South Korea and the U.S. are set to launch a new high-level military dialogue channel this week to discuss the bilateral alliance and increasing threats from North Korea. The first Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue will be begin on Thursday in Washington, D.C. Korea will be represented by Deputy Minister of Policy Lim Gwan-bin in the two-day meeting, while the U.S. side will be led by Jame...

Used diesel car owners in Seoul must install a diesel particulate filter beginning in the latter half of the year under a new regulation to improve air quality, city officials said Monday. Those caught without the device will be fined 200,000 won ($175). Diesel vehicles such as vans, buses and trucks that weigh more than 3.5 tons and have been used more than seven years are subject to the new r...

Police are widening an investigation into alleged corruption at a public university after a professor was found to have offered illegal private tutoring to students in exchange for admission. Police requested Sunday an arrest warrant for the 44-year-old contrabass professor of Korea National University of Art. He was charged with offering illegal private tutoring to high school students preparin...

A Busan woman who lost her eyesight after taking cold medicine has filed a compensation lawsuit against the government, the drug maker and other concerned parties, claiming her misfortune was caused by side effects of the drug, her law firm said Monday. According to the law firm CS, the 36-year-old, identified only by her family name of Kim, took the rare legal action against the government, the...

Seven businesspeople have been detained on charges of illegally releasing the personal information of more than 11 million people, selling some of the data to insurance companies for profit, police said Monday. The Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency said they apprehended two people who operate an Internet shopping mall on suspicion of sharing the private information of 11.75 million clients and m...

Prosecutors are reportedly considering summoning Police Commissioner General Cho Hyun-oh in a libel investigation over remarks he made that indicated the late former President Roh Moo-hyun amassed slush funds. The investigation prompted by complaints by Roh’s family is expected to shed new light on the bribery scandal involving Roh. He killed himself on May 23, 2009, as the prosecution tightened...

By Kirsty Taylor and Kim Young-won A museum to highlight the plight of Korea’s “comfort women” is to open on May 5. The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan is opening the 2.3 billion won facility in Seoul. It aims to alert the world to the ongoing fight for a proper apology from Japan for the sexual slavery imposed upon other nations’ women during World War...

The government said on Sunday that unionized rail workers’ recent decision to walk out to resist the proposed partial privatization of KTX bullet-train operations is clearly illegal and should be scrapped. “An introduction of competition (into the KTX operations) will promote the interest of the people and the nation and is a future-oriented move,” the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Af...

With the Saenuri Party losing its majority in the 19th National Assembly, attention is becoming focused on whether the party will be able to win support from a minor conservative party and unaffiliated lawmakers to exert control in the assembly. Following allegations of plagiarism and attempted sexual assault two Saenuri Party lawmakers-elect ― Kim Hyung-tae and Moon Dae-sung ― left the party, r...

North Korea would consider political ramifications rather than technical issues should it decide to conduct another nuclear test, a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said Sunday. “Whether to conduct a nuclear test or not, that is a matter of a political decision based on its judgment of what impact the test will have on its fate,” he told reporters, declining to be named. His remarks came as the U....