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Lee Kyung-min

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South Korea

Rights agency backs sending leaflets to NK

By Lee Kyung-min The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommended Monday that the government allow civic groups to continue sending propaganda leaflets to North Korea because banning their activities would infringe on their freedom of speech.The agency said it will send a letter to the Ministry of Unification expressing its opinion about the anti-North Korea groups sending leaflets across the inter-Korean border.“Sending leaflets is a form of expression of ideas protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),” an NHRC spokesman said.The commission’s recommendation may add fuel to the conflict over the sending of the leaflets.While conservative groups say it is the only way to “enlighten” the people in the North and promote revolution, residents in the border area vehemently oppose the idea claiming such activities will provoke North Korea.Some critics say the NHRC’s position on the leaflet campaign is discriminatory against other politically sensitive

Feb 9, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Court defends Korean Air for firing abusive worker

By Lee Kyung-minA district court Sunday backed a decision by Korean Air to sack a chief flight attendant accused of verbally abusing and sexually harassing colleagues for a number of years.The worker, identified as a 55-year-old with the surname Tak, was fired early last year after the company learned from other flight attendants that he abused them ― verbally and sexually ― for many years. He immediately filed a suit, demanding nullification of the dismissal.However, Seoul Southern District Court, ruled that the firm’s decision was legal.  “A number of testimonies presented during the hearing consistently pointed to his sexually abusive language and manner in which he casually delivered the workers under him. Those remarks made over the years were enough to cause the victims to feel embarrassed, ashamed, and disgusted. The workers had to put up with him in the hostile work environment he created,” the judge said in its ruling.“The company policy of Korean Air dictates dismissal for any employee who sexually or verbally abuses co–work

Feb 8, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Abusive parents may lose parental rights

By Lee Kyung-minMinors who are sexually or physically abused at home will be allowed to file for a court injunction to deprive their parents of their rights, the Supreme Court said Sunday.Currently, minors may only apply for court protection from abusive parents through a legal representative.The new measure is a part of the court’s efforts to better protect minors, said officials.This will be included in a bill containing a revision to the Family Litigation Law, which will be submitted to the National Assembly later this year. If passed, it will be the first revision to this law in 24 years.Under the revision bill, children suffering sexual or physical abuse can seek immediate legal protection. Courts will not only accept their injunction but also appoint a legal guardian, who can best represent them, said the officials.Financial provisions for children will be strengthened as well.Any divorced parents not providing court-ordered child support for more than 30 days without due reasons accepted by the court are subject to fines of up to one million won or a detention of up

Feb 8, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Students in Korea, Japan show wide perception gap on comfort women

By Lee Kyung-minCollege students in Korea and Japan show a wide disparity in their perceptions of the “comfort woman” issue, a study showed Wednesday.While most students here believe that Japan did not take full responsibility for wartime atrocities committed by its military, their Japanese counterparts think their government has apologized adequately.In a study conducted by Sungshin Women’s University Professor Seo Kyung-duk and a research team, they interviewed 500 students equally sourced from Seoul and Tokyo, from Jan. 13 to 23.Seo is a noted activist for promoting Korean sovereignty over Dokdo against Japanese territorial claims on the easternmost islet in the East Sea.According to the study, 38 percent of Japanese respondents said their government has already apologized enough. Thirty percent said they do not want the issue discussed further.Their response is in stark contrast to the opinions of students here. Almost all Korean students, 95 percent, called for Japan to issue a formal apology and compensation. Thirty-three percent of Japanese students agreed wi

Feb 4, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Supreme Court justice nominee under fire

By Lee Kyung-min  Park Sang-okPark Sang-ok, a former prosecutor who was nominated last week as a Supreme Court justice, is under fire for his involvement in a scheme to cover up the torture death of a university student in the 1980s while he was a prosecutor.This past heavily undercuts the required quality of impartiality, ethics and morals of the highest standard as one of the nation’s top justice, critics said Tuesday.According to Rep. Seo Gi-ho of the minor opposition Justice Party, Park led an investigation into the death of Park Jong-cheol, a student activist. He was detained without an arrest warrant and waterboarded by investigators in January 1987. The treatment resulted in his death.The prosecutor initially cleared the investigators of murder and torture allegations. However, the torture death was revealed by a group of Catholic priests, and triggered nationwide democratic movement in June 1987 against the military dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan.“Supreme Court justices are the conscience of society. Based on the Constitution, we would look to them as the

Feb 3, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
Supreme Court justice nominee under fire
South Korea

