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Drug seizures increase in Q1 as more travelers are involved in smuggling

A total of 302 drug smuggling cases, involving 180 kilograms of substances, were intercepted at the border in the first quarter of 2026, Korea Customs Service (KCS) Commissioner Lee Myeong-ku said Monday. While this marked a 13 percent increase in the number of cases from a year earlier, when a record high was set, the total volume declined by 5 percent. A breakdown by smuggling route shows a notable surge in traveler-based cases, both in frequency and volume. By contrast, express cargo shipments saw fewer cases but a slight uptick in volume, while international mail recorded declines in both measures. "The shift indicates that smuggling channels, which had leaned heavily on mail and express cargo during the COVID-19 pandemic, are now reverting to traveler routes," Lee said during a press conference. In terms of drug types, the overall volume was driven by major methamphetamine seizures, including 24 kilograms from Canada via express cargo and 16 kilograms carried by a traveler from Thailand. Authorities also flagged signs of diversification, as heroin intended for personal use, which had

Apr 6, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Drug seizures increase in Q1 as more travelers are involved in smuggling

Special counsel accuses ex-first lady of accepting additional luxury items

A comprehensive special counsel team said Monday it has found circumstantial evidence that former first lady Kim Keon Hee accepted additional luxury items in connection with the presidential residence relocation in 2022. The team led by special counsel Kwon Chang-young launched in February to investigate allegations unresolved by three previous special counsel teams, including suspicions the former first lady used her influence to award the presidential residence renovation contract to 21 Gram, an interior design company without the proper license. "In relation to the presidential residence renovation, we found specific circumstances that Kim Keon Hee received additional luxury items, and a search and seizure is under way at the (relevant) company office and the company head's home," assistant special counsel Kim Ji-mi said during a press briefing, without disclosing the alleged briber or other details. The case centers on allegations that 21 Gram won the contract in May 2022 thanks to its ties to the former first lady even though a different company had been chosen shortly after her hu

Apr 6, 2026By Yonhap
Special counsel accuses ex-first lady of accepting additional luxury items

Police investigate Middle East-related fake news

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Monday it has established an organization dedicated to investigating the spread of online fake news related to the Middle East. Park Jeong-bo, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said that two dedicated teams for Middle East-related fake news have been formed within his agency's Cyber Investigation Unit. "When false information is uploaded, requests for deletion and blocking are made to the relevant site and the Korea Communications Standards Commission. As many as 29 such cases have occurred in Seoul only," Park said in a media briefing. In one instance, a conservative YouTuber claimed on March 27 that it is suspected that a massive 900,000 barrels of oil may have been sent from the southeastern city of Ulsan to North Korea. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources has filed a complaint against the YouTuber regarding his claim on charges of defamation by stating false facts under the information and communications network law and the police plan to summon him soon. "We're investigating four YouTube accounts that were reported by th

Apr 6, 2026By Yonhap
Police investigate Middle East-related fake news

Police raid North Jeolla governor's office in cash-handout scandal

Police on Monday raided the office of North Jeolla Governor Kim Kwan-young over allegations that he handed out cash to multiple people last year, officials said. Kim is accused of doling out money to 20 people, including local council members and public servants, at a restaurant in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, on Nov. 30. The Jeonbuk Provincial Police sent anti-corruption investigators to Kim's office in Jeonju to secure documents in connection with the allegations. Kim has said he handed out a total of 680,000 won ($450) at the time, ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 won per person, adding that they were meant as chauffeur fees as they had been drinking. He has also said he retrieved them the next day after determining they had been inappropriate. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea expelled Kim last week after the allegations surfaced. Kim, who is seeking reelection in the June local elections, has filed for a court injunction against the expulsion.

Apr 6, 2026By Yonhap
Police raid North Jeolla governor's office in cash-handout scandal

Special counsel seeks 10-year prison term for ex-President Yoon in obstruction of justice appeals trial

A special counsel team on Monday demanded a 10-year prison term for former President Yoon Suk Yeol during the appeals trial of his obstruction of justice case stemming from his 2024 imposition of martial law. Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team sought the sentence at the final hearing at the Seoul High Court, double the five-year term handed down by a lower court in January. Yoon was convicted by the lower court of obstructing investigators from detaining him last year and calling only select Cabinet members to a meeting to review his martial law plan. He was also found guilty of creating and then discarding a false proclamation after the martial law decree was lifted but acquitted of charges that he ordered the distribution of false press statements. "The nature of the crime is bad as he abused his position as president to destroy the constitutional order and privatized state power," a special counsel team member said, referring to Yoon's alleged orders to the Presidential Security Service to block his detention. "Since the first ruling, he has had an opportunity to apologize to the peopl

Apr 6, 2026By Yonhap
Special counsel seeks 10-year prison term for ex-President Yoon in obstruction of justice appeals trial

Court rejects activist's injunction request against passport return order

A Seoul court has dismissed an injunction request by a female activist seeking to nullify the foreign ministry's order to return her passport for entrance into the Gaza Strip, according to sources Saturday. The Seoul Administrative Court rejected the request by the activist seeking to enter the Gaza Strip, Friday, after a failed attempt in October last year, the sources said. The activist previously attempted to enter Gaza aboard a ship with humanitarian activists in October last year but was intercepted by Israeli forces and released after two days of detention. The foreign ministry earlier ordered the activist to return her passport, warning that unauthorized travel to the area would result in punishment. Korea currently designates the Gaza Strip as a travel ban zone, and unauthorized visits can lead to a jail term of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won ($6,540).

