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Drug supplier sentenced to 10 years in prison

gettyimagesbankA district court on Thursday sentenced a South Korean man believed to be the nation's largest drug supplier to 10 years in prison.The Changwon District Court in this southeastern city also ordered a forfeiture of 667 million won ($570,000) from the 26-year-old after convicting him of selling a massive amount of imported illegal drugs across the country via the Telegram messenger.The man, also known by his Telegram ID "Vatican Kingdom," was charged with selling 640 grams of methamphetamine, 6,364 ecstasy pills, 3,560 grams of ketamine, 39 LSD blotter papers, 280 ml of synthetic cannabis and 90 grams of cannabis from April 12 to December 10 of last year.He reportedly imported those banned substances from a global drug supplier via international courier services for online advertising and sales here through Telegram."Vatican Kingdom" was arrested in January this year, along with a number of accomplices involved in domestic sales and distribution networks and drug buyers.They received deposits from buyers in virtual currency and used the so-called throwing method, in which

Sep 9, 2021
Drug supplier sentenced to 10 years in prison

Street vendor suffers burns after customer throws food into boiling oil

This CCTV image shows a street vendor being scalded after a customer threw hotteok into the boiling oil. Captured from KBS NewsBy Jun Ji-hyeA street vendor in Daegu has suffered burns to her right hand, shoulder and chest after a customer threw hotteok (sweet pancake made from flour, brown sugar and seeds or nuts) into boiling oil after complaining about her refusal to cut it for him. The vendor called for harsh punishment of the customer.According to the vendor, the customer bought two hotteok, Sept. 5, and asked her to cut them, saying that he wanted to share them with his friends. She refused the request, showing him a notice reading “no cutting,” on display in her booth.Then, the customer threw the hotteok into boiling oil in front of the vendor, splashing the oil and burning her exposed skin.“The customer glared at me even in front of the police officers who came to the scene. I want him to be punished sternly,” the vendor told a local daily newspaper, Segye Ilbo, Thursday. “After the incident, two friends of the customer appeared at my booth. One a

Sep 9, 2021By Jun Ji-hye
Street vendor suffers burns after customer throws food into boiling oil

Court again rules against family of Japan's wartime forced labor victim

gettyimagesbankThe Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday again ruled against the bereaved family of a victim of World War II forced labor in a damages suit against a Japanese company.Four children of the late victim, surnamed Jeong, filed the suit in April 2019 seeking 200 million won (US$171,940) in compensation from Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. Jeong claimed he was conscripted to forced labor in a Nippon Steel plant from 1940-42 when the Korean Peninsula was a colony of Japan.The same court on Aug. 11 ruled against family members of a forced labor victim who sued Mitsubishi Materials Corp., citing the expiration of statute of limitations. (Yonhap)

Sep 8, 2021
Court again rules against family of Japan's wartime forced labor victim

Majority of stalking victims don't trust police

By Lee Hae-ringettyimagesbankAccording to a survey of women who have been the victims of stalking, 60 percent of respondents did not pursue any legal measures because they believe the law enforcement authorities and relevant legal systems do not protect them. The in-depth survey was conducted by the Korea Women's Hot Line from July 28 to Aug. 17 on 40 female victims on their experiences of being stalked and the relevant laws and systems.In the survey, 65 percent of the respondents said it was difficult to actively deal with stalking, such as reporting the crime to police, because they feared their action might anger the stalker and make the situation worse. When multiple answers were allowed, 57.5 percent responded that reporting the stalker to police might not help them, reflecting the victims' distrust in investigators and a lack of social awareness about this kind of violence, the organization said.According to one of the respondents, when she reported her case to the police, an officer said there was nothing they could do if there was no evidence of direct or physical damage by t

Sep 7, 2021By Lee Hae-rin
Majority of stalking victims don't trust police

Man taken into custody for killing wife with sword

gettyimagesbankBy Yoon Ja-youngThe Seoul Southern District Court issued an arrest warrant, Sept. 5, for a man on charges of murdering his wife ― who was separated from him and had filed divorce proceedings ― with a Japanese sword, according to the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times.Police had taken the suspect, surnamed Jang, into custody two days previously for allegedly killing his wife in front of her father.The couple had been separated since May and were going through a divorce.Before the killing, the suspect had called his wife to come and pick up the belongings of their children that were still at his house. She went to the residence accompanied by her father. The two, however, began to quarrel over the divorce, and the wife reportedly asked her father to video the incident. An allegedly infuriated Jang suddenly drew the sword and attacked his wife. He had reportedly got permission to keep the one-meter-long sword, which he had received as a gift, at his home.Jang later told police that he didn't remember clearly what had happened, as he had “completely lo

