The navy chiefs of South Korea and China held talks this week during which they voiced their willingness to forge "pragmatic" cooperation to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia, according to China's military on Saturday. Adm. Chung Ho-seop, the South Korean Navy's Chief of Staff, met with Adm. Wu Shengli, commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army's (PLA) navy, in Beijing on Thursday, the PLA Daily, the Chinese military's official newspaper, reported late Friday. During the talks

South Korea reported a dozen more patients infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus on Saturday, a rebound in the daily number of confirmed cases.It raised the total number of MERS patients here to 138.More alarming was the first report in the country of a fourth-phase infection despite the government's all-out efforts to curb the spread of the virus.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said the 12 new patients included an ambulance driver who last week transported two peopl

The South Korean stock market is expected to trade in a tight range next week as investors take a wait-and-see approach ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate-setting meeting, analysts said Saturday. The local bourse traded lower this week, with the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closing at 2,052.17 on Friday, down 0.77 percent from a week earlier. Seoul shares managed to trade higher only on Thursday as the Bank of Korea slashed its policy rate to a record low of 1.5 perc

The U.S. Army has completed an environmental assessment of its proposal to permanently station a THAAD missile defense unit on Guam, and plans to hold public hearings later this month to collect views from residents, officials said Friday.The environmental analysis has found that a permanent THAAD battery "will not have a significant environmental impact on the human and natural environment, either by themselves or cumulatively with other actions," according to the report."After thoroughly consi

The thousands of dogs Aerinwon, a private shelter in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, may have been abandoned, but it doesn’t mean they have given up on humans.They jump around and wag their tails as people pass by their enclosure, as if forgetting their past poor treatment.Their lively response is ironic, considering the majority ended up in the facility as they were considered either too ill or too old. Some people brought them in after rescuing them from an abusive environment, its director Kong K

A text message from a Seoul-based hospital notifying Yoo Hye-ji’s mother of possible infection of Middle East respiratory syndrome sent her whole family into panic Sunday evening. “A patient who stayed at our hospital’s emergency room was confirmed to have MERS, so we are writing to inform you that you might have been exposed to the virus. A member of staff at a community health center will give you a call,” the text message read. “Nearly an hour passed, but my mother’s phone did not ring. I had

The prosecution called in ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker Rep. Hong Moon-jong for questioning on Monday over allegations that he received illicit campaign funds from deceased business tycoon Sung Woan-jong. Hong, 60, is the third political bigwig quizzed by prosecutors in connection with the high-profile graft scandal involving President Park Geun-hye’s top aides. He was suspected of taking 200 million won ($178,000) in illegal campaign funds from Sung, late chairman of Keangnam Enterprises, for t

Samsung Medical Center, one of South Korea’s top hospitals, was identified as a source of infection of the Middle East respiratory syndrome as health authorities revealed Sunday that 17 patients contracted the deadly virus while staying at the facility.The 17 confirmed cases, which includes doctors, patients and visitors, caught the virus from the 14th confirmed MERS patient while sharing the hospital’s emergency room from May 27 to 29, according to the Samsung Medical Center. The hospital said

A doctor confirmed to have contracted Middle East respiratory syndrome has reportedly come into direct and indirect contact with more than 1,500 Seoul residents, said Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon in an emergency press conference, raising speculation that the deadly virus has spread into the community.  　 (Yonhap)According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Thursday, the 35th confirmed MERS patient, a doctor at a Seoul-based hospital, started to show minor symptoms of MERS last Friday, but stil

North Korea condemned South Korea on Thursday for its test-firing of a ballistic missile capable of reaching nearly all parts of the communist nation.On Wednesday, the South carried out its first-ever launch of a ballistic missile with a range of more than 500 kilometers as part of efforts to better counter ever-growing nuclear and missile threats by the North. President Park Geun-hye watched the test.  The development of the new striking asset came after Seoul and Washington announced their mi

