my timesThe Korea Times
South Korea

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.

Prosecutors demand 1 1/2 yrs in prison for American graffiti painter

An photo of an American man arrested for secretly painting graffiti on Korean trains in September 2022, Jan. 20. YonhapProsecutors on Monday demanded the imprisonment for 1 1/2 years of an American man arrested for secretly painting graffiti on Korean trains last year.Prosecutors made the request at the Incheon District Court in the trial of the man who was indicted on six charges, including property damage, after allegedly breaking into nine subway train garages across the country last September and spray-painting graffiti on trains, together with a 28-year-old Italian accomplice."The defendant has not reached a compensation agreement with some of the victim companies, though the entire damage is estimated at 43 million won ($33,000)," the prosecution said in the trial."The fact that he fled to a foreign country after committing the offense while clearly recognizing its illegality was also taken into consideration."The defense lawyer said the 27-year-old American now repents for his wrongdoings and will try to reach compensation agreements with the two remaining victims after he rai

Apr 17, 2023
Prosecutors demand 1 1/2 yrs in prison for American graffiti painter

Ex-military commander indicted on charges of power abuse, political meddling

Cho Hyun-chun, center, a former head of the now-defunct Defense Security Command, speaks to reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, March 29. YonhapA former military commander was indicted Friday on charges of power abuse and political meddling, as prosecutors zeroed in on suspicions he masterminded a plan to impose martial law when then President Park Geun-hye faced an impeachment trial in 2017.Cho Hyun-chun, former head of the now-defunct Defense Security Command (DSC), is accused of instructing his subordinates to write up a report on elections at the Korea Freedom Federation, a major conservative group, in 2016, according to prosecutors.Cho is also accused of having DSC agents stage rallies, and run columns and advertisements supporting Park the same year, and embezzling 60 million won ($46,000) from the command.The former military commander was placed under arrest last month shortly after he returned to the country from the United States to which he had fled to avoid a probe in late 2017.Prosecutors are expected to focus their investigation on the alleged mart

Apr 14, 2023
Ex-military commander indicted on charges of power abuse, political meddling

Religious leader JMS indicted for additional sexual crime charge

This undated photo provided by Netflix shows a promotional poster for its new documentary series, "In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal." Courtesy of NetflixProsecutors added an additional sexual molestation charge against Jeong Myeong-seok, the leader of a controversial religious group, the Jesus Morning Star (JMS), on Friday.Jeong has been standing trial under detention on charges of raping and sexually assaulting two female followers with foreign nationality.The Daejeon District Prosecutors Office investigating the case said Jeong has also been additionally charged with sexually molesting another South Korean female follower in August 2018 at the sect's compound, and making false statements by denying the allegations brought by the two foreign victims.Prosecutors said they plan to seek an additional detention warrant for Jeong, as his current detention period is set to expire on April 27. Jeong, who refers to himself as the Messiah or the second coming of Jesus, was released in 2018 after serving 10 years in prison for raping a number of female followers and embezzling funds from J

Apr 14, 2023
Religious leader JMS indicted for additional sexual crime charge

Top court orders disclosure of prosecution's off-book expenses

Logo of Prosecution Service / Korea Times fileThe Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Supreme Prosecutors Office and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office to reveal details of their off-book expenses between 2017 and 2019, a period when the bodies were led by President Yoon Suk Yeol. The top court dismissed an appeal against a lower court's ruling that the two offices must make public information about their special activity expenses from Jan. 1, 2017, to Sept. 30, 2019.Yoon served as chief of the Seoul prosecution office from 2017 to 2019 and as prosecutor general from 2019 to 2021.During this period, there were three prosecutors general and three Seoul prosecution chiefs.Ha Seung-soo, leader of a civic group for tax justice, filed the lawsuit in 2019 after his earlier request for information disclosure was rejected by the prosecution. The off-book funds are allocated to confidential activities at the presidential office, the National Assembly, the National Intelligence Service, and prosecutors' offices, and have faced criticism for their lack of transparency. (Yonhap)

Apr 13, 2023
Top court orders disclosure of prosecution's off-book expenses

Main opposition party to push for special law banning dog meat: lawmaker

Rep. Kim Min-seok, right, chief policymaker of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, and floor leader Park Hong-keun, left, attend a party meeting at the National Assembly, April 13. YonhapThe chief policymaker of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said Thursday that the party will seek to enact a special law aimed at rooting out dog meat consumption.Dog meat consumption has dramatically declined in recent decades amid perceptions that the tradition is becoming an international embarrassment. Still, advocates argue people should have the freedom to choose what they eat."We need to put an end to any more debate on dog meat consumption," DPK Rep. Kim Min-seok said in a party meeting, mentioning how Korea is bidding to bring the World Expo to the southeastern port city of Busan and how its pop culture has become a global phenomenon.Noting how dog meat consumption has been used as a source of discrimination against football superstar Son Heung-min, Kim said the special law could be seen as an "act to prevent discrimination against Son Heung-min."The envisioned s

