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Lee Kyung-min

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South Korea

Opposition calls for special probe into Sung's bribery list

By Lee Kyung-min The prosecution indicted former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo and South Gyeongsang Province Governor Hong Joon-pyo, Thursday, on charges of receiving illegal campaign funds from the late Keangnam Enterprises Chairman Sung Woan-jong.  The two were among eight politicians mentioned in a memo left by Sung before he hanged himself in April.However, the prosecution said it could not find any concrete evidence showing six other politicians ― mostly confidants of President Park Geun-hye ― received money from Sung.  The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) criticized the prosecution for allegedly covering up the truth, calling for an investigation by a special counsel.“The results are disappointing. A special investigation should be launched as soon as possible,” the party said in a statement.Lee and Hong were charged with receiving 30 million won in 2013 and 100 million won in 2011, respectively, during their election campaigns.Sung hanged himself while being probed for alleged corruption at his troubled company r

Jul 2, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Park's aides cleared of bribery allegations

By Lee Kyung-minThe prosecution has cleared former Cheong Wa Dae Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon and other politicians of allegations that they received bribes from the late former Keangnam Enterprises Chairman Sung Woan-jong.Prosecutors said they have concluded a months-long probe into the bribery allegations, triggered by Sung’s suicide in April. These probe results will be made public on Thursday in a press briefing.Sung hanged himself on April 9 leaving behind a note containing the names of eight politicians who he claimed were bribed by him in the lead up to the 2012 presidential election.The prosecution, however, said they failed to prove the bribery allegations.“After questioning key aides of the officials and analyzing seized bank accounts, we concluded that there is no direct evidence that proves they received the illegal political funds from Sung,” a prosecutor said.The names included former Cheong Wa Dae Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon; Kim's predecessor, Heo Tae-yeol; Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok; South Gyeongsang Province Governor Hong Joon-pyo; Saenuri Party la

Jul 1, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Supreme Court eyes international tribunal

By Lee Kyung-minThe Supreme Court is considering setting up an international tribunal under the Patent Court, in which trials will proceed in English or other foreign languages.If established, such a tribunal will be the first in Asia. Outside Asia, only Germany and Switzerland have similar systems, according to the Supreme Court.To date, foreigners in local court trials have spoken to judges through translators, so they were often misrepresented. Verdicts were also not provided in their own languages.Under the proposed system, however, they can present their arguments in text format to judges for their better understanding, and can get translated versions of verdicts.These services would be provided in English, French, German and other languages, the court said.A judge from the Supreme Court said its internal committee is positively considering the system, and will decide on when to start the service.The plan is to meet the growing number of patent cases involving foreigners here.“We hope this plan will serve as the role model for other countries, although the details of the p

Jun 30, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Hyundai Securities under probe

By Lee Kyung-minThe prosecution has launched an investigation into Hyundai Securities over allegations it gained illegal profits by misusing government trust funds worth some 57 trillion won ($ 5.1 billion) for five years, until last year.According to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, the company’s former and incumbent executives and employees are suspected of engaging in fake trading of trust funds after securing them from the Korea Post and the Korea Lottery Commission.The probe is based on a complaint filed in May by Rep. Kim Yong-nam of the ruling Saenuri Party.“The amount of inflation is beyond unusual, almost unprecedented. Those involved should face due punishment,” Kim charged.   The prosecution plans to call in company executives for questioning soon. Rep. Kim will be called as early as next week.

Jun 30, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

MERS 'patient zero' recovers

By Lee Kyung-minThe first patient confirmed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in Korea has fully recovered from the disease, health authorities said Monday.The 68-year-old man was discharged from the National Medical Center (NMC) where MERS patients are being treated and was moved to a general hospital.He is still showing symptoms of pneumonia, but tested negative for MERS in several tests after receiving treatment for more than a month, according to the NMC. His MERS infection was confirmed on May 20.“His health condition is still not normal because he was treated for a long period of time. However, he overcame the virus,” a doctor from NMC told reporters.He was transferred to the NMC from Samsung Medical Center where he was diagnosed with the virus.Meanwhile, a female lung cancer patient has fully recovered from MERS.The 42-year-old woman reportedly had two liver cancer operations in 2011 and 2013 before being diagnosed with lung cancer in May. This is the first case in which a cancer patient fully recovered from the virus, according to the Ministry of H

Jun 29, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Christian school ordered to reinstate professor who expressed different religious views

