진행자: 임정요, Julie Jackson1. 최순실 관련 대통령 대국민 사과기사요약: 박근혜 대통령의 멘토였던 고 최태민 목사의 딸 최순실이 청와대 기밀문서와 정책에 개입해 왔다는 증거가 폭로되자 박 대통령은 25일 짤막한 대국민 사과를 통해 이를 인정했다. 아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2 팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638Choi scandal shakes Park[1] President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday admitted leaking confidential documents including key presidential speeches to scandal-ridden confidante Choi Soon-sil and made a public apology, reluctantl

Chinese export of jet fuel to North Korea jumped nearly 400 percent in September from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, a move that could indicate Pyongyang can take advantage of tightened UN sanctions on the North.China exported jet fuel worth $9.7 million to North Korea last month, up 391 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Beijing office of Korea International Trade Association.Chinese exports of jet fuel to North Korea fell 13.1 percent on-year to $31.65 milli

A South Korean official has been elected as a member of the executive board at the International Monetary Fund, the finance ministry here said Wednesday.The IMF appointed 24 directors who are elected by 189 member countries, including Choi Hee-nam, former deputy finance minister of South Korea, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.The executive board, in which the 24 directors represent their own groups in accordance with their voting powers, is responsible for conducting the day-to

돈 걱정 없는 부자들에게도 고민은 있다. 바로 곁에 둘 사람을 고르는 것이다. 　　이들은 친구가 됐던, 연인 혹은 결혼 대상이 됐던, ‘나라는 사람을 좋아하는지 내 지갑을 좋아하는지’에 대해 항상 고민한다고 한다. 　 (사진=유튜브)　이와 관련된 다큐멘터리까지 만들어져, 영상 공유 플랫폼 유튜브에 지난 1월 게재된 이후 지속적인 관심을 받아 1백만 조회수를 기록하기도 했다. 　　다큐멘터리에 따르면 부자는 특히 결혼 상대를 고심하는데, 이는 아름다운 여자 또는 남자와 사랑에 빠져 결혼을 했는데 5년 만에 이혼 요구에 위자료를 청구 받는 경우가 허다해서 그렇다고 한다. 　　이 같은 상황을 방지하기 위해 부자들은 거금을 들여 ‘CEO 클럽’에 가입한다. 　　일종의 결혼 중매 서비스인 셈인데, 가입하는 여성과 남성을 철저히 관리해 돈을 캐낼 목적을 가진 이는 배제한다. 　　이런 사교 모임에 들지 않아도 중매인을 거치는 것은 안전을 보장한다는데, 이유는 중매인이 ‘돈 많은 사람을 만나고 싶다

South Korea's passenger car exports slumped 17.4 percent in the third quarter of 2016 from a year earlier due mainly to contracted world demand and partial strikes at local carmakers, customs data showed Wednesday.The total value of exported vehicles reached $7.23 billion in the July-September period, down from $8.76 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service.Local carmakers led by No. 1 Hyundai Motor Co. shipped out 515,000 cars in the three-month period

South Korea ranked fifth in terms of business environment among 190 countries this year thanks to high scores in electricity supply and legal settlement and administrative systems for starting a business and taxation, a report by the World Bank showed Wednesday (Korean time).According to the organization's annual "Doing Business 2017" ranking report, the country received 84.07 points in total, slightly up from the previous year's 83.88, but fell one notch from a year earlier.Every year, the Worl

The United States plans to release a second blacklist in December of North Korean officials and entities to be sanctioned for their involvement in human rights violations, a senior State Department official said Tuesday.Scott Busby, deputy assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor, made the remark during a seminar, saying increasing accountability of North Korean officials is one of the three US strategies to improve the human rights situation in the North.In July, the US imposed

North Korea's failed Musudan missile launch caused considerable damage to one of its mobile launchers, official sources here said Wednesday, the latest sign of shortcomings in the country's military capabilities. Pyongyang launched a ballistic missile, believed to be a Musudan, last Thursday from an airfield in the northwestern city of Kusong. The intermediate-range ballistic missile is known to have exploded soon after liftoff. This launch appeared to have been an attempt by the North to save f

