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Joint investigation unit launched to fight against crypto crimes

Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office / YonhapAn interagency investigation team was launched Wednesday to crack down on cryptocurrency-related crimes, officials said.The joint virtual asset crime investigation unit will start operations at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office, staffed by 30 investigators from seven government agencies and bodies, including the prosecution, the Financial Supervisory Service, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service.It is assigned to look into market players issuing or distributing cryptocurrency to track down abnormal trading and investigate related crimes. It will also handle the investigative procedures of crypto-related criminal cases, from detecting to analyzing, in a fast-track manner.The launch came as the National Assembly passed legislation aimed at protecting crypto investors, the first of its kind in Korea last month.Under the new law, those who unfairly trade virtual assets can be sentenced to prison terms and fined. Acts of unfair trading include the use of undisclosed information, market price manipulation and

Jul 26, 2023
Joint investigation unit launched to fight against crypto crimes

Police tracking suspect behind another murder threat at Sillim Station

Flowers, beverages and messages of condolences lie on an alley near Sillim Station, where a man was killed and three others wounded in a stabbing rampage a day before, July 22. YonhapAnother internet post threatening to kill women near Sillim Station had been uploaded, sending police to hunt the writer, officials said Wednesday.The post threatening to "rape and murder women near Sillim Station" was uploaded on an internet community around 10 p.m. the previous day, according to police officials. It was later deleted.Upon receiving a report, police immediately sent 11 patrol vehicles to search the area but found no signs of the threatened crime.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is currently tracking the writer.It marks the second consecutive murder threat near Sillim Station after a 33-year-old man went on a stabbing rampage in the area last Friday, killing one person and wounding three others.On Tuesday, police put a 20-something man under emergency detention on suspicions of uploading an online post the previous day threatening to "kill 20 women at Sillim Station on the 26th day (

Jul 26, 2023
Police tracking suspect behind another murder threat at Sillim Station

Justice ministry to create new bureau to handle international investment disputes

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon speaks during a press conference at the government complex in Seoul, June 18. YonhapBy Lee Hae-rinThe Ministry of Justice said, Wednesday, that it will create a new bureau dedicated to handling investment disputes, or investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS), with foreign investment firms. The ministry unveiled its plan to establish the tentatively titled International Legal Affairs Bureau as part of an upcoming organizational change to strengthen the government's capability to respond to international legal disputes. The bureau will be comprised of eight members, including a prosecutor or a senior government official who will head the body.The decision came about a month after Korea was ordered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Netherlands to pay nearly $108 million (136 billion won) to U.S.-based hedge fund Elliott Investment Management in an ISDS dispute stemming from the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung Group affiliates. In response, the government filed a suit to reverse the international tribunal's order, last week, claim

Jul 26, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
Justice ministry to create new bureau to handle international investment disputes

FTC fines top music copyright group for unfair practices

Fair Trade Commission building in Sejong / YonhapKorea's antitrust regulator on Wednesday slapped a fine of 340 million won ($266,000) on a major music copyright association for abusing its market dominance by overcharging broadcasters and hindering the competition.The measure on the Korea Music Copyright Association (KMCA) came as it charged excessively high fees on the country's 59 broadcasters, disrupting its rivals' business as well, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said.Under the current rules, the KMCA, which manages 67.5 percent of copyrighted music as of 2021, is required to receive royalties from broadcasters based on the ratio along with other players, such as the Korean Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (KOSCAP).The KMCA, however, demanded broadcasters pay fees under its arbitrarily-set ratio ranging from 92 percent to 100 percent.The FTC also said that the KMCA exerted pressure on broadcasters, threatening to ban the use of its music if they failed to comply with its demands."As a result of the KMCA's business disruptions, KOSCAP, the target of these actions, f

Jul 26, 2023
FTC fines top music copyright group for unfair practices

Record amount of drugs seized in Korea in H1: customs agency

A drug-sniffing dog checks a suitcase during a demonstration in relation to the Korea Customs Service's campaign to prevent drug smuggling at Incheon International Airport, Incheon, July 25. YonhapKorea's customs agency said Tuesday it has captured a record amount of drugs in the first half of this year, enough to be used by more than 5 million people.The amount of illegal drugs seized at borders jumped 39 percent on-year to 329 kilograms during the January-June period, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service (KCS).It is the largest ever figure for any first six months of a year, and the confiscated amount this year can be used by 5.05 million people at the same time.But the number of smuggling attempts fell 12 percent on-year to 325 cases, as the average volume involved in a single case has grown, the agency added.The growth in drug smuggling came as Korea tightened its border control, coupled with the growing demand for narcotics here and the subsequent rising prices, the KCS said.Of the 325 cases, 45.8 percent, or 149 cases, were carried out through internation

