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Lee Kyung-min

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South Korea

Jail term for Sewol owner's son reduced to two years

By Lee Kyung-min  Yoo Dae-gyunAn appeals court Friday reduced the jail term for Yoo Dae-gyun, the eldest son of the late Sewol ferry owner Yoo Byung-eun, to two years.He was sentenced to three years by a district court in November, after being convicted of embezzlement and breach of trust.The Seoul High Court upheld the convictions, but reduced the jail term.“The financial damage he incurred on companies is being recovered,” the court said. “Also, he deposited 1.3 billion won with the court and has no prior offences.”The court said he practically extorted firms owned by his father using his status as the son of the company owner.Yoo was indicted in August for embezzling 7.3 billion won ($6.7 million) from seven of its subsidiaries after charging them to pay trademark fees.“The gains he made were comparable to merely picking fruit from a tree, rather than putting hours of effort to growing the tree,” the court said.Yoo’s family members and key officials of the company have been indicted on a series of charges, including breach of tru

May 22, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
Jail term for Sewol owner's son reduced to two years
South Korea

Korean Air heiress freed from jail

Former Korean Air Executive Vice President Heather Cho makes her way through a swarm of reporters following a ruling at the Seoul High Court, Friday. She was released from prison after the court found her not guilty of changing the aircraft’s route in the infamous “nut rage” case. / YonhapAppeals court finds Heather Cho not guilty on key charge By Lee Kyung-minFormer Korean Air Executive Vice President Heather Cho was released from prison Friday after an appeals court found her not guilty of changing an aircraft route in the infamous “nut rage” case.She had been in prison since a district court sentenced her to one year behind bars in December, convicting her of risking flight safety by ordering pilots to change a plane’s route at JFK International Airport in New York.The Seoul High Court, however, overturned the ruling and sentenced her to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years.She changed clothes about 30 minutes after the ruling, made her way through a crowd of cameramen without saying anything and jumped into a car to return home.Cho

May 22, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

'Domestic violence is public matter'

By Lee Kyung-minMichael FeuerLos Angeles City Attorney Michael Feuer stressed that the government needs to strengthen services for intervening in cases of domestic violence and child abuse.Unlike a public perception here that incidents of domestic violence are a “family matter,” the issue is regarded as more of a social issue in America, he said.“In California, the offence of domestic violence is considered a public matter not merely a private one,” he said during an interview.Feuer is visiting Korea to participate in the 2015 International Criminal Law Conference, which started on Wednesday and will end today.A group of Korean-American prosecutors  are also attending the forum.He said how seriously such crimes are regarded and the nature of each offense should have a major impact on the legal system.The prosecution in the U.S. continues to pursue a case if an alleged victim withdraws charges but the prosecution believes an offence occurred.“After holding the perpetrator accountable, it is important to try to change that behavior to prevent further

May 21, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
'Domestic violence is public matter'
South Korea

First confirmed case of MERS reported

 By Lee Kyung-min  Health authorities confirmed an outbreak in the country of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), a deadly new virus that is sweeping Arabic countries.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the infected patient, 68, is currently under treatment, and is in a stable condition.The man visited a hospital seeking treatment after experiencing symptoms of violent coughing and fever soon after returning from a trip to Middle Eastern countries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP).He stayed in Bahrain from mid-April and returned to Korea on May 4.The man reportedly spent substantial hours on a farm on a daily basis during his stay.He reportedly did not come into contact with camels, which transmit the disease, a CDCP official said.The mildly contagious yet highly deadly virus was first discovered in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. No vaccines are available for the disease yet.Out of 1,142 confirmed cases reported in 23 countries, 465 people have died, marking 40 percent fatality rate.So far, no confirmed cases have been reporte

May 20, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

NIS officials found guilty of document forgery

By Lee Kyung-minAn appeals court Wednesday upheld guilty verdicts for three National Intelligence Service (NIS) officials and three others involved in document forgery that led to the indictment of North Korea-born Korean-Chinese Yoo Woo-sung on espionage charges.Yoo, a former contract worker for Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG), was indicted on charges that he accessed and delivered government data on North Korean defectors here to the North. However, it was discovered that the indictment was based on manipulated documents provided by spy agency officials.Yoo received a not guilty verdict from lower courts, and the case is being reviewed by the Supreme Court.The six include three NIS officials surnamed Kim, Kwon and Lee; a consulate general stationed in China, Lee In-cheol; a man surnamed Kim who helped the NIS; and a Korean-Chinese surnamed Kim.The Seoul High Court handed down heavier sentences for three ― the NIS official surnamed Kim, and the other two Kims.The NIS official was sentenced to four years after being found guilty of fabricating Yoo’s immigration records

