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Lee Kyung-min

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South Korea

Park may face summons

By Lee Kyung-minPark Yong-sungProsecutors are likely to issue a summons soon for former Chung-Ang University foundation Chairman Park Yong-sung regarding allegations that he sought favors from education officials to integrate two campuses of the university in 2012.The officials include former Chief Presidential Secretary for Education Park Bum-hoon, who previously worked as the university’s president.Fresh allegations emerged Thursday that Doosan provided bribes worth hundreds of millions of won to Park in return for his help in pushing the integration of the campuses. Park is also likely to be summoned as early as next week.Park resigned from all his public posts this week after an email containing abusive language he sent to Chung-Ang professors was made public. He also stepped down as Doosan Heavy chairman and chairman of the university’s foundation.The prosecution is digging deeper into the ties between Doosan and Chung-Ang. The university was purchased by Doosan in 2007.The prosecution is also looking into allegations that Park met with former President Lee Myun

Apr 23, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
Park may face summons
South Korea

KTU wins suit against former spy chief

 By Lee Kyung-min   A court ordered former National Intelligence Agency (NIS) Chief Won Sei-hoon Wednesday to compensate the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers' Union (KTU) for calling the representative body an organization full of “North Korea sympathizers.”The Seoul Central District Court ordered Won to pay 10 million won ($9,200) to the union.The KTU filed a suit against the former spy chief saying that the union as a whole was defamed by his comments targeting the union from 2009 to 2013.Won wrote on NIS website that, “Activities masterminded by organizations such as the teachers’ union with pro-North Korean political inclinations are still rampant here. Most of them hide their true colors by working alongside religious and civic groups,. I hereby encourage workers to be more active in their efforts to root out such anti-state minds that corrupt our society.”The court recognized that the union members suffered undue emotional hardship due to Won’s misguided assertion about the union members’ political orientation

Apr 23, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Hyundai Motor union criticizes KCTU's push for strike

By Lee Kyung-minThe Hyundai Motor union Wednesday openly criticized the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), an umbrella union in which the former is a major stakeholder, for the latter’s plan to launch a nationwide strike on Friday.The KCTU, the second largest umbrella union here with 670,000 members, has planned the strike to protest against what it called the government’s “business-friendly” approach in handling key labor issues.The Hyundai Motor union charged that the KCTU is just resorting to strike action without due consideration of the political situation.“The KCTU is overstretched in its attempt to act out without due consideration,” the union said in a statement. “It’s absurd to go ahead with the plan at the moment with the nation in confusion over the latest full-fledged corruption allegations regarding the late Keangnam Enterprises Chairman Sung Woan-jong and people of the highest ranks in this country.“At the moment, the government is not pushing for a reform plan to the extent that leaves the labor sector wit

Apr 22, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Two Sung confidants detained for destroying evidence

By Lee Kyung-minProsecutors detained two key confidants to the late Keangnam Enterprises Chairman Sung Woan-jong Wednesday on suspicion they destroyed evidence related to a bribery scandal involving Sung.Former Keangnam executive Park Jun-ho, 49, was put behind bars after he was found to have removed surveillance camera footage, which would have been crucial evidence, during an overnight interrogation session. He was summoned a day earlier.The prosecution also detained Lee yong-ki, the company’s former public relations director and Sung’s former secretary, for alleged involvement in the crime. He assisted the late Sung for more than 10 years. Park, who previously worked as a secretary for a lawmaker, entered Keangnam in 2003 and was in charge of personal contact management as well as scheduling meetings with influential figures for Sung.Detaining the two is the latest development in an investigation into the full-fledged corruption scandal surrounding the late Sung involving public figures from the highest ranks in the country.The prosecution said Park was questioned

Apr 22, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Swimmer to take witness stand in doctor's trial

By Lee Kyung-minPark Tae-hwanSwimmer Park Tae-hwan will testify against his doctor who is on trial for allegedly injecting him with the banned substance Nebido in September last year, a court said Tuesday.The doctor, surnamed Kim, is charged with professional negligence for failing to inform the swimmer about the contents of the syringe and if the injection might lead to him fail a drug test.Park subsequently tested positive for doping, which resulted in him being suspended for 18 months by the world swimming governing body the International Swimming Federation (FINA) in March.Park also had to forfeit the five bronze medals and one silver medal that he won at the Incheon Asian Games.The Seoul Central District Court granted the prosecution’s motion requesting four witnesses including the doctor and Park’s manager.Park likely will testify against Kim, who claimed that she gave the list of components of Nebido to Park, asking to confirm the injection as part of his treatment.“Kim asked Park to verify whether the injection would cause a problem, and Park agreed to do so

