The Korea Times

Murder suspect surrenders after taking sleeping pills

A man suspected of having murdered his partner’s daughter surrendered himself to police Wednesday after swallowing a large amount of sleeping pills, police said. He is the prime suspect in the murder of a 26-year-old woman who was found dead, with her hands and mouth taped, at her home in Busan, Tuesday. Her mother, surnamed Jeong, lived with the daughter in the same apartment but four days passed before she discovered that her daughter was dead in her room. The prime suspect, Jeong’s partner Lee, 53, had lived with them for about five years. While being questioned at the police station, Lee told the police that he took about 40 sleeping pills at a subway restroom just 30 minutes before turning himself in. He was rushed to a hospital but is not in a critical condition, police said. Police said he has confessed to the crime. “My partner’s daughter used to look down on me. On the day of the (murder), I scolded her for sleeping late but she entered her room without listening to me. I killed her in a fit of anger,” he was quoted as saying.

Dec 29, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Mother lives with daughters body for 4 days

A woman in her 20s was found dead, with her hands and mouth taped, in her house in Busan, police said Tuesday. Her mother who had lived with the daughter in the same apartment spent four days without knowing that her daughter was dead in her room. At 11:10 a.m., Dec. 27, the woman, 26, only identified as Hong, was found dead in her room by a colleague, surnamed Bae, at an apartment in Saha-gu, Busan. When found, she was covered by a quilt with her hands and mouth taped. “I called the police as she had not come to work since Dec. 23,” Bae was quoted as saying by the police. Police suspect she was murdered Police quoted her 57-year-old mother Jeong as saying that she did not know that her daughter was dead. “I had not been on good terms with my daughter so we did not bother each other,” she was quoted as saying by the police. Police believe one of the prime suspects is Jeong’s partner Lee, 53, who had lived her for about five years. Lee cut all contact after he had his last phone conversation with Jeong on Dec. 23, police said.

Dec 28, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Collegian dies after 12 hours of online gaming

A university student died after playing an online shooting game for about 12 hours in a “PC bang,” or Internet parlor, police said. On Monday afternoon in a PC bang in the southeastern city of Ulsan, the collegian, only identified as Moon, suddenly fell to the ground and was rushed to a hospital but he was declared dead upon arrival, police said. The 19-year-old collegian went to the PC bang at around 2 a.m., stopped by his home briefly at 10:30 a.m., to eat, and returned to the PC bang. His families and friends told the police that he habitually played the online shooting game. Police are investigating the exact cause of death.

Dec 28, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Carbon reduction-green card to debut

The government will launch an incentive system for people who purchase eco-friendly products or abide by a low-carbon lifestyle to save energy and reduce carbon emissions, the Ministry of Environment said Monday. It will issue green credit chips embedded into credit cards in which cardholders can store low-carbon points whenever they use public transportation or purchase certified green products. The cards will also reward low-carbon practices, such as riding bicycles and bringing one’s own mug to coffee shops. The carbon point system has been operated by local governments that give people incentives, such as cash back and gift certificates to reward their efforts to help protect the environment.

Dec 27, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Teacher accused of abusing disabled children

The nation’s human rights agency has asked the prosecution to investigate a teacher who allegedly beat and abused disabled students over the past 10 years. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said Tuesday that its own investigation discovered that the unidentified 41-year-old teacher habitually physically abused more than four disabled students. The teacher is accused of having used his fists and feet and rods to hit the students on many parts of their bodies. "The teacher's assault has been proven through testimonies, photographs and videos from the witnesses," the commission said in a statement. The accused teacher has denied the accusation.

