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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.

Investigation into Yoon's martial law in full swing

The special counsel looking into former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Dec. 3 martial law declaration indicted former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, a key mastermind behind the incident, on new charges, as investigators move to extend his detention for further questioning. Cho Eun-suk, the independent counsel leading the investigation, said Thursday that his team, which officially began the investigation on Wednesday, is already well into its probe, targeting key suspects involved in the imposition of martial law. Kim, arrested and indicted in December, is the first to face additional indictments. Cho said they indicted Kim on additional charges of obstruction of justice and abetting the destruction of evidence in connection with the martial law decree. The move is widely seen as an effort to keep him in custody beyond the expiration of his current six-month detention period, which is set to end on June 26. Cho said his team will swiftly request judges to merge all charges against Kim and issue a new arrest warrant for him. Kim is already on trial for his role in insurrection, accused of

Jun 19, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Investigation into Yoon's martial law in full swing

‘BLACKPINK’s Jennie is my daughter’: Man’s false claim crushed in court

Jennie of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK has won a lawsuit against a man who falsely claimed to be her biological father and published a novel making the allegation. A local court ruled in her favor, ordering the removal of all related materials. According to a report by Woman Sense on Wednesday, the Goyang branch of the Uijeongbu District Court ruled on May 9 that the man, identified only as A, had no basis for his claim that Jennie was his daughter. “It is reasonable to consider A’s assertion that he is Jennie’s father to be false,” the court said. The court noted that while the man repeatedly claimed paternity, there was no supporting evidence beyond his own words. In contrast, Jennie’s official family register clearly lists another man as her father, it said. The court ordered both the man and the publishing house that distributed his book, identified as B, to destroy all existing copies of the book. It also instructed the man to delete all social media content related to Jennie, including his KakaoTalk profile image, and to refrain from mentioning her in any future posts or i

Jun 19, 2025By Hankookilbo
‘BLACKPINK’s Jennie is my daughter’: Man’s false claim crushed in court

Kim Keon Hee's hospitalization sparks political row: stress or evasion?

The sudden hospitalization of Kim Keon Hee, the wife of the ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol, has sparked a fierce debate. Critics allege that she is feigning illness to avoid an ongoing investigation, while her supporters claim that the mounting legal pressure has taken a serious toll on her health. During a party meeting on Wednesday, Rep. Seo Wang-jin, floor leader of the minor progressive Rebuilding Korea Party, criticized Kim’s hospitalization, arguing that Kim “seeks to hide behind hospital curtains to avoid the truth.” He pointed out that prosecutors had obtained hundreds of audio files indicating that Kim was aware of, and had conspired in, a stock manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors. The special probe bill that promulgated last week, he said, had removed the political shield surrounding her from multiple allegations. “Kim probably knows better than anyone that the end is near. She should receive proper treatment and cooperate fully with the investigation,” Seo said. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has also suggested that Kim was hospitalized in order t

Jun 18, 2025By Lee Hae-rin
Kim Keon Hee's hospitalization sparks political row: stress or evasion?

Prosecutors demand 7-year term for ex-NCT member Taeil over alleged sexual offense

Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a seven-year prison term for disgraced singer Taeil in a court hearing on his sexual misconduct charges. The 31-year-old former member of the K-pop boy group NCT appealed for leniency during the hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, saying, "I'm sorry to all the people who felt disappointed." Taeil was indicted without detention in March on charges of sexually assaulting a drunken foreign woman in June last year, together with his friends surnamed Lee and Hong, respectively. He was expelled from NCT in August last year after being questioned by police over the sexual assault allegations. Also demanding the same prison term for Lee and Hong, prosecutors said the case is very serious and the nature of the crime is extremely bad, as the three defendants sexually assaulted a foreign female tourist. The sentencing hearing for them is slated for July 10.

Jun 18, 2025By Yonhap
Prosecutors demand 7-year term for ex-NCT member Taeil over alleged sexual offense

Hundreds of audio files of Kim Keon Hee secured in Deutsch Motors stock manipulation probe

Prosecutors have obtained hundreds of audio recordings of Kim Keon Hee, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, as part of a renewed investigation into allegations that she conspired in a stock manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors. The recordings are said to contain indications that Kim was aware her account was being used in the scheme, potentially providing key evidence for a forthcoming special counsel investigation. The Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, which reopened the Deutsch Motors case in April, recently secured the recordings during a raid on Mirae Asset Securities. The files include some three years’ worth of conversations between Kim and a securities firm employee who managed her account, dating from October 2010 to December 2012, a period prosecutors identify as the second phase of the alleged stock manipulation. Analysts reviewing the recordings say Kim appears to acknowledge that her account was being used in coordinated trading activity. In the tapes, she is reportedly heard saying, “I entrusted the account to Blackpearl Invest and need to give them 40 per

Jun 18, 2025By Hankookilbo
Hundreds of audio files of Kim Keon Hee secured in Deutsch Motors stock manipulation probe

