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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.

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

Aug 28, 2026By 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

Aug 28, 2026By 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

Aug 28, 2026By 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

Aug 27, 2026By 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.

Aug 27, 2026By 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.

Aug 27, 2026By 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

Aug 27, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Customs agency steps up controlled deliveries to nab drug smugglers

InterviewInside Korea's plan for AI-aided prisons

Korean prisons of the future will be equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) that can quickly identify warning signs of violence, self-harm and escape, as the Ministry of Justice moves to build a data-driven correctional management system. Lee Hong-yeon, chief of the Korea Correctional Service, described the project as a shift from a reactive model — responding after an incident occurs — to a preventive one backed by data analysis, which he believes will help the institution achieve its broader goals of preventing incidents, reducing reoffending and protecting prison staff. “AI correctional administration is not simply about introducing new technology,” Lee said in a recent written interview with The Korea Times. “It is a transition toward preventive and scientific methods that identify risks in advance and provide individualized correctional treatment and rehabilitation support suited to each inmate’s characteristics and needs.” Under the plan, AI tools would help staff spot changes in an inmate’s behavior, assess key risk factors and identify necessary interventions

Aug 27, 2026By Jung Min-ho
Inside Korea's plan for AI-aided prisons

Chinese man placed under formal arrest over murder of graduate student

A Chinese man was placed under formal arrest Thursday on suspicion of murdering a female Chinese graduate student and mutilating her body. The Daegu District Court issued an arrest warrant for the 30-something man, surnamed Jeong, citing concerns he may flee. The 25-year-old victim was found dead at the suspect's residence in the southeastern city of Gyeongsan on Tuesday after going missing for five days. Police apprehended Jeong the same day. During police questioning, the suspect admitted to murdering the victim and abandoning parts of her mutilated body in Gyeongsan and in northwestern Gyeonggi Province, about 240 kilometers away, according to the Gyeongsan Police Station. Police investigators have been dispatched to search for the victim's remains at the site identified by Jeong. Given the brutal nature of the crime, the police are considering administering a psychopathy evaluation on Jeong.

Aug 27, 2026By Yonhap
Chinese man placed under formal arrest over murder of graduate student

Jeju police chief apologizes over mishandling of missing person cases

The chief of the Jeju Provincial Police Agency issued a public apology Thursday for the police's mishandling of missing person cases, which recently came to light following the deaths of two individuals on the southern resort island. "I sincerely apologize to the two individuals who were unable to reunite with their families and to their bereaved families," Ko Pyeong-ki said during a command meeting at the agency. "I feel a profound sense of responsibility as the police chief in charge of public safety on Jeju." The apology followed the booking of a police officer 13 days ago on suspicion of prematurely closing the case of 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran who was found dead Monday, more than three months after she was first reported missing. The officer is also suspected of mishandling the case of a man in his 60s, who was found dead Saturday. During the meeting, Ko pledged to thoroughly investigate the cases to leave no suspicions unresolved and to fully disclose the results. He also promised a comprehensive reinvestigation of all missing person cases on Jeju, as well as the establishment of mul

Aug 27, 2026By Yonhap
Jeju police chief apologizes over mishandling of missing person cases
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