my timesThe Korea Times
South KoreaLaw & Crime

Law & Crime

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.

Korea moves to protect migrant fishermen from forced labor

Out at sea, migrant fishermen work far from the public eye. For years, human rights advocates have warned that this isolation makes them exceptionally vulnerable to debt bondage, physical control and forced labor. Now, the government is taking direct steps to identify and protect these exploited workers before they vanish into the shadows of the maritime economy. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries issued updated national guidelines on Wednesday designed to help inspectors and law enforcement spot signs of human trafficking in the fishing industry. The revised framework addresses long-standing gaps, responding directly to recommendations from last year's U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons Report. Unlike land-based factory or farm environments, maritime labor presents unique challenges. Migrant crew members — often recruited from Southeast Asia — frequently face physical confinement on vessels, language barriers and an inability to access local support networks. Under the new rules, officials must look for subtle indicators of

Sep 2, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea moves to protect migrant fishermen from forced labor

Vietnamese student's death exposes gaps in Korea's support for bereaved families

For families overseas, the death of an international student in Korea can mark the beginning of another ordeal. The recent killing of a Vietnamese student in Busan exposed the difficulties bereaved families can face when dealing with multiple institutions across borders, raising questions over whether Korea has a clear and coordinated system to support them after serious incidents. The victim, 20-year-old Vo Thi Thuy Vi, was found dead in Busan's Jung District at around 1:15 a.m. Friday. According to police, a Vietnamese man allegedly broke into her home, threatened her with a weapon and bound her while attempting to steal cash. Police said he strangled Vi after she resisted and then fled the scene. Her family learned of Vi's death through a phone call from her friends later that day. Since then, they have sought assistance from the university and Vietnamese diplomatic authorities on a range of issues, including traveling to Korea, repatriating Vi's body, obtaining information about the investigation, recovering her personal belongings and securing legal assistance. In a formal request to

Sep 2, 2026By Jung Da-hyun
Vietnamese student's death exposes gaps in Korea's support for bereaved families

Korea overhauls child protection system after death of 11-year-old

When an 11-year-old disabled child died in early August after suffering fatal abuse, the tragedy laid bare a devastating sequence of systemic failures. Despite a history of prior abuse reports dating back to 2021, a protracted hospital stay and an official exemption from mandatory school attendance granted just months earlier, local authorities, school boards and police failed to cross-reference crucial data. Even when new abuse reports flooded in days before the child’s death, emergency separation measures were never enacted. Seeking to prevent a repeat of this tragedy, the Korean government announced Wednesday a comprehensive overhaul of its child protection and crisis prevention framework. Led by the Ministry of Health and Welfare alongside joint government ministries, the sweeping policy measures aim to break down administrative barriers, enforce mandatory separation protocols for repeated abuse and dramatically expand specialized care infrastructure. At the heart of the overhaul is a fundamental shift in how law enforcement and municipal child welfare officers assess immediate dan

Sep 2, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea overhauls child protection system after death of 11-year-old

Pakistani man gets 7-year prison term in child rape case

A Pakistani man was sentenced to seven years in prison Wednesday for sexually assaulting foreign children nearly two decades ago at an Islamic mosque in Incheon, west of Seoul. The Bucheon branch of the Incheon District Court handed down the sentence to the man in his 40s on charges including rape of minors under the age of 13 and ordered his immediate detention. The man was also banned from working at institutions serving children, adolescents and the disabled for seven years each. He is accused of threatening and sexually assaulting two foreign children, then aged seven and nine, at a mosque in Incheon's Seohae district in September 2008. He was teaching the Quran at the mosque at the time. Prosecutors said a complaint was filed belatedly because the victims were too young at the time of the incident. The court found the man guilty of all charges, stating that the victims' detailed and consistent testimonies were credible.

Sep 2, 2026By Yonhap
Pakistani man gets 7-year prison term in child rape case

Man ordered to pay full damages for wasting police resources with fake bomb threat

A court has ordered a man in his 20s to pay 12.56 million won ($9,136) in damages for wasting police resources last year by making a hoax bomb threat online targeting a Seoul department store, police said Wednesday. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA), the Seoul Central District Court ordered the man on Friday to cover the full cost incurred by the Seoul police, including personnel expenses, overtime allowances, fuel costs and meal expenses. This marks the first time a court has recognized a claim for full compensation of public security costs wasted due to an online threat, according to the police. The man posted the threat on YouTube in August 2025, claiming he would bomb Shinsegae Department Store. In response, the SMPA deployed 277 personnel to step up patrols around the department store area. Police tracked down the suspect and arrested him in Hadong, a city located some 290 kilometers southeast of Seoul. "We will strictly punish those who threaten public safety and hold them accountable to the end for any damage caused by their actions," an SMPA official said.