Apr 4, 2026By Yonhap
Court rejects activist's injunction request against passport return order

Police refer notorious 'drug kingpin' to prosecution for trafficking over $6.6 mil. worth of drugs

Police said Friday they have referred a notorious drug smuggler repatriated from the Philippines to the prosecution for allegedly trafficking over 10 billion won ($6.6 million) worth of illegal drugs. Park Wang-yeol, who arrived in his home country under police custody last week, is accused of smuggling, distributing and selling or attempting to sell 13.1 billion won worth of drugs in Korea. Police have discovered 17.7 kilograms of drugs that Park tried to distribute, including 12.7 kg of methamphetamine, between November 2019 and August 2024 in addition to suspected criminal earnings of 6.8 billion won. Park, who was convicted in the Philippines for the murder of three Koreans in 2016, is suspected of running his drug trafficking operation from behind bars using the messaging app Telegram. Park allegedly used drug mules and international special cargo to smuggle in 12.3 kg of drugs from the Philippines, Mexico and Vietnam across six occasions. He is suspected to have connected with buyers in Korea via Telegram, with accomplices dropping drugs at designated locations in an effort to evade

Apr 3, 2026By Yonhap
Police refer notorious 'drug kingpin' to prosecution for trafficking over $6.6 mil. worth of drugs

FTC penalizes LS Group affiliate over subcontracting violations

Korea’s antitrust regulator has ordered Sunwoo Co., a construction and maintenance affiliate of industrial conglomerate LS Group, to correct its subcontracting practices following a probe into deficient contract documentation. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Thursday that Sunwoo violated the Subcontracting Act by failing to issue proper written contracts to partners between February 2021 and June 2022. The lapses occurred during the outsourcing of electrical and instrumentation work for smelting and petrochemical plants. According to the regulator, Sunwoo failed to specify critical project details — including the scope of work and project locations — in 48 separate instances, including one primary contract and 47 additional work orders across eight project sites. The documents also lacked the required signatures or legal seals from both parties. Under Korean law, primary contractors must provide finalized, signed documentation before work begins. The regulation is designed to prevent “top-down” contract notifications, in which a dominant firm unilaterally dictates terms,

Apr 2, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
FTC penalizes LS Group affiliate over subcontracting violations

Supreme Court confirms life sentence for teacher over student's murder

The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed a life sentence for a teacher convicted of killing a 7-year-old student at their school in the central city of Daejeon last year. The court handed down the ruling to Myeong Jae-wan, 49, who was found guilty of luring the student, Kim Ha-neul, to a classroom on Feb. 10 last year and stabbing her with a weapon she had prepared in advance. The teacher was also convicted of kicking and damaging a school computer and assaulting another teacher several days before the murder. During the trial, Myeong admitted to the crime but claimed she was in a mentally impaired state. The prosecution sought the death penalty. Both the district and appellate courts sentenced her to life in prison and ordered her to wear an electronic tracking device for 30 years. The Supreme Court confirmed that order as well. "The accused cannot be considered to have been in a mentally impaired state at the time of the crime, given that she carried out the crime according to a prepared plan and later tried to cover it up, and the detailed statements she gave on the crime process," the c

Apr 2, 2026By Yonhap
Supreme Court confirms life sentence for teacher over student's murder

Couple attend arrest warrant hearing over killing mother, abandoning body

A woman in her 20s and her husband are set to attend an arrest warrant hearing at a court Thursday on charges of murdering her mother and abandoning the body. The husband, also in his 20s, is accused of beating his mother-in-law in her 50s to death with his hands and feet at his officetel in central Daegu, 250 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on March 18. The couple are suspected of placing the victim's body in a suitcase and abandoning it in the city's Sincheon Stream. The hearing is scheduled to begin at the Daegu District Court on Thursday morning and its decision is expected to be released in the afternoon. The couple were detained Tuesday after confessing to abandoning the body. The husband told police later that he committed the crime because his mother-in-law, who was living with the couple, was usually noisy and did not organize her belongings.

Apr 2, 2026By Yonhap
Couple attend arrest warrant hearing over killing mother, abandoning body
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