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Police agency issues special alert on discipline

The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) on Friday issued a special discipline alert following a series of cases involving the inappropriate handling of duties by police officers, including the false closure of a missing person case on the southern island of Jeju. The KNPA said the special alert will be enforced nationwide for 10 days through Sept. 6, with inspections of police officers' conduct to be strengthened during the period. The special alert came after a series of cases involving police officers' mishandling of their duties have been exposed, including the recent revelation in Jeju that a police officer falsely closed a missing person case without confirming the person's safety. During the special alert period, all group meals will be prohibited, and officers will be asked to refrain from drinking, the KNPA said. Events will also be discouraged or postponed if possible. The KNPA and metropolitan and provincial police agencies will hold special alert-related meetings at least once, while front-line police stations and mobile units will hold them daily. In addition, the police will

13h agoBy Yonhap
Police agency issues special alert on discipline

As deepfake sex crimes surge, Korea's response struggles to keep pace

Korea has strengthened criminal penalties and takedown systems for digital sex crimes, but experts warn that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is creating widening gaps between the speed of online abuse and the ability of institutions to stop it. At a forum on the issue, hosted Thursday by Amnesty International Korea, a police officer, a legislative researcher and a media regulator said deepfake technology has made it possible to create and distribute sexualized images of real people with little technical knowledge, often through overseas platforms beyond the reach of Korean authorities. “Crimes exploiting new technologies erupt across society, but the law is always running behind them. While the justice system is still trying to identify and punish offenders, victims’ lives are already being devastated online,” said Heo Min-sook, a researcher at the National Assembly Research Service. Police data presented at the forum showed that deepfake-related offenses were the largest category of cybersex crimes detected during a 2025 crackdown, accounting for 1,553 cases, or 35.2 per

14h agoBy Jung Min-ho
As deepfake sex crimes surge, Korea's response struggles to keep pace

Special counsel seeks 5-year sentence for ex-PM Han over dereliction of duty

A special counsel team on Friday sought a five-year jail term for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo for failing to fulfill his constitutional duty by refusing to appoint Constitutional Court justices. Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team made the request during the final hearing of Han's trial at the Seoul Central District Court on charges including dereliction of duty. The team claimed Han violated constitutional order by refusing to appoint the justices, without sufficient legal grounds. Han is accused of failing to appoint candidates for justices nominated by the National Assembly while serving as the acting president in the aftermath of the martial law imposition by ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol in late 2024. The former prime minister was initially sentenced to a 23-year prison term for playing a key role in an insurrection, which was later reduced by an appellate court to a 15-year prison sentence.

16h agoBy Yonhap
Special counsel seeks 5-year sentence for ex-PM Han over dereliction of duty

Korea enacts tough new rules to crack down on ticket scalping

In a major step to safeguard fair access to live entertainment and athletic events, Korea has enacted strict new enforcement rules designed to eradicate ticket scalping across the country. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Friday that the updated regulations officially took effect on Friday, following final Cabinet approval on Aug. 18. The milestone measures flesh out landmark revisions to the Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act passed by the National Assembly in February. Under the overhauled legal framework, all fraudulent ticket buying and unauthorized reselling are explicitly outlawed. Crucially, the ban applies universally — eliminating a long-standing legal loophole by penalizing scalpers regardless of whether they use automated "macro" software to hijack digital queues and buy up inventory faster than ordinary human users. Under the new rules, primary ticketing sellers and secondhand resale platforms must implement robust compliance protocols. They are now legally required to verify user identities, maintain active reporting features, restrict

17h agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea enacts tough new rules to crack down on ticket scalping

Court orders Pyongyang to pay N. Korean defector damages for torture

A South Korean court ruled Friday that North Korea must compensate a North Korean defector who claims she was tortured while detained in the North. The Seoul Central District Court made the ruling in a lawsuit filed by Choi Min-kyung, head of the North Korea Imprisonment Victims' Family Association, against the Pyongyang regime in July last year, seeking 50 million won ($36,300) in compensation for her suffering. Choi claimed that she defected from North Korea in 1997 but was forcibly repatriated in 2008 while staying in China, after which she suffered human rights violations, including sexual abuse, physical violence and inhumane treatment, during about five months in detention facilities in the North. Choi said litigation against North Korea is possible in South Korean courts, citing the South Korean Constitution's definition of the entire Korean Peninsula as its territory and its recognition of people in the North as South Korean citizens. The court hearings proceeded without any party representing the defendants. Despite winning the case, however, it may be difficult for the plaintif

18h agoBy Yonhap
Court orders Pyongyang to pay N. Korean defector damages for torture

