South Korea said Tuesday that it will toughen its criteria used to determine whether to provide tax exemptions and other benefits as part of efforts to reduce excessive tax expenditure.Under the 2014 tax expenditure plan, which was approved by a Cabinet meeting, the finance ministry said that it will not approve any new tax exemption or cut whose value exceeds about 10 billion won ($9.29 million) if it fails to pass a feasibility test. The exact threshold will be decided later.The ministry will

South Korea's No. 2 tech player, LG Electronics Inc., said Tuesday it plans to apply its latest "Knock Code" feature to its earlier devices, further promoting its new unlocking technology.The company said the feature, first introduced in February with the launch of the 5.9-inch phablet G Pro 2, will also be available for the G2 and the G Flex models through updates, and will gradually expand to other previous lineup as well.LG said users can update their devices with the feature through download

South Korea and the European Union added a protocol to their free trade agreement Tuesday to account for Croatia's recent accession to the political and economic union, the South Korean government said.The revision of the South Korea-EU FTA, enacted in July 2011, was officially signed in Brussels, Belgium, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The same amendment was initialed in November 2011, about three months after Croatia's accession to the EU.Under the change, South Korea

South Korea has joined hands with Japan and the European Union in drafting a resolution on North Korea's human rights situation, calling on the United Nations to refer the case to an "appropriate" international justice mechanism, officials here said Tuesday.The resolution led by Japan and the EU was presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Sunday, with member states working on details for possible revisions.It condemned the communist country "in the strongest terms" for its "systematic, wid

The number of sex crimes on subways in Seoul jumped more than 20 percent in 2013 from a year earlier, government data showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the number of sexual offenses committed on subway trains and in stations in the capital came to 1,026 last year, up 20.1 percent from a year earlier.The number of people arrested on suspicion of committing related crimes on the subway system also s

North Korea has completed two statues of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, according to a news report, in Pyongyang's latest lucrative project in Africa.The $5 million project is to mark the 90th birthday of the long-time leader of the southern African nation, the Telescope News reported last month.The two statues, which began being crafted by Pyongyang in 2009, are believed to be ready for delivery, said the online news website, which specializes in African news.The bigger bronze statue, wort

Lower back pain causes more disability around the world than any other single condition, and accounts for a third of work-related handicaps, a specialist journal reported on Monday.Nearly a tenth -- 9.4 percent -- of the world's population has lower back pain, with the prevalence highest in Western Europe, followed by North Africa and the Middle East, and the lowest in the Caribbean and Latin America, a study found. The figure includes children.Lower back pain also accounts for a third of all wo

South Korean pitcher Lim Chang-yong has been released by the Chicago Cubs, the Major League Baseball team announced Tuesday.The Cubs' official website stated that Lim was "granted his unconditional release" on Monday local time. The 37-year-old is now a free agent.The right-hander with a sidearm delivery made his MLB debut last September, after a call-up from the minors. He had Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his pitching elbow in July 2012 and spent the first half of 2013 in reh

Sales of books related to the entrance exam of South Korea's biggest conglomerate Samsung Group soared in March, one of the nation's largest booksellers said Tuesday, ahead of a change in its recruitment system later this year.Yes 24 said its shipments of textbooks for the Samsung Aptitude Test jumped more than three-fold from a month earlier.While sales of such books usually soar in March ahead of the exam at the end of the month, this year's growth hovered above the 158.2 percent and 60.6 perc

China's military told South Korea last week that Beijing is willing to increase "multi-level, multi-field" defense exchanges with Seoul, the Chinese defense ministry said Tuesday.Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of general staff of China's People's Liberation Army, made the remarks at a meeting in Beijing last Friday with Park Sam-duck, president of the Korea National Defense University."China is willing to make joint efforts with the ROK (South Korea) to keep promoting multi-level and multi-field m

South Korea's credit card spending grew at a slower pace in February than a month earlier due to a one-time effect, data showed on Tuesday.Purchases made with credit cards reached 41.48 trillion won ($38.52 billion) in February, growing 2.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association. The February figure is compared with 46.9 trillion won worth of credit card spending a month earlier and also marks a slowdown from a 9-percent on-year gain in Janu

State prosecutors sought an arrest warrant Tuesday for the head of a local mine developer on charges of reaping massive profits from a stock price manipulation scheme linked to a diamond mining project in Cameroon.CNK International President Oh Deok-gyun allegedly pocketed about 90 billion won ($83.24 million) by exaggerating the volume of diamond reserves in a Cameroon mine through a press release that inflated the KOSDAQ-listed company's stock prices.Oh was apprehended at Incheon International

  유부녀로 구성된 신인 그룹 ‘소녀시절’이 누리꾼들의 관심을 모으고 있다. 24일 소녀시절의 소속사 SC엔터테인먼트는 “평균 키 170㎝에 아름다운 외모를 자랑하는 아줌마 그룹 소녀시절이 25일 데뷔한다”고 밝혔다. 공개된 앨범 재킷과 티저 영상 속 소녀시절 멤버들은 유부녀라고 믿겨지지 않는 몸매와 외모를 뽐내고 있다. 특히 나이를 가늠할 수 없을 정도로 동안미로를 뽐내 실제 나이에도 누리꾼들의 관심이 쏠렸다. 소녀시절 멤버들의 평균 나이는 34세로 가장 나이가 많은 멤버는 37세, 막내는 29세인 것으로 알려졌다. 또한 아이돌 그룹 연습생 출신부터 쇼핑몰 모델, 종갓집 며느리 등 다양한 이력을 자랑한다. 특히 멤버들 모두 남편의 적극적인 지원을 받고 데뷔한 것으로 전해졌다. SC엔터테인먼트 측은 “소녀시절은 남편과 아이 뒷바라지에 치여 사는 아줌마들에게 꿈과 희망을 주는 아줌마 대표 그룹으로 성장할 것”이라고 밝혔다. 소녀시절 데뷔 소식

