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Grandson of late ex-President Chun referred to prosecution on drug charges

Chun Woo-won, a grandson of late former President Chun Doo-hwan / YonhapA grandson of late former President Chun Doo-hwan was referred to the prosecution Friday for investigation and potential indictment on drug charges. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency referred the 27-year-old Chun Woo-won, the son of the former President Chun's second son, Jae-yong, to the prosecution without physical detention on charges of taking several different drugs during his stay in the United States, officials said.The grandson has attracted widespread media attention after making a series of public accusations about irregularities and slush funds involving his family members on social media. In a YouTube video last month, Woo-won said he and his acquaintances have been using illegal drugs and swallowed what he called ecstasy and other narcotics while livestreaming.He was put under a police investigation upon his arrival at Incheon International Airport from New York on March 28. Police concluded his drug use was not habitual. (Yonhap)

Apr 28, 2023
Grandson of late ex-President Chun referred to prosecution on drug charges

Supreme Court confirms 6-year sentence for Eastar Jet founder over embezzlement

This January 2022 photo shows Eastar Jet founder Lee Sang-jik arriving at a district court in the southwestern city of Jeonju. YonhapThe Supreme Court on Thursday finalized a six-year prison sentence for the founder of Korean budget carrier Eastar Jet convicted of embezzlement of company funds and breach of trust.Eastar founder and former Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmaker Lee Sang-jik was indicted for causing about 43 billion won ($32 million) in losses to the airline by underselling company shares to a subsidiary owned by his children in 2015.He was also charged with embezzling 5.36 billion won from Eastar and its affiliates. In addition, Lee was indicted for causing a loss of about 5.6 billion won to Eastar affiliates by arbitrarily raising or downgrading the value of bonds held by them, or paying off their long-term debts earlier than scheduled from 2016 to 2018.The top court also confirmed a prison sentence of 3 1/2 years for a nephew of Lee, who served as head of Eastar Jet's finance team, and a suspended imprisonment of two years for former Eastar Jet CEO Choi Jong-gu. T

Apr 27, 2023
Supreme Court confirms 6-year sentence for Eastar Jet founder over embezzlement

Drug offenders nabbed for providing meth to minors

An officer of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency holds a media briefing on drug offenders, Seoul, April 26. YonhapA large number of drug offenders who sold or handed out methamphetamine or other drugs to minors have been caught, police said Wednesday.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it has rounded up a total of 131 drug offenders in an intensive investigation launched two years ago on a tip-off that there is an adult who provides methamphetamine to minors.The agency said it has charged 39 drug suspects, including a 32-year-old gang member, with violating the Narcotics Control Act and 18 of them were put under arrest and handed over to the prosecution.Police have also caught 92 people who bought or received drugs from the drug suspects, the agency said, noting 15 of them are teenagers.The gang member and other suspects are accused of selling methamphetamine, hemp or synthetic hemp brought in from Thailand through Telegram from January 2021 until last month, or providing the illegal drugs to minors who were acquainted with them via social media or random chatting sites.The m

Apr 26, 2023
Drug offenders nabbed for providing meth to minors

CEO sentenced to prison over worker death in 1st such decision

The Changwon District Court's Masan branch / Screen captured from Changwon District Court websiteThe CEO of Hankook Steel Mill was sentenced to one year in prison and put behind bars Wednesday in connection with the death of a worker at its plant, becoming the first corporate head to be punished with a prison term for lax industrial safety controls.The Changwon District Court's branch in the southeastern city of Masan, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, convicted the CEO of providing insufficient safety measures in connection with the death of an employee in March last year.The CEO was arrested at the courtroom and put into prison upon sentencing.The worker in his 60s died at the company's plant in the nearby Haman county after his legs were crushed below a 1.2-ton steel plate. It marks the first time a corporate head has been imprisoned for violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act under which business owners or CEOs of companies with 50 or more employees are subject to at least one year in prison or up to 1 billion won ($747,663) in fines in the event of deadly on-duty d

Apr 26, 2023
CEO sentenced to prison over worker death in 1st such decision

Terraform co-founder Shin indicted over Terra, Luna cryptocurrency crash

In this file photo, Daniel Shin, center, a co-founder of Terraform Labs, attends a court hearing in Seoul, March 30. Korea Times photo by Lee Han-hoProsecutors indicted Daniel Shin, a co-founder of Terraform Labs, Tuesday in connection with the massive crash of the cryptocurrency firm's TerraUSD and Luna coins in May last year that wiped out nearly 50 trillion won ($37.5 billion) in market value.The Seoul Southern District Court indicted Shin, 38, without physical detention on multiple charges, including fraud, breach of duty and embezzlement, prosecutors said. Together with Do Kwon, the other Terraform co-founder currently detained in Montenegro for passport forgery, Shin was behind the structuring of the TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies, whose implosion led to the wipe-out of nearly 50 trillion won in market value. Prosecutors are seeking the extradition of Kwon.TerraUSD was designed as a stable coin, which was pegged to stable assets, like the U.S. dollar, but plunged as low as 10 cents in May, breaking its 1-to-1 peg with the U.S. dollar. Prosecutors suspect Shin knew the price