May 20, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Ex-FSS official faces arrest for bribery

By Lee Kyung-minThe prosecution sought a detention warrant for former Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) deputy governor Kim Jin-soo, Tuesday, over allegations that he had corrupt ties with Keangnam Enterprises.The prosecution suspects Kim peddled his influence on creditors of the firm to provide emergency funds to Keangnam through a debt-for-equity swap deal when it was under a creditor-led debt rescheduling program in 2013.Kim is suspected of having taken kickbacks from the firm's former owner, Sung Woan-jong, in return for his help.Earlier this month, prosecutors raided Kim’s home and offices and the headquarters of Shinhan Bank, which was the firm’s main creditor.The investigation is based on allegations raised by the Board of Audit and Inspection that the financial regulator gave preferential treatment to Keangnam.The emergency fund provided to the firm amounts to some 1 trillion won ($ 91 million), according to the prosecution.

May 19, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Visitors need translation service most

By Lee Kyung-minThe most frequently requested form of help from foreign tourists visiting Korea is for translation services, a study showed Tuesday.Besides this, visitors also seek information on popular shopping districts, the transportation system and accommodation.The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) analyzed some 300,000 calls made to 1330, a 24-hour hotline for foreign tourists operated by the organization, over the past two years. About 38 percent of these calls concerned translation services.More than half sought help in English (57 percent), followed by Chinese (35 percent) and Japanese (7 percent).The most frequently asked question in English was regarding public transportation (34 percent), taxi services (19 percent) and overnight stays (eight percent).In Chinese, almost a third of the inquiries were regarding taxi services (30 percent), followed by shopping district and restaurant location (15 percent) and overnight stays (15 percent.In the case of calls made from a taxi, callers wanted to make sure their driver understood the destination they were planning to reach.Most n

May 19, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

POSCO slush fund probe widening

Ex-POSCO E&C vice chairman questionedBy Lee Kyung-min  Chung Dong-hwaProsecutors questioned former POSCO E&C Vice Chairman Chung Dong-hwa, Tuesday, over allegations that he played a central role in creating a slush fund while he served in the post from 2009 to 2012.He is also suspected of accepting bribes from the firm’s subcontractors and business partners.His summons came about two months after the prosecution launched an investigation into the “failed energy diplomacy” conducted during the Lee Myung-bak administration.Chung allegedly masterminded the creation of a 10 billion won ($9 million) slush fund while leading the firm’s overseas construction projects.Prosecutors believe behind Chung was former POSCO Chairman Chung Joon-yang, who maintained close relations with Lee’s aides. The former chairman is also likely to be summoned soon.The prosecution said it will determine whether to seek a detention warrant for Chung Dong-hwa.Five former and incumbent POSCO E&C officials have been indicted for their alleged roles in creating and

May 19, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
POSCO slush fund probe widening
South Korea

Family of civilian victim of US shelling during Korean War wins compensation suit

By Lee Kyung-minAn appeals court ruled Monday that the Korean government is responsible for a civilian’s death caused by a shelling attack by the U.S. during the 1950-53 Korean War.The Seoul High Court ruled in favor of the family of a victim surnamed Bang, ordering the government to pay 48.88 million won ($44,000) in compensation.Bang was killed in an attack by the USS Haven of the U.S. Navy in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, in September 1950.It is the first time that a local court has recognized the government’s liability for a wartime civilian casualty caused by bombing or shelling by the U.S.Earlier, a district court ruled that no liability is incurred on the Korean government in Bang’s case because the U.S. caused his death.However, the high court overturned the ruling based on evidence that the shelling resulted from wrong information provided by the Korean Army.Bang’s family filed the suit after a report in 2010 by a state truth-finding commission, which concluded that the U.S. shelling resulted in his death, and the attack was based on directions f

May 18, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Cats killed most often on Seoul roads

By Lee Kyung-minMotor vehicles kill an average of 10 animals a day in Seoul, according to a study released Monday.The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) study shows that more than 11,869 animals died that way from 2012- 2014.A total of 9,668 cats were killed, accounting for 81 percent of the dead animals, followed by dogs (12 percent), birds and other creatures (7 percent).Of the city’s 25 districts, Gangnam-gu reported the most animal deaths (15 cases daily), followed by 12 cases per day in Guro, Geumcheon, Nowon and Seongdong.An SMG official said city officials were aware of the problem.“Most of the cats killed are believed to be stray animals,” the official said.“Under the law, we have taken measures to trap, spay and neuter, and release them to reduce the number of stray cats.”She said the program, called “trap-and-return” (TNR), was being widely implemented in other developed countries.More than 6,000 cats are spayed or neutered each year.The official said spaying or neutering the cats was preferable to them being killed

May 18, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
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