Sep 7, 2021By Yoon Ja-young
Man taken into custody for killing wife with sword

Man suspected of killing two women apologizes to victims, families

Kang Yoon-seong is escorted out of Songpa Police Station in southern Seoul, Sept. 7. YonhapAn ex-convict accused of killing two women before and after cutting off his location-tracking device appeared in public on Tuesday for the first time after his identity was made public last week.Kang Yoon-seong was escorted out of a police station where he was under police arrest before being taken to the prosecution. In a brief appearance before media, Kang said, "I apologize to the victims and their families."He also said he murdered them "for money, not sexual reasons," disputing what he claimed to be false reporting by some media outlets. Songpa Police Station sent the 56-year-old man to the Seoul Dongbu District Prosecutors Office on six charges, including murder, fraud and violation of the law on electronic monitoring devices.Last week, police arrested him on suspicion of killing two women before and after he cut off his ankle bracelet and fled. The man with 14 previous criminal convictions walked into a police station in eastern Seoul on Aug. 29 and confessed to murdering the two women h

Sep 7, 2021
Man suspected of killing two women apologizes to victims, families

Filipina detained over alleged killing of USFK member's child

By Lee Hae-rinKorea Times fileA woman of Philippine nationality has been detained for allegedly beating to death the three-year-old son of her acquaintance from the United States Forces in Korea (USFK). The Pyeongtaek Police said, Monday, that they had detained the 30-year-old suspect and are investigating the case.According to the police, she and the USFK service member knew one another, and the latter had asked the woman to briefly mind his two sons ― seven and three years old.She is accused of beating the younger boy to death in her room, provided by a bar where she was employed, at around 7:30 a.m., Sunday. The older child was not harmed.The bar owner discovered the victim around 8 a.m. and reported it to the police.The police then began to search for the suspect, but she had been taken into custody at a precinct station nearby as police had received reports of the woman roaming the streets naked.During the initial questioning, the suspect confessed to the assault against the boy but responded incoherently when questioned further.The police stated that they will request the Natio

Sep 6, 2021By Lee Hae-rin
Filipina detained over alleged killing of USFK member's child

Gov't seeking to change law to allow singles to adopt children

gettyimagesbankThe Ministry of Justice said Monday it plans to revise a law to allow a single person to legally adopt a child, as single-member households are becoming the country's most common living arrangement.The ministry's task force, aimed at making policies friendlier toward single-person households, has recently agreed to amend the Civil Code so that an unmarried person can adopt a child if conditions are met.Under the current law, only a married couple can legally adopt a child by mutual consent.The decision was made after taking into consideration that "there are many single people who can raise a child as well as a married couple and adoptive parents can become single again at some point of their lives following a divorce or the death of a spouse," the ministry said in a statement. "The current system can only consolidate social prejudice against a certain type of family." At the same time, the ministry affirmed "the need to thoroughly verify the credentials of would-be adoptive parents.""We are working to delete the clause" mandating that an adoption can be done by a marr

Sep 6, 2021
Gov't seeking to change law to allow singles to adopt children

Justice ministry to devise ways to better control ex-convicts wearing ankle monitor

gettyimagesbankJustice Minister Park Beom-kye said Friday the ministry will work out anti-crime measures to "fundamentally reduce recidivism" among high-risk sexual offenders, in the wake of alleged murders by an ex-convict.The minister said at a briefing that the ministry will amend the relevant law to allow investigators to immediately conduct a search operation and house raid when and if high-risk ex-convicts remove their electronic ankle devices and run off.Earlier this week, police arrested Kang Yoon-seong on suspicion of killing two women before and after he cut off his ankle bracelet and fled. The 56-year-old ex-offender, with 14 previous criminal convictions, walked into a police station in eastern Seoul on Sunday and confessed to murdering the two women he had known.The ministry said it will set up a response team at probation offices nationwide to swiftly deal with violations of the law on electronic surveillance, an offense punishable by up to seven years in prison or 20 million won ($17,000) in fines.Other measures included enhanced cooperation between probation offices a

Sep 3, 2021
Justice ministry to devise ways to better control ex-convicts wearing ankle monitor

Court's ruling against S. Korean wartime forced labor victim sealed in absence of appeal

The Seoul Central District Court / YonhapA ruling against a South Korean victim of forced labor during Japan's colonial rule was finalized Thursday in a damages suit against a Japanese company, as the late victim's surviving family members have decided not to challege it.The Seoul Central District Court on Aug. 11 rejected the compensation sought by five surviving family members of the late victim, surnamed Lee, against Mitsubishi Materials Corp., citing the expiration of the case's statute of limitations. An appeal should be filed within two weeks of a verdict.The plaintiffs lodged the suit in February 2017, demanding 100 million won (US$86,200) from Mitsubishi Materials in compensation for Lee's forced labor in Japanese coal mines from 1941 to 1945 during World War II. Korea was under Japan's colonial rule from 1910-45. Dismissing the case, the court said the three-year legal window was closed for the plaintiffs to be able to seek financial reparations. In this case, the court said any legal action should have been taken during the three years following the Supreme Court's 2012 dec

Sep 2, 2021
Court's ruling against S. Korean wartime forced labor victim sealed in absence of appeal
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