South Korean footballer Ki Sung-yueng, hoping to represent the country at the World Cup this summer, has asked his English club to allow him to return home before the end of the current season to recover from a knee injury, his father said Thursday.Ki Young-ok, father of the Sunderland midfielder, said the 25-year-old is waiting for the English Premier League club's final decision."Ki Sung-yueng has asked the team to let him leave early," said the senior Ki, who is president of the municipal foo

A South Korean baseball umpire was assaulted on the field in midgame by an inebriated fan on Wednesday night, an unsavory incident adding a new twist to an ongoing controversy surrounding questionable officiating in the nation's top competition.During a Korea Baseball Organization game between the Kia Tigers and the SK  Wyverns at the Tigers' home in Gwangju, about 330 kilometers south of Seoul, a male fan ran onto the field and jumped the first base umpire Park Keun-young from behind. The incid

Rival political parties wrangled Wednesday over whether President Park Geun-hye's apology over the Sewol ferry disaster was sincere enough after families of victims dismissed the remarks as "informal."Park apologized during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, saying the government failed to prevent the disaster and bungled its response to the sinking. She also said she was "sorry to the people and heavy hearted that many precious lives were lost."The apology came 13 days after the 6,825-ton Sewol sank

The aunt of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has appeared in a rerun of a documentary film, a move that could confuse outside analysts on whether she was ousted from power.The North's state television aired the documentary on Tuesday that showed Kim Kyong-hui visiting a soccer stadium along with her nephew Kim Jong-un.The documentary was first aired on Feb. 11, and North Korea did not edit out scenes of Kim Kyong-hui on Tuesday when it aired a rerun of the film.On April 20, the North's television

The state auditor has launched a preliminary probe into government agencies related to the deadly sinking of the ferry Sewol over their safety management and disaster responses, its officials said Wednesday.The Board of Audit and Inspection on Tuesday began looking into whether the four government agencies -- the ministries of maritime affairs and public safety as well as the Coast Guard and the Korea Maritime and Port Administration – were appropriate in overseeing safety practices and in their

South Korea's industrial output grew slightly on-month in March, rebounding from a drop in the previous month, helped by increased production by manufacturers, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries gained 0.9 percent last month from February. This marked a turnaround from the previous year when the output shrank 1.9 percent. Production in the service sector also inched up 0.1 perce

South Korea's top fixed-line operator, KT Corp., said Wednesday it remained in net loss in the first quarter from a heightened battle among mobile carriers and stronger monitoring by telecom authorities.Net loss came to 40.9 billion won ($39.2 million) in the January-March period, improving from a net loss of 542.5 billion won in the previous quarter, the country's No. 2 mobile carrier said in a regulatory filing. It posted a net profit of 212.6 billion won in the first quarter of 2013.Revenue e

South Korea will help improve food security in Southeast Asian countries, using its advanced technology to provide detailed information on regional and global food conditions, the government said Wednesday.The project will begin in Laos where the country will help set up a real-time agricultural information system, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.An agreement to that effect was to be signed in Vientiane later in the day.Under the agreement, South Korea will build

A senior U.S. government official said Tuesday North Korea is still obliged to follow rules under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty despite its withdrawal from the treaty in 2003.Thomas Countryman, assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, said NPT members will discuss the North Korea problem during the Preparatory Committee meeting for the 2015 Nuclear Non-Proliferations Treaty Review Conference underway in New York."The NPT requirements remain binding upo

South Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon has been selected among the nine members of the main competition jury for this year's Cannes International Film Festival, the event's organizer said Monday.She became the first Korean to join the Cannes' jury since director Lee Chang-dong was appointed in 2009. No South Korean actor or actress has been chosen among the festival's jury members before. Led by New Zealand director Jane Campion, the winner of the Palme d'or for "The Piano" in 1993, the jury includes

  President Park Geun-hye paid her respects Tuesday to victims in the deadly sinking of the ferry Sewol during a visit to a mourning altar.Park offered incense and bowed her head before rows of black-draped portraits of victims lined up on a giant altar laden with chrysanthemums at the official mourning center in Ansan, south of Seoul. Ansan is home to Danwon High School, which lost about 260 students and teachers in the disaster.A total of 302 people are dead or missing in the April 16 sinking.