Jul 25, 2023
Record amount of drugs seized in Korea in H1: customs agency

Ex-DPK leader files complaint against Yoon over alleged falsehoods in mother-in-law's fraud case

Song Young-gil, left, a former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, speaks to reporters after he filed a complaint against President Yoon Suk Yeol, accusing him of making false statements about a fraud case involving his mother-in-law during last year's presidential campaign in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, July 25. YonhapSong Young-gil, a former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), filed a complaint against President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday, accusing him of making false statements about a fraud case involving his mother-in-law during last year's presidential campaign. The mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon, was imprisoned Friday after an appeals court upheld her one-year prison sentence for forging a financial document used in a land purchase deal. During the election campaign, Yoon publicly denied any wrongdoing on her part, asserting that she had been deceived by the other party for an amount of around 5 billion won ($3.91 million)."As President Yoon's mother-in-law has been detained, it is common sense for the pre

Jul 25, 2023
Ex-DPK leader files complaint against Yoon over alleged falsehoods in mother-in-law's fraud case

Police detain suspect who hinted at murder rampage in Seoul

Police officers examine a location of a stabbing rampage near Sillim Station in southern Seoul, July 21. YonhapA person who recently posted an online message indicating a plan to kill people in southern Seoul was put under emergency detention on Tuesday, police said.The suspect is accused of writing in an internet community Monday afternoon, "I'll kill 20 women at Sillim Station on the 26th day (of July)."The post immediately caused strong fears among Seoul citizens, as a 33-year-old man went on a stabbing rampage near the Subway Line 2 station last Friday, killing one person and wounding three others.The suspect called police at 1:44 a.m. Tuesday to express an intention to surrender, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. (Yonhap)

Jul 25, 2023
Police detain suspect who hinted at murder rampage in Seoul

Some 3,500 home rental scam suspects nabbed in yearlong police crackdown

Police officials announce the results of a yearlong crackdown on home rental scams at the Seoul Government Complex in Seoul, June 8. YonhapA yearlong special crackdown on home rental scams netted the apprehension of nearly 3,500 suspects nationwide, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Monday, as the recent spate of "jeonse" frauds targeting low-income people emerged as a social problem.The NPA's National Office of Investigation said a total of 3,466 "jeonse" scam suspects were caught in the crackdown conducted jointly with the prosecution and the land ministry from July 25 last year to last Sunday, and 367 of them were put under formal arrest.Jeonse refers to a unique Korean system in which renters give landlords a large returnable deposit instead of paying monthly rent. But the long-term deposit rental system has recently emerged as a big social issue, due to a large number of jeonse fraud cases, in which scammers usually buy homes without much money through a series of jeonse contracts and refuse to return the deposits at the end of the lease.Those busted in the crackdown include

Jul 24, 2023
Some 3,500 home rental scam suspects nabbed in yearlong police crackdown

Police panel to deliberate whether to reveal identity of fatal rampage suspect

A 33-year-old suspect, center, in a fatal stabbing rampage near Sillim Station is surrounded by reporters in front of Gwanak Police Station in Seoul, July 23. YonhapPolice will decide later this week whether to disclose the identity of the suspect in a recent fatal stabbing rampage that killed one person and wounded three others in Seoul, officials said Monday. The 33-year-old man, identified by his surname Cho, was formally arrested Sunday on charges of murder and attempted murder. He was apprehended Friday after fatally stabbing a complete stranger in his 20s near Seoul's Sillim Station and then attacking three other men in a nearby alleyway.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said its identity disclosure review committee will convene Wednesday to deliberate on whether to make public the suspect's name, age, face and other personal information.The police are also investigating a person who allegedly first shared the CCTV footage of the crime scene online, and have requested the authorities to delete 17 pieces of related video currently circulating online.Moreover, the police are l

Jul 24, 2023
Police panel to deliberate whether to reveal identity of fatal rampage suspect

Stabbing in Sillim raises calls for countermeasures

Police officers escort a man surnamed Cho, center, who is alleged to have gone on a stabbing rampage near Sillim Station in southern Seoul killing one man and injuring three others, Friday, into the Seoul Central District Court, Sunday. Yonhap By Ko Dong-hwanIn the wake of a stabbing rampage, in which a 33-year-old man killed one man and injured three others, Friday, there are growing calls for the country's criminal justice system to explore countermeasures for such crimes.So far, authorities and the public have defined crimes against random victims as motiveless killings by psychopaths and, as such, held individual perpetrators solely responsible for the crime. But many claim that such categorization should be replaced with more systemic management by authorities so that potential killers can be preemptively monitored and prevented from committing any mass assaults.Experts said that each case of “social terror” should not be simply seen as an adrenalin-driven random act by an individual with psychosis, but instead as a dangerous social phenomenon, a symptom of broader s

Jul 24, 2023By Ko Dong-hwan
Stabbing in Sillim raises calls for countermeasures
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