The insured amount per policy holder in South Korea rose at the slowest clip last year due mainly to a drop in insurance sales, industry data showed Sunday.A life insurance policy holder had some 47.6 million won ($42,200) in insured amount in 2016, up 0.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Life Insurance Association. (Yonhap)The on-year gain tied the slowest pace of 0.2 percent set in 2011, compared with 5.8 percent growth in 2015.Industry watchers said the

"옷을 벗고 지낼 자유를 달라" "벗은 몸을 보지 않을 권리도 있다"충북 제천의 한적한 시골에 들어서 마을 주민들과 첨예한 갈등을 빚었던 일명 '누드펜션' 문제가 매듭지어지고 있다.주민 반발과 대내외의 비판 여론에 해결책을 찾던 제천시가 문제의 펜션은 미신 고 숙박업소라는 보건복지부 유권해석에 따라 폐쇄명령을 내리고 공중위생법관리 위 반 혐의로 운영자도 경찰에 고발했다.경찰은 미신고 숙박업 부분에 대한 수사와 함께 펜션 운영자 등을 공연음란죄로 도 처벌할 수 있는지 검토하고 있다.  (사진=연합뉴스)펜션 운영자는 건물 매각까지 고민하는 것으로 알려졌다. '누드펜션'은 폐쇄 운 명을 맞았지만, 나체주의(누디즘 혹은 자연주의) 자체에 대한 관심은 불러일으켰다.논란의 중심에 선 누디즘은 국내에선 낯선 개념이지만, 서양에선  학문·예술· 종교 등 여러 영역에서 논의돼왔다.영국 런던 출신 작가, 심리학자에 나체주의자인 필립 카콤은 2010년 나체의  역 사·의미를 탐구하는 책을 집필했다. 그

배우 고(故) 최진실 씨의 딸 준희(14) 양이 외할머니로부터 학대를 당하고 있다며 경찰에 신고까지 했다는 충격 고백을 했 다.최 양은 5일 자신의 페이스북에 "토요일 새벽 1시 55분 지금도 집안이 다 박살 났습니다 경찰들도 찾아오고 정신이 없다"며 "이 사실을 알리지 못하고 죽는다면 너 무 억울할 것 같다. 저 좀 살려달라"고 밝혔다. (사진=최준희 인스타그램/연합뉴스)그는 "제 일생이 꼬이기 시작한 건 엄마가 하늘나라로 간 이후부터 아닐까 싶다 "며 "저를 사랑으로 키워준 이모할머니가 있었는데 외할머니와 사이가 좋지 않아 외 할머니가 강제로 못 보게 했다"고 주장했다.그러면서 "이모할머니가 보고 싶어서 우울증에 걸렸을 때 외할머니는  잔인하게 도 이모할머니의 물건을 바닥에 던지며 소리를 지르고 욕설을 했다. 이모할머니와 연락을 막기 위해 수시로 제 휴대전화 검사도 했고, 가져가서 돌려주지도 않았다"고 덧붙였다.최 양은 또 "할머니의 윽박과 폭력은 날이 갈수록 늘어만 갔다"며 "

Operating profits of companies listed on South Korea's benchmark KOSPI are expected to reach nearly 200 trillion won ($177.6 billion) for 2017 amid the recent stock rally, a survey showed Sunday.Local brokerages forecast that KOSPI-listed firms will post a combined 193 trillion won in operating profit for this year, up 29 percent from last year's 160 trillion won, according to the poll by FN Guide, a market research firm.It beat the earlier projection of 172 trillion won set in the beginning of

MANILA -- South Korea's top diplomat will make her debut on the multilateral diplomatic stage Sunday by joining ministerial meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, where she will discuss cooperation on diverse issues, including North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Manila on Saturday and held back-to-back bilateral talks with counterparts from Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia.On Sunday, Kang will participate in the S

