my timesThe Korea Times
South Korea

Law & Crime

Millennials, Gen. Z vulnerable to digital sex crime

As digital sex crime has become an increasing threat mostly to the MZ generations of Korea who frequent cyber communities, the need for Seoul Metropolitan Government's support center for victims also rose. The poster above, aimed at raising awareness on digital sex crime, reads “Illegal video recording is a crime.” GettyimagesbankCenter helps victims of digital sex crimeBy Ko Dong-hwanLee, an 18-year-old girl in Seoul, met an unidentified male at an online chatting space through social media. He asked her where she lives, which school she attends and asked for photos of her. His demands became more lurid as he asked for more revealing photos, which turned her off and prompted her to ignore his additional messages. Later, Lee's friend informed her that the photos she had shared with him were being shared on a particular social media site.Lee soon contacted the Seoul Metropolitan Government's support center for sex crime victims, which launched last March, and requested assistance in getting the photos deleted. Fifteen days after the center did so, the footage was again fou

Nov 29, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
Millennials, Gen. Z vulnerable to digital sex crime

Murder suspect extradited to New Zealand

A woman suspected of killing her children covers her face as she is taken to a police vehicle at Ulsan Jungbu Police Station in Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province, in this Sept. 15 file photo. The suspect has been extradited to New Zealand, the Ministry of Justice said Tuesday. NewsisBy Jung Min-hoA 42-year-old woman, who is suspected of killing her two children, has been extradited to New Zealand. According to the Ministry of Justice, Tuesday, the woman, surnamed Lee, is a New Zealand citizen of Korean descent and was handed over along with evidence to the New Zealand authorities the previous day at Incheon International Airport.The woman came into the spotlight in August after a family in Auckland found the bodies of a 10-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy in two suitcases they purchased with other “abandoned goods” at an online auction. Police believe that the bodies had been kept there for several years.It was the first extradition request Korea received from New Zealand, the ministry noted.“We hope that the truth of this case will be revealed through a fair a

Nov 29, 2022By Jung Min-ho
Murder suspect extradited to New Zealand

Prison sentence sought for man for cruel acts against girlfriend

GettyimagesbankThe prosecution on Tuesday demanded five years in prison for a man accused of confining his girlfriend and forcing her to eat dog feces.The man in his 20s was indicted in Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, on charges that included stalking, incarcerating and causing injury.The man committed the crime in April after his girlfriend said she wanted to break up with him, according to the prosecution. He went to her studio apartment, tied her hands and feet with adhesive tape, and kept her in the room for about five hours. He beat the victim, cut her hair and even forced her to eat dog feces. She suffered serious injuries, including a broken rib.He was also charged with stalking because he continuously called her after they split up.The Incheon District Court is scheduled to hold his sentencing hearing on Jan. 12. (Yonhap)

Nov 29, 2022
Prison sentence sought for man for cruel acts against girlfriend

'Suitcase' murder suspect extradited to New Zealand

This photo shows a Korean-born New Zealand woman wanted by the country's police as a murder suspect, Sept. 15. YonhapKorea's Justice Ministry has extradited a woman to New Zealand after she was arrested in connection with the discovery of the bodies of her two children in suitcases earlier this year.The 42-year-old New Zealand citizen of Korean descent, identified by her family name Lee, was handed over to New Zealand authorities Monday evening at Incheon International Airport, along with evidence seized by police, justice ministry officials said.Lee is the key suspect in the deaths of her two children, whose bodies were found in suitcases sold at an auction in Auckland in August. Korean police arrested her in the southeastern city of Ulsan in mid-September at the request of New Zealand police.Earlier this month, a Seoul court approved the extradition of the suspect.The children were believed to have been killed in 2018 at ages 7 and 10, respectively, and local media have said their father had died of cancer before they were killed. (Yonhap)   

Nov 29, 2022
'Suitcase' murder suspect extradited to New Zealand

Tanker carrying 2 Koreans freed from pirates to be towed due to engine damage

This file image provided by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries shows waters off West Africa where kidnappings are rampant. YonhapAn oil tanker in West Africa with two South Koreans and 17 Indonesians aboard, which was freed after being hijacked by pirates earlier this week, is expected to be towed to its destination due to damage caused to the engine by the kidnappers, according to Seoul's foreign ministry officials Sunday.The 4,000-ton tanker owned by a South Korean shipping company was hijacked by pirates in international waters off of West Africa on Thursday then released a day later. The pirates reportedly stole petroleum stored in the tanker and destroyed the ship's internal equipment before leaving the vessel.According to a ministry official, the ship had initially planned to return to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where it had left from, by Sunday but failed to do so due to damage of its engine."It needs to be towed," the official said, and added that an ally nation's Navy in the region plans to guard the tanker until a tow ship arrives and steers the tanker safely to Abidjan. Accor

Nov 27, 2022
Tanker carrying 2 Koreans freed from pirates to be towed due to engine damage