Apr 13, 2023
Main opposition party to push for special law banning dog meat: lawmaker

Couple referred to prosecution over masterminding kidnapping-murder of woman

Yoo Sang-won, one of the two masterminds behind a recent murder of a woman in Gangnam, southern Seoul, talks to reporters at the Suseo Police Station, April 13. YonhapA couple accused of masterminding a recent kidnapping and murder of a woman in downtown Seoul was referred to prosecutors Thursday for further investigation and indictment, police said.The couple ― named Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee ― allegedly accepted the key murder suspect Lee Kyeong-woo's proposal to kill the victim, and paid him a total of 70 million won ($53,070) in return, according to the Suseo Police Station."I have been falsely accused," Yoo, the husband, told reporters as he was transferred from the police station.Police have earlier referred Lee and two other murder accomplices ― Hwang Dae-han and Yeon Ji-ho ― to the prosecution on charges of kidnapping the 48-year-old woman from Seoul's Gangnam district on March 29. They allegedly killed her the following day and buried her body on a hill in the central city of Daejeon, 140 kilometers south of Seoul. Lee and Hwang have known each other since 2021 through

Apr 13, 2023
Couple referred to prosecution over masterminding kidnapping-murder of woman

Police reveal identities of couple suspected of masterminding kidnapping, murder

The two photos show Yoo Sang-won, left, 50, and Hwang Eun-hee, 48, who are suspected of masterminding the recent kidnapping and murder of a woman in southern Seoul. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Police AgencyPolice on Wednesday revealed the identities and photos of a couple suspected of orchestrating a recent kidnapping and murder of a woman from southern Seoul.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency identified the two suspects as Yoo Sang-won, 50, and Hwang Eun-hee, 48. The husband, Yoo, and his wife, Hwang, were arrested by Seoul's Suseo Police Station on Saturday and Monday, respectively, on charges of aiding and abetting a robbery and murder.A committee under the agency made the decision, citing the gravity and viciousness of their crime, as well as the sufficient evidence secured from their accomplices.Under criminal law, law enforcement can release the identities of suspects in heinous crimes for public safety.The couple, who are in a common-law relationship, are believed to have hired Lee Kyeong-woo, 35, to kill a 48-year-old woman with whom they had a dispute over a failed cryp

Apr 12, 2023
Police reveal identities of couple suspected of masterminding kidnapping, murder

War on drugs

National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun speaks during a video conference with commanding departments from across the country at the agency's headquarters in western Seoul's Seodaemun District, Wednesday, to tackle drug crimes. The meeting took place after a recent extortion scam where high school students were duped into drinking drug-laced beverages distributed in southern Seoul. Yonhap

Apr 12, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
War on drugs

Ex-DPK deputy secretary given 4 1/2-year prison term over bribery charges

Lee Jung-geun, a former deputy secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea in this Sept. 30, 2022 file photo. NewsisA former deputy secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) was sentenced to four years and six months in prison Wednesday on charges of receiving more than 1 billion won ($754,660) in bribes and illegal political funds from a businessman.Lee Jung-geun, the former deputy secretary general, was charged with pocketing 940 million won worth of money and luxury goods from a businessperson, surnamed Park, between December 2019 and January last year in exchange for promises to lobby government officials and public institutions for business favors.She was also accused of taking illegal political funds from Park in early 2020 while a parliamentary election was under way.The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday also ordered a forfeiture of 980 million won and five luxury goods from Lee, delivering the prison sentence. The sentence was heavier than the three-year prison term prosecutors had sought for Lee. (Yonhap)

Apr 12, 2023
Ex-DPK deputy secretary given 4 1/2-year prison term over bribery charges

Prosecution demands death penalty for man for killing taxi driver, ex-girlfriend

Lee Ki-young, the suspect in the murders of a taxi driver and a woman, is transferred from the Ilsan Dongbu Police Agency in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, to the prosecution, Jan. 4. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-SeogProsecutors on Wednesday demanded the death penalty for 32-year-old Lee Ki-young for murdering a taxi driver involved in a car crash and an ex-girlfriend last year.Lee was charged with killing the taxi driver in his 60s on Dec. 20 after luring him into his house on the pretext of paying compensation money for a collision he caused under the influence of alcohol. He then allegedly hid the victim's body in a closet.He was also charged with murdering his former girlfriend in her 50s last August and abandoning her body on the banks of a river in Paju, just northwest of Seoul. The victim's body, however, has not yet been found.During a trial at the Goyang branch of the Uijeongbu District Court on Wednesday, prosecutors also asked that he be ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device.The double homicide case gained widespread attention when Lee confessed to the murder

Apr 12, 2023
Prosecution demands death penalty for man for killing taxi driver, ex-girlfriend
previous page
249250251252253
next page

Most Read in South Korea