The Korea Times

High school student allegedly jumps off a building and dies

A high school student was found dead on the ground near his apartment in Daechi-dong, Gangnam on April 1. A security guard called the police right after he found the boy. A CCTV (closed-circuit television) captured the moment he was going up to the top floor of the apartment at about 7.a.m. He was feeling insecure about his prospect as test scores were not measuring up to his expectations, said his bereft family, according to the Suseo police.Kim took the fist exam last Friday and was devastated by the result, their family told the police. Other than test-related stress, no other reason seemed to have factored his death, according to the police.  The boy didn't seem to have suffered from school-bullying, according to the police.There was no suicide note at the scene, they added. The school principal said, “I had no idea he would do such thing. "He was an A student, a vice-class leader, and was a sociable child. At this point, we are unable to confirm the cause of his choice."In the CPSQ test (Problem-Behavior Screening Questionnaire), he showed nothing problematic in

Apr 2, 2013By Lee Kyung-min

World

Raw material investor buys huge amount of NK coins

Wall Street Journal reported March 31 that Jim Rogers, a famous raw materials investor, bought a large amount of coins made of gold and silver last week at a International coin fair in Singapore. Rogers had to limit his purchase at five-figures due to the restricted amount of coins. Boo-kang coining company from North Korea displayed 20 one-ounce gold coins and hundreds of silver coins describing memorable moments of sports, architecture, animals. One gold coin costs about two million won ($2,013), and one silver coin costs about 63,000 won ($50).It also reported that coins commemorating the late Kim Jong-il’s 70th birthday were not out on the display. Rogers bought 13 gold coins and most of the silver ones, according to the Boo-kang company representative. He added, ”Rogers wanted more, but that was all that’s left.” With George Soros, Rogers created a Quantum Fund, and with his estimation of the raw material market rally in 1990s, he allegedly raked in huge profits. He is now the Chairman of the Rogers Holdings. He said, “At some point, North Kore

Apr 1, 2013By Lee Kyung-min

Others

Petty theft on the rise

Petty theft happens a lot in this sluggish economy, according to the police. Within one month, the Ulsan police arrested 13 robbers, many of whom were charged with petty theft. An Oh and a Doe were charged with stealing 250 liters of diesel fuel worth of 500,000 won ($450) out of a boiler in their friend’s house, the police said. They visited their friend to pick up some scrap iron. Noticing that their friend wasn’t home, they committed the crime, according to the police. They cashed the money and spent it on daily expenses. In another case, the police arrested a street vendor, a Jung, in July last year for stealing a container and using it as his shop. Similarly, a shaman, a Hahn, was arrested for stealing a container and using it as her storage. They both told the police that they were short on cash. Crime of the sort kept coming up. The police arrested Cho for stealing the container which stored second-hand clothing and for selling the contents. Cho also spent the money on daily expenses. The police warned that people should take extra care to keep their belonging

Mar 31, 2013By Lee Kyung-min

Others

Mother arrested for abandoning a newborn

The Gangwon police arrested a Chinese mother who abandoned her newborn on a quiet street. After the baby was born, the mother, Kim, allegedly put it in a black fitness bag and left. A neighbor found the baby, and called the police. An ID card in a bag led the police to track her down. Kim is a Chinese Korean. She came to Korea 2011 and lives with her mother who had no idea of this whole incident, said the police. She wasn’t aware that her daughter was pregnant, let alone giving birth to a child and abandoned the newborn, according to the police. She met a man in a bar and got pregnant, but couldn’t reach the father of the baby. Pressured, she committed the crime.Korean law stipulates that parents who abandon their baby be sentenced a two-year jail term, or be fined up to 3 million won. Found 30 minutes after the mother left the baby, it survived, and was sent to an orphanage in Chuncheon.

Mar 31, 2013By Lee Kyung-min

Mother arrested for abandoning a newborn

Others

Student arrested for stabbing classmate

The Gyeonggi police arrested a high-school student who stabbed his friend and went missing for five days. The boy allegedly stabbed his classmate in the neck who was sleeping beside him, and fled the scene. Some 30 classmates witnessed the incident, according to the police. The injured boy was taken to Bucheon hospital and survived. The boy allegedly knifed his friend because his friend was bothering him, tapping him with his fist and leg. “I wanted to warn him,” he said to the police. The boy’s father was harboring him in one of his friend’s place when the police found the boy March. 29. The police said they talked the father into coming clean and let his son take the responsibility. The father’s friend is to be held legally responsible for harboring a fugitive. The boy was a school bullying victim back in his middle school days, and suffered from depression, according to the police. They will investigate on the possibility of school bullying. 