Man under investigation for slaughtering over 120 dogs using electric shock

Police in South Korea are investigating a man in his 60s who allegedly slaughtered more than 120 dogs at a livestock facility using an electric stun device — a method considered illegal under the country’s animal protection laws. According to the Gunsan Police Department on Wednesday, the suspect was booked without detention for violating the Animal Protection Act. Police say he killed the dogs around April at a dog farm in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province. He allegedly brought the dogs from another farm in Gimje and kept them at his facility before slaughtering them and storing the carcasses in a freezer. Police, acting on a tip, found numerous dog remains at the site along with an electric stun device believed to have been used in the killings. “We are looking into whether the dogs were slaughtered for consumption or sale,” a police official said. “Once the investigation is complete, we will decide whether to forward the case to prosecutors.” The case comes amid South Korea’s evolving legal landscape regarding dog meat. A special law aimed at ending the dog meat industry pas

Jun 18, 2025By Hankookilbo
Man under investigation for slaughtering over 120 dogs using electric shock

Police, labor ministry raid SPC Samlip, factory over fatal accident

Police and the labor ministry on Tuesday raided SPC Samlip Co., a confectionery unit under SPC Group, and its factory in Siheung in connection with a fatal accident that killed a factory worker last month. The Siheung Police Station and the Seongnam branch of the labor ministry conducted the search operation at the headquarters of SPC Samlip in Seoul's Seocho district and the bread factory in Siheung, some 32 kilometers southwest of Seoul. Tuesday's raid comes 29 days after the worker, known only as a woman in her 50s, was killed after her upper body got caught in a conveyor belt during lubrication work. The two agencies sent 80 investigators and labor inspectors to search 12 offices inside the buildings to secure materials related to the safety of the factory in question. The police and the labor ministry conducted a joint inspection on-site last month, and have so far booked seven factory officials on charges of occupational negligence resulting in death.

Jun 17, 2025By Yonhap
Police, labor ministry raid SPC Samlip, factory over fatal accident

Ex-Defense Minister Kim, linked to martial law, appeals to cancel bail decision

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who has been detained on charges of insurrection over his alleged role in the Dec. 3 martial law imposition, filed an appeal Monday to cancel a court decision granting him bail. Earlier in the day, the Seoul Central District Court accepted the prosecution's request for Kim's bail despite an objection from Kim's side, with just 10 days left until Kim's detention period was set to expire. Kim was arrested Dec. 27 for recommending martial law to former President Yoon Suk Yeol and drafting the decree. He is accused of deploying troops from various units to the National Assembly during martial law to prevent lawmakers from voting to reject Yoon's martial law declaration. Kim's legal team filed for the appeal and requested a stay order to suspend the court decision, arguing the move effectively extends the detention of their client, who was soon to be released. "It is not a decision to release but merely a means to illegally extend the state of detention that Kim is in," the team said. "This is an unconstitutional measure that artificially restricts the b

Jun 16, 2025By Yonhap
Ex-Defense Minister Kim, linked to martial law, appeals to cancel bail decision

Police raid KOWEPO, KEPCO unit over worker's death in Taean Power Station

Police on Monday raided the headquarters of Korea Western Power Co. (KOWEPO) and other locations in connection with the death of a subcontract worker at a thermal power plant in the southwestern city of Taean. The Chungnam Provincial Police and the labor ministry have sent 80 personnel to search the headquarters of KOWEPO and KEPCO Plant Service & Engineering Co. (KPS), a unit of KEPCO; KPS' Taean branch office; and the office of Korea Power O&M, a secondary subcontractor to KEPCO, from 10 a.m. The subcontracted worker, identified as Kim Chung-hyun, died after his body became trapped in a milling machine at the Taean Power Station in the county, 108 kilometers southwest of Seoul, while processing iron rods on June 2. Kim, who was reportedly working alone at the time, was affiliated with Korea Power O&M, a subcontractor of KEPCO KPS, which was hired by KOWEPO. Police plan to secure evidence related to the contract between KOWEPO and its subcontractors and the victim's employment contract, along with materials to verify the safety guidelines at the work site. The labor ministry will look in

Jun 16, 2025By Yonhap
Police raid KOWEPO, KEPCO unit over worker's death in Taean Power Station

Domestic drug manufacturing resurges in Korea amid tighter border crackdowns

Drug manufacturing crimes, which had largely disappeared in Korea since the government’s war on drugs in the 1990s, are making a troubling return. As authorities ramp up efforts to block drug smuggling at borders, criminals are increasingly turning to producing narcotics domestically. According to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on Sunday, a total of 23,022 people were arrested for drug-related offenses in 2023. While this marks a 16.6 percent decrease from the record high of 27,611 in 2022, the figure still surpasses 20,000 — a nearly 20-fold jump from the 1,190 cases reported in 1985 when drug crime statistics were first recorded. The number of drug manufacturing offenders, excluding cannabis-related cases, is on the rise. From zero in 2005, the figure climbed to four in 2010, nine in 2020, six in 2023 and 19 in 2024, the highest since statistics broken down by type of offense began in 2000. In the 1980s, South Korea had a reputation as a methamphetamine-exporting country. But tougher crackdowns eventually dismantled domestic labs. Now, with border seizures intensifying — over 1,

Jun 16, 2025By Hankookilbo
Domestic drug manufacturing resurges in Korea amid tighter border crackdowns
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