Sep 2, 2026By Yonhap
Man ordered to pay full damages for wasting police resources with fake bomb threat

Man arrested for allegedly murdering estranged wife despite protection order

A man in his 30s was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of stabbing and killing his wife, also in her 30s, in Gwangju, just south of Seoul, police said. The suspect, a public servant, was apprehended at a motel in nearby Suwon, hours after the alleged murder took place at around 7 a.m., according to the Gwangju police. The victim, who was undergoing legal divorce proceedings with the man, used a police-issued smartwatch to call for help during the alleged attack but was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital. According to the police, the smartwatch had been provided to the victim due to a history of domestic violence involving five prior reports against the husband. The victim had also obtained a court-issued temporary protection order, which prohibited the suspect from approaching her within 100 meters or contacting her, while mandating separate living arrangements. Investigators believe the suspect tracked down the victim's new address through court document deliveries. The police said they plan to question the suspect for more details.

Sep 1, 2026By Yonhap
Man arrested for allegedly murdering estranged wife despite protection order

4 Uzbek men nabbed in Korea over alleged support to terrorist group in Syria

Four Uzbek men have been apprehended in Korea on charges of violating the counter-terrorism financing law over their alleged roles in sending money and vehicles to a terrorist group in Syria, police said Tuesday. One of the four Uzbek nationals is accused of sending 6.3 million won ($4,600) worth of cryptocurrency to Khatiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (KTJ), a U.N.-listed terrorist organization, over roughly eight months since April 2025, according to the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency. The man, who is in his 30s, is also suspected to have received cryptocurrency from the group over the same period, which he apparently used to purchase 11 used cars and two excavators here worth a combined total of 170 million won and ship them to Syria. The United Nations designated KTJ, a militant group affiliated with al-Qaeda, as a terrorist organization in 2022. Investigators believe the suspect has no official ties with the group but found that he began supporting it after being contacted by his younger brother, who is a member of the organization. The suspect was placed under arrest in April, a month a

Sep 1, 2026By Yonhap
4 Uzbek men nabbed in Korea over alleged support to terrorist group in Syria

Police disclose identity of Chinese man suspected of murdering his student

Police on Tuesday disclosed the identity of a Chinese man suspected of killing his student, also from China, in the southeastern city of Gyeongsan last month. Zheng Changsheng, 31, was placed under formal arrest Thursday for allegedly murdering the 25-year-old female student at his home in the city located some 290 kilometers southeast of Seoul on Aug. 20, mutilating her body and abandoning the parts in multiple places in the city of Gunpo, near Seoul, and the southeastern city of Gyeongju. Zheng's name, age and mug shots were posted on the website of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency and will remain posted until Oct. 1, the agency said. Police said they plan to refer Zheng to the prosecution by Friday. The suspect is also accused of filing a false missing report, traveling to a train station while dressed as a woman and turning off the victim's mobile phone near the station, all in an apparent attempt to obstruct the police's investigation.

Sep 1, 2026By Yonhap
Police disclose identity of Chinese man suspected of murdering his student

Police to disclose identity of suspect in murder of Chinese graduate student

Police said Monday they will disclose the personal details and photo of a Chinese university lecturer accused of murdering a female Chinese graduate student in the southeastern city of Gyeongsan earlier this month. A deliberation committee decided to publish the name, age and mug shot of the suspect, currently known as a 31-year-old surnamed Jeong, on Tuesday, according to the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency. Jeong is accused of killing the 25-year-old student at his home on Aug. 20, mutilating her body and abandoning the parts in multiple places, including the southeastern city of Gyeongju and Gunpo, south of Seoul. In deciding on the disclosure, the committee considered factors, such as the brutality of the crime, the gravity of the harm and future crime prevention. Jeong's personal details will be published on the Gyeongbuk police agency's website for 30 days until Sept. 30. He was placed under formal arrest Thursday. He has also been charged with obstructing the police's investigation by filing a false missing report after killing the victim and turning off her cellphone near a tra

Aug 31, 2026By Yonhap
Police to disclose identity of suspect in murder of Chinese graduate student

Prosecutors seek death penalty for Gwangju murder suspect

Prosecutors on Monday sought the death penalty for a man accused of murdering a female high school student in the southwestern city of Gwangju in May, citing a high risk of repeat offenses. The Gwangju District Prosecutors Office demanded the sentence during the trial of 23-year-old Jang Yoon-gi, who was charged with killing 16-year-old Lee Chae-won on a street in Gwangju on May 5 after trying to rape her. Jang was also charged with attempting to kill a 17-year-old male student who had rushed to the scene to help the victim, raping a Vietnamese woman two days earlier and illegally filming a teenage girl's body in the past. "He poses a high risk of recidivism, including murder and sexual assault, in the event he returns to society," the prosecution said. Jang apologized to the victims in his final statement, saying he will pay for his crimes for the rest of his life. The sentencing hearing is scheduled to be held Sept. 30.

Aug 31, 2026By Yonhap
Prosecutors seek death penalty for Gwangju murder suspect
previous page
1112131415
next page

Most Read in South Korea