South Korea

The South Korean and U.S. air forces will kick off a joint aerial exercise this week in a bid to enhance interoperability, the South's armed forces said Monday. The Buddy Squadron exercise will take place at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeoggi Province, from Monday through Friday, according to the Air Force. It will involve South Korea's KF-16 fighter jets […]

Korea now officially recognizes 62,604 species within its borders, up from 61,230 in 2024, according to data released Monday. The latest National Species List, compiled by the National Institute of Biological Resources, is based on data gathered through the end of 2025. Compared with the 28,462 native species identified in 1996, the confirmed total has more […]

Fire authorities on Monday deployed helicopters and more than 500 personnel to fully put out a wildfire in the southeastern city of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, that forced nearly 70 people to evacuate. The wildfire, which first broke out Saturday evening on a hillside in the city's eastern village of Ipcheon, reignited Sunday night after being […]

South Jeolla Province issued a formal apology to the Vietnamese public after Jindo County Gov. Kim Hee-soo sparked backlash by suggesting “importing Vietnamese women” to address population decline. In a statement released under the provincial spokesperson’s name Saturday, the province said it “sincerely bows its head in apology to the Vietnamese […]

George Mason University Korea signed a memorandum of understanding with two Korean defense organizations to jointly develop defense information and communications technology (ICT), along with command, control, communications, computing, cyber and intelligence (C5I) systems, the school said Friday. George Mason University Korea is an extended overseas campus […]

South Korea and the United States have moved toward clarifying a timeline for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul. While the Lee Jae Myung administration aims to complete it within its term by 2030, recent media reports suggest the schedule could be pushed forward to 2028. Security experts say 2028 is a feasible […]

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) decided Monday to kick out the head of Jindo County over his controversial comments on "importing" women from overseas to cope with population decline. The DPK's Supreme Council unanimously voted to expel Kim Hee-su, the county chief of Jindo in South Jeolla Province, for his derogatory remarks, DPK spokesperson […]

A court on Monday acquitted an associate of former first lady Kim Keon Hee over embezzlement allegations while dismissing other charges brought against him by a special counsel team. The Seoul Central District Court handed down the ruling for Kim Ye-seong, known as the "butler" of the former first lady's family, finding him not guilty of embezzling 2.43 […]

The defense ministry launched an investigative unit under the Criminal Investigation Command (CIC) on Monday to look into military officials' involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law bid in late 2024. The investigative unit was launched with around 30 officials, including investigative personnel from each military branch, in a bid […]

Remarks by Kim Hee-soo, the governor of Jindo County, that Korea should “import unmarried women from places like Sri Lanka or Vietnam” drew condemnation from Vietnamese diplomats and civic groups Monday and led to his expulsion from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). Kim made the remarks during a live-streamed town hall meeting last week on a […]

The National Assembly on Monday established a special committee to handle legislation aimed at implementing Korea's investment pledges to the United States under a trade deal between the two nations. During a plenary session, the Assembly approved a resolution with bipartisan support to form the committee to deal with the special bill on U.S. investment. […]

Montreal hardcore band Desecrate is coming to Korea on tour for the first time, but for Thomas, the band's guitarist, this is far from his first trip here. Over the past 10 years, he has visited Korea seven times. He explained that the name Desecrate was chosen "to call to mind the downfall of our society, how we make leaps in technological advancements but […]

Two soldiers died after a military helicopter that was set to retire crashed in a northern county Monday following a takeoff for training, military officials said. The AH-1S Cobra helicopter of an Army aviation unit based in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, went down at 11:04 a.m. at a stream located some 800 meters near its base post. The helicopter had taken […]

The Winter Olympics are back after another four years, but Koreans barely noticed. The Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games, which officially opened with preliminary events on Wednesday (local time) before the formal opening ceremony on Friday, have drawn the lowest level of Korean public interest ever recorded for a Winter Olympics. Google Trends data shows […]

President Lee Jae Myung on Monday congratulated alpine snowboarder Kim Sang-kyum on winning a silver medal at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. "I extend my warm congratulations," Lee wrote on Facebook after Kim clinched the silver medal in the men's parallel giant slalom, earning Korea's first medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday (local time). Lee […]