South Korea's per capita gross domestic is expected to edge past Italy's in 2018, the government predicted Sunday, based on growth forecast data. The prediction, if it is met, will place the country's per capita GDP at slightly more than $30,000 and just over that of the European country. South Korea was ranked 29th worldwide, with Italy standing at 27th as of October 2016, the government said.The data is based on reports released by the International Monetary Fund that ranked 190 countries, wit

South Korean Kim In-kyung is on the verge of capturing her first LPGA major in Scotland.Kim opened a six-stroke lead at the Ricoh Women's British Open at Fife, Scotland, on Saturday (local time), after a third round of six-under 66 at Kingsbarns Golf Links.The bogey-free round puts Kim in the driver's seat for her maiden LPGA major. Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Georgia Hall of England are tied for second at 11-under, followed by former British Open champ from South Korea, Park In-bee, at 10

South Korean sprinter Kim Kuk-young has crashed out of the men's 100-meter semifinals at the ongoing world championships.Kim finished 23 among 24 semifinalists with a time of 10.40 seconds at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in London on Saturday (local time). Only the top eight made it to the final. It was Kim's worst 100m time of the season.Kim was the first South Korean to ever reach the world championships semifinals in the 100m. On Friday, he clocke

Hyundai Motor Co. and its corporate cousin Kia Motors Corp. outpaced Ford Motor Co. to become the No. 2 hybrid automobile sellers in the United States in July, industry data showed Sunday.According to market tracker HybridCars.com, the two South Korean automakers sold 4,976 vehicles that make use of both an internal combustion engine and electric motor to get high fuel mileage. The total represents a 9 percent increase from 4,566 units sold in the previous month and more than a twofold surge com

The South Korean government welcomed the United Nations' fresh sanctions against North Korea on Sunday, renewing its call on the communist state to stop all provocations."The government welcomes the unanimous adoption of Resolution 2371 by the UN Security Council in response to North Korea's ballistic missile provocations on July 4 and 28," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a released statement.The statement came only hours after the UNSC adopted the new sanctions resolution."Through the r

South Korea's top seven tech giants are expected to see their operating profit rise 200 percent on-year in the third quarter, a report showed Sunday, maintaining solid growth throughout 2017.KB Securities Co. said Samsung Electronics Co., SK hynix Inc., Samsung SDI Co., LG Electronics Inc., LG Display Co., Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., and LG Innotek Co., are set to post a combined operating profit of 19.4 trillion won ($17.2 billion) in the July-September period.For the second half of 2017, th

NEW YORK -- The UN Security Council unanimously adopted new sanctions on North Korea Saturday, depriving the communist regime of key sources of export revenue as punishment for its recent intercontinental ballistic missile tests.The sanctions provided in Resolution 2371 aim to slash North Korea's annual export revenue of $3 billion by a third. They include a ban on all exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood.The US-drafted resolution also calls for capping the number of North

MANILA  -- North Korea's foreign minister arrived in the Philippines on Sunday to attend a regional security forum amid increasing pressure on Pyongyang's unwavering pursuit of missile and nuclear capabilities.A North Korean delegation led by Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila at around 12:30 a.m. (local time). He flew to the city via Beijing.Ri didn't say anything upon arriving at the airport. The North didn't ask for official media coverage

WASHINGTON -- The United States is preparing for a "preventive war" with North Korea among many options to deal with its missile and nuclear threats, President Trump's top security adviser has said.In an interview aired Saturday on MSNBC, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said the president has been clear he will not tolerate North Korea's threats to attack the US with nuclear weapons.A preventive war is initiated to prevent an enemy from carrying out an attack."What you're asking is are w

MANILA -- Foreign ministers of South Korea and China will hold talks in the Philippines on Sunday to discuss North Korea and other pending issues, according to Seoul officials.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi are to attend a set of ministerial meetings hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including the ASEAN Regional Forum scheduled for Monday.Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (Yonhap)They will meet on Sunday afternoon for their first official b