LG Hausys Ltd., South Korea's largest decorative industrial materials manufacturer, said Monday that it has started building an autoskin plant in the United States, to better make inroads into the world's second-largest new car market.The company said it has earmarked US$40 million to build the plant in Adairsville, in the northwestern part of Georgia, and once work is completed in late 2015, it will be in a better position to provide interior materials to carmakers such as Hyundai Motor Co., Ki

South Korea was to announce 50 members of a presidential committee aimed at making preparations for unification with North Korea, an official said Tuesday, amid tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula over Pyongyang's missile launches.President Park Geun-hye ordered the formation of the preparatory committee in January, saying the country should be prepared for inter-Korean unification which she said would be a "bonanza" for both Koreas as well as a blessing for neighboring countries.Still, the

Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S5 saw its monthly sales fall behind Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5s in May, a report showed Tuesday, reflecting the market's dull reaction to the new Galaxy lacking cutting-edge features.Apple's latest flagship product, launched in September 2013, ranked first on a list of the top 10 most-sold smartphones around the globe last month, outselling Samsung's latest Galaxy model, which only commenced official sales in April, the report released by Hong Kong-based researcher C

The United States urged North Korea on Monday to halt provocations after the communist nation carried out yet another round of ballistic missile launches and fired a barrage of rockets and artillery shells this week.The North launched two ballistic missiles Sunday from the southern city of Kaesong near the border with South Korea. The missiles flew about 500 kilometers across the peninsula and landed in the East Sea, and the launches were seen as a threat that it can hit any targets in the South

The United Nations announced Monday that it was evacuating its remaining staff from Libya, after deadly clashes closed Tripoli airport and severed air links with the outside world.The international airport, meanwhile, came under renewed attack with dozens of rockets, one of which hit a plane on the tarmac, security sources said, without any immediate reports of casualties."Dozens of rockets were fired at the airport," Al-Jilani al-Dahech, a security official at the scene, told AFP, while another

Thousands of unionized truck drivers across the country staged a one-day strike on Monday, demanding the parliament pass a bill that would improve their working conditions.The members of a truckers' union affiliated with the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions, the more militant of the nation's two umbrella unions, also held rallies in the union's 15 regional offices. "Since the National Assembly has yet to approve a cargo-related bill proposed in 2012, some 380,000 cargo transportation workers'

China has told South Korea that it has blocked online services of South Korea's two popular mobile messaging applications, KakaoTalk and Line, since earlier this month, a South Korean diplomat with the knowledge of the matter said Monday, adding that the services would "soon" return to normal.Along with other foreign online services, including Yahoo Inc.'s photo-sharing site Flickr, users in China have been unable to access online services of KakaoTalk and Line for more than 10 days. Some anti-c

North Korea on Monday renewed its call on South Korea to lift sanctions against it, saying the change will bring forth cross-border reconciliation.Following the North's deadly sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan in March 2010, Seoul imposed what are called May 24 sanctions that completely ban economic or other exchanges across the border.Denying its involvement in the incident, the North has since repeatedly called for the abrogation of the sanctions after the measure cut off inter

SBS '일요일이 좋다-룸메이트'에 출연하고 있는 그룹 2NE1의 박봄 욕이 화제다.13일 방송된 '룸메이트'에서 박봄과 박민우는 줄곧 날선 대립을 보였다.이날 방송에서 박민우는 졸음운전으로 가드레일을 받을 뻔하는 아찔한 상황이 벌어졌다. 이 과정에서 박봄의 입에서 튀어나온 욕이 '삐~' 소리로 처리됐다.박민우의 졸음운전과 박봄의 욕 장면을 여과없이 방송에 내보낸 제작진 역시 시청자들의 지적을 받았다. 한편, 마약류인 암페타민을 복용했다는 의혹을 받고 있는 박봄은 당분간 '룸메이트' 촬영에 불참할 예정이다. (SBS "일요일이 좋다 - 룸메이트")룸메이트 박민우 박봄 욕 방송을 접한 네티즌들은 "룸메이트 박민우 박봄 욕, 뭐라고 했나 궁금해" "룸메이트 박민우, 박봄 욕 둘다 잘못이네" "룸메이트 박민우 박봄 욕, 진짜 한심하다" 등의 반응을 보였다.(onlinenews@heraldcorp.com)<관련 영문 기사>Park Min-woo grilled over driving whil

배우 신주아(30)가 지난 12일 태국 방콕 센타라 그랜드 호텔에서 2살 연상의 중국계 태국인 사업가 라차나쿤 씨와 웨딩마치를 울렸다.지난해 지인의 소개로 만난 신주아와 라차나쿤은 교제 1년여 만에 결혼에 성공했으며 신혼살림은 방콕에 차린 것으로 전해졌다. 라차나쿤은 중견 페인트 회사 JBP의 경영인 2세로 알려졌다.신주아는 자신의 트위터를 통해 “많은 분들이 축하를 해주셔서 진심으로 감사해요. 한국을 너무 좋아하는 우리 새신랑 라차나쿤과 행복하게 햄 볶으며 잘 살게요. 한국에 있는 내 친구들아 곧 한국에서 같이 보자”라는 글과 함께 결혼사진 일부를 공개하기도 했다.신주아 결혼을 접한 누리꾼들은 “신주아 결혼, 축하합니다” “신주아 결혼, 남편 훈남이다” “신주아 결혼, 제벌2세인가?”등의 반응을 보였다.(onlinenews@heraldcorp.com) 배우 신주아와 태국인 남편 라차나쿤. (페이스북)<관련 영문 기사>Shin Joo-ah marries Thai businessman

