my timesThe Korea Times
lkm

Lee Kyung-min

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr

Go to EmailGo to URL

Read more

South Korea

SNU professors 'misappropriated subsidies'

By Lee Kyung-min A Seoul National University (SNU) professor is under investigation for allegedly misappropriating government subsidies of about 200 million won ($181,000), the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) said Monday.The science professor, whose identity was withheld, allegedly misappropriated the funds from 2011 to 2014, and submitted a false report to inflate research costs.He allegedly used some of the money to run a start-up company, and the rest to support his brother’s company.The allegations came a week after the state auditor concluded an investigation into another SNU professor, surnamed Kim, on similar charges.It is alleged that Kim illegally received about 310 million won ($281,000) in government funds by forging documents, and embezzled about 220 million won ($199,000) from July 2008 until May last year, said the BAI.The auditor referred Kim’s case to the prosecution, and asked the university to dismiss him.SNU refused to comment on whether Kim would be dismissed, saying the level of punishment would depend on the prosecution’s findings.The

Feb 16, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Court rejects Kato's request to lift travel ban

By Lee Kyung-minA court Friday rejected a petition from Tatsuya Kato, the former Seoul bureau chief of Japan’s Sankei Shimbun newspaper, to lift a travel ban the Korean government has imposed on him.Kato is currently on trial on charges of defaming President Park Geun-hye after reporting rumors that Park might have been involved in a tryst with a man when the Sewol ferry sank off the southwest coast in April last year.Kato asked the Seoul Administrative Court to lift the travel ban slapped on him by the Justice Ministry and allow him to prepare for his trial in Japan. However, the court rejected this request.“Kato is being tried here, and once he returns to Japan, he might not present himself at hearings, ultimately impeding justice from being served,” the court said.“Also, he had been here for four years, and extending that period will not result in damage unbearable or grave enough to cause him extreme emotional hardship.”The ministry first imposed the ban in August and has extended it eight times since then.Protesting against the travel ban, Kato file

Feb 13, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
Court rejects Kato's request to lift travel ban
South Korea

'I'm afraid of migrant workers'

Bloody group fight of 20 Cambodian workers frighten Gimhae residentsBy Lee Kyung-minIn December, about 20 Cambodian workers engaged in a bloody group fight inside a bar in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province.The incident is belatedly becoming the talk of town after surveillance camera footage showing their brutal fight was aired on TV Wednesday.Some of the Cambodian men, who all work in factories in Gimhae or Busan on temporary visas, sustained deep stab wounds and bone fractures that will require months of hospital treatment, police said.During the fight, they smashed bottles of beer and soju, and threw dozens of chairs at each other, breaking dishes and glasses. The owner of the bar said he was lucky that they only cost him his tables and dishes, not his life.“There were a lot of blood stains. I could have been hit by any of the bottles they threw,” he said.Residents in Gimhae were frightened by the videos of the incident.“I thought of foreign factory workers as being docile, hardworking and somewhat naïve. But this likely breaks that stereotype.

Feb 13, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Judge under fire for biased comments online

By Lee Kyung-minA Suwon District Court judge is under fire for posting 10,000 extremely right-wing and often vulgar political comments online over the past seven years.The 45-year-old judge, identified only by his surname Lee, has admitted to making the posts saying he was merely expressing his opinion as an individual, according to Suwon District Court.Following media reports on Wednesday, Lee immediately asked for a leave of absence, postponing 10 cases due for sentencing the next day.Lee used four different IDs on the portal sites Naver and Daum to post extreme views on social issues and also on cases he was actually presiding over.Born in Daegu, Lee often posted negative comments against Jeolla Provinces.Most recently, the judge posted comments defending former spy agency chief Won Sei-hoon, who was sentenced to three years in prison for meddling in the 2012 presidential election in favor of Park Geun-hye. A day before his sentencing, referring to the presiding judge Kim Sang-hwan, Lee wrote, “Won is likely to be found guilty because of judge Kim’s ties to the Jeolla

Feb 13, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Zookeeper dies after being mauled by lion

Main entrance of a section inside Seoul Children’s Grand Park where Kim was found dead with multiple bites by a lion on his body / Yonhap By Lee Kyung-minA zookeeper died Thursday after being mauled by a lion at Seoul Children’s Grand Park in Gwangjin-gu, eastern Seoul, the operator of the park said. This is the first death of a worker caused by an animal attack at the zoo.No civilian was injured, because the park was temporarily closed due to the risk of for avian influenza.The 53-year-old victim surnamed Kim was found lying unconscious on the ground with multiple bites to his torso and legs.His co-worker, who found him, called 119, and the emergency crew performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but he did not regain consciousness. Kim was then taken to a nearby hospital at around 2:53 p.m., but was soon pronounced dead.Park authorities said Kim was likely bitten while trying to acclimatize the lion to a larger enclosure.   Following the incident, the lion was put back in its cage.Some 4,100 animals of 95 species are displayed at the zoo.

