South Korea - The Korea Times

Ex-KOICA director indicted on alleged graft in return for favors

Flag of prosecution service / YonhapA former executive director of the overseas aid agency Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) was indicted Tuesday on charges of taking bribes from employees in exchange for workplace favors, prosecutors said.The 60-year-old suspect, only identified by his surname Song, is under suspicion of taking a combined 412 million won ($318,000) in the form of no-interest loans from 17 KOICA officials and three others from 2018 to 2020, according to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office. In return, Song ― who was also in charges of personnel appointments at the time ― allegedly provided various favors, such as fabricating employee performance evaluations for promotions and raising their annual salary, prosecutors said.Song allegedly asked for the money in the form of loans with no interest for an indefinite period of the time and even asked for additional loans without paying back earlier ones. Prosecutors regarded the loan opportunities and financial benefits he got as bribes.The investigation came after the Board of Audit and Inspection ha

Feb 21, 2023

Ex-KOICA director indicted on alleged graft in return for favors

Prosecution launches special unit to fight growing drug crimes

Prosecution Service / NewsisProsecutors launched a special investigation unit on Tuesday to combat growing drug crimes through coordinated efforts with other government agencies.The unit comprises four investigation teams at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office and district prosecutors offices in Incheon, Busan and Gwangju, respectively, the Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) said. The teams are staffed by a total of 84 people, including prosecutors, investigators, and customs, food safety and other officials, the SPO said.The unit focuses on investigations into large-scale drug smuggling, illegal circulation of medical-purpose drugs and drug dealings over the internet, such as the dark web that is inaccessible by regular web browsers, the SPO said. A total of 18,395 drug offenders were apprehended last year, up 13.9 percent from a year earlier, the SPO said.Noticeably, the number of people arrested for smuggling illegal narcotics into the country jumped from 807 in 2021 to 1,392 in 2022, prosecutors said.Also, the ratio of teenagers among drug offenders jumped from 15.8 perce

Feb 21, 2023

Prosecution launches special unit to fight growing drug crimes

Court rejects state compensation for boy's death after vaccinations

gettyimagesbankBy Jun Ji-hyeA court has ruled against a mother who filed a compensation suit against the state claiming her son had died after being vaccinated against typhoid fever and other diseases upon the request of a school the son entered. According to legal sources, Monday, the Seoul Administrative Court handed down the ruling, Dec. 8, saying the son was not eligible for state compensation as he was not the subject of the country's compulsory vaccination program.In 2019, the boy entered an international school operating as a boarding school. The school asked students including the boy to be vaccinated against typhoid fever, hepatitis A and hepatitis B before moving into the boarding quarters in order to prevent the possible transmission of infectious diseases on the premises.Following the guidelines, the boy was vaccinated in January of the same year.Six months later, he died in his home. The autopsy report by the National Forensic Service said he died of an unknown cause. In November 2021, his mother asked the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) to pay compens

Feb 20, 2023By Jun Ji-hye

Court rejects state compensation for boy's death after vaccinations

Key figure in development corruption case arrested again

Kim Man-bae, a key figure in a high-profile development corruption scandal, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in the capital for a hearing Feb. 17. YonhapThe owner of an asset management firm at the center of a high-profile development corruption scandal was arrested again Saturday, this time on charges of concealing criminal proceeds.The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Kim Man-bae, the largest shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, saying he posed a flight risk and could destroy evidence. Kim is currently standing trial on breach of duty and other charges related to the scandal that centers on allegations that his firm and its affiliates were illicitly chosen as private partners for an apartment development project in the Daejang-dong district of the city of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, in 2015 and reaped huge investment profits. The development was launched in 2015 while Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, was mayor of Seongnam. On Thursday, prosecutors sought a warrant to arrest Lee on breach of

Feb 18, 2023

Key figure in development corruption case arrested again

Ex-teacher gets jail term for putting detergent in kindergarteners' meals

gettyimagesbankBy Jun Ji-hyeA former kindergarten teacher has received a four-year jail term for putting detergent and mosquito repellent into the meals of kindergarten students.The Seoul Southern District Court convicted the 50-year-old on charges of attempted injury to children, Thursday, and arrested her in the court. The court also ordered 10 years of employment restrictions at related children's institutions.“She committed the crime against children but she was obliged to protect them. She also continued making excuses that were not understandable,” the court said in its ruling. “The fact that the children were not actually harmed was considered when the sentence was decided.”According to investigators, the woman put detergent and mosquito repellent in meals prepared for children at a kindergarten in Seoul in November 2020. During the police investigation, she claimed the fluid she put in the food was just water. But following analysis by the National Forensic Service it was proven to contain detergent and mosquito repellent.In her first trial, she reject

