Two members of a Chinese cult group were sentenced to death and another to life imprisonment for beating a woman to death in a McDonald's outlet after they unsuccessfully tried to recruit her into their ``all-powerful spirit'' cult.The Yantai Intermediate People's Court in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong announced the verdicts against Zhang Fan, 29; her father Zhang Lidong, 55; Lu Yingchun, 39, and two others, weeks after holding the trial. The other two _ a younger sister of Zhang Fan

International Oct. 11, 2014

베이비붐 세대의 은퇴 등으로 숙박•음식업 등 생계형 창업이 늘고 있지만 창업 5년 후 생존율은 17%대에 그치는 것으로 나타났다.국회 산업통상자원위 부좌현 의원(새정치민주연합)이 10일 중소기업청으로부터 제출받은 자료에 따르면, 신생 기업의 5년 후 생존율은 29.6%였다. 창업한 지 1년 후에는 4곳이 문을 닫고, 2년 뒤엔 절반 정도가, 5년이 되면 7곳이 망한다는 얘기다. 특히 퇴직자들의 대표적인 생계형 창업으로 꼽히는 여관•치킨집 등 숙박•음식점업의 5년 후 생존율은 17.7%로 업종 중 최저 수준을 기록했다. 숙박•음식점업의 생존율은 창업 1년 뒤 55.3%였고, 3년이 지나면 그 비율은 28.9%, 5년 뒤 17.7%로 줄었다. 제품을 직접 만들지 않고 중개 판매하는 도•소매업도 창업 1년 후에 56.7%, 3년 후엔 35.8%, 5년 후에는 26.7%만 살아남았다. 창업자 10명 중 채 3명도 사업을 유지하지 못한 것이다.가장 생존율이 높은 업종은 자신의 원룸•상가 등을

한국어판 Oct. 11, 2014

A Korean and an Iranian film exploring family and relationships shared the top award at Asia's largest film festival Saturday, with jury members praising both for expressing "what it means to be a human being"."End of Winter" from Kim Daehwan and "13" from Hooman Seyedi will be officially handed the two $30,000 prizes given for the New Currents award forfirst- or second-time Asian filmmakers when the 19th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) draws to a close later Saturday.At the event's clo

Film Oct. 11, 2014

북한의 대남선전용 웹사이트 '우리민족끼리'는 11일 대북전단 살포로 인해 전날 발생한 남북 간 총격전을 언급하며 남북이 합의한 제2차 고위급접촉이 "물 건너간 것이나 다름없게 됐다"고 밝혔다.'우리민족끼리'는 북한이 대남선전용으로 운영하는 웹사이트로 실제로 그동안 북한의 대남 메시지를 전달해 온 것을 감안하면 어느 정도 북한 정권의 의중이 실렸다고 볼 수 있다. 이 매체는 이날 '절대로 용납하지 않을 것이다'란 제목의 개인 필명 글에서 탈북자단체들이 "우리의 존엄과 체제를 중상모독하는 모략적인 전단 살포를 감행"함으로써 "북남 간에 총탄이 오고 가는 엄중한 사태까지 발생했다"고 지적했다.그러면서 "괴뢰패당의 무책임하고 도전적인 처사로 하여 북남관계가 파국의 원점으로 되돌아가고 북남 사이에 예정된 제2차 고위급접촉은 물 건너간 것이나 다름없게 됐다"고 말해 이달 말부터 내달 초로 예정돼 있는 2차 고위급접촉이 무산될 수 있음을 시사했다.이어 "남조선 당국이 진실로 대화와 북남관계 개선

한국어판 Oct. 11, 2014

Kim Jong Un hasn’t been seen in public for five weeks with his absence potentially unnerving the North Korean elite whose loyalty he needs to stay in power, and making an erratic regime even more unpredictable. North and South Korean forces exchanged fire yesterday across one of the world’s most-fortified borders for the second time in less than a week. The firefight came hours after Kim skipped an annual visit to a family mausoleum for the first time since coming to power in late 2011, further

North Korea Oct. 11, 2014

North Korea's state media said Saturday high-level talks with the South were now all but scrapped due to the launch of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets from the South a day earlier.The two Koreas traded heavy machine-gun fire across their border Friday, triggered by the North Korean military trying to shoot down balloons carrying the leaflets, launched by activists in the South.Some rounds fell on the Southern side, which then responded with high-calibre machine gun fire. No casualties were re

North Korea Oct. 11, 2014

The eldest daughter of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee is going through divorce proceedings, the company said Saturday.Ending a 15-year marriage, Lee Bu-jin, 44, filed for divorce mediation with her 46-year-old husband, Im Woo-jae, at the Seongnam branch of Suwon District Court on Wednesday, according to the company. Meditation during divorce is a way of finding solutions to issues such as child custody and spousal support without a formal trial. When an agreement is not reached amicably, a divorce

Industry Oct. 11, 2014

South Korea and Japan agreed Friday to hold a finance ministers' meeting in Tokyo at an early date, resuming a consultation mechanism that has been stalled for nearly two years amid badly frayed relations.South Korean Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan and his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso reached the agreement during a one-on-one meeting held on the sidelines of a series of international meetings that the top economic policymakers were attending."The finance ministers of the two countries exchang

Foreign Affairs Oct. 11, 2014

A senior Chinese diplomat has held an "emergency meeting" with South Korea's ambassador to China and lodged a protest after the captain of a Chinese fishing boat died during a violent clash with the South Korean Coast Guard during a crackdown on illegal fishing. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao met with the South Korean ambassador to China, Kwon Young-se, on Friday night and made "solemn representations" over the incident, which happened144 kilometers off South Korea's western coa

Foreign Affairs Oct. 11, 2014

A growing reliance on capital from China may soon become a major concern for South Korea’s financial market, according to industry watchers on Monday. China’s foreign direct investment into the nation reached $1 billion in the January-September period, a 230 percent rise from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Trade. The nation’s investment in Korea’s stock and bond markets was 23 trillion won ($21 billion) in August ― more than 50 times the 470 billion won recorded in Decem

Industry Oct. 6, 2014