Feb 12, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Judge Kim in spotlight for ruling on ex-spy chief

By Lee Kyung-minKim Sang-hwanSeoul High Court Judge Kim Sang-hwan has drawn public admiration after jailing former spy agency chief Won Sei-hoon for three years on Monday for meddling in the 2012 presidential election.Some online users have praised Kim as a hero for democracy.In his verdict, the judge called for political neutrality at the National Intelligence Service, saying its involvement in elections hurt democracy and thereby deserved strict punishment.“The more politically neutral the spy agency is, the more it garners public trust,” he said.Won was immediately jailed.In January, Kim found two podcast talk show hosts not guilty of defaming the late President Park Chung-hee and his son Park Ji-man, younger brother of President Park Geun-hye.The duo ― independent journalist Kim Eo-jun and news magazine Sisain reporter Joo Jin-woo ― were indicted for speaking about Park Ji-man’s possible involvement in the death of his cousin and for alleging Park Chung-hee had been with “a prostitute his daughter’s age” when his aide s

Feb 12, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
Judge Kim in spotlight for ruling on ex-spy chief
South Korea

Shinsegae to run duty free shops at Incheon airport

By Lee Kyung-min Shinsegae Group, Hotel Shilla and Hotel Lotte have won the bidding to operate duty free shops at Incheon International Airport, the airport’s operator said Wednesday. They will run the shops from September this year until 2020, according to the Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC). Hotel Shilla and Hotel Lotte are currently operating shops at the airport, but joined the bidding to extend their contracts. Shinsegae will be a new contractor.Out of 12 sections up for the bid, the three conglomerates won eight of them ― four for Hotel Shilla, three for Hotel Lotte and one for Shinsegae. The remaining four sections were allotted to small- and medium-sized companies, but only Charmzone, a cosmetics maker, obtained the rights to have one section as a sole bidder. There were no bidders for the remaining three sections. IIAC said it will hold another round of bidding for these. The companies will sell perfumes, alcohol, cigarettes, fashion goods, cosmetics and jewelry. Hotel Shilla and Hotel Lotte will each use one section for selling cosmetics and perfu

Feb 11, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Former Ssangyong workers ordered to come down from chimney

By Lee Kyung-minA district court has ordered two former Ssangyong Motor workers protesting atop a 70-meter-high chimney inside the firm’s plant to come down or face heavy fines.If they do not descend by Feb. 19, each will face a 500,000 won fine a day, according to the Suwon District Court.The two have been on the chimney since Dec. 14 at the factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. They are demanding the reinstatement of 153 workers. The two are also protesting the Supreme Court’s ruling in December that said a mass layoff in 2009 was lawful.  The Suwon court said the two workers were infringing the company’s property rights.  Ssangyong on Jan. 6 filed for the injunction asking the court to order the men down.

Feb 11, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Oilbank, S-Oil win suits against anti-trust watchdog

By Lee Kyung-minThe Supreme Court upheld Tuesday a lower court’s ruling nullifying fines the country’s anti-trust agency imposed in 2011 on Hyundai Oilbank and S-Oil for alleged collusion.Hyundai Oilbank and S-Oil paid 75 billion won ($68 million) and 43 billion won, respectively, after being fined by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), but filed suits immediately to reclaim the money, saying the fines were inappropriate.The two firms were among four oil refiners fined in 2011 by the FTC. The agency claimed at the time that they colluded in 2010 to avoid competition in opening new gas stations.The other two firms were SK Energy and GS Caltex. The former also filed a suit against the FTC, and this case is being reviewed by the top court. However, GS Caltex was exempted from paying the fine because it reported its irregularities voluntarily, according to the FTC.  The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hyundai Oilbank and S-Oil, citing a lack of evidence to prove their collusion.“The FTC imposed the fines after concluding that they avoided competition through collision

Feb 10, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

The Economist wins W100 million suit

By Lee Kyung-min    A district court ordered an English language institute Monday to compensate the Economist magazine for illegally using content in lectures for a number of years.Seoul Central District Court ruled that the DYB Choi Sun Language Institute in southern Seoul should pay the magazine 100 million won ($98,000) for infringement of copyright.The institute allegedly used the magazine’s published articles as teaching material and sold them to students from 2009 to 2012. As of 2009, the institute had some 15,000 registered students.The head of the institute, surnamed Song, was indicted in 2012 on charges of copyright infringement, and in July 2013, he was fined five million won ($4,500).After the ruling, the magazine filed for a compensation suit.  “The institute infringed on the copyright of the Economist by illegally using its content for the purpose of making a profit. It should be duly compensated for the financial damage occurred,” the court stated.“Publishing, distribution, or sales of such copied material is illegal.”

Feb 9, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
previous page
343344345346347
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.