의견으로 사건을 검찰에 송치할 예정"이

검찰 조사를 위해 검찰청 내 피의자 대기실에 입감돼 있던 60대 남성이 스스로 목을 매 숨졌다.피의자 대기실과 1.5m 떨어진 곳에 경찰관 2명이 있었지만, 이 남성은 감시가 소홀한 틈을 타 스스로 목숨을 끊었다.27일 오후 2시 50분께 대전지검 홍성지청 피의자 대기실에서 최모(64)씨가 창살에 양말로 목을 맨 것을 담당 경찰관이 발견해 신고했다. (사진=연합뉴스)경찰은 최씨가 움직이지 않아 확인해보니 의식을 잃은 상태였다고 밝혔다.최씨는 심폐소생술을 받으며 인근 병원으로 옮겨졌으나 숨졌다.숨진 최씨는 신고 있던 양말 두 짝을 연결해 피의자 대기실 창살에 목을 맨 것으로 조사됐다.피의자 대기실은 검찰 조사를 앞둔 피의자가 잠시 머무는 곳으로 소규모 유치장처럼 생긴 곳이다.최씨를 이송한 경찰관들은 이날 오후 1시 35분께 최씨를 피의자 대기실에 입감한 뒤 경찰관 대기실에 머문 것으로 알려졌다.최씨가 입감된 대기실에는 폐쇄회로(CC)TV가 설치돼 있지 않은 것으로 전해졌다.홍성지청에는

소셜미디어에서 입소문을 탄 멕시코 15세 소녀의 성인식 파티가 수천 명이 참석한 가운데 성대하게 열렸지만, 사망사고로 빛이 바랬다.27일(현지시간) 일간 엑셀시오르 등 현지 언론에 따르면 루비 이바라의 성인식을 겸한 15세 생일파티인 '퀸시네라'가 전날 수천 명의 축하객이 참석한 가운데 멕시코 중부 산루이스 포토시 주의 시골 마을인 라 호야에서 열렸다.루비는 자홍색 드레스와 흰 왕관을 쓴 채 파티장에 등장했으며 현지 언론들은 루비의 일거수일투족을 비롯해 콘서트 등 다양한 행사 소식을 앞다퉈 전했다. 멕시코 소녀 루비 이바라(가운데)가 26일(현지시간) 부모와 함께 15번째 생일파티 겸 성인식에 참석하고 있다. 멕시코 중부 산루이스포토시 주에 있는 작은 마을 라 호야 시에 거주하는 크레스센시오 일바라는 앞서 "딸의 성인식에 누구든지 오라"고 초대하는 동영상을 찍은 후 페이스북에 게재했다. 공개 초청 이후 무려 130만 명 이상이 참석 의사를 밝히는 등 소셜미디어 상에서 화제가 됐다.

South Korea's state pension fund is expected to post a return of over 7 percent from stock investment this year thanks largely to a jump in top-cap Samsung Electronics Co., a market tracker said Wednesday.The value of 281 stocks, of which the National Pension Service owns 5 percent or more, was estimated at 91.3 trillion won ($75.5 billion) as of Monday, up 7.5 percent from 84.6 trillion won at the end of last year, according to FnGuide.Last year, the NPS registered a stock valuation gain of 1.3

An association of Asian constitutional courts will open a permanent secretariat dedicated to research purposes in Seoul next month, the city government said Wednesday.The Seoul Metropolitan Government said the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions Permanent Secretariat for Research and Development will open in central Seoul in January.The association, comprised of institutions from 16 countries, was launched in 2010 to increase the exchange of information and exp

Overseas units of South Korean companies lost money in 2015 for the first time since the global financial crisis due mainly to a slowdown in global demand, a report said Wednesday.About 6,000 wholly owned subsidiaries in foreign countries registered an average net loss of US$700,000 last year, the first red ink since 2008, according to the report by the Overseas Economic Research Institute under the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea.  "Overseas units of local companies lost money last year a

South Korea's parliamentary committee looking into the alleged corruption of currently impeached President Park Geun-hye said Wednesday that her close friend paid for certain medical costs, casting further suspicions over the two's behind-the-scenes connections.Rep. Hwang Young-cheul of the New Conservative Party for Reform said the confidante Choi Soon-sil paid 1.13 million won ($936) to Chaum, an upscale anti-aging clinic, in Seoul from 2011 to 2014, which also included the cost for a blood te

Outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is unlikely to meet with US President-elect Donald Trump before leaving office later this week amid a report that Trump has "backtracked" on his promise to hold a face-to-face meeting with Ban. Trump agreed to meet with Ban when the UN chief called him to offer congratulations on his election last month. But there has been no word yet that such a meeting has been set up, with only a few days left before Ban's second five-year term ends.Last week, Ban sai

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered "everlasting condolences" to American war dead at Pearl Harbor on Tuesday but issued no apology for the country's wartime aggression as he paid a visit to the Hawaii naval base 75 years after Japan's surprise bombing."I offer my sincere and everlasting condolences to the souls of those who lost their lives here, as well as to the spirits of all the brave men and women whose lives were taken by a war that commenced in this very place and also to the soul

No one could make us laugh through the pain like Carrie Fisher.The daughter of Hollywood stars Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, and a survivor of early fame, drug addiction and bipolar disorder, she wrote with unsentimental wit and understanding about her private struggles and about an industry she was raised in but stood apart from.Fisher, known to the world as Princess Leia of “Star Wars,” died Tuesday at 60, four days after falling ill aboard an airline flight. Media reports said the actress

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon may announce his presidential bid in January following his return home, his close acquaintance said Monday.Ban, whose term at the United Nations ends this year, has been gaining popularity here as a potential candidate in next year's presidential election."Ban will return home in mid-January, and make his first public speech to the Korean people in Eumseong, 131 kilometers south of Seoul. It will be around Jan. 15 to 20," said Lee Pil-yong, mayor of Eumseong muni

South Korea's Constitutional Court will kick off the official hearings on the impeachment of scandal-hit President Park Geun-hye next week, it said Tuesday. The court held the second preparatory hearing at the courthouse in central Seoul and set the date for 2 p.m. on Jan. 3.South Korea's parliament voted to oust President Park on Dec. 9 over allegations she let her friend Choi Soon-sil meddle in state affairs and amass profits using her ties to the president. The court has up to six months from

South Korea's independent counsel looking into a corruption case surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil said Tuesday it will request Interpol to put Choi's daughter on the wanted list.The investigators have been searching for the whereabouts of the 20-year-old Chung Yoo-ra, who is presumed to be staying in Germany. The team earlier said it has secured a court warrant to detain Chung for questioning on charges of business obstruction.The team said it decided to make

South Korea's health ministry said Tuesday that it has decided to ask the prosecution to investigate the head of a globally renowned medical group on suspicions of using donated cord blood without authorization.The ministry said it was also revoking its designation of Cha Medical Group as a state cell bank, a move that will force the medical group to return some 500 million won ($414,660) it has received in government support.Cord blood is blood that remains in the umbilical cord after childbirt

South Korea has signed a 16.6 billion won ($13.8 million) deal with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. for the planning of six new naval frigates, the state defense procurement agency said Tuesday. The Batch-III project calls for the Defense Acquisition Program Administration to inject a total of 2.8 trillion won into the building of six 3,000-ton frigates by 2026. These ships will form an integral part of the Navy's defense strategy.  This image provided by the Defense Acquisition Program Administrat