Seoul targets Central Asia minerals at first summit SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) - South Korea is within 40 days of hosting the leaders of all five Central Asian states for the first time, and the government spent Tuesday afternoon checking whether the deliverables it wants on energy and critical minerals will actually be ready. The region matters to Seoul mostly because of what is under it. Kazakhstan produced 25,839 tonnes of uranium in 2025, roughly 40 percent of world output, and has been the largest producer since 2009, according August 4, 2026

Japan calls South Korea partner, claims Dokdo again SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) - Japan's annual defense white paper describes South Korea as an important neighbor and a partner it should work with on shared international challenges. The same document, published Tuesday, again calls Dokdo, an islet located in the East Sea, Japanese territory. The government lodged a formal protest and demanded immediate withdrawal of the claim, which has appeared in the white paper every year since 2005, now 22 years running. Dokdo consists of tw August 4, 2026

US Ambassador Steel presents credentials, formally begins mission in Seoul SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) - The United States Embassy in Seoul has a full ambassador again for the first time in a year and a half after the new envoy Michelle Steel submitted a copy of her credentials to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday afternoon and paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. The post had run on a chargé d'affaires since last ambassador Philip Goldberg appointed under President Joe Biden, left Seoul in January 2025. Steel is the first am August 4, 2026

Odds of Korea's back-to-back rate hike fall on softer headline inflation SEOUL, Aug. 4 (AJP) — The surprising stall in South Korea's inflationary run in July has lowered expectations for a back-to-back interest-rate increase by the Bank of Korea this month, although policymakers remain wary of persistent underlying price pressures. Consumer prices rose 2.8 percent from a year earlier in July, slowing from 3.2 percent in June and falling below the 3 percent mark for the first time in three months. Core inflation, which Bank of Korea Gov. Shin August 4, 2026

UPDATE: Korea's July inflation under 3% for the first time in 3 months *Updated with additional data and market response SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) - South Korea's consumer inflation slowed below 3 percent for the first time in three months in July as softer imported energy prices and subdued consumer demand offset persistent underlying price pressures, government data showed Tuesday. The consumer price index stood at 119.77, up 2.8 percent from a year earlier, slowing from 3.2 percent in June, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. Th August 4, 2026

Korea's Lee risks losing the rich after stock retailers with property tax SEOUL, August 03 (AJP) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung risks alienating both wealthy homeowners on top of retail investors as he pushes ahead with higher property taxes to curb housing speculation, following an earlier capital-market policy that fueled a speculative frenzy through leveraged single-stock exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Wealthier property owners face sharply higher tax bills under the latest overhaul, while millions of retail investors are still reeling from the c August 3, 2026

Song Young-gil vows to stay in ruling party race despite regional setback SEOUL, August 03 (AJP) - Six-term lawmaker Song Young-gil vowed to stay in the South Korean ruling Democratic Party leadership race until the end despite finishing a distant third in the opening weekend of regional voting, rejecting speculation that he would join forces with rival Kim Min-seok and arguing that his experience makes him the strongest candidate to lead the party. Although the Aug. 17 leadership contest is increasingly shaping up as a two-way race between former party August 3, 2026

South Koreans warmer toward Japan than ever SEOUL, August 03 (AJP) - South Koreans have never viewed Japan more favorably, while Japanese attitudes toward South Korea also improved sharply, with public sentiment between the two neighbors reaching its warmest level on record despite unresolved historical disputes, a joint annual survey showed Monday. South Koreans' favorable view of Japan rose to a record 54.3 percent, up from 52.4 percent a year earlier, according to the 13th annual survey jointly conducted by th August 3, 2026

Lee's approval rating hits lowest level since taking office SEOUL, August 3 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell to its lowest level since taking office, according to a survey released by pollster Realmeter on Monday. In its survey of more than 2,500 adults nationwide conducted last week, 45.9 percent of respondents said Lee was doing a good job. The figure was down 0.4 percentage point from the previous week, marking the third straight week of decline. Slightly more respondents or 50.5 percent disapproved of his p August 3, 2026

Korea's powerful prosecution loses core powers SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) -South Korea's once-powerful prosecution, long regarded as one of the country's most influential institutions, will effectively cease to exist in its current form after parliament approved legislation stripping prosecutors of all investigative authority and replacing the century-old model with separate agencies for investigation and prosecution. The ruling-majority National Assembly on Friday passed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act that complet July 31, 2026