Dec 21, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Students under probe for harassing teacher

Police are investigating the online spread of a video clip showing students making fun of their female teacher by making sexually-harassing remarks in the classroom of a middle school, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Tuesday. In the 1 minute and 35-second clip, posted on YouTube and a number of other websites under the title of “clueless middle schoolers,” three or four male and female students jeer at the teacher in turn with such embarrassing questions as "When was your first kiss?" “When did you first have sex?” As the teacher approaches the students to scold them, they continue to tease her, while laughing, and one student commented: “You are more beautiful now that I see you closely.” NPA’s cyber investigation team said it has decided to investigate the case as the female teacher was inexcusably defamed and harassed by the rude students. “We are going to track down those who filmed and spread the clip online for defamation,” a police officer said. Perpetrators in libel cases can be punished only if the victim presses charges. The officer said the police

Dec 21, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

HS Seoul Town Meeting due today

Seoul City is hosting the 2010 Seoul Town Meeting with expatriates residing in Seoul at the conference room on the 13th floor of Seoul City Hall Seosomun Annex at 10 a.m. today. Since 2000, the city has been providing an opportunity for expats to make suggestions on quality of life issues in Seoul in order to address living inconveniences they experience in the city. The meeting has gathered expats and city officials to discuss issues ranging from transportation, tourism, culture, education to medical services, which are all closely connected to the expat living environment in Seoul. At this year’s meeting, Mayor Oh Se-hoon will attend and listen to people from diverse backgrounds, while sharing ideas and opinions to come up with measures for them.

Dec 16, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Ex-teachers win damages for false espionage charges

A Seoul court has ordered the government to pay 20.7 billion won ($18 million) in compensation to a group of former teachers who were indicted with false espionage charges in 1982. In what is known as the case of “Osonghoe,” meaning ‘five pine tree association’ in Korean, the eight former teachers were imprisoned after being found guilty of espionage for offering memorial services to the victims of the democratic movements in the 1980s. “The victims were illegally taken into custody after being arrested without warrants. They were threatened and tortured by investigators and denied meetings with lawyers and their family members. The government should compensate them for the damage they suffered because of the illegalities,” the Seoul Central District Court said in a ruling. The eight primary plaintiffs, who were teaching at a high school in southern city of Gunsan, were falsely accused of forming an anti-government organization though they had gatherings to discuss a pro-democracy moves under the authoritarian Chun Doo-hwan government. They were sentenced from one to s

Dec 14, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Guidelines proposed for student athletes rights

The human rights agency Sunday announced guidelines coaches and teammates should follow to protect student athletes from rights violations. The National Human Rights Commission said it will recommend the related ministries and sports organizations across the nation adopt the guidelines and implement them. Its move comes as acts of violence and cases of rights violations committed on student athletes by coaches or their seniors are recurrent at schools and even during sports games. Included in the guidelines are details of cases of rights violations, sexual abuse and extreme corporal punishment. The rights agency recommended that the sports authorities ban physical contact between coaches and athletes. It also recommended that any sexually-suggestive comments or remarks that have to do with appearances should be banned. Under the guidelines, coaches will be obliged to notify and receive prior permission before visiting athletes in their rooms and avoid creating a situation in which they are left alone with an athlete in an enclosed space, such as a private room or a car.

Dec 12, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Will FMD peak out this week?

The foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak, which has hit southeastern livestock farms over the last month, is expected to reach a critical point this week, over whether the disease will spread further or not, animal quarantine authorities said Sunday. “After the animals were found to be infected on a cattle farm in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province on Dec. 10, no additional cases have been reported so far. If there are no additional cases in the next two or three days we can say that the outbreak is winding down,” the North Gyeongsang Province government said. It did not completely rule out a further spread of the highly contagious disease. The total number of FMD cases reached 35 after the first outbreak was reported on Nov. 29 in the southeastern city of Andong, about 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul. More than 142,000 animals from 582 farms have been culled and buried. FMD is classified as a "List A" disease by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Countries that report the disease are barred from exporting meat from cloven-hoofed animals.

Dec 12, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

Cho Jae-hyon

Read more

Murder suspect surrenders after taking sleeping pills

Mother lives with daughters body for 4 days

Collegian dies after 12 hours of online gaming

Carbon reduction-green card to debut

Teacher accused of abusing disabled children

Students under probe for harassing teacher

HS Seoul Town Meeting due today

Ex-teachers win damages for false espionage charges

Guidelines proposed for student athletes rights

Will FMD peak out this week?

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