Reversing his earlier claims, Park Tae-hwan has said he may have heard about a banned substance in the contested injection that led to his positive doping test, a legal statement showed Thursday.Park, suspended after testing positive for testosterone, had earlier claimed he didn't know he received a hormone shot at a Seoul clinic until after learning the doping test results. The head doctor at the clinic has been indicted on the charge of professional negligence. However, in an affidavit submitt

Police said Thursday they would step up punishment to curb the growing number of graffiti paintings found across the country. Spray painting graffiti on public or private property without permission will be punishable with charges of criminal trespassing and damaging property, the National Police Agency said. Those charged with property damage can be punished with a penalty of up to 7 million won ($6,300) and three years in prison, while those charged with trespassing face a penalty of up to 5 m

The government and the ruling Saenuri party agreed Tuesday to push to expand the controversial “peak wage system” into the private sector by mapping out guidelines that enable companies to change employment regulations without unions’ approval. The decision came as part of President Park Geun-hye administration’s drive for labor market reform during a meeting between the ruling Saenuri Party members of the parliamentary environment and labor committee and Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Ki-

A Korean-German has been booked without detention after spray-painting graffiti in downtown Seoul, police said Monday. The 31-year-old woman, only identified by her surname Kim, was apprehended in Jung-gu, central Seoul, on charges of damaging private property, according to Namdaemun Police Station. Kim allegedly spray-painted a heart-shaped image and Roman alphabet letters with an unidentified man on the wall of a building in Myeong-dong, one of Seoul’s busiest shopping districts, with tourists

The National Assembly on Friday approved a bill that will make it obligatory for tobacco-makers to display graphic warnings on cigarette packs. The passage of the antismoking bill came after 11 attempts dating back to 2002. It requires image and word warnings on cigarette packs.The amendment to the National Health Promotion Act, aimed at deterring Koreans from smoking by highlighting its dangers, mandates that pictorial warning labels cover more than half of the cigarette packs, with the image m

Prosecutors raided on Friday the residence of a former official of the ruling Saenuri Party as part of the probe into the high-profile graft scandal surrounding late business tycoon Sung Woan-jong and President Park Geun-hye’s top aides.Investigators stormed into the residence of the former deputy spokesman for then-presidential candidate Park’s election campaign, identified only by the surname Kim, to secure evidence, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. Kim was suspecte

Rhee Sol-bi, a 24-year-old job seeker based in Seoul, sometimes thinks that she should have studied engineering at university as she struggles to find a job amid tough competition. “I think it is tougher for me to get a job because I studied humanities at school,” said Rhee, who studied Russian language and international business at a Seoul-based university. “I cannot even get past the resume-screening process,” she said, adding that her application to nearly 30 companies this year ended in vain

Families of victims who died of lung disease allegedly after using a humidifier disinfectant from Reckitt Benckiser vowed to take legal action against the British consumer goods maker on Wednesday. The victims’ families and activists from Asian Citizen’s Center for Environment and Health said they are consulting with a British law firm to file a lawsuit in a British court, accusing Reckitt Benckiser of dodging responsibility. The announcement came about three weeks after a woman who had used the

An appeals court Friday freed Cho Hyun-ah, former vice president of Korean Air, clearing her of charges that she changed the plane’s route in the so-called “nut rage” case. The Seoul High Court sentenced Cho to 10-month imprisonment, but suspended the term for two years.The ruling came five months after Cho, also known as Heather Cho, the eldest daughter of the airline’s chairman, was imprisoned for violation of aviation safety last December. The court handed down a reduced sentence, ruling that

Urban dwellers have, at least once, dreamed of taking a spontaneous trip with little or no planning.Kim Ka-young, cofounder of Bonbonlab, the developer of hotel booking application Hotel Now, was one of them.When Kim was in her senior year at a local university, she randomly took a train to Busan without planning what to do and where to stay. She then realized that there was no affordable accommodation available for her that night. She contacted some 20 hotels and hostels, but they demanded a su