A former U.S. Army heliport and runway at Camp Walker in South Korea’s southeastern city of Daegu were found by a South Korean government agency to be contaminated with cancer-causing substances, potentially exposing service members on the base and thousands of residents living nearby to the toxic substances.
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South Korea’s first known trans soldier, Byun Hee-soo, 23, was found dead at her home on March 3. She was the first in South Korea to have had gender reassignment surgery while in the military. South Korea’s Minister of National Defense Suh Wook said research on military service by transgender individuals is necessary, a milestone in the LGBTQ rights movement in one of the least inclusive countries in East Asia where even the incumbent president, a former human rights lawyer, openly opposed homosexuality in 2017.
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United States Forces Korea’s failure to notify approximately 9,000 South Korean employees at the end of January as legally required if they may be facing furloughs may signal that a new defense cost-sharing deal is underway between the Biden administration and South Korea, a U.S. Naval War College expert says.
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A government report on military housing released Monday revealed that the Department of Defense had miscalculated allowances for service members that cover the cost of suitable private housing, such as apartments and rental homes.
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Troops and civilians affiliated with the U.S. Forces Korea were the first to receive the coronavirus vaccine in South Korea, where the vaccination program has not yet been launched due to the government’s belated move to secure vaccines.
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Amid intensifying geopolitical tensions with the United States, China is expected to heavily emphasize national security and, to a lesser degree, technology independence, in its upcoming its 14th five-year plan, several China experts said Thursday.
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Internet freedom in the United States dropped for the fourth consecutive year amid a global trend of countries using the COVID-19 pandemic as cover for silencing digital platforms, according to the Freedom on the Net 2020 report by Freedom House released Wednesday.
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