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Suspect in credit union robbery escaped to Vietnam: police

A credit union is closed due to a heist in Daejeon, Aug. 18. YonhapThe suspect in a credit union heist in Daejeon last week was confirmed to have fled to Vietnam, police said Tuesday.The man is suspected of robbing a credit union in the central city Friday, threatening employees with a weapon. He made off with 39 million won ($29,115).The Daejeon Police Agency confirmed that the man departed for Vietnam on Sunday and requested cooperation from Interpol to apprehend him.Police requested search and seizure warrants to investigate his residence and related locations.According to the police, the man entered the credit union at noon discharging a fire extinguisher and threatening the staff with a pre-prepared weapon.After robbing 39 million won in cash, he escaped on a stolen motorcycle.On Saturday, the police located two motorcycles and identified a passenger vehicle, all of which he used for the robbery and escape.It was discovered that he had traversed various roads within the city for two days after the crime in an attempt to elude police pursuit. (Yonhap)

Aug 22, 2023
Suspect in credit union robbery escaped to Vietnam: police

Calls intensify for further regulations on self-defense weapons

This photo, taken, July 24, shows self-defense products available to buy in a store in Seoul. YonhapBy Jung Da-hyunGrowing concerns over the possible criminal use of self-defense weapons are sparking calls for tougher regulations on the products. Fears come in the wake of a heinous crime involving a 30-year-old man who assaulted a woman, on a hiking trail in southern Seoul, with two brass knuckles, after which, he raped her, Thursday. The victim died, Saturday."It scared me because it is so easy to buy them online, and I also wonder if I can actually use brass knuckles in self-defense in an urgent situation," said Lee So-heon, 26, a university student who also lives in southern Seoul. The latest attack adds to a recent string of violent crimes that have alarmed the public. Ahead of the murder case, a knife-wielding rampage occurred near Sillim Station, July 21, followed by a similar incident at Seohyeon Station in Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 3, which sparked a surge in the sales of self-defense weapons.According to Interpark, an online shopping website, sales quadrupled as of July 22, on

Aug 22, 2023By Jung Da-hyun
Calls intensify for further regulations on self-defense weapons

Autopsy suggests rape victim died from strangulation

A rape and murder suspect, surnamed Choi, center, is escorted out of a police station to attend an arrest warrant hearing, Aug. 19. YonhapThe victim of last week's fatal sexual assault on a hiking trail in Seoul appears to have died from strangulation, police said Tuesday, citing a tentative autopsy result from the National Forensic Service (NFS).The victim, known only as a female elementary school teacher in her 30s, was seriously injured while being sexually assaulted, allegedly by a 30-year-old man, surnamed Choi, on the hillside trail in Seoul's southern district of Sillim last Thursday and died at a hospital two days later.Choi, who reportedly beat the victim on the head repeatedly with brass knuckles on both hands with the intention of raping her, has been put under arrest.The NFS conducted the autopsy Monday and tentatively concluded that the victim is believed to have died after being strangled and losing consciousness, according to the police.Bleeding was spotted directly below her scalp, but the NFS said it is difficult to see a cerebral hemorrhage as the direct cause of he

Aug 22, 2023
Autopsy suggests rape victim died from strangulation

Man apprehended for uploading knife rampage threat by pretending to be police employee

Office of the police agency is seen in this undated file photo. YonhapAn office worker in his 30s was apprehended Tuesday, a day after writing an online post forewarning of a knife rampage at Seoul's Gangnam Station after signing up for a community app as a police employee.The suspect, whose identity was withheld, was put under emergency detention near his home in Seoul at 8:32 a.m. after writing the post on the Blind app for salaried workers Monday morning saying he would launch a knife attack at Exit No. 1 of the subway station. "You better be on guard," the writer said with a text emoji for laughing. "I will kill you all."The post was deleted shortly after, but captured images of it spread quickly. The incident drew wide public attention as the post was uploaded with an account presumed to belong to an incumbent police official, prompting National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun to order a swift investigation. But the suspect was found to have nothing to do with the police, being neither an incumbent nor a former police employee, an official said.It was unclear ho

Aug 22, 2023
Man apprehended for uploading knife rampage threat by pretending to be police employee

Ex-special counsel indicted on bribery charges connected to development scandal

Former special counsel Park Young-soo, center, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court to undergo a court review on his arrest warrant over corruption allegations involving a property development scandal, Aug. 3. YonhapProsecutors indicted former special counsel Park Young-soo on Monday on bribery charges connected to a high-profile property development scandal.Park is charged with taking a combined 1.9 billion won ($1.4 million) from private developers in return for helping them land the so-called Daejang-dong project, including 800 million won he allegedly took while serving as the chair of the Woori Bank board of directors from 2014-15.Under the project, the Daejang-dong district in Seongnam, south of Seoul, was developed into apartment complexes, and the private developers' firm, Hwacheon Daeyu, reaped astronomical profits.Prosecutors also suspect Park additionally pocketed 1.1 billion won between 2019-21 in the form of a loan to his daughter while being promised 20 billion won in total in return for facilitating business favors for the developers.Woori Bank had initially con

Aug 21, 2023
Ex-special counsel indicted on bribery charges connected to development scandal

