The Korea Times

'Posting sex photos with blurred faces still harms victims'

By Kim Jae-heunAn appellate court upheld Wednesday a lower court ruling that gave a suspended jail term to a man for posting pictures of himself and his ex-girlfriends having sex after blurring out their faces. It ruled that the blurring of the faces did not mitigate the women's humiliation. The Seoul Central District Court had sentence the man, surnamed Kim, to six months in prison suspended for two years for uploading the photos, which he took with their consent at the time, and posting them on a porn site without consent.The court also ordered Kim to attend 40 hours of lectures on sexual offenses and banned him from working at institutes related to or involving children for two years.After the lower court verdict, Kim asked for a reduced penalty at the appeals court, saying the victims' faces were not shown in the photos and other parties could not recognize the women involved. But the court rejected this.“The victims were aware their photos had been posted on a porn site and their pictures had been exposed to many people online,” the court said. “His act was eno

Oct 25, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Health

'Uncontrolled anger' prevalent in Korea

Kim Seong-soo, a murder suspect who allegedly killed a part-time worker at an internet cafe in a sudden fit of rage, is escorted out of Yangcheon Police Station in southwestern Seoul, Monday. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunMore Koreans are failing to control their temper with statistics showing nearly one person a day is killed by an assailant who has lost control of themselves. According to the National Police Agency, 401 out of 914 murder cases last year, or 43.9 percent, were the result of uncontrolled rage. Of them, 357 were a result of an immediate loss of control while the other 44 were through accumulated anger.A recent “internet cafe murder” is a possible example of this. The 29-year-old suspect, Kim Seong-soo, stabbed a 21-year-old part-time worker to death over what he claims was improper treatment he received at the internet cafe. Kim and the worker had a scuffle after he demanded a refund of the 1,000 won computer use fee claiming poor service. He then went to his nearby home, returned with a knife and committed the brutal crime.He said he was angry at not receiving t

Oct 23, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Society

Nepotism scandal at public firms growing

The members of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party spread a large banner to protest alleged nepotism at public firms revealed during a recent government audit, during a rally in front of the National Assembly building, Sunday. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunSuspicions of nepotism are emerging at a growing number of public companies following the first allegation involving Seoul Metro, where more than 100 people given regular employment were found to be related to employees who had already been working there.The government is considering investigating all public companies for recruitment corruption.According to Rep. Jung You-sub of the Liberty Korea Party (LKP), Monday, the Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) hired 1,203 temporary workers as permanent employees. And 25 of them have family ties with employees who had already worked there. The Incheon International Airport Corp. is also embroiled in controversy, as 14 employees hired at six of its subcontractors were found to be relatives of workers at the corporation, according to Rep. Park Wan-su of the LKP.At Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) KPS,

Oct 22, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Nepotism scandal at public firms growing

People & Events

Lone Dokdo resident dies

Kim Sung-do stands on the islets of Dokdo in this 2006 file photo. /YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunKim Sung-do, the only resident of the easternmost islet of Dokdo, died from liver cancer, Sunday. He was 79.According to North Gyeongsang Province, Kim died at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, where he had been hospitalized since September. Kim first moved to Dokdo in 1965 and built a house there. He also built a drying rack for seafood for his own use.In November 1991, Kim and his wife became the first Koreans to become officially registered as Dokdo residents. Up to then, they were residents of Ulleung Island, North Gyeongsang Province.Kim is also the very first Korean to operate a business in Dokdo.After his health deteriorated, Kim opened an online platform named “Love Dokdo” in May 2013 and sold souvenirs from the islets.He sold T-shirts to tourists visiting Dokdo starting in January 2014 and he paid 1.9 million won in taxes to the National Tax Service in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.“It is my bounden duty to pay taxes upon my income as a Korean citizen living in Dokdo an

Oct 21, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Society

Korea and China to hold fine dust talks in December

The downtown area of Seoul is blanketed by fine dust, Sunday. /YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunKorea and China will hold a senior-level meeting in December to discuss problems related to fine dust, according to the environment ministry, Sunday. The first talks of the directors from Seoul's Ministry of Environment and Beijing's Ministry of Ecology and Environment are set to take place here on fine dust ― a class-one carcinogen as designated by the World Health Organization. Fine dust refers to airborne particles that are smaller than 10 micrometers and have been known to cause various respiratory problems while also affecting the body's immune system.In spring and late fall, Korea is plagued by heavy fine dust, which is mainly believed to come from China, and contributes to air pollution. The two sides established an environmental cooperation center in Beijing. Currently, seven Koreans from the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) as well as the environment ministry are dispatched to the center.“As the first meeting comes as the fine dust level is on the brink of soaring, re

Oct 21, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Korea and China to hold fine dust talks in December