Apr 25, 2023
Terraform co-founder Shin indicted over Terra, Luna cryptocurrency crash

Ex-DPK leader Song banned from leaving country amid probe into election bribery scandal

Song Young-gil, a former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, arrives at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, April 24. YonhapProsecutors have banned Song Young-gil, the embattled former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) at the center of the "cash envelope" electioneering scandal, from leaving the country amid an investigation into the case, sources said Tuesday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office imposed the travel ban on Song, the legal sources said, a day after he returned home from Paris to address the scandal involving the party's national convention in May 2021 to elect the party leader.The scandal centers on allegations that envelopes of cash totaling 94 million won ($70,332) were distributed to party members, including some 10-20 lawmakers, to promote Song's election as party leader in the convention. Song won the party leadership at that time.Homes and offices of DPK Reps. Youn Kwan-suk and Lee Sung-man, who worked for Song's campaign during the convention, have been previously searched, while Kang Rae-gu, a DPK official cl

Apr 25, 2023
Ex-DPK leader Song banned from leaving country amid probe into election bribery scandal

Launch of drug enforcement agency under consideration by gov't, ruling party

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, second from left, speaks during a party-government meeting at the National Assembly, Friday, over tackling rising cases of illegal drug use in the country. Yonhap By Ko Dong-hwanThe country's ruling party and the government agreed, Friday, to strengthen penalization against illegal drug use by vesting more power to prosecutors and launching a new government agency dedicated to controlling the crime.The meeting comes after a recent extortion scam where high school students were duped into drinking drug-laced beverages distributed in southern Seoul's Gangnam District, a region well known for its concentration of cram schools.People Power Party (PPP) Chairman Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon said during a meeting at the National Assembly that the measures should be implemented before it is “too late to regret.” He said smuggling drugs into the country should be countered by a comprehensive set of fresh measures from prevention to treatment and rehabili

Apr 21, 2023By Ko Dong-hwan
Launch of drug enforcement agency under consideration by gov't, ruling party

Shinhwa's Shin Hye-sung gets suspended prison term for refusing breathalyzer test

Shin Hye-sung attends a ruling at Seoul Eastern District Court, April 20. YonhapShin Hye-sung, a member of the long-running idol boy group Shinhwa, was given a suspended prison sentence Thursday for refusing to take a breathalyzer test.Last October, the 44-year-old singer, whose real name is Jung Pil-kyo, was arrested while sleeping in another person's vehicle parked on a street in Seoul's Songpa Ward.He was indicted for illegal use of a vehicle and refusing to comply with a sobriety test. Police had initially accused Shin of car theft, but concluded that he was driving the car without the intention of theft, believing, under the influence of alcohol, that it was his own car.The Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced Shin to a six-month prison term, suspended for a year. Hiding his face under a baseball cap, Shin said "I am sorry" outside of the court following the ruling. Shin was previously investigated in 2007 for a drunk driving offense. The six-member Shinhwa debuted in 1998 as one of the first boy bands formed by SM Entertainment and emerged as one of the top-rung K-pop acts in

Apr 20, 2023
Shinhwa's Shin Hye-sung gets suspended prison term for refusing breathalyzer test

New right turn rules to be enforced starting Saturday

A poster of a sign alerting drivers to South Korea's revised right turn rules. Courtesy of Korean National Police AgencyA new road traffic law obligating drivers to stop when turning right at intersections to better protect pedestrians will be formally enforced, beginning this weekend, after a three-month grace period, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Thursday.The NPA said it will begin to crack down on drivers caught violating the new right turn rules starting Saturday.Under the new rules, drivers must make a full stop prior to a right turn not only when pedestrians are on the crosswalk but also when they are trying to get on it. Even if a right turn is permitted according to the traffic signal, vehicles must stop immediately if a pedestrian is spotted crossing the crosswalk.At intersections where a right turn signal is installed, drivers cannot turn right on a red light and are allowed to turn right only when a green arrow signal is on.Violators could face fines of up to 200,000 won ($150) or detention for under 30 days. If violators pay certain penalties, however, the fines o

Apr 20, 2023
New right turn rules to be enforced starting Saturday

Gov't seeks legislation giving rental scam victims priority to recoup deposits

This photo shows the villa concentrated in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, April 19. YonhapThe interior ministry is pushing for a law revision that would give victims of home rental scams priority to recoup their security deposits before taxes are collected when their rented homes go up for auction, officials said Thursday.The measure comes as three cash-strapped tenants have taken their own lives in recent months in the city of Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, in the wake of a massive home rental scam, sending the government scrambling to find remedies.About 2,500 tenants were reported to have fallen prey to three separate rental scams in Incheon, with most of the victims in their 20s and 30s.Rental scam victims are often put in danger of eviction without getting back their security deposits of at least tens of millions of won when the landlords fail to repay debt on their highly collateralized properties, forcing them to end up being sold in auctions. On top of losing their deposits, the victims often end up having to repay loans they borrowed for the deposits.The interior ministry said th

Apr 20, 2023
Gov't seeks legislation giving rental scam victims priority to recoup deposits
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