A former head of South Korea's state-run Korea Development Bank was questioned by prosecutors Monday in connection to management troubles at cash-strapped Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.Hong Ky-ttack appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul to undergo questioning after a local civic group filed a complaint against him in June last year.  Hong Ky-ttack, a former head of the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), arrives at the Seoul Central Distri

South Korea's Internet banking service rose at a fast clip in 2016 with the number of daily transactions and its value reaching record highs, central bank data showed Monday.The number of Internet and mobile banking service users came to 122.54 million in 2016, up 4.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)The number is the sum of all registered users of 16 Internet and mobile banking service providers in South Korea, including commercial banks.The ave

(Debra Bass, Karlawelchstylist의 인스타 계정)26일(현지 시각) 2017 아카데미 시상식. 스타들이 파란색 리본을 달고 레드 카펫을 밟았다.‘ACLU’라는 문구가 적힌 파란색 리본은 도널드 트럼프 미국 대통령의 반(反)이민 행정명령에 반대하는 정치적 의사 표현이다. 미국시민자유연맹(American Civil Liberties Union)을 뜻하는 ACLU는 앞서 도널드 트럼프 미국 대통령의 행정명령에 소송을 제기했으며 앞으로도 계속 반(反)트럼프 운동을 지속할 것이라 공표했다. 영화 ‘러빙’으로 오스카 여우주연상 후보에 오른 루스 네가, 영화 ‘문라이트’로 감독상 후보에 오른 배리 젱킨스, 톱 모델 칼리 클로스 등이 미국시민자유연맹에 대한 지지와 트럼프의 반(反)이민 정책 반대 의사를 이날 공식적으로 밝혔다.  전날 밤 열린 독립영화 시상식 ‘독립정신상(Independent Spirit Awards)에서는 배우 케이시 애플렉이 남우주연상 시상을 하면서 이 파

이라크에서 수니파 무장조직 이슬람국가(IS)가 강아지에 폭탄을 부착한 동영상이 퍼지고 있어 국제사회에 충격을 주고 있다. 공개된 2분짜리 동영상에는 IS에 대항하는 3명의 이라크군 반란군이 생포된 강아지에 장착된 폭탄 조끼에 대해 설명하고 있으며, 폭발물은 원격조종이 가능하여 테러 용도로 제작된 것이라는 것을 예측할 수 있다. 강아지는 이라크군 진영으로 넘어갔으나 폭발은 불발된 것으로 추정된다.   (사진=유튜브 영상 캡쳐)제조된 폭탄은 전선과 물병으로 이루어져 있었으며 최대 4명 정도에게 피해를 입힐 수 있게 설계된 것으로 밝혀졌다.  IS는 최근 이라크 정부의 IS의 최대 근거지로 알려진 모술 시에 대한 공격 강화 그리고 물자 공급로의 감소에 따라 이와 같은 극단적인 수단을 고안해낸 것으로 여겨진다.이러한 이라크 정부의 공격에 대응하기 위해 IS는 최첨단 기술을 탑재한 드론을 이용한 수류탄 공격의 빈도수를 높이고 있다.  강아지에게 부착되어 있던 폭탄조끼는 곧 해체되었지만, 국제

남자로 성전환 중인 미국의 고교 레슬러가 레슬링 대회 여자부문에서 우승해 형평성 논란이 일고 있다고 외신이 26일 보도했다. (사진=유튜브 영상 캡쳐)매체에 따르면 미국 텍사스 주 댈러스에 사는 마크 베그스(17) 는 지난 25일 텍사스 주 레슬링대회 여자 부문 110 파운드급에 출전해 상대편 선수 첼시 산체스를 꺾고 우승했다. 그는 본래 남자 부분에 출전할 예정이었으나 현행 경기 규정상 출생 성별에 따라 대회에 출전해야 했기 때문에 여성 부문에 도전한 것으로 전해졌다. 그의 우승이 논란이 되고 있는 이유는 그가 2년째 테스토스테론 등 남성 호르몬 주사를 맞으며 성전환을 시도해왔기 때문이다. 이로 인해 여성 부문 출전은 대회 전부터 논란이 되어 왔다. 여성 부문 출전자들은 베그스가 “남성 호르몬을 맞아왔기 때문에 근력 등에서 훨씬 우세할 수 있다”며 불만을 토로했다. 일부는 이달 초 베그스를 상대로 소송까지 제기한 것으로 알려졌다. 베그스는 논란을 잠재우기 위해 남성 부분에 출전할

South Korean girl group GFriend on Monday unveiled a teaser for the music video of its upcoming song "Fingertip." (Source Music) "Fingertip" is the title track of the group's upcoming EP album "The Awakening" slated to come out March 6, according to Source Music, the group's agency. The album is the first in eight months following its full-length album "LOL." In the brief clip uploaded to YouTube, the me

The Constitutional Court on Monday heard the final arguments of President Park Geun-hye and the National Assembly as it pushed to complete its review of the legality of the president's impeachment by early March.Park did not appear at the final hearing, but she highlighted her efforts to serve the nation in a statement read by one of her defense attorneys.She also expressed "regret" for causing "great pain" to the people and reiterated her claim that she only received trivial advice from Choi So

