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Lee Kyung-min

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South Korea

Free legal services eyed for foreigners

By Lee Kyung-minForeigners will be able to receive free legal services from lawyers regarding visa extensions and naturalization starting in the latter half of the year, the Ministry of Justice said Thursday.Illegal aliens will also be eligible for these services, it added.The ministry said it will set up legal counseling centers for foreigners in at least five places with large foreign communities.The move is in response to the growing demand from expats for legal services, the ministry added.   Lawyers using translators will answer questions via fax, phone and online in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Philippines, Thai and 15 other languages.  The ministry will ask the Korean Bar Association (KBA) to recommend lawyers to volunteer for these services.Districts with more than 10,000 foreigners, or with more than a 1 percent foreigner population, will be given priority, the ministry said.“We expect exchange students, migrant workers and migrant wives interested in seeking legal advice will get help,” ministry official Cha Yong-ho said.  “Also, not e

Mar 19, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

KU student probed for rape attempt

By Lee Kyung-min A Korea University student is under investigation for allegedly attempting to rape a fellow student at the school.The university said Thursday it will launch an internal investigation Monday based on complaints from students.According to the students, the suspect attempted to rape the alleged victim in a room at the university in January. The identities of both have been withheld.The victim said she could not file a complaint with the university, much less the police, until early this month, for fear of drawing unwanted attention.Upon being informed of the on-campus sexual violence, her fellow students filed a complaint with the university’s Gender Equality Center.The center is now conducting an investigation, calling in both the suspect and the victim, the university said.“We plan to investigate this matter thoroughly to find out what led to such a heinous act on school property. The assailant will face due punishment for the crime,” an official from the center said.Police have not launched an investigation into the incident because complaint

Mar 19, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Gov't sued for keeping woman in mental hospital for 33 years

By Lee Kyung-minA mentally challenged woman who was kept in a state mental hospital for 33 years filed a compensation suit against the government Wednesday.The plaintiff, Hong Jeong-in, 56, claimed in a petition that she had to “waste” so many years in the hospital due to the government’s negligence in checking her identity.She filed the suit with the Seoul Central District Court, demanding 100 million won ($98,000) in compensation from the government.Her mental state was stable enough to make herself understood, according to the Research Institute of the Differently Abled Person’s Right in Korea, which is helping her.“Hong had to spend 33 years after being taken there by a district official. Even if she wins, her lost years will not be fully covered by monetary compensation, but I think compensation would help console her,” said Youm Hyung-kuk, Hong’s lawyer.“Both police and government officials failed to follow the identification process, even though they were legally bound to do so. Also, they just put her in the hospital, rather tha

Mar 18, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

DongA One under probe for stock manipulation

By Lee Kyung-minProsecutors said Tuesday they are investigating DongA One, a flour maker owned by Lee Hi-sang, the father-in-law of former President Chun Doo-hwan’s third son, Jae-man, for alleged stock manipulation.The Seoul Southern Prosecutors’ Office said it detained a stockbroker, surnamed Kim, on suspicion he helped the firm inflate its stock price in 2010 and 2011. During the period, the company’s stock price doubled from 3,000 to 6,000 won.The company reaped some 38 billion won in illegal gains by selling its stock to institutional and individual investors, the prosecution said.DongA One is suspected of providing money to the stockbroker to help raise the stock’s price.The Securities and Futures Commission first detected the manipulation last year and referred the case to the prosecution in May.Previously, Lee was investigated for allegedly helping the Chun family create a slush fund to hide assets.

Mar 17, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Call police if your get 'calls from FSS'

By Lee Kyung-minPolice issued a warning for a new type of phishing scam, in which scammers impersonate Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) officials and visit victims in person to take their money.The Seoul Seongdong Police Station said it has detained eight men for allegedly swindling some 260 million won ($229,000) out of six elderly people using this method.Police are trying to locate other suspects who are reportedly staying in China.Police said the scammers first made random calls and chose only those who lived alone. The caller then falsely identified himself as a FSS official, pretending to inform the victim about a hacking attempt into his account, saying the money is in danger of being transferred to another account abroad.Then the caller hurriedly asked the victim to withdraw all the cash at the nearest ATM and hand it over to their “agent,” who would visit them to guarantee the safe deposit of the money.After the victim came back with the cash, a man with a false FSS identification visited to collect the money.Police said the “agent” dressed up with

Mar 16, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

District office in Busan on 'garbage strike'

