정부가 12일 정오부터 담배를 매점매석하면 최고 5천만원의 벌금을 매기기로 했다.기획재정부는 담배가격 인상안 확정 발표 후 담배 판매량 급증과 품귀현상이 예상됨에 따라 담배시장 질서 교란 방지를 위해 '매점매석 행위에 대한 고시'를 이날 정오부터 담뱃값이 인상되는 날까지 한시적으로 시행한다고 밝혔다.이 고시를 위반할 경우 물가안정에 관한 법률 제26조에 따라 2년 이하의 징역 또는 5천만원 이하의 벌금이 부과된다.담배의 매점매석 행위란 담배의 제조·수입판매업자·도매업자·소매인이 담배를 정상적인 소요량보다 과다하게 반출 또는 매입한 후 폭리를 목적으로 반출·판매를 기피하는 것을 말한다.제조·수입판매업자의 경우 올해 1∼8월까지 월 평균 반출량(3억5천900만갑)의 104%(3억7천300만갑)를 초과하면 고시 위반이 된다.도매업자와 소매인도 올해 1∼8월까지의 월 평균 매입량의 104%를 초과하면 고시 위반에 해당된다.정부는 담배시장 질서유지를 위해 필요한 경우 국세청과 공정거래위원회

US lawmakers may wait until next week or beyond to vote on training and equipping Syrian rebels in order to debate President Barack Obama's strategy to defeat militant extremists in Iraq and Syria. Several House Republicans emerged from a caucus meeting Thursday to say a quick vote on authorization to empower vetted, moderate Syrian rebels was looking less likely."We may end up being here an extra week," congresswoman Marsha Blackburn told reporters. "It's important to address this and it's impo

The latest music video of South Korean boy band Super Junior became the most-viewed K-pop video for August in just three days of release, an American music magazine has said."Mamacita," the title piece of the band's 7th full-length album, was at No. 1 on the Billboard magazine's top-10 list of most-viewed K-pop videos around the world for August. Released on Monday, the ranking is based on YouTube views for the last one month."Despite dropping with three days left in the month, 'Mamacita' pulled

몽유병에 걸린 미국인 남성이 잠결에 절벽으로 추락하는 아찔한 사고가 발생했다.외신에 따르면, 미국 오하이주의 27세 라이언 캠벨은 친구들과 주 국립공원으로 캠프를 갔다. 잠결에 밖으로 걸어 나온 그는 곧이어 20 미터 절벽 아래로 떨어졌다. 다행히 추락한 순간 수풀에 떨어져 찰과상의 상처만 입고 목숨은 건질 수 있었다. 그러나 사고 당시 그를 구조 하는데만 몇 시간이 걸렸다고 외신이 전했다. 사고 현장에서 그를 도운 한 구조 대원은 “캠벨 얼굴과 머리에 상처가 있었지만 그의 상태는 괜찮았다”며 “수풀이 없었다면 큰일날 뻔했다”고 전했다.(khnews@heraldcorp.com) 　

North Korea will be high on the agenda when South Korea's national security adviser meets with U.S. officials in Washington next week, a government source said Wednesday.Kim Kwan-jin will head for Washington D.C. on Sunday and hold talks with his U.S. counterpart, Susan Rice, and other high-ranking officials and experts, the source said. He will return to South Korea on Sept. 17.It will be Kim's first overseas trip since he was appointed as the chief national security adviser in June.Earlier, th

South Korea said Wednesday that it will strengthen vehicle emissions control by 2020 in order to meet global standards for greenhouse gas reduction targets.The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will lower the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions target to 97g/km for the 2016-2020 period, from the 140g/km target for the 2012-2015 span.In terms of fuel consumption, the 2020 target is equivalent to 24.3 kilometers per liter, compared with the 17 kmpl standard five yea

Three South Koreans have been indicted on charges for buying hacking programs from North Korean agents that were used for Pyongyang's cyber attack against Seoul last year, prosecutors said Wednesday.The three suspects, whose names are withheld, allegedly bought remote-controlled surveillance programs to spy on other people's cards when gambling for 14 million won (US$13,700) from hackers working for North Korea's cyber warfare unit in China in 2011.They spread the software in South Korea through

A foreign investment support center for an inter-Korean industrial park will be opened this week as part of efforts to help internationalize the joint project, Seoul officials said Wednesday.The center, to be opened on Friday and put under the administrative support agency for the Kaesong Industrial Complex, will be tasked with publicizing the industrial zone overseas and providing consultative services to prospective foreign investors, the unification ministry said."The support center will prov

President Barack Obama will ask Congress to quickly authorize the arming and training of Syrian opposition forces but will press forward without a formal sign-off from lawmakers on a broader military and political effort to combat Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, administration officials said Tuesday.Obama was to outline his plans Wednesday in a rare prime-time address to the nation, a format that underscores the seriousness of the threat posed by the Islamic State militants. The presi

South Korea and the United States agreed Tuesday that North Korea won't be able to pull itself out of diplomatic isolation as long as it holds onto its nuclear program, Seoul's chief nuclear envoy said Tuesday.Hwang Joon-kook, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, made the remark to reporters after talks with his U.S. counterpart, Glyn Davies, referring to a recent series of diplomatic efforts by the North to engage with the outside world. "With regard to the No