Korea is tightening Korean-language screening for incoming migrant workers under its Employment Permit System, placing greater emphasis on speaking skills amid concerns that language barriers can contribute to worksite accidents and hinder communication at factories, farms and construction sites that increasingly rely on foreign labor. The Human Resources […]

A growing share of Korean people have been consuming excessive amounts of sugar in recent years, even as overall sugar intake has declined from earlier highs, a government report showed Monday. Koreans' average daily sugar intake per capita stood at 59.8 grams in 2023, up from 58.7 grams in 2020, according to the report based on a national health survey […]

President Lee Jae Myung on Monday floated the idea of phasing out tax breaks for registered home rental operators as the government is set to end tax exemptions for owners of multiple homes to cool the overheated property market in the Seoul metropolitan area. In his second consecutive day of social media posts on the issue, Lee said it was unfair for […]

Storm Marta sweeps Iberian peninsula just days after Storms Kristin and Leonardo brought deadly flooding and major damageSpain and Portugal have endured another storm over the weekend, just days after the deadly flooding and major damage caused by Storm Kristin and Storm Leonardo last week. Storm Marta passed over the Iberian peninsula on Saturday, bringing […]

As the film’s megahit song Golden looks likely to sweep everything in awards season, its singer Ejae explains why she’s ready to step out from behind her animated alter ego‘The directors were crying, the producer was crying, and I thought: Oh my gosh, this is an incredible musical world.” It was February 2025, and Ian Eisendrath was conducting an […]

The laws have been criticised by tech startups, which say they go too far, and civil society groups, which say they don’t go far enoughSouth Korea has embarked on a foray into the regulation of AI, launching what has been billed as the most comprehensive set of laws anywhere in the world, that could prove a model for other countries, but the new […]

Ex-first lady sentenced to 20 months for receiving gifts for political favours, as Yoon Suk Yeol awaits rebellion verdictThe wife of South Korea’s ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for corruption, as her husband awaits a verdict on a high-stakes rebellion charge that could result in the death penalty or life […]

US president says tariffs on automobiles, lumber and pharmaceuticals will rise to 25%, accusing Seoul of not living up to a trade deal struck last yearDonald Trump has said he is raising tariffs on South Korean goods including automobiles, lumber and pharmaceuticals, accusing the country of not living up to a trade deal struck last year and briefly sending […]

Millennials in South Korea are being mocked for trying too hard to follow fashion. It’s far better to accept the march of timeApparently, South Korea’s millennials are getting ribbed by gens Z and Alpha as mercilessly as their western counterparts. The BBC explains they are getting labelled and parodied as “Young 40s”. It’s a term that used to […]

US policy document suggests South Korea take primary responsibility, as Pentagon prioritises defending US homelandThe Pentagon foresees a “more limited” role in deterring North Korea, with South Korea taking primary responsibility for the task, a Pentagon policy document released on Friday said, in a move likely to raise concern in Seoul.South Korea […]

Han Duck-soo verdict marks first judicial ruling stemming from ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol’s 2024 martial law decreeSouth Korea’s former prime minister Han Duck-soo has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for his role in an insurrection stemming from the former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law declaration.The judge, Lee Jin-kwan, ordered […]

Yoon Suk Yeol’s conviction for obstructing own arrest separate from main trial that could lead to death penaltyA South Korean court has sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison for mobilising presidential security forces to block his own arrest and abusing his powers. It is the first judicial ruling linked to the events surrounding […]

The title is loaded with meaning for all Koreans, and will give fans globally an insight into the folksong culture that shaped the world’s biggest K-pop groupBTS announced their long-awaited comeback and world tour this week, with their first full-length album in nearly four years set for release on 20 March.On Friday, the K-pop group revealed its title […]

South Korean president Lee Jae Myung had his work cut out, picking up his drumsticks alongside Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi, a former heavy metal drummerIf international diplomacy is as much about tone as substance, the leaders of South Korea and Japan seem to have nailed it.In a scene few anticipated, South Korean president Lee Jae Myung and Japanese prime […]

Yoon is on trial for insurrection charges, after trying to declare martial law in late 2024South Korean prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for former president Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law declaration in December 2024, in the first insurrection trial of a Korean head of state in three decades.Prosecutors characterised the case as the […]