Feb 17, 2023By Jun Ji-hye

Ex-teacher gets jail term for putting detergent in kindergarteners' meals

Foreigners caught funding terrorist group using cryptocurrency

A representation of the virtual cryptocurrency bitcoin / Reuters-YonhapTwo foreign nationals residing in Korea have been arrested for funding an al-Qaida-linked terrorist group using cryptocurrency, police said Thursday.A 31-year-old Uzbek man and a 29-year-old Kazakh man were sent to the Supreme Prosecutors Office on Jan. 17 on charges of breaking the anti-terrorism and anti-terrorist funding acts, according to the National Office of Investigation of the National Police Agency.The funds were delivered to Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, or KTJ, an anti-Syrian government terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaida, via a cryptocurrency broker, the police said. The United Nations designated KTJ as a terrorist group in March 2022.Seven other foreigners who funded KTJ with the two suspects were deported in December last year, police said.The case marks the first time foreigners here have been caught funding a terrorist group in cryptocurrencies, investigators said.The Uzbek is suspected of collecting some 10 million won ($ 7,770) by instigating other foreigners in Yeongam, South Jeolla Provinc

Feb 16, 2023

Foreigners caught funding terrorist group using cryptocurrency

Yoon's office again rejects stock manipulation allegations involving first lady

First Lady Kim Keon Hee talks in sign language during the country's third Sign Language Day event at the Koo Museum & Library in Seoul, Feb. 3. / Courtesy of Presidential OfficeThe office of President Yoon Suk Yeol again rejected stock manipulation allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee on Tuesday as the main opposition party stepped up its calls for a special prosecutor investigation.The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has vowed to push for a special probe into the first lady after a court last week acquitted financiers in the stock manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in South Korea, citing the expiration of the statute of limitations.The DP has long accused Kim of playing the role of a financier and having her stock account managed and used in the manipulation. But the court's acquittal of the financiers makes it unnecessary to look into related suspicions related to the first lady for dealings covered between December 2009 and September 2010, a period where the statute of the limitations has expired.The DP, however, has maintained t

Feb 14, 2023

Yoon's office again rejects stock manipulation allegations involving first lady

Rights watchdog asks police officers to show IDs when requested while on duty

The photo shows a traffic police officer on duty, Feb. 10. YonhapPolice officers need to show their identification if asked to do so while performing their duties, the state human rights watchdog said Monday.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said it has forwarded such a recommendation to the police chief, because there have been an increasing number of complaints that police officers refuse to identify themselves in the course of performing their duties, such as traffic enforcement and drunk driving crackdowns.The NHRCK said it has stated its views to the police chief that police officers are required to show their ID cards if asked to do so while on duty.The commission stressed that the presentation of IDs by public officials in the process of exercising their power is a procedure necessary to prevent excessive law enforcement and guarantee the people's right to know. (Yonhap)

Feb 13, 2023

Rights watchdog asks police officers to show IDs when requested while on duty

'40 children die every year because of abuse'

gettyimagesbankGov't faces calls to take preemptive action to protect childrenBy Jun Ji-hyeAbout 40 children die every year in Korea due to child abuse committed mostly by their parents.According to statistics from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Monday, the number of children who died from child abuse stood at 38 in 2017, 28 in 2018, 42 in 2019, 43 in 2020 and 40 in 2021, with its average tallied at about 38. By age group, most victims were under the age of three, accounting for 65 percent. Most deaths were attributed to parents, with the ratio standing at 68.5 percent of the total, followed by 9.3 percent committed by other relatives.The latest statistics came amid a public outcry over a recent abuse case allegedly committed by a stepmother and a biological father resulting in the death of their 12-year-old son. The boy died at a hospital on Feb. 7 after being found unconscious with what appeared to be bruises all over his body at his home in Incheon. The couple were arrested, on Feb. 10, with the stepmother charged with child abuse homicide and the father with habitual child a

Feb 13, 2023By Jun Ji-hye

'40 children die every year because of abuse'

Ex-army chief of staff quizzed in probe into fortune teller's involvement in presidential residence

A fortune teller, known as Cheongong /Screen captured from YouTubePolice said Monday they have questioned a former army chief of staff as part of an investigation into claims of a fortune teller's alleged involvement in the relocation of the presidential residence.The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier filed a complaint for libel charges against a former defense ministry spokesperson, Boo Seung-chan, and two reporters from the news organizations News Tomato and Hankook Ilbo.They claimed the fortune teller, known as Cheongong, had visited the candidate sites of the presidential residence, including the former official residence of the army chief of staff, last March.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said it has recently brought in former Army Chief of Staff Nam Young-shin for questioning and others who were reported to have been at Nam's former residence at the time of the fortune teller's alleged visit.The SMPA, however, said it has failed to obtain CCTV footage of the day Cheongong allegedly made the visit and will confirm whether it was deleted in due process.After