Absence of residential restrictions on sex offenders angers potential neighbors

Residents of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province hold a rally calling for eviction of serial rapist Park Byung-hwa, who is currently living there after being released from prison at the end of October. He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for sexually assaulting ten women between December 2002 and October 2007. NewsisBy Lee Hyo-jin Notorious child rapist Cho Doo-soon's recent attempt to move his residence has infuriated residents of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, who are demanding his eviction from the city. The 70-year-old ex-convict, who has been living with his wife in Wa-dong in the city after being released from prison in December 2020, had recently signed a deal to rent a house in Seonbu-dong after his contract expired.His wife initially told the landlord that her husband is an ordinary office worker. But the landlord, who later discovered Cho's identity, immediately canceled the agreement. Cho served 12 years in prison after kidnapping and brutally raping an 8-year-old girl in 2007. Residents of Seonbu-dong, who strongly protested against the child rapist's attempt to move into their

Nov 27, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Absence of residential restrictions on sex offenders angers potential neighbors

2 Korean sailors kidnapped by pirates in West Africa released unharmed: ministry

This file image provided by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries shows waters off West Africa where kidnappings are rampant. YonhapAn oil tanker, with two South Koreans and 17 Indonesian sailors aboard, was hijacked by pirates in international waters off of West Africa earlier this week then released a day later, according to South Korean foreign ministry officials Friday.They said the sailors on board a 4,000-ton tanker, B Ocean, owned by South Korean shipping company SK Shipping lost contact at around 7 a.m. Thursday (Seoul time) in international waters 200 nautical miles south of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The two South Koreans were the captain and the ship's engineer. They resumed contact at around 11:55 a.m. Friday and the safety of the sailors has been confirmed, an official said. The pirates reportedly stole petroleum stored in the tanker and destroyed the ship's internal equipment."The captain contacted the company after the pirates got off the ship," the official said on background, adding the sailors confirmed that the ship remained operational after going over the damages of th

Nov 25, 2022
2 Korean sailors kidnapped by pirates in West Africa released unharmed: ministry

Suspect in notorious online sex abuse crime arrested in Australia

This photo provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency shows "L," the key suspect arrested in Australia in an online sex abuse crime targeting underage people, Nov. 23. YonhapPolice have arrested the key suspect in a notorious online sex abuse crime targeting underage people at his home in Australia in a joint operation with the Australian police, officials said Friday. The suspect, popularly known as "L" in Korea, was apprehended at his home in the outskirts of Sydney on Wednesday in a raid conducted in a joint operation between the Korean and Australian police, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said. The suspect was accused of threatening nine underage victims into sexually exploitative digital materials between late 2020 and August this year and circulated them on the Telegram messenger service. In Korea, his sex crime operation has been known as the "second Nth Room," nicknamed after the horrendous case of Telegram-based cybersex trafficking between 2018 and 2020.The suspect repeatedly changed his Telegram nickname and kept opening new Telegram rooms to evade scrutiny. He

Nov 25, 2022
Suspect in notorious online sex abuse crime arrested in Australia

Top court sides with transgender parent with underage child

In this March 27, 2021 file photo, LGBTQ activists hold a news conference in a central square in Seoul on the occasion of March 31 International Transgender Day of Visibility, with a banner symbolic of the transgender community lying behind them. YonhapThe Supreme Court ruled Thursday it is illegal to deny transgender people the right to change their legal sex status solely on the grounds that they have underage children. The ruling was made in a request filed in 2019 by a transgender who underwent gender affirmation surgery and a divorce seeking to have her legal sex status revised.Both a family court and an appellate court had rejected the request on the grounds that she has underage children, a decision that was in line with a court decision in 2011 denying a legal sex change to those who have a spouse or an underage child.The courts at that time cited "psychological confusion and shock" underage children could be subject to upon their parent's sex reassignment. The top court on Thursday overturned the previous rulings and sent the case back to the Seoul Family Court for retrial."

Nov 24, 2022
Top court sides with transgender parent with underage child

Prosecutors said to be tracking opposition leader's bank accounts

Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung speaks during his meeting with members of the Korea Senior Citizens Association at the National Assembly in Seoul, Nov. 23. YonhapProsecutors have begun tracking the bank accounts of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and his relatives, informed judicial officials said Thursday, suggesting a forced investigation against the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) chair is imminent.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has recently secured a court's warrant to trace the accounts of Lee and his family, apparently to look into anything suspicious about the money transactions between the DPK chief and the people around him, according to the officials.Prosecutors appear to be checking whether parts of the money received by two of his closest aides, Jeong Jin-sang and Kim Yong, from real estate developers at the center of a corruption scandal in Seongnam, south of Seoul, flowed to Lee's side, they added.Jeong, a vice chief of staff to the DPK chair, and Kim, who resigned this week as deputy head of the DPK's Institute for Democracy think tank,

Nov 24, 2022
Prosecutors said to be tracking opposition leader's bank accounts
previous page
264265266267268
next page

Most Read in South Korea