Moon Jae-in, former head of the Democratic Party who stands as the front-runner in the next presidential election, on Monday criticized the acting president's decision not to extend the independent counsel probe into a presidential corruption scandal."(The decision) proved the president and the prime minister are in the same boat in regards to the violation of the Constitution and the influence-peddling scandal," Moon said. Moon Jae-in, former head of the Democratic Party (Yonhap)Earlier in the

The average number of babies born in South Korea fell 7.9 percent in 2015 from 2010, government data showed Monday, in the latest sign of the chronic low birthrate in the Asian country.Married women aged over 15 gave birth to 2.19 babies on average in 2015, down from 2.38 babies in 2010, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.(Yonhap)The data also showed that married women expect to have 1.83 babies on average in 2015, down from 1.96 babies in 2010.Among 6.92 million married women, 1

Bank lending rates on new household loans edged up in January, while interest rates paid by banks on new deposits fell, central bank data showed Monday.The average interest rates on fresh household loans extended by local banks came to 3.39 percent in January, up 0.10 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)The BOK data came amid South Korea's efforts to tackle rising household debt. The country's outstanding household credit, which is composed of househ

SK Group, South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate, has largely benefited from mergers and acquisitions pushed by the group's holding firm, SK Holdings Co., in the chipmaking and biotech sectors, industry sources said Monday.SK Materials Co., a semiconductor materials company taken over by SK Holdings, reported record-high earnings last year to serve as the crown jewel of the group, they said. (Yonhap)SK Materials said it reported 461.4 billion won ($407.2 million) in sales and 154.1 billion won in oper

North Korean leader's half brother Kim Jong-nam, who was killed in Malaysia earlier this month, had sent a letter to Pyongyang asking for living expenses before his death, an expert at a local think tank said Monday.Kim, the eldest son of late former leader Kim Jong-il, died on Feb. 13 at an airport in Kuala Lumpur after apparently being poisoned by two Asian women.Yoo Dong-ryul, head of the Korea Institute of Liberal Democracy, speaks during a conference held at the National Assembly in Seoul o

South Korea called on North Korea on Monday to stop interfering in the country's domestic politics as Pyongyang's semi-state agencies condemned President Park Geun-hye on the occasion of the final hearing of her impeachment trial.The History Society of North Korea on Sunday called Park's family a "dirty group of traitors," and an agency promoting anti-imperialism said that rallies staged by Park's supporters will only speed up her downfall.North Korea's attacks were timed with the Constitutional

New home permits dropped 16.1 percent from a year earlier in January, the government said Monday, amid a government move to limit the number of new homes as a way of curbing household debt.Construction permits issued for new homes came to 39,898 last month, compared with 47,536 issued in the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. (Yonhap)New home permits have been on a steady decline since July, except in November when they gained 3.2 percent on-ye

South Korea's international air passenger traffic jumped 12.1 percent from a year earlier last month, helped by a sharp increase in passengers to and from Japan and other Asian countries, the government said Monday.International air passengers to and from the country came to about 6.96 million in January, compared with 6.21 million in the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. (Yonhap)Air passengers between South Korea and Japan spiked 19.7 percent

Sales of major South Korean retailers soared in January from a year earlier on strong sales by convenience stores and big chain supermarkets, government data showed Monday.The combined sales of department stores, large outlets and online malls gained 8.3 percent last month, snapping a three straight monthly drop since October last year, according to the data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.  (Yonhap)The ministry said the growth in sales was driven by brisk sales of convenience stor

South Korea's imports of crude oil climbed 5.1 percent last year from a year earlier driven by a surge in inbound shipments of Iranian oil following the removal of international trade sanctions on the Middle Eastern country, government data showed Monday. The combined inbound purchase of crude oil reached 1.78 billion barrels at the end of December, compared with 1.26 billion barrels the previous year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.  (Yonhap)The import of petroleum prod

Lee Kun-hee, the ailing chief of South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group, again topped the ranking of dividend income earners, data showed Monday. Dividend payouts to Lee, chairman of the group's flagship Samsung Electronics Co., stood at 189.9 billion won ($167.6 million) so far this year, according to the data compiled by market tracker FnGuide. (Yonhap)Lee, who owns a 3.5 percent stake in Samsung Electronics, is set to earn 137.1 billion won in dividends from the electronics giant.Hyunda

The military reiterated Monday that the advanced US missile defense system will be deployed in South Korea as planned to counter missile threats from North Korea. South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun (Yonhap)"We don't expect any changes to the planned deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea within this year," Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said in a briefing. Lotte Group plans to hold a board of directors' meeting to approve the l

North Korea has been forcing its residents to share a bill for completing a new town construction project ahead of the birthday of the country's late founder, Kim Il-sung, to make up fund shortages caused by international sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs, a North Korean defectors group claimed Monday.Citing a source in the North, Kim Heung-kwang, a North Korean defector and executive director of the Seoul-based dissidents' group North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity, said, "A setba