Mar 30, 2013By Lee Kyung-min

World

Indian teenagers think wife beating is justified

 Indian men allegedly raping a Swiss tourist in front of her husband March. 15. set off a firestorm worldwide.The police are adding to the horror of it because of their inconsistency in statement.The first statement said, “The five suspects admitted to their crime” but said later that “some 20 suspects are under investigation but there is nothing conclusive,” BBC reported March. 17. Reported rape cases last year totaled 24,000, soaring by 25 percent over the previous year. The Times Of India and OneIndia news reported that New Delhi suffered 560 rape cases last year alone retaining “India’s Rape Capital” title.Some experts argue India’s sex crimes against women stem from their low social status. Hindu culture, which many Indians identify as their religion, dictates that women be subservient to men. Indian tradition of women being responsible for dowries was allegedly abolished 1961, but it still goes on. So does Sati, another tradition of women being buried alive with her dead husband. It is almost a cultural norm that men bea

Mar 20, 2013By Lee Kyung-min

Indian teenagers think wife beating is justified

World

Indian rapists face death penalty

Indian women look at the BBC camera worrying about the current rape situation. The bill to punish the rapists with death penalty has passed the lower House of Parliament March.19. waiting for the upper House  approval. Indian rapists might face death soon.  Indian lower house of parliament March.19. passed a bill containing tougher punishment for rapists including death penalty.  The law goes into effect after upper house of parliament’s approval, reported BBC March.19.The measure comes after ceaseless rapes -- sometimes resulting in death -- caused uproar among the public and called on the lawmakers for tougher punishment. The old law sentenced 10 years in prison if the victim dies or becomes a vegetable. The amended law, however, will allow death penalty for the assailantsSocial stigma, rather than compassion is in order for Indian rape victims. Rape happens every 20 minutes but the victims are reluctant to report because of the stain that follows. A college girl was gang-raped and killed in a bus in New Delhi last December, which

Mar 20, 2013By Lee Kyung-min

Others

Missionary arrested allegedly for solicitation of minors

The Incheon Police arrested a missionary Mar. 18. who allegedly assaulted teenagers sexually after meeting them through an online chat room. He allegedly talked to a girl online to meet him for prostitution. On Nov. 10, 2011, when the homeless girl, 16, showed up, he then lured her into his car in a parking lot. Then came the threat of him saying that she is now under arrest for prostitution. The handcuffs and fake police ID allegedly convinced her that she really was in trouble. He threatened to report, then sexually assaulted the girl, according to the police. This allegedly was not his first-time offence against teenage girls. That same month, he sexually assaulted another girl, 16, and threatened to let their sex video go public, according to the police. Likewise, he sexually assaulted two other girls, and paid six other girls to have sex with him, the police said. He is now a missionary preparing himself to become a minister, the police said.

Mar 18, 2013By Lee Kyung-min

Others

Teenager found dead in his room in Daegu

A boy, 17, was found dead in his room Mar. 18. in Nam-gu, Daegu. The family called the police after they found him lying on the floor with his nose and mouth duct-taped.  The room was locked from the inside, and there were no signs of a breaking-in, according to the police. They found no suicide note. They added that there were no signs of beating or indication of murder. The boy was home alone while other family members were visiting relatives for a memorial service. The family told the police, “He had an introverted personality and had a mild form of depression, but didn’t seem to have major problems.” The police are to deliver the boy’s body to the family and to investigate on the possibility of suicide by taping himself on the nose and mouth resulting in asphyxiation.

Mar 18, 2013By Lee Kyung-min

North Korea

Kerry links NK nuke issue with Iran problem

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called Wednesday for a quick and tough response by the international community to North Korea's nuclear test earlier this week.   He emphasized the seriousness of North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, describing them as a grave challenge to global security and to Washington's goal of nonproliferation.   "The international community now needs to come together with a swift and clear, strong, credible response, as pledged in the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2087," the secretary said in a press conference after talks with his Jordanian counterpart, Nasser Judeh.

Feb 14, 2013By Lee Kyung-min

Lee Kyung-min

Read more

High school student allegedly jumps off a building and dies

Raw material investor buys huge amount of NK coins

Petty theft on the rise

Mother arrested for abandoning a newborn

Student arrested for stabbing classmate

Indian teenagers think wife beating is justified

Indian rapists face death penalty

Missionary arrested allegedly for solicitation of minors

Teenager found dead in his room in Daegu

Kerry links NK nuke issue with Iran problem

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