By Lee Kyung-minA district office in Busan is refusing to collect garbage from a popular street in its jurisdiction in a desperate bid to raise public awareness of trash dumping.According to the Jin District Office, it has not cleaned up garbage in Seomyeon, a street of bars, restaurants and clubs, since Sunday, and the “strike” will continue until 10 a.m. Tuesday.Officials there said the three-day strike is a desperate effort to make the street clean as garbage dumping remains rampant despite its campaign to curb the problem.The district office held a similar one-day strike in September 2012.The measure drew both positive and negative responses from residents.While some said the sight of heaped trash brought shame to those who improperly dump their garbage, others said it only further tarnishes the district’s reputation for outsiders who do not know the intended objective.“First, I thought it was just disgusting. But when I heard it was because people kept throwing the trash despite the cleaning effort, I thought twice about how I have mindlessly thrown the t

Mar 16, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Lippert attack probe expands

By Lee Kyung-minKim Ki-jongThe man who attacked the U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert is a follower of North Korea with a deep animosity towards the United States, police said Friday.“Kim Ki-jong targeted Lippert because he thought the envoy was a symbol of the U.S.,” Kim Ki-cheol, an officer from the National Police Agency, told reporters as he announced the results of the police’s initial investigation into the attack.The officer said Kim had contacted a South Korean man who was previously convicted of spying for North Korea before assaulting Lippert, and has had ties with pro-Pyongyang groups.This indicates that the probe will now expand to activists and politicians who are deemed sympathetic to the isolationist country.Kim has claimed that he carried out the attack alone, but police said somebody else might be behind the attack.“The focus for the investigation may shift to those who are around Kim,” the officer said.Police said they referred this case to the prosecution with the recommendation Kim be charged with attempted murder, violence agains

Mar 13, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
Lippert attack probe expands
South Korea

Judges asked to watch online language

By Lee Kyung-minThe Supreme Court asked judges Friday to watch their language online following a series of controversies caused by comments they posted recently.Under the court’s new guidelines for use of the Internet, judges are required not to use expressions that are politically biased, insulting, coercive, lewd or vulgar in expressing their views online.Openly discussing any cases in trial was also banned.Under the code of conduct for judges, they are required at all times to maintain impartiality, uphold the integrity of the judiciary community and refrain from engaging in political activities.This marks the first time the Supreme Court has issued guidelines for judges’ online conduct.  “The same level of code of conduct should be required for their online activities,” a judge said.The move came after a Suwon District Court judge resigned, taking responsibility for disputes over some 10,000 online slurs he made over the past seven years.The judge, surnamed Lee, posted many of his politically biased comments using vulgar language on Ilbe, a notor

Mar 13, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Professor gets 'slap on wrist' for sex abuse

By Lee Kyung-minSeoul Women’s University has suspended a male professor for just three months after he sexually harassed students and fellow professors.The decision drew criticism from the victims and students that school authorities are being too lenient.According to the university, the internal disciplinary committee made its decision last month against Chinese literature Professor Cho Young-hyun, 49.Under the decision, Cho was banned from teaching classes in the spring semester, a university official said.“It is disgusting that I have to see him teaching again after just three months,” a student said.In October, more than 10 alleged victims, including undergraduates, graduates and female professors, filed a complaint with the university.They also posted a letter of protest on the university website, and submitted it to the university president demanding the harshest punishment against him.It was not until January that the university launched an internal inquiry into Cho’s alleged actions.According to the complaint, Cho made sexual comments during class with

Mar 12, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Paju mayor office raided

By Lee Kyung-minLee Jae-hongPolice raided the office of Paju Mayor Lee Jae-hong Thursday as part of an investigation into his possible involvement in a bribery case.His aide, also surnamed Lee, is currently under investigation for allegedly receiving hundreds of millions of won in bribes from a company based in the city in Gyeonggi Province.The mayor is also suspected of being involved in the case.Police raided the home and the office of the aide on Sunday. His car was also searched.On Tuesday, police called him in for questioning.Police said that they secured testimony from officials of the company who said they sought favors from the mayor by providing the money to the aide.The aide went on leave on Sunday, citing health reasons, a city official said.  The aide served as a key campaigner for the mayor during the local election in June. He joined the mayoral office after Lee was elected.The mayor and the aide are both graduates of Yonsei University.This is not the first time that an incumbent Paju mayor has been investigated for allegations of bribery.In June 2004, then Paju Ma

Mar 12, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
Paju mayor office raided
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