By Lee Kyung-minA local court ordered Chongshin University in Seoul, a Christian school, Monday, to reinstate an assistant professor it dismissed last year for expressing different religious views in his dissertation.The university filed a suit to nullify the Appeal Commission for Teachers’ (ACT) order to rehire the professor surnamed Sung.The Seoul Administrative Court, however, ruled against the school and ordered it to reinstate SungIn May of last year, the university terminated a contract with Sung after an internal committee determined that his dissertation contained an agenda supporting the World Council of Churches (WWC), with which it has been at odds over the years.Unlike a Presbyterian faction the university belongs to, the WWC is known for its more inclusive stance in accepting other religions such as Catholicism and Buddhism. It also recognizes the rights of homosexuals.Upon his dismissal, Sung filed a petition with the ACT demanding reinstatement.ACT granted his request and ordered his reinstatement, saying the school abused its authority in dismissing Sung for not

Jun 29, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Exodus to Jeju increasing

By Lee Kyung-minMore people are moving to Jeju Island, fed up with the stresses of city life.According to a Statistics Korea study, as of May this year, the number of people that moved to the southern resort island stood at 5,500.The number of new arrivals on Jeju has been rising steeply since 2011, with the total tallied at 2,243 in 2011; 4,876 in 2012; 7,823 in 2013; 11,112 in 2014.Wage earners with families, in their 30s and 40s, account for more than half the migration, with the number tallied at 3,569 households with 7,439 members in 2014.Relocations of whole families to Jeju account for more than 20 percent, the second-largest such movement after that to Gyeonggi at 30 percent and North Chungcheong Province at 12 percent.  Most who relocate to Jeju open small businesses targeting tourists, including coffee shops, restaurants, and guesthouses.Often their children attend international schools there, including North London Collegiate School Jeju, Branksome Hall Asia and the Korea International School Jeju campus, all in Seoguipo.Parents are reportedly attracted to the schools

Jun 28, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Illegal aliens will be allowed to set up unions

Members of the Migrants’ Trade Union cheer the Supreme Court’s decision to recognize the rights of illegal aliens to form labor unions, in front of the court in southern Seoul, Thursday. / YonhapBy Lee Kyung-minThe Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court’s ruling that recognized the legal status of illegal aliens as members of a trade union.The landmark ruling paves the way for undocumented foreign workers to set up unions and negotiate with employers over their working conditions.A decade ago, a group of 91 foreign workers in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, named the Migrants’ Trade Union (MTU), filed a suit after their status as union members was denied by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.The highest court, however, ruled in favor of the group, ordering the ministry to recognize its union.The MTU, which has some 1,000 members, belongs to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the country's second-largest umbrella union. Its members are migrants from Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, the majority

Jun 25, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Porn actors playing minors face punishment

By Lee Kyung-minPossessing or distributing videos showing sexually explicit acts by adult actors portraying minors is also subject to punishment, alongside content involving actual minors, the Constitutional Court ruled Thursday.In a five-to-four decision, the justices said that two clauses, which punish those who distribute, publicly screen or possess material containing minors or their likeness engaging in sexually explicit acts, are constitutional.Currently, distribution or sharing such content with the purpose of commercial gain is a crime subject to a prison term of up to 10 years, and seven years in cases of non-commercial use.For simple possession of such material, the punishment is either a prison term of up to one-year or a fine of up to 20 million won.The petition was filed by a man who was indicted in 2012 after screening video footage in his store containing a woman in her 20s wearing a school uniform.The Northern District Court and the Suwon District Court helped with the petition saying punishment by applying such blind standards is too excessive, adding harsh measures

Jun 25, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Korean woman attacked in Manhattan

By Lee Kyung-minA Korean tourist was attacked by a homeless man wielding a machete in a park in Manhattan, New York, Tuesday, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.The victim, a 31-year-old woman surnamed Im, sustained two non-life threatening slashing wounds to her right arm.The attack occurred in Bryant Park in Manhattan at around 11:30 a.m.Frederick Young, 43, an African American, approached her from behind and swung a machete at Im who was coming out of a building after a yoga lesson.  Im was immediately taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, and is reportedly in stable condition. “She is in shock, but is in stable condition. She expressed her wish to fly back to Korea as soon as possible,” a foreign ministry official said.  The man has a record of 23 prior arrests including one for assault with a machete. He was caught and charged on the same day over the attack.The attack comes amid heightened alert against attacks targeting Asian women in the area.Another African American, Tyrell Shaw, 25, reportedly hit four Asian women in their faces with a plastic bag con

Jun 24, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
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