South Korea and the United States will hold their fifth round of negotiations this week on sharing the costs for stationing the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea (USFK), the foreign ministry said Monday. The latest round of talks on the Special Measures Agreement will take place in Seoul from Wednesday to Friday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The fourth round of talks was held in late June. The allies launched the negotiations in April, earlier than expected, amid speculation that Se

As special favors, ministry says 5-month absence won't be counted for returning young doctors

Doctor-turned-politician from US missionary family sees his dual identity advantage for S. Korea-US ties, NK negotiation

The police said on Monday they have decided to clear a former 1st Division Commander Lim Seong-geun of negligent homicide charges related to the death of a Marine conscript during a search operation in a stream following torrential rains last summer. Concluding its year-long investigation, the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency forwarded six others to the prosecution for indictment, saying that Lim was excluded because he had not been in a position to issue a direct "underwater search order

An opposition lawmaker on Monday accused the incumbent Yoon Suk Yeol administration of "giving up trying to defend Dokdo as Korean territory," given that the Oceans' Ministry's reports to the president have never mentioned the island since Yoon took office in 2022. Rep. Lim Mi-ae of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea said that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries report she recently acquired shows that the Dokdo Islets are not mentioned once in the reports submitte

Deadly flash flooding in Seoul in 2022 summer behind the development of a new mobile alert system

Dubai-style chocolate emerges as new trend in S. Korea, as Chinese candied fruit fades from memory

A record-high 47.56 million passengers used South Korean carriers in the first half of this year, logging a 29.1 percent increase from the same period in 2023. The passenger traffic was the highest in the country's history, up from the previous high of 47.04 million in the H1 of 2019, according to the Air Portal data of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The annual all-time high for passengers of local airlines is 93.47 million, also recorded in 2019. The number of passenge

A suspected human case of tularemia, a rare disease carried by rodents, insects and wild animals, was found in a resident of Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, health authorities said Monday. A man in his 20s experienced abdominal pain and fever after eating raw beef liver at a restaurant on June 24. He was admitted to a local hospital, where he tested positive for the tularemia bacterium. Although he dined with a companion, only he exhibited symptoms. He recovered and was discharged from hospital on

The average smoothie served in a cafe contains the equivalent of 13 teaspoons of sugar, a recent study showed. The Health and Environment Institute of Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Monday the results of its analysis of 93 smoothie drinks from small and medium-sized cafes, where the nutritional content of drinks is not labeled. The cafes subject to investigation, which ran from April to June, were located near hagwons, or private cram schools, particularly frequented by teenagers. The a

On 5-day trip, Yoon to visit Indo-Pacific Command, attend NATO Summit

Police in Incheon are investigating a possible case of animal abuse after four stray cats were found dead Thursday at an apartment complex in the city. According to Incheon Namdong Police Station, the cats were found dead at around 4 p.m. at an apartment complex in Guweol-dong, in Incheon's Namdong-gu. One of the cats had its legs cut off. Police are checking the surveillance footage of the area around the apartment complex. They also asked the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency to conduct

Tensions between former ruling party chief Han Dong-hoon and the presidential office have surfaced again following allegations Han snubbed text messages from first lady Kim Keon Hee early this year, a development that threatens to consume the party's national convention just weeks away. Han, who served as interim leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) ahead of the April 10 general elections, reportedly ignored five Telegram messages the first lady sent to him in January to offer to r

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act Proposed by Rep. Kang Hoon-sik (Democratic Party of Korea) ● Most acquisitions and mergers of listed companies in Korea are carried out through stock acquisitions, where controlling shareholders privately contract to sell stakes and controlling interest. During these transactions, majority shareholders of the target company sell their stakes at a high price, which includes control premiums. However, gen

The government is likely to halt the suspension of licenses and other administrative steps against striking trainee doctors in an effort to seek a breakthrough in monthslong medical service disruptions, officials said Monday. Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong is scheduled to hold a press briefing later in the day after a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, during which he will announce measures that would help facilitate dialogue and resolve the ongoing standoff