Asia's largest aerospace museum is set to open on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju next month to provide visitors with a chance to learn about aviation and space, its operator said Monday.  The Jeju Aerospace Museum in the southwestern part of the island will showcase exhibitions on aviation, space exploration and planetary science, according to the Jeju Free International City Development Center.After some six years of construction with funding of 115 billion won ($106.7 million), t

주인이 애완견에게 소주 2병을 먹이고 괴로워하는 모습을 동영상으로 찍어 SNS에 유포하면서 논란이 거세지자 경찰이 수사에 나섰다. 동물자유연대는 최근 A씨가 자신이 키우던 슈나우저 종 강아지에게 음주를 강제해 동물보호법을 위반했다며 경찰에 고발하고, A씨가 페이스북에 올린 최초의 동영상 및 작성 글을 증거로 제출했다. SNS에 공개된 2분21초짜리 해당 동영상에는 심하게 비틀거리며 울타리 철장에 부딪히고 신음소리를 내며 바닥에 주저앉는 강아지의 모습과, A 씨로 추정되는 남성은 ‘술 많이 취했구나’라며 웃는 소리가 담겨있다. 동물자유연대 관계자는 “소주는 개에게는 치명적인 독극물로서 마실경우 인간에 비해 알코올에 대한 민감도가 커 간 손상과 심장 발작 등을 일으킬 수 있기 때문에 개 생명에 매우 위험할 수 있다”면서 “동영상 속 개가 비틀거리며 넘어지는 모습을 보면 정상적인 상황이 아니라는 것을 쉽게 알 수 있지만 A 씨는 아무런 응급조치 없이 이를 촬영해 SNS에 올리는 잘못된 행

A wartime letter written by a Japanese national has confirmed that Japan had "forced" Korean women to become sex slaves for the Japanese army during World War II, in a rare documentary evidence that could prove Tokyo's culpability for its wartime atrocities, according to the letter released by China on Monday.Historians say up to 200,000 women from Korea, China and some Asian nations were coerced into sexual servitude at front-line Japanese brothels during the war. Those sex slaves were euphemis

Serbia marks Monday the 15th anniversary since NATO launched an air war to stop the crackdown on independence-seeking Kosovo by the regime of strongman Slobodan Milosevic.The 11-week operation was the Atlantic alliance's first-ever major air campaign in Europe and still remains etched deep in Serbia's public memory despite recent efforts by the government to move on.On March 24 1999, NATO launched the attack -- without UN Security Council backing -- after Milosevic spurned a call to end repressi

 이소연이 방송에서 가상 부부로 호흡을 맞추고 있는 윤한에게 보낸 문자 메시지가 공개됐다. 지난 2일 MBC 예능프로그램 ‘우리 결혼했어요 시즌 4’(이하 우결)에서 윤한은 이소연에게 “생일날 축하 문자 메시지 보내줘서 고맙다”고 말했다. 이에 이소연은 “12시 땡 치면 제일 먼저 하려고 했는데 촬영 중간이라 타이밍을 놓쳤다”고 아쉬움을 드러냈다.화면에 공개된 카카오톡 대화창에는 ‘12시 될 때 문자 보내려고 했는데 촬영하고 잠들어버려서 이제 문자하네. 생일 축하해. 행복한 하루 보내시고 우린 목요일에 보자고’라는 내용이 담겨있었다.이날 윤한은 이소연에게 “선물은 따로 없느냐”며 기대감을 내비쳤지만, “없어”라는 단호한 대답에 시무룩해졌다. 하지만 이소연이 바쁜 일정 중에도 직접 만든 케이크를 선물하자 윤한을 감동받은 모습을 보이기도 했다. 이소연 문자 공개 방송을 접한 누리꾼들은 “이소연 문자 공개, 이러다 진짜 사귈 기세”, “이소연 문자 공개, 케이크도 직접 만들어 선물하고 이

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's No. 1 carmaker, launched its all-new Sonata on Monday as part of efforts to expand its presence in the global mid-size sedan market.The company said the car features "refined styling" thanks to the Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design language, has much greater driving characteristics than the outgoing model and incorporates top notch safety.Hyundai said that the sedan, which should reach consumers within the month in its home market, emphasizes a "return to basics.""The

미국이 20일(현지시간) 블라디미르 푸틴 러시아 대통령 측근에 대한 추가 제재를 발표했다. 푸틴 대통령의 비서실장 게르게이 이바노프를 비롯한 정부 관료 16명과 기업인 4명, 금융기관인 ‘방크로시야’가 제재 대상이다.푸틴의 ‘이너서클(inner circle)’로 불리는 기업인 유리 코발츄크(62), 겐나디 팀첸코(61), 아르카디 로텐베르그(62), 보리스 로텐베르그(57) 형제 등 4명은 억만장자들이다. 푸틴의 장기 집권 동안에 부를 급격하게 불리며 친구 덕 좀 본 이들이 이번에는 친구 때문에 발목이 잡혔다. 코발츄크는 방크로시야의 대주주이자 이사회 의장이다. 미국 재무부에 따르면 방크로시야의 자산은 100억달러로, 러시아 고위 관료들의 개인 은행이며 러시아 2대 보험회사를 자회사로 거느리고 있다. 이 은행을 주무르는 코발츄크는 푸친과는 20년 지기 친구 사이다. 1990년대 푸틴이 고향인 상페테르부르크의 부시장으로 재직 당시 둘은 같은 다차(주말농원) 조합의 일원이었다. 푸틴이