Apr 21, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
Swimmer to take witness stand in doctor's trial
South Korea

Protestor who burnt national flag being pursued

By Lee Kyung-minPolice are trying to locate a young protestor who allegedly burnt a taegeukki, the Korean national flag, during a rally to mark the first anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster in downtown Seoul, Saturday.Video footage of the man burning the flag has triggered a public uproar. “We are reviewing surveillance camera recordings near the site to identify and find him,” an officer from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said.Damaging the national flag with intent to defame the country is a crime punishable by a prison term of up to five years.The man was one of tens of hundreds of protestors who clashed with police, who detained about 100, including 21 relatives of the ferry tragedy victims.Police sought arrest warrants for 10 of the protestors, Monday.They decided not to seek arrest warrants for the relatives even though they engaged in illegal activities. “They will be given leniency given that they are going through hard times,” the officer said. “However, those who engaged in attacks on officers and destroyed police vehicles will

Apr 20, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

'Taxmen also on take from late Sung'

By Lee Kyung-minProsecutors have secured clues suggesting that former and incumbent high-ranking officials from the National Tax Service (NTS), the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) took bribes from the late Keangnam Enterprises Chairman Sung Woan-jong, a local daily reported Monday.The prosecution refused to confirm the report, but sources said that Sung often had meetings with finance and tax officials after his company was placed under a court-administered debt-restructuring program in 2013.The latest allegation came as the prosecution examines financial documents and Sung’s secret records secured during recent raids on his offices and home.The Chosun Ilbo reported that a memo showed he met with former FSS Governor Choi Soo-hyun six times and FSC Chairman Shin Je-yoon four times since 2013, citing an unnamed source.A couple of tax officials, former Woori Bank Chairman Lee Pal-seung and former Shinhan Bank Chaiman Seo Jin-won were also reportedly mentioned in the memo.However, the newspaper didn't report whether people mentioned i

Apr 20, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
'Taxmen also on take from late Sung'
South Korea

SK E&C accused of bid rigging

By Lee Kyung-minSeven executives of four construction firms were indicted without physical detention on charges of rigging bids in 2009 while participating in the Saemangeum land reclamation project in North Jeolla Province, said the prosecution Sunday.The four companies affected are SK Engineering and Construction (E&C), Daewoo Engineering and Construction, KOLON Global, and GumGwang.Additional to the seven people indicted, SK E&C was also accused of violating the fair competition rules, said the prosecution.If found guilty, the accused executives are subject to prison terms of up to five years, and a fine will be imposed on SK E&C.The prosecution said that to avoid competition, SK E&C met officials from GumGwang and KOLON Global to fix the bidding price.As part of this scheme, Daewoo submitted an incomplete and substandard report that fell short of requirements on purpose to let other companies win the bid.  On April 2010, SK E&C won the bid at 103 billion won ($92 million).  The four are among 14 builders fined by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for c

Apr 19, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Chung-Ang University foundation probed for accounting fraud

By Lee Kyung-min The Chung-Ang University foundation was allegedly used to commit accounting fraud worth 20.3 billion won ($18 million), the prosecution said Sunday.It added that former university President Park Bum-hoon will be questioned as early as this week on whether he played any role in the alleged fraud.Data shows the university gained profits worth 20.3 billion won from rent, and down payments paid by on-campus facilities such as snack bars, cafeterias and bookstores, as well as those being treated in the university hospital.The income was supposed to be recorded in the school’s accounts book, but it was instead included in the foundation’s accounts book from 2009 to 2015 in violation of the Private School Act, under which university funds should be managed separately from a school foundation.The prosecution believes that some of the money was likely spent on paying employers of Doosan who managed university affairs. Doosan purchased the university in 2007.Prosecutors suspect that expenditure from the foundation on workers’ pay was small.The foundation

Apr 19, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

TOEIC test fee case to be taken to Supreme Court

By Lee Kyung-minA group of TOEIC test takers plan to file an appeal with the Supreme Court next week after lower courts dismissed their claims that YBM, the test’s administrator, is maintaining an unfair refund policy.YBM has refunded only up to 60 percent of pre-paid test fees to those who cancel their exams less than a month before the test, saying materials and venue selection are planned based on the estimated number of applicants whose exam payments have been made.However, the test takers claim its refund policy is burdensome for students without an income who take the test repeatedly to achieve a higher score.Jobseekers and university applicants take the TOEIC almost every month ― each test costs about 42,000 won ($38) ― because companies and universities require good scores.“YMB is obviously taking advantage of those applicants, knowing full well they have leverage here. It knows that the students are desperately in need of the best score, so expensive refund fees should be not an issue for it,” said members of the People's Solidarity for Participat

Apr 16, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
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