Jeju police officer partially admits to alleged mishandling of missing person case

JEJU — A police officer has partially admitted to allegations that he prematurely closed the missing person case of a woman in her 30s on the southern resort island of Jeju without confirming her safety, police said Friday. While undergoing questioning, the officer admitted to having falsely told the woman's boyfriend, who reported her missing, that she had been contacted and confirmed safe, according to officials at the Jeju Provincial Police Agency. He reportedly admitted after investigators confronted him with an autopsy report that showed the victim may have died at least two days before she was first reported missing on May 15. The body of the victim was found Monday at a palm tree farm near her residence on the island. The officer was placed under formal arrest the following day. The Jeju police earlier said they were examining the officer's shift report from the evening when he received the initial missing report, suspecting he may have intentionally omitted key information from his duty report. Normally, missing person cases, especially those involving women, are reported to hig

18h agoBy Yonhap
Jeju police officer partially admits to alleged mishandling of missing person case

Court says Korea must allow birth registration for foreign children born in country

The Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled as unconstitutional the absence of a legal framework allowing foreign children born in Korea to have their births registered under Korean law. The court unanimously ruled in favor of a Vietnamese national, identified only as A, and his child, who filed a constitutional complaint arguing that the legislature's failure to establish a system for registering the births of foreign nationals born in Korea violated their constitutional rights. A legislative omission refers to a situation in which the legislature fails to enact a law despite a constitutional obligation to do so in order to protect fundamental rights. A entered Korea under a nonprofessional employment visa and married B, also a Vietnamese national, in 2016. The couple later overstayed their authorized period of residence and became undocumented. When their child was born in Korea in 2019, they were unable to register the birth under Korean law because the country's Act on Registration of Family Relations provides for the registration of births and other family matters only for Korean nat

1d agoBy Hankookilbo
Court says Korea must allow birth registration for foreign children born in country

Woman sentenced to life imprisonment for killing 2 men with laced drinks

A district court on Thursday sentenced a 20-year-old woman to life imprisonment for murdering two men and injuring three others with laced drinks. Kim So-young was charged with killing two men between December 2025 and February by giving them drinks spiked with benzodiazepine, a depressant. She was also charged with injuring four other men using similar methods, but the court acquitted her of harming one of the men. Kim had claimed she administered the drugs to prevent the men from touching her after she was reminded of a past sexual assault and had only intended to put them to sleep. The court dismissed her claim, saying KakaoTalk messages showed no signs the men tried to sexually assault her and though she may not initially have been aware of the risk of death, she later learned of the possibility through information she gathered from ChatGPT and other platforms. The court also ordered her to wear an electronic monitoring device for 30 years if she is ever released from prison.

1d agoBy Yonhap
Woman sentenced to life imprisonment for killing 2 men with laced drinks

Ex-special forces commander sentenced to 12-year prison term for martial law role

A former Army special forces commander was sentenced to 12 years in prison Thursday for helping seal off the National Assembly compound during former President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law. The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence to Kim Hyun-tae, former commander of the 707th Special Missions Group, after convicting him of playing a key role in an insurrection. Kim is accused of leading troops to break open the National Assembly's windows and shut off power to the building after Yoon declared martial law in December 2024. Brig. Gen. Lee Sang-hyun and Brig. Gen. Kim Dae-woo, who were also charged with involvement in the martial law bid, were sentenced to prison terms of 10 years and five years, respectively. "(The defendants) abandoned their sacred duty to national security and defending the land and used military power that should be used for the nation and the people for the interests of themselves and select forces," the court said.

1d agoBy Yonhap
Ex-special forces commander sentenced to 12-year prison term for martial law role

Customs agency steps up controlled deliveries to nab drug smugglers

The Korea Customs Service (KCS) intercepted 5.6 kilograms of illicit drugs in 10 separate cases involving international mail from April to July through a newly established secondary screening network, the agency said Thursday. In particular, it used controlled deliveries, a covert investigative technique, to track the shipments, resulting in the arrest of all suspects involved. The new method involves a dual-layer drug screening system established in cooperation with Korea Post in April. Under the system, international mail that passes initial inspections at the border is subject to additional screening at one of five major postal distribution centers nationwide. Central to the agency’s success in arresting all suspects was the strategic use of controlled deliveries, under which law enforcement officers deliberately allow intercepted parcels to proceed to their destinations while remaining under tight surveillance. Because international mail allows authorities to maintain the normal delivery process without alerting traffickers, the tactic enables investigators to identify actual recip

1d agoBy Jun Ji-hye
Customs agency steps up controlled deliveries to nab drug smugglers
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