The financial watchdog will reprimand the main creditor bank of cash-strained STX Group and Dongbu Group for negligence in monitoring the financial conditions of the conglomerates, officials said Monday, pressuring the bank to take stronger measures to normalize the ailing firms.STX Group, the 13th-biggest conglomerate with 10 affiliates under its wing, has been struggling with a liquidity shortage and mounting debts due to the downturn in the shipbuilding and shipping sectors.The Financial Supe

Dividend payouts by South Korean listed firms are expected to remain low this year compared with their foreign rivals, although their average dividend yield ratio may creep up from last year, industry data showed Monday.The average dividend yield ratio of listed firms that trade on the country's main bourse is estimated at 1.25 percent for the year, compared with last year's 1.18 percent, according to the data.The dividend yield ratio refers to a company's annual dividend payments per share divi

South Korean carmakers are facing the prospect of renewed labor strife as they deal with unfavorable market conditions, industry sources said Monday.Renault Samsung Motors Co. and GM Korea Co. said their union workers are planning walkouts and work disruptions after initial union-management talks failed to find middle ground on regular wages, bonuses and fringe benefits.Renault Samsung, the local unit of French automaker Renault S.A., said its workers at the company's Busan plant will halt work

The South Korean military called Monday for special attention to land mines from North Korea amid growing concerns that they could have washed ashore here in a rainy season."The military has launched an intensive search operation along rivers and in coastal areas for mines since earlier this month to guarantee public safety," the Joint Chiefs of Staff here said in a statement."Chances are that mines built in wooden boxes float down from North Korea and reach here. Extra caution is needed for res

South Korea's exports of auto parts jumped to an all-time high in the first half of this year, driven by robust sales of vehicles in overseas markets, government data showed Monday.According to the data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, South Korea exported $13.58 billion worth of auto parts during the January-June period, up 5.4 percent from a year earlier. This represented the largest amount of first-half exports, breaking the previous record of $12.84 billion tallied during the f

Suicide was the No. 1 cause of death for younger people in 2012, with more youths thinking about taking their own lives due to stress from study and economic difficulties, a government report showed Monday.According to Statistics Korea, suicide was the leading cause of death among those between the ages of 9 and 24 in 2012, marking the sixth straight such year since 2007.The death rate per 100,000 people by suicide stood at the highest level of 8, followed by traffic accidents and cancer, with d

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers earned his 10th victory of the season after tossing six shutout innings against the San Diego Padres at home on Sunday.In his final start before the All-Star break, Ryu left the game after six innings with the Dodgers leading 1-0. Ryu allowed only two hits and struck out a season-high 10 batters before handing things over to Brandon League to start the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium.Ryu entered the day with a 9-5 record and a 3.65 ERA. He lowered his ERA

배우 강지환 침대셀카에 대해 사진 속 필리핀 여성이 해명했다.필리핀 여성은 11일 자신의 SNS에 “very sorry only edited pictures hope you can forgive me because his my idol sorry again”(매우 죄송합니다. 단지 편집된 사진입니다. 용서해주시길 바랍니다. 그는 나의 우상입니다. 다시 한 번 죄송합니다)라는 사과의 글을 게재했다.(facebook)앞서 강지환 침대셀카의 주인공 필리핀 여성이 배우 강지환(본명 조태규)과 함께 찍은 침대 셀카를 페이스북에 올려 파문이 일고 일었다. 필리핀 여성 A씨는 11일 자신의 페이스북에 “한국 배우 강지환과 함께 잤다(toghther sleep with Korean actor mr. ji hwan Kang)”라는 글과 함께 강지환의 사진을 14장 올렸다. 강지환측은 논란이 확산되자 “사진 속 주인공은 강지환이 맞다”면서도 “사진을 올린 여성은 현지 촬영을 안내한 가이드의 아내이며,

Brazil star Neymar says his World Cup may be over because of a fractured vertebra but his World Cup dream of celebrating the title with his teammates at the Maracana Stadium next Sunday is still alive.In a video released by the Brazilian football confederation on Saturday, Neymar thanked fans and everyone else for the support in this “very difficult moment.” “I don't have words to describe what has been going through my head and my heart,” said Neymar, trying to stay upbeat but still sporting a

Tim Krul came on as a substitute in the final minute of extra time and then saved two penalties in a 4-3 shootout victory over Costa Rica on Saturday, giving the Netherlands a spot in the World Cup semifinals.Krul saved spot kicks from Costa Rica captain Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umana after the match had finished 0-0.“We had a lot of chances but it didn't go in,” Krul said on Dutch television. “Then I come in, stop two penalties and here we are.”In another stroke of tactical genius at this year's