The Korea Times

Man hunted for attempting to clone credit card

By Lee Kyung-minPolice said Wednesday they are trying to locate a man who attached a skimmer and a camera to a cash machine to steal credit card information in Geumcheon, southern Seoul.A bank worker called police on Feb. 17 after discovering the equipment.Surveillance camera footage showed an unidentified man installing the equipment the day before, police said.After the suspect left, eight people used the machine, but they suffered no damage because police discovered the installation before the suspect returned.  Police said the skimmer was attached to a part where users are supposed to swipe their cards’ magnetic strips.After the swipe, the card information is recorded and transferred to the installer in real-time, police said.  The camera was set up on the ceiling of the booth to record the card number, card holder’s name, expiration date and security code on the back, police added.Crimes involving skimmers have soared recently.In response, the Financial Supervisory Service has advised against the use of cards with magnetic strips since 2012.   &nb

Mar 4, 2015By Lee Kyung-min

South Korea

Smoking ban taken to Constitutional Court

By Lee Kyung-minA group of smokers and restaurant owners have filed a petition with the Constitutional Court to review the constitutionality of a new law banning smoking in all restaurants.Since Jan. 1, anyone who smokes inside a restaurant is subject to fines of up to 100,000 won ($90), and its owner fines of up to 1.7 million won ($1,500).The group, consisting of members of I Love Smoking, which represents the interests of smokers and some restaurant owners, held a press conference in front of the Constitutional Court, Tuesday, saying the ban infringes on their rights.“Many restaurant owners are considering closing down their business altogether, because the number of customers plummeted after the ban,” said group leader Lee Yeon-ik.“Most of their customers are smokers. They tend to order more food and alcohol while smoking, getting comfortable. Who would want to come and eat with the constant fear of being fined during what was supposed to be the most comfortable time of rest?”Lee also said such a ban is discriminatory against small- and medium-sized restau

Mar 3, 2015By Lee Kyung-min

South Korea

GPS to be installed on guns

National Police Agency Commissioner Kang Sin-myeong, right, speaks about how to strengthen gun regulations as Chong Jong-sup, minister of government administration and home affairs, listens during an interpellation session at the National Assembly, Monday. / YonhapBy Lee Kyung-minPolice are considering attaching location-tracking devices to all firearms owned by civilians in an effort to beef up gun control.Personal storage of firearms or live ammunition is also likely to be banned outright. Currently, individuals are allowed to keep 400 cartridges and firearms of 5.5 mm caliber or smaller in their homes.In addition, gun ownership will be permanently banned for citizens who have served prison terms.These are part of measures being discussed by the government and the ruling Saenuri Party following two deadly shooting rampages last week that resulted in eight deaths, officials said Monday.If mandatory attachment of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) on firearms is implemented, some 60,000 firearms retained by individuals will be ordered back for storage in police stations.On Feb. 25, a g

Mar 2, 2015By Lee Kyung-min

South Korea

6 speed-camera firms ordered to compensate for bid rigging

By Lee Kyung-minA court ordered six traffic enforcement or “speed” camera manufacturers, Monday, to pay the government some 6.7 billion won ($6 million) in compensation for bid rigging.The Seoul Central District Court said the government bought the speed cameras at inflated prices between 2005 and 2008 due to price fixing.The biddings were commissioned by 16 regional police agencies.The six firms are LS Industrial System, Vitzrosys, KEON-A Information Technology, TOPES, LENECO and Hitecom System.The government filed a suit against the six after the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) fined them for collusion in 2011.The anti-trust agency said that representatives of the six met in secret to fix the bidding price and avoid competition. The six were the only qualified bidders for speed cameras until 2009.The FTC fined LS Industrial System 1.2 billion won; Vitzrosys, 800 million won; KEON-A Information Technology, 824 million won; TOPES, 815 million; and Hitecom System 133 million won.LENECO was exempt from the fine because it voluntarily submitted a report about its involvement in

Mar 2, 2015By Lee Kyung-min

South Korea

Freshman unconscious after drinking at orientation session

By Lee Kyung-minA first-year female university student fell unconscious after drinking alcohol during a school-organized orientation session for newly enrolled students, police said Friday.The 19-year-old student from Gwangju National Education University (GNEU), surnamed Lee, was found lying unconscious around 3:30 a.m. on Thursday in a hallway of a resort in Hwasun, South Jeolla Province.Lee was one of the university’s 300 newly enrolled students attending a four-day orientation session.She was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, but she remained unconscious Friday, police said.Lee choked on her own vomit, according to a hospital official.“She could not breathe because there was something blocking her airway,” the official said on condition of anonymity. “It seems she had been too drunk to force it out of her airway and she was already having a hard time breathing because of an increased pulse rate due to alcohol.”  Before the incident, Lee drank three bottles of soju together with eight other students. The students told police that Lee b