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top maker of smartphones, said Tuesday its first-quarter net profit advanced 5.8 percent from a year earlier, led mainly by its handset division.Net income came to 7.57 trillion won ($7.31 billion) in the January-March period, compared with 7.15 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales edged up 1.53 percent on-year to 53.68 trillion won in the first quarter, the company said. Its operating profit came to 8.49 trillion won, do

Actor Kang Ji-hwan and actress Jung So-min kicked off the first episode of KBS2 TV show “Big Man” with a “kiss of fire” on Monday. 　Kang plays protagonist Kim Ji-heok, an orphan who suddenly becomes the elder son of a conglomerate family. 　In the stills released by the broadcaster, the actor is seen kissing Kang Jin-ah (played by Jung So-min), in a backstreet late at night. The actress plays the spoiled daughter of the business family.　Throughout the show, the Kim vies with Kang Dong-seok (playe

　　Actor Choi Daniel said he hated traveling because it requires “bothersome” preparations, such as packing and being bound to flight schedules, the actor told reporters Monday.　“Traveling involves some incredibly bothersome jobs, such as making a list of things that I need, packing them up, making sure I arrive at the airport at least two hours before takeoff, and planning what to do during those two hours,” Choi told reporters at a press conference for KBS2 TV show “Big Man” in Yeouido-dong, Se

　Choi Daniel said Monday he regretted that his kissing scene with actress Lee Da-hee in “Big Man” was not as erotic as he wanted it to be.　Speaking at a press conference in Yeouido-dong, Seoul,the 28-year-old said he wanted the kiss and “the post-kiss eye contact” to be as erotic as that of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”　“We did not have enough time to talk about how we should act out the kissing scene; if we had enough time … we could have had more ‘chewy’ sort of (kissin

KBS2 새 월화드라마 '빅맨'에서 강지환과 최다니엘의 사랑을 동시에 받는 히로인인 탤런트 이다희(소미라 역)에게 시청자의 관심이 높아지고 있다. '빅맨'은 고아로 자라 밑바닥 인생을 살았던 강지환(김지혁 역)이 재벌 그룹의 장남이라는 새 삶을 얻게 되면서 벌어지는 이야기로, 자신의 소중한 사람들을 위해 세상에 맞서는 "시대가 요구하는 진정한 리더십" 을 그린 작품이다. 강지환, 최다니엘 (강동석 역), 이다희 (소미라 역), 정소민 (강진아 역) 등이 출연하며 28일에 첫 방송된다.28일 정오에 서울 영등포구 여의도동의 한 레스토랑에서  열린 기자간담회에서 이다희가 말하는 드라마 "빅맨"에 대해 기자들이 질문했다.(기자): 주인공에다가 두 남자 사이에서 선택을 고민하는 행복한 역인 것 같은데, 어떤가.이다희: 이제까지 못 받은 사랑, 여기서 다 받는 거 같아요. 그 전에는 너무 사랑을 못 받은 역만 하다 보니 사랑 받는 역을 하고 싶다고 생각했는데, 그 사랑을 여기서 다- 받는 것

President Barack Obama says it may be time to consider further sanctions against North Korea ``that have even more bite‘’ as the country is threatening its fourth nuclear test.Addressing a joint news conference alongside South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Obama said threats by North Korea will get it ``nothing except further isolation‘’ from the global community. But Obama acknowledged there are limits to what impacts additional penalties can have on the country.　 ``North Korea already is the

Two North Korean patrol boats crossed the western maritime border and retreated early Friday, the South Korean military said, just hours before U.S. President Barack Obama is due to arrive in South Korea for an official visit.The fishery inspection vessels came 1 nautical mile south of the maritime boundary, called the Northern Limit Line, in the Yellow Sea and retreated after the South Korean Navy broadcast several warnings and fired warning shots between 4:35 a.m. and 5:03 a.m., the Joint Chie

바비인형녀 발레리아 루키아노바 (Valeria Lukyanova)가 SNS에 피트니스 센터에서 운동하는 사진을 공개하면서 화제를 뿌렸다. 　페이스북에 공개된 바비인형녀의 날씬한 몸매에 적당한 팔다리 근육과 복근이 돋보여, 루키아노바가 평소 운동을 즐겨 한다는 것을 알 수 있다. 　루키아노바의 일부 사진들에는 코와 배꼽에 피어싱을 한 모습, 스포츠웨어 나이키 브랜드를 즐겨입는 모습 등 바비인형이 아닌, 역동적인 현대 여성이자 모델로서의 면모도 엿보인다.   　우크라이나 모델 출신인 루키아노바는 풍만한 가슴과 기이할 정도로 가느다란 허리, 바비인형을 꼭 닮은 얼굴로 해외에서는 “살아 있는 바비인형 (real life human Barbie)”, 우리나라에서는 “바비인형녀” 등으로 불리며 인기몰이 중이다.　한편, 루키아노바는 한 자전적 다큐멘터리에서 자신이 외계인이라고 주장한 바 있으며, 지난 3월에는 햇빛과 공기만으로 연명하는 “브리더리어니즘 (breatharianism)에 심취한 모습

U.S. President Barack Obama was due in South Korea on Friday for talks with President Park Geun-hye as the Asian ally grieves over the deadly sinking of a ferry while on the lookout for a possible nuclear test by North Korea.How to deal with Pyongyang is expected to be a major topic for talks between Park and Obama set for later Friday. But attention is also being paid to what action Obama will take to express sympathy and condolences over the Sewol ferry disaster that has left nearly 300 people