Recurrence of violent crimes reignites debate over death penalty

A 30 year-old man identified only by his surname Choi is escorted by police to a court hearing, Saturday. The court issued a warrant to arrest him for assaulting and raping a woman on a hiking trail in Sillim-dong in Seoul, Thursday. YonhapCriminologists say death penalty would not have deterrent effectBy Jun Ji-hyeBrutal stabbings and the violent rape of a school teacher on her way to work in a residential area of Seoul in recent weeks have not only escalated fears among the public, but also reignited a fierce debate over resuming the executions of death row inmates in Korea, which were halted 26 years ago.After Cho Seon, 33, went on a stabbing spree killing one man and wounding three others near Sillim Station in Seoul, July 21, a similar knife rampage occurred, Aug. 3, by 22-year-old Choi Won-jong near Seohyeon Station in Gyeonggi Province, that left one woman dead and 13 others wounded.A combined photo shows Choi Won-jong, left, the suspect of a stabbing rampage near Seohyeon Station, and Cho Seon, the suspect of knife attacks near Sillim Station. Yonhap Then on Thursday, a 30-ye

Aug 21, 2023By Jun Ji-hye
Recurrence of violent crimes reignites debate over death penalty

Police investigating 18 alleged offenses related to World Scout Jamboree

British staff members disassemble their national booth as the country's contingent prepares to depart from the World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, Aug. 5. YonhapPolice are investigating 18 cases of alleged offenses, including five sexual crimes, in connection with the 2023 World Scout Jamboree, officials said Monday.Four of the five sexual crimes involve indecent act by compulsion and the other was a rape case. But police said the rape case will be closed as it was found that a witness mistook a female Scout sleeping without clothes on for a rape victim.The female Scout also told police no sexual assault happened.The other offenses under investigation also include three cases of trespassing and five cases of theft or assault. Also included are offenses on the part of organizers, including a complaint filed against Gender Equality and Family Minister Kim Hyun-sook on charges of failing to fulfill her duty as the main organizer in charge of the World Scout Jamboree.A citizen had also filed a complaint against the head of command of the fire department, citing the

Aug 21, 2023
Police investigating 18 alleged offenses related to World Scout Jamboree

Police to decide whether to disclose identity of rape and murder suspect Wednesday

The rape and murder suspect, surnamed Choi, leaves a police station to attend an arrest warrant hearing, Aug. 19. YonhapPolice said Monday they plan to decide whether to disclose the identity of a 30-year-old man arrested recently for sexually assaulting and murdering a woman on a hiking trail in Seoul in a review committee meeting later this week.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said the identity disclosure review committee will be convened Wednesday to determine whether to make public the rape and murder suspect's face photo, name and age.The suspect, currently identified only by his family name Choi, is accused of brutally beating and raping the victim he randomly picked on the hillside trail in Seoul's southern district of Sillim last Thursday. A court issued an arrest warrant for him Saturday.The current law permits the disclosure of the identity of suspects in violent crimes, as long as there is sufficient evidence and a need to meet the public interest and right to know. (Yonhap)

Aug 21, 2023
Police to decide whether to disclose identity of rape and murder suspect Wednesday

7 sexual crime reports filed with police during World Scout Jamboree

A general view shows the campsite of the World Scout Jamboree in Buan, North Jeolla province, Aug. 5. AFP-YonhapA total of seven reports about suspected sexual crimes were filed with police during the 2023 World Scout Jamboree, police officials and sources said Friday.The Jamboree's organizing committee had previously said only a single sexual abuse report, concerning a Thai man caught entering the women's shower room at the campsite in Saemangeum, was filed during the event that ran for 12-days until Aug. 12. According to sources and police officials, six more reports complaining of suspected sexual crimes were made during the event period."Out of the seven cases, only one concerning the Thai leader led to an actual investigation while the rest of the cases were terminated upon internal probes," a police official said, refusing to discuss details of the six cases.On Wednesday, police said the Thai suspect, who joined the Jamboree as an adult supervisor, had been referred to the prosecution for further investigation on charges of entering the women's shower room and taking a shower t

Aug 18, 2023
7 sexual crime reports filed with police during World Scout Jamboree

Assault, rape suspect in Seoul says brass knuckles were used: police

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, right, looks around a hillside park in Seoul's Sillim district, Friday, the day after a man assaulted and raped a woman there. YonhapThe 30-year-old man accused of assaulting and raping a woman on a hiking trail in Seoul has said he used two brass knuckles when beating her, police officials said Friday.The suspect surnamed Choi was put under police custody the previous day shortly after he allegedly beat and raped the victim he randomly picked on a hillside trail in the Sillim district in southwestern Seoul at 12:10 p.m. The woman was immediately transported to a hospital but remains unconscious.The suspect told police the previous day that he "wore brass knuckles on both hands and assaulted the victim," police officials said. He also admitted to assault and rape charges, the officials said, quoting him as saying, "I committed the crime because I wanted to rape."According to officials, Choi arrived at the hillside park about an hour before the crime and looked for a victim. "I chose the place for a crime because I went there often and knew it has no CCTV camer

Aug 18, 2023
Assault, rape suspect in Seoul says brass knuckles were used: police
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