Feb 27, 2015By Lee Kyung-min

South Korea

Family wins in suicide insurance suit

By Lee Kyung-minA district court ordered Samsung Life Insurance, Wednesday, to pay life insurance money to the family of a policyholder who committed suicide.The family filed a lawsuit against the firm after the latter refused to pay the full amount, claiming deaths by suicide were excluded from full benefits under the contract terms.A clause in the contract says full life insurance benefits are only available to family members of those who commit suicide from mental illness or those who kill themselves more than two years after the contract was signed.The policyholder, surnamed Park, signed the insurance contract in 2006, and committed suicide in March 2014. He did not have any mental illness.However, the firm paid only 63 million won of the life insurance money, to his family.The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Samsung Life Insurance should pay an additional 100 million won ($98,000) to Park’s family.   “The clause specifically states that the special coverage applies two years after the suicide. The company arguing it otherwise is only an attempt to m

Feb 25, 2015By Lee Kyung-min

South Korea

Singer accused of illegal movie downloads

By Lee Kyung-minKim Jang-hoonRock singer Kim Jang-hoon is facing an investigation for illegally downloading movies.A civic group called the Young’s Liberty Union filed a complaint with the prosecution on Tuesday, demanding an investigation into allegations that Kim infringed on copyrights after he posted on Twitter last week that he downloaded the recently released Hollywood action movie “Taken 3.”Kim wrote, “I download a movie, ‘Taken 3.’ And guess what? The subtitles are in Arabic. I cannot concentrate on the movie scenes that are supposed to be sad and serious.”The civic group leader Ham Min-woo said Kim’s action was worse than careless.“Kim is a renowned rock singer in Korea. And as such he should have the utmost respect regarding copyright protection. It is more than right to publicly condemn this casual attitude towards the core principle that underpins his livelihood,” said Ham. Also, another netizen said he wrote a letter of complaint with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), an American trade assoc

Feb 24, 2015By Lee Kyung-min

Singer accused of illegal movie downloads

South Korea

Ex-billiards star found dead

Kim Kyung-roul Former billiards star Kim Kyung-roul was found dead on the grounds of his apartment block in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, police said Monday.Kim, 35, who won the 2010 3-Cushion World Cup, appears to have accidentally fallen from his 11th floor apartment.An apartment security guard told police he saw Kim falling.“I saw a man falling, and later it turned out to be Kim,” the guard said.Police said Kim seemed to have fallen out the window accidentally. There were no signs of struggle on his body.Officers have not completely ruled out the possibility of suicide or murder.No suicide note was found; and he signed a business contract with a Belgium billiards clothes manufacturer Iwan Simonis two weeks ago. Police said his family does not want an autopsy.His death comes one day ahead of his birthday.Kim won in 2010 in Antalya, beating Dick Jaspers in the final.He competed in the 2006 Doha Asian Games and the 2010 Guangzhou Games, and won the Agipi Masters in 2010 and in 2012.

Feb 23, 2015By Lee Kyung-min

South Korea

Income inequality increases over 10 years

By Lee Kyung-min Income disparities between employees of small- to medium-sized (SME) companies and workers at major companies increased over the past decade, a study showed Sunday.The income gap between regular and non-regular workers also widened, the study added.The Korea Labor Institute (KLI) and Statistics Korea, which conducted the study, compared the monthly incomes of employees from companies in both categories.The SME employees earned some 1.42 million won ($1,266) a month in 2004 and 2.04 million won ($1,800) in 2014, while employees at major companies earned an average of 2.38 million won in 2004 and 3.59 million won in 2014.In terms of hourly payments, while the former group earned 7,179 won an hour in 2004 and 11,424 won in 2014, the latter category earned 12,311 won in 2004 and 20,397 in 2014.Disparity between regular workers and non-regular workers widened, the study added.In 2004, non-regular workers at major companies earned 73 percent of wages paid to regular workers at the same company, and this gap widened with the latter making only 66 percent in 2014.As for

Feb 22, 2015By Lee Kyung-min

South Korea

Ex-Assembly speaker convicted of sex abuse

By Lee Kyung-minPark Hee-taeA court found former National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae guilty of sexually harassing a female caddie, Monday, sentencing him to six months in prison suspended for one year.He was also ordered to complete a 40-hour mandatory education program for sex offenders.Park was indicted for touching the 24-year-old caddie's breasts in September. The case was brought after the caddie filed a complaint with police.The Chuncheon District Court said Park’s action should not be taken lightly.“Park sexually harassed the caddie the whole time they played the nine holes, causing extreme emotional distress to the victim,” the judge said in its ruling.“However, Park has no prior record of a similar sort, and he showed deep remorse and promised not to repeat such crude behavior. I also took into account that Park and the victim reached a compromise through mediation,” the judge said in its ruling.After the mediation, the victim dropped the suit, but the prosecution nevertheless put him on trial.During a court hearing on Feb. 9, it demanded a t

Feb 16, 2015By Lee Kyung-min

Lee Kyung-min

Read more

Man hunted for attempting to clone credit card

Smoking ban taken to Constitutional Court

GPS to be installed on guns

6 speed-camera firms ordered to compensate for bid rigging

Freshman unconscious after drinking at orientation session

Family wins in suicide insurance suit

Singer accused of illegal movie downloads

Ex-billiards star found dead

Income inequality increases over 10 years

Ex-Assembly speaker convicted of sex abuse

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