Prosecutors have raided the offices of eight banks to secure information on financial transactions related to President Park Geun-hye's confidante, who is at the center of a massive influence-peddling scandal, to look into any irregularities, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of a cult leader who has a decades-long connection with Park, is embroiled in a series of allegations that she strong-armed conglomerates to make massive donations to two nonprofit f

러시아 옴스크의 안나 벨리쉬 (Anna Belysh·19)는 물구나무를 선 채 발로 활을 쏘는 진기한 재주로 순식간에 세계적 유명인이 됐다.　　지난 2월 영국 매체 데일리메일이 소개한 벨리쉬는 “어릴 적부터 곡예에 소질이 있었다”고 한다. 　　이후 자라며 활 쏘기에 흥미를 붙인 벨리쉬는 자신이 좋아하는 곡예와 궁술을 혼합시켰다고 한다. 　결과물은 바로 거꾸로 선 채 발로 활을 당겨 정확히 타겟에 명중시키는 묘기였다. 　　철도 수리공인 벨리쉬의 부친은 “아이가 어디서 이런 운동 감각을 익혔는지 모르겠다”, “정말 뛰어난 재능이다”며 자랑스러워 했다. 　(사진=영상)　벨리쉬의 부모는 아이를 기네스 세계 기록에 등재 요청한 상태다. 　　한편, 벨리쉬 이전에도 서커스 등에서 발로 활을 쏘는 여성들이 언론 보도된 바 있다.　　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　

스쿠버다이빙 중 청혼하는 ‘수중 프로포즈’가 로맨틱하다는 평을 얻고 있는 가운데, 목숨이 위험한 아찔한 사건도 발생해 주목을 모으고 있다. 　　터키 해안에서 스쿠버다이빙을 하던 영국인 스테파니 워커 (26)는 해저 11미터 깊이에서 남자친구 안토니 테일러가 청혼 받자 깜짝 놀라 급히 숨을 들이켰다가 예기치 못한 위험에 빠졌다. 스쿠버 다이빙 청혼 성공 사례 =>　　“강사가 코로 숨을 쉬지 말라고 당부했었다”는 워커는 “하지만 청혼을 받자 저도 모르게 숨을 몰아 쉬었다”고 말했다. 　　입의 튜브로만 호흡해야 하는데 코로 들이키자 순식간에 마스크로 물이 들어온 것이다. 　　워커는 근처에 대기하던 강사에 의해 재빨리 구조되었고 청혼에 승낙했다.　 (사진=유튜브)　한편, 영상 공유 서비스 유튜브엔 수중 프로포즈에 성공한 커플들의 영상이 점차 쌓여가고 있는 추세다.　　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　

The global price of dynamic random access memory chips surged in October from a month earlier, data showed Tuesday, boding well for South Korea's leading chipmakers.According to the data compiled by market tracker DRAMeXchange, the average contract price of the DDR3 4GB, mostly used for PCs, rose 25.3 percent on-month to US$1.88 in October, marking the highest gain since March of 2013 when the prices advanced 18.52 percent on-month.The DRAM prices have risen sharply since July this year advancin

Celebrities can take most of the credit for the sales jump in vitamins, including Go master Lee Se-dol whose advertised brand sales more than doubled over a year, industry officials said Tuesday.Yuhan Corporation had launched "Megatrue," a vitamin supplement, in 2012, but the product only gained market profile this year. The company hired Lee, who was internationally spotlighted in March as he played against Google's artificial intelligence program in the ancient board game, as the product spoke

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday called for "calm" as a swirling influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye's close confidante continued to grip the country.Presidential spokesman Jung Youn-kuk made the appeal when asked about yet another allegation that Choi Soon-sil, at the center of the scandal, had entered and left the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae without going through a security check since Park took office in February 2013. Choi is a private citizen w

Vietnam has become the largest importer of Korean ginseng in Southeast Asia, a market that China is aggressively chasing to erode Korea's lead, a trade group said Tuesday.According to the Ho Chi Minh office of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, South Korea exported 1,362 tons of ginseng to Vietnam last year, totaling US$9.46 million. The amount is the largest among Southeast Asian countries and sixth in the list of nations that buys South Korean exports of ginseng. Vietnam was also the

Creditors of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. are set to announce a debt-for-equity swap and other measures, worth 3 trillion won ($2.62 billion), for the embattled shipbuilder next week, to help one of the country's big three shipyards avoid a possible delisting from the local stock market, industry sources said Tuesday.The country's two policy lenders -- the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (EXIM Bank) -- have said they would provide a combined 4.2 t

South Korea's consumer prices rose more than 1 percent for the second consecutive month in October amid concerns over potential deflation in Asia's fourth-largest economy, government data showed Tuesday.The country's consumer price index rose 1.3 percent last month from a year earlier, marking the highest monthly gain since February, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The index stayed over the 1 percent level for the second straight month, following a growth of less than 1 percen

A "surgical" US strike aimed at preventing North Korea from perfecting its nuclear capabilities will lead to a "bloodbath" and a full-scale war as China would view such an action as unwarranted and send forces to help the communist neighbor under a defense treaty, an expert said Monday.John Delury, an assistant professor at Seoul's Yonsei University with expertise on China, made the remark in an article carried by the website 38 North, noting that talk of a military option against the North has

Prosecutors on Monday placed Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of President Park Geun-hye, under emergency detention after grilling her for hours on allegations of interfering in state affairs and peddling influence.Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has 48 hours in which to decide whether it will seek a warrant to formally arrest the 60-year-old, who appeared for questioning earlier Monday. She'd returned from Europe on Sunday after nearly two months. (Yonhap)Under criminal law, investigative