Naver, which runs the nation’s biggest Internet portal, announced on Thursday it will set up the “Naver Partner Center” next month to better cooperate with smaller businesses.　　The move came a month after the company announced it would take a flurry of measures to seek coprosperity with small enterprises amid intensifying public criticism over its monopolistic practices. Naver controls a wide range of online businesses ranging from news to online communities to Internet advertising.　　The partner

South Korean stocks closed 1.22 percent higher Thursday, fueled by strong foreign buying in a sign of receding market jitters over geopolitical tension in Syria, analysts said. The Korean won gathered ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 23.02 points to finish at 1,907.54. Trading volume was light at 296.2 million shares worth 4.72 trillion won (US$4.24 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 559 to 246. Analysts cited growing perc

South Korea's tax agency said Thursday that it will ban its high-ranking officials from dining out or playing golf with executives of large businesses as part of efforts to enhance fairness in enforcing its tax-related polices.The National Tax Service (NTS) also said that it plans to launch a team tasked with investigating corruption cases involving high-ranking public servants and intensify reviews of tax audits in order to enhance overall transparency.Those moves are part of measures put forth

South Korean stocks traded 1.21 percent higher late Thursday morning, as large-cap stocks widened gains amid strong foreign buying, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 22.85 points to 1,907.37 as of 11:20 a.m.Financial shares drove up the main index. No. 3 lender Hana Financial Group jumped 2.5 percent, with Woori Finance Holdings advancing nearly 3 percent. But telecom shares lost ground, with top mobile carrier SK Telecom falling 0.7 percent and smalle

A senior U.S. envoy who will travel to North Korea later this week said Wednesday that he plans to strongly appeal for the release of an American sentenced to 15 years of hard labor by the authoritarian state but added that Washington has received no guarantees from Pyongyang the ailing man will be freed.Bob King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, said during a stopover in Tokyo that the United States is increasingly concerned about the health of 45-year-old Kenneth Ba

President Barack Obama on Wednesday declared unequivocally that the United States has ``concluded'' that the Syrian government carried out a deadly chemical weapons attack on civilians. But new hurdles emerged that appeared to slow the formation of an international coalition that could use military force to punish Syria.Obama did not present any direct evidence to back up his assertion that the Syrian government bears responsibility for the attack. While he said he is still evaluating possible m

The undeclared shipment of Cuban weapons found on a North Korean ship are a violation of UN sanctions against arms transfers to Pyongyang, Panama said Wednesday, citing a UN report.The public safety ministry said in a statement that according to a draft report by UN experts sent to Panama after the seizure of the ship in July, the cargo "undoubtedly violates UN sanctions, which supports the course of action Panama took."The ministry statement was the first information released about the mission

Son Yeon-jae on Wednesday came up short of medals in ball and hoop events at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Kiev, Ukraine.The reigning Asian all-around champion finished seventh in both apparatus finals. She earned 16.658 points in ball and 17.158 points in hoop, with both routines marred by miscues.In the qualification round earlier in the day, Son scored 17.550 points in hoop and 17.400 points in ball for a combined 34.950 points. That ranks her sixth in the individual all-arou

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the 18th straight month in July on export growth, the central bank said Thursday, providing buffers against potential capital outflows.The current account surplus reached US$6.77 billion in July, down from $7.24 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.The smaller surplus in July mainly came as spending on overseas travel increased during the summer vacation

Leadership might be an innate characteristic for both animals and humans, a British research team has claimed.According to an article published in the research journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a team of researchers put certain fish in a large laboratory tank for several weeks to conduct a study on role reversals: leaders becoming followers and followers becoming leaders.According to the report, the fish that seemed to be leaders tended to move to a risky part of the tank where there w

서울 금천경찰서는 아내의 직장상사를 내연관계로 의심해 살해하려 한 혐의(살인예비 등)로 정모(38)씨에 대해 구속영장을 신청했다고 28일 밝혔다. 경찰에 따르면 정씨는 지난 26일 오전 11시께 아내 직장인 금천구 독산동 소재 한 봉제공장에 찾아가 아내의 상사 이모(49)씨를 흉기로 살해하려 한 혐의를 받고 있다. 정씨는 평소 아내와 가깝게 지낸 이씨가 아내의 불륜 상대라고 의심하는 등 의처증 증세를 보인 것으로 조사됐다. 정씨는 범행 당일 오전 자신의 집에서 아내와 다투고 나서 "이씨를 죽이겠다"며 흉기를 차에 싣고 공장으로 향했다. 그러나 정씨 아내로부터 이런 얘기를 전해 들은 이씨의 신고로 정씨는 공장으로 가던 길에 경찰에게 붙잡혔다. 경찰 관계자는 "정씨 아내와 이씨 등에 대한 보복 폭행 등 추가 범죄 우려가 있어 정씨에 대해 구속영장을 신청했다"고 설명했다. (연합뉴스) <관련 영문 기사> Suspicion of affair leads

영국에서 물고기를 대상으로 실험을 한 결과 ‘리더십’이 선천적인 것이라는 연구 결과가 나왔다.27일 영국왕립학회보가 발표한 보고서에 따르면 연구팀은 역할 전환에 관한 연구를 위해 특정 물고기를 대형 실험탱크에 넣은 뒤 몇 주에 걸쳐 관찰했다.그 결과 리더의 기질을 보인 물고기는 안전한 지역에 머물러 있지 않고 먹이통이 놓여진 위험한 곳으로 이동하려는 경향을 보였다.리더와 추종자 물고기의 역할이 바뀐 상황에서도 리더 물고기가 추종자 물고기에 비해 훨씬 빠르게 달라진 역할에 적응했다.보고서 공동저자인 동시에 케임브리지대학 나카야마 시노스케 동물학 교수는 “추종자 물고기의 경우 리더를 뒤따르는 것은 가능하지만 반대로 리더가 되는데는 어려움이 있다”며 “리더는 타고 나는 것이지 만들어지는 것이 아니라는 사실을 발견했다”고 말했다.연구 결과는 더 나아가 개인이 자유롭게 역할을 맡도록 허용할 때 개인이 속한 집단이 긍정적 효과를 낼 수 있다는 점을 시사한다.“우리가 자연스럽게 느끼는데 따라 리

South Korean stocks closed almost flat Wednesday, shrugging off geopolitical risks in Syria as firm foreign demand for local equities offset external worries, analysts said. The local currency rose slightly against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 1.32 points to finish at 1,884.52. Trading volume was moderate at 371.3 million shares worth 3.35 trillion won (US$2.99 billion) with decliners outpacing gainers 531 to 241.The KOSPI started off tumbling so

South Korean stocks traded 0.56 percent lower late Wednesday morning, as shares of financial companies continued to drive down the index, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 10.52 points to 1,875.32 as of 11:20 a.m.Shinhan Financial Group, the country's No. 4 banking firm sank more than 2 percent, with top player Samsung Life Insurance dipping nearly 1 percent. But autos moved upward. Hyundai Motor shot up 1 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors cl