Society

Gov't to reveal names of corrupt kindergartens

Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae speaks during a meeting with vice superintendents of education at the government complex in Sejong, Thursday. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunThe government said, Thursday, it has decided to reveal the list of private kindergartens found to have committed irregularities through its inspection. However, directors of nursery schools will not be identified, it added.The decision came after a ruling party lawmaker brought to light a large number of accounting fraud incidents at some privately run kindergartens last week.“We apologize for the failure to prevent corruption at private kindergartens,” Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said during a meeting with metropolitan and provincial vice superintendents of education in Sejong City.“We cannot overlook the fact that nearly 90 percent of local private kindergartens have been indicated with corrective action during the audits in the last five years. We have to establish countermeasures to strengthen transparent management at the institutes and eradicate irregularities starting from now.”To this en

Oct 18, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Gov't to reveal names of corrupt kindergartens

Politics

Dispute remains despite governor's 'medical' check

By Kim Jae-heunThe controversy over Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's alleged affair with actress Kim Boo-sun is unlikely to fade despite him having his skin checked by a doctor to refute her claim that he had a “big mole” on his body. Kim's supporters claim there is more evidence against the governor, and they will disclose this piece by piece.Lee visited Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, and had his skin examined. Doctors determined, “there was neither a mole nor any signs of laser or surgical treatment that could have removed it.”The examination came after the actress claimed he had a big, round mole on a specific area of his body to prove that she had a 15-month affair with him starting in December 2007.Lee expected the dispute to die down following the medical check.However, the actress said she has more evidence to prove they had a relationship.Kim's lawyer Kang Yong-seok said the mole the actress told him about was not “big, round and black,” adding Lee was trying to get away from the trouble in an &ldqu

Oct 17, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Society

Distrust escalates over school records

A civic group calls on the government to investigate possible school record manipulation and exam leaks at all high schools across the nation in a rally in front of the Government Complex in Seoul, Tuesday. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunPublic distrust is growing over schools' academic records after a police investigation confirmed allegations that an exam was leaked at a girl's high school in southern Seoul were true.A growing number of people say they cannot trust the evaluations conducted at schools, including exam results and other non-academic achievements, which have become standard for students' college applications. These people are urging the government to abolish the portfolio-based evaluation for college admissions and instead increase the ratio of college scholastic ability tests (CSAT).A civic group held a press conference in front of the Government Complex in central Seoul to call for a thorough investigation into all schools nationwide for possible irregularities regarding academic records.“This is an important issue that affects the education system in college admissio

Oct 16, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Politics

Gov't hit for lax monitoring of kindergartens

Rep. Park Yong-jin speaks during a parliamentary audit at the National Assembly, Monday. /YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunThe Ministry of Education (MOE) is under fire for its belated action against years-long corruption at private kindergartens amid intensifying criticism on the wrongdoings exposed from last week's parliamentary audit. Last Thursday, Rep. Park Yong-jin of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea announced that he discovered 5,951 corruption cases at 1,878 preschools during the period from 2013 to 2017 and identified the name of each institute. As a result, the education ministry is taking flak for lackadaisical monitoring of the kindergartens, and is considering revealing the names of all the kindergartens linked to any irregularities _ a departure from its existing stance of refusing to identify any institutes.“As corruption at the private kindergartens is causing a huge controversy, the education ministry is belatedly considering identifying those kindergartens,” said a representative of a parent group.Her response came as the education ministry is discussing measure

Oct 15, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Gov't hit for lax monitoring of kindergartens

Global Community

Japanese anti-hate speech NGO wins Internet Peace Prize

Takao Yamada, right, the director of Kawasaki Network of Citizens Against Hate Speech, poses with Min Byoung-chul, the chairman of the Sunfull Internet Peace Movement at Hangyang University in Seoul, Thursday, after receiving an award from the Korean nongovernmental organization. Courtesy of Sunfull Internet Peace MovementBy Kim Jae-heunThe Sunfull Internet Peace Movement awarded the Internet Peace Prize to Japanese anti-hate speech citizens network Kawasaki Network of Citizens Against Hate Speech, Thursday.“I am very honored and happy to receive this prize from the Korean organization. I hope our efforts can be more recognized here,” Takao Yamada, director of the Japanese citizens network, told The Korea Times during the award ceremony at Hanyang University in Seoul.“Cyberbullying causes harm to foreigners living in Japan. We want to stop the discrimination against them.”The Kawasaki Network of Citizens Against Hate Speech is comprised of 165 human rights organizations working to fight hate speech and discrimination against foreigners and minorities in Japan.

Oct 12, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-heun

Read more

'Posting sex photos with blurred faces still harms victims'

'Uncontrolled anger' prevalent in Korea

Nepotism scandal at public firms growing

Lone Dokdo resident dies

Korea and China to hold fine dust talks in December

Gov't to reveal names of corrupt kindergartens

Dispute remains despite governor's 'medical' check

Distrust escalates over school records

Gov't hit for lax monitoring of kindergartens

Japanese anti-hate speech NGO wins Internet Peace Prize

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