South Korea's national debt ratio remains lower than advanced nations' ratios, but it is not that low when its aging population and income level are taken into account, a report said Wednesday.The National Assembly Budget Office said in the report that Seoul thus needs to step up efforts to bolster its fiscal soundness as its national debt has been rising at a much faster clip in the 2010s than countries in Southern Europe that suffered a debt crisis.According to the report, South Korea's ratio

The head of South Korea's central bank called Wednesday for consistent corporate restructuring in financially troubled industries to help put them back on track."The government should consistently push forward restructuring in close consultation with subjected industries according to market rules," Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol said in a meeting with several economists at the bank's headquarters in central Seoul. Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol speaks during a meeting with economists in

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it will launch its mobile payment service, Samsung Pay, in Russia, Thailand and Malaysia later this year, bringing the service to a total of 10 countries. The South Korean tech giant said it will form a partnership with Mastercard to offer a simplified online payment and express checkout solution through its digital payment service Masterpass, starting early next year.Samsung announced the plan at Money 20/20, a major fintech conference, held in Las Vegas.

Any effort to get North Korea to give up its nuclear program "is probably a lost cause" and putting a cap on the regime's nuclear capabilities is the "best we could probably hope for," the US intelligence chief said Tuesday."I think the notion of getting the North Koreans to denuclearize is probably a lost cause. That is their ticket to their survival. I got a good taste of that when I was there about how the world looks from their vantage and they're under siege and they're very paranoid," Dire

South Korea and France will invest a combined 3 billion won ($2.65 million) in the coming three years to develop self-driving technology, the trade minister here said Wednesday.In a Seoul forum, the two sides agreed on the project to jointly study traffic jam assistant technology, which helps a car drive itself in traffic-jam conditions, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Each country will fund 500 million won every year over the next three years, it added.Leading auto compa

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Wednesday urged the parliament to focus efforts on handling next year's budget plan on time, adding South Korea is currently facing challenging economic conditions."We are concerned over the negative impact on the production and export of key products such as handsets and automobiles, amid the troubles in the smartphone industry as well as strikes staged by railroad and automaker workers," Hwang said during a budget session at the parliament."Amid slowing exports

Leading technology companies gathered for South Korea's major electronics show on Wednesday to showcase their smart gadgets, consumer electronics, mobile applications and smart electric vehicles.Hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the 47th Korea Electronics Show 2016 kicked off at COEX in southern Seoul to run until Saturday, presenting 1,500 booths for 500 companies at home and abroad.  Visitors play games at a gaming zone at Korea Electronics Show 2016 held at COEX in Seoul o

The Philippines is seeking to set up a new contact point linking the country's police with foreign embassies inside the country in a bid to better protect foreign tourists and expatriates, a senior official at the Phillippine foreign affairs department said."Right now, we have a plan to set up a contact point which would be the main contact point whenever there are any incidents involving foreign nations so that there would be better coordination between my ministry, foreign embassies and police

Japanese shareholders of a holding firm for South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group Wednesday voted in favor of keeping Lotte Group chief in his current position as he promised reform measures to restore the South Korean retail giant's image dented by a corruption investigation. Shin Dong-bin attended a meeting of Lotte Holdings shareholders at its Tokyo headquarters, one day after making a public apology and announcing a series of measures to improve the group's opaque governance structure at a p

The overall sentiment of South Korean consumers hit a 10-month high this month, though their business outlook has slightly worsened, central bank data showed Wednesday.The composite consumer sentiment index for October came to 101.9, compared with 101.7 the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. The figure marks the highest since December 2015 when the index stood at 102.4.A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.A separate index gauging the people's sentim

The number of mobile phones being used in North Korea came to 3.24 million as of July last year, a US broadcaster reported Wednesday, citing the US Central Intelligence Agency's recently updated version of the World Factbook.The Voice of America said the North's mobile phone subscriptions per 100 residents came to 13, securing 142nd place on the list of the 217 countries surveyed in the factbook.South Korea, ranked 27th in the world, has 58.93 million mobile phones and 120 subscriptions per 100

A local court on Wednesday found a former executive director of Asia's largest film festival guilty of embezzlement amid a feud with Busan city.The Busan District Court sentenced Lee Yong-kwan, who headed the Busan International Film Festival from 2010 to earlier this year, to six months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of embezzling 25.7 million won ($24,300) in November 2014. Prosecutors indicted Lee in May, saying he gave a local company the money disguised as brokerage commissi