Some 900 doctors face license suspension

By Lee Kyung-minMore than 900 doctors who allegedly received kickbacks from Dong Wha Pharm, a major pharmaceutical company, might face at least a two-month license suspension, health officials said Tuesday.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, out of 923 doctors, only 155 indicted so far have been notified. It is in the process of notifying the remaining 768 who were not indicted or investigated by police.The list of doctors due for notification is based on a report submitted by Dong Wha when some company officials were being prosecuted in 2013 concerning the bribery case.  “As for the indicted doctors, they accepted our administrative decision, because they know that their allegations are likely found to be true. But for the 768, we are giving them a chance to refute Dong Wha’s claim. If they fail to prove their innocence, we will order suspensions. Those who refuse to accept our decision can take the matter to an administrative court,” said a ministry official.The kickback scandal came to light in 2013 when the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) reported

Feb 3, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Seoul Metro ordered to compensate man who lost five toes due to defective escalator in subway station

By Lee Kyung-minA district court ordered subway operator Seoul Metro to compensate a man who lost five toes after they were severed by a defective escalator at a subway station.The 40-year-old victim, surnamed Oh, filed a compensation suit after the accident at Yeoksam Station in southern Seoul on Feb. 1, 2011, where his right shoe was pulled into a one-centimeter space between the comb plate and the steps of an escalator.  The Seoul Central District Court said that Seoul Metro, operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG), should pay Oh 66 million won ($60,000).“The firm was negligent in its duty to keep its transit system safe on all occasions. Its failure caused this accident,” the judge said in his ruling.“The escalator was already in need of repair even before Oh sustained the injury. On the day of the accident, officials had conducted two inspections, yet they failed to address the problem. Their failure to complete their job in a thorough manner was nothing but negligence by the company as a whole.”However, the judge said that Oh was also re

Feb 2, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Man indicted after failed NK defection bid

By Lee Kyung-min The prosecution indicted a man, Monday, who was extradited from North Korea after a failed attempt to defect to the communist country.He was charged with violating the National Security Law and providing information about the South to North Korea.The 53-year-old man, only identified by his surname Mah, first attempted to enter the North four years ago, but was denied entrance by the authorities there, the prosecution said.In September 2010, Mah sought political asylum at a U.N. office in New York, but his request was rejected. The U.S. government then extradited him to South Korea, where he was convicted of violating the law and served a one-year prison term.Last year, Mah attempted to defect to the North again.This time, he bought a ferry ticket from Incheon to Dalian in China, and arrived there Nov. 13.He then traveled to the border between China and North Korea, and walked across the frozen Tuman River Nov. 28, according to the prosecution.  Pyongyang extradited him to Seoul Dec. 26 on humanitarian grounds, and National Intelligence Service agents appreh

Feb 2, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Top court confirms jail sentences for Chinese fishermen

By Lee Kyung-minThe Supreme Court Friday upheld the lower courts’ prison sentences handed down to two Chinese skippers convicted of illegal fishing in the East Sea and injuring local Coast Guard officials last year. It also confirmed the confiscation their two boats.The two, surnamed Wang and Lynn, received three-year and three-and-a-half year sentences respectively.It also confirmed the sentences handed down to two of their subordinates, whose identities were withheld, sentenced to two years and one and a half years, respectively, suspended for two years.The four were convicted of causing bodily harm to the Coast Guards, who were trying to rein them in from fishing in waters in the West Sea off the coast of Gunsan, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul, in December 2013.They were also found guilty of fishing 1,000 kilograms of pollack in local waters.The court rejected their appeal to overturn the seizure of the boats.“The penalty was fair. The lower courts did not misconstrue the legal principles for confiscation," it said in its ruling.Chinese fishing boats often cross in

Jan 30, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
South Korea

Suicide from 'English stress' ruled as industrial mishap

By Lee Kyung-minThe family of a worker who committed suicide after suffering depression due to his inability to learn English is entitled to state compensation, the Supreme Court ruled Friday.The highest court overturned the lower courts’ decisions that did not recognize the man’s death as an industrial accident, saying he deserves state compensation.The family filed a compensation suit against the government after the man, surnamed Oh, jumped off a 10-story building in Yeouido, Seoul, while drinking coffee with his two colleagues on Dec. 29, 2008.Unlike the lower courts, the top court said his death was caused by depression induced from work stress.“Oh committed suicide after suffering depression from his inability to carry out missions that required English proficiency,” the court said in its ruling. According to the ruling, Oh was a healthy man, and showed no signs of any depression until he took over jobs that needed English ability.“The lower courts’ rulings that failed to recognize a link between his suicide and the stress from work were

Jan 30, 2015By Lee Kyung-min
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