SEOUL, June 29 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent survey showed that 96.5 percent of South Koreans think the nation’s contribution to the joint defense costs for American troops in South Korea, a thorny issue that is being negotiated between South Korea and the U.S., should be reduced or maintained at a current level. The Korea [...]
PYEONGTAEK, June 22 (Korea Bizwire) — One of the main gates leading to a U.S. base in South Korea will be named after a South Korean for the very first time. U.S. Forces Korea reportedly plans to change the name of the main gate leading to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, from ‘Dongchang-ri [...]
SEOUL, May 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The portion of a fence dividing the commissioned officers’ quarters at the Yongsan base of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) and the outside world has been taken down to begin the first phase of opening up the old military apartment complex to the public. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and [...]
SEOUL, April 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has notified the United States of its plan to pay wages in advance for its citizens who work for the U.S. Forces Korea but have been furloughed amid a deadlock in their defense cost-sharing negotiations, a government source said Sunday. Around 4,000 employees were furloughed indefinitely starting [...]
SEOUL, April 16 (Korea Bizwire) — U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday it has removed travel restrictions for South Korea’s southeastern city of Daegu as new coronavirus cases in the area have been on the decline recently. In February, USFK designated Daegu as a coronavirus “hot spot” and banned all service members from making nonessential [...]
SEOUL, April 7 (Korea Bizwire) — An American citizen working at a U.S. air base in the city of Pyeongtaek tested positive for the coronavirus Tuesday, bringing the total number of USFK-related infections to 20, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said. The civilian worker has been in quarantine at his off-installation residence since Thursday, when [...]
SEOUL, March 25 (Korea Bizwire) — U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) began notifying 5,000 South Korean employees Wednesday that they would be furloughed starting next month, officials said, as defense cost-sharing talks between the two countries remain stalled. The two sides have been negotiating a new Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that stipulates how much Seoul should [...]
SEOUL, March 17 (Korea Bizwire) — U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Robert Abrams has praised South Korea’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, commending local health authorities as “extraordinary partners” for their professionalism, transparency and coordination efforts. “Cannot underscore enough how great KCDC has been for us to work with. Open, transparent, collaborative and extremely [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has limited all service members’ off-installation travel and implemented a tougher process for accessing garrisons following the first coronavirus case among its members. On Monday, a 61-year-old USFK widowed dependent residing in the southeastern city of Daegu tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the U.S. military [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has banned “non-essential” travel to and from South Korea’s southeastern city of Daegu and shut down all of its children-related facilities there in the wake of a surge in new coronavirus cases in the region. Since Wednesday, South Korea has confirmed more than 70 additional [...]