South Korea - The Korea Times

Abuse of senior citizens rising

gettyimagesbankBy Kim RahnThe number of elder abuse cases is on the rise along with the increasing elderly population, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Sunday. In Seoul alone, 1,800 cases of elder abuse cases were reported last year, up from 1,316 in 2018 and 1,429 in 2019. For the first half of this year, police received 1,279 reports, which is a 46 percent increase from the 879 cases reported during the same period a year before.While most cases take place at home with elderly parents being abused by their children, the agency, along with Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Elder Protection Agency, conducted a joint inspection from June 15 through July 31 on 110 households with elderly members ― 72 homes where elder abuse cases were reported to the police three or more times during the past 17 months, and 38 homes that the protection agency has been monitoring after serious abuse cases.Of them, the organizations found 24 cases of abuse and provided the victims with legal and financial support, they said.In one case, a man in his 70s was allegedly beaten repeated

Aug 8, 2021By Kim Rahn

Police seek arrest warrant for labor leader over July 3 rally

In this July 3 file photo, members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions hold a mass rally in central Seoul. YonhapPolice on Friday sought an arrest warrant for the leader of a labor umbrella group on charges of holding a mass rally last month in violation of COVID-19 rules.Yang Kyung-soo, chief of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), has been booked on charges of holding the rally in downtown Seoul on July 3 in defiance of a COVID-19 ban by the city government and the police.Around 8,000 people attended the event, according to the KCTU, to demand improvements to labor conditions.Sources told Yonhap News Agency that police requested the arrest warrant Friday, two days after questioning him for over five hours."We determined it was a serious crime, given that he pushed ahead with a large-scale rally under the dangerous circumstances of a spreading infectious disease," a police official said."We requested (the warrant) after conducting a comprehensive review of the risk of a repeat crime."Police said Yang's arrest is being sought also in connection with previous KCTU

Aug 6, 2021

Police seek arrest warrant for labor leader over July 3 rally

Top court confirms dismissal of request to cancel construction permit of two unfinished nuclear reactors

Construction site of Shingori No. 5 and Shingori No. 6 reactors in Ulsan / Korea Times fileThe Supreme Court said Thursday it has confirmed the appellate court's ruling to dismiss a request to cancel the nuclear watchdog's permit to build nuclear power reactors in the southeastern coastal city of Ulsan.The cancellation request was filed by Greenpeace Korea and some Ulsan residents in September 2016, who claimed that the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) allowed the construction of Shingori No. 5 and Shingori No. 6 reactors "without considering the unique hazards of (the nuclear plants)."The NSSC had given a nod to the project three months earlier. The Seoul Administrative Court rejected the call-off request in 2019, saying that while the nuclear watchdog's permission was partially unlawful, the potential damage from killing the project far outweighed the illegality, considering the project's financial and social costs. An appellate court also ruled in favor of the nuclear watchdog, citing public welfare and interest.The government launched a special commission in July 201

Aug 5, 2021By Lee Hyo-sik

Top court confirms dismissal of request to cancel construction permit of two unfinished nuclear reactors

5 people arrested for growing cannabis at daycare center

Seen are three of 13 cannabis plants that were being raised at a daycare center by the son of the center's operator. The Korea Coast Guard said, Monday, they arrested five people, including the son, for growing, selling and using the cannabis. Courtesy of Korea Coast GuardBy Kim RahnFive people have been detained on suspicions of violating the law on narcotics for allegedly growing cannabis at a daycare center and several wetland sites along the west coast, the Korea Coast Guard said Monday. Fourteen others were booked without physical detention for purchasing marijuana from them and using it. The five people allegedly grew 13 cannabis plants in the hallway, back yard and on the rooftop of a daycare center run by the mother of one of them from March to July last year. The Coast Guard did not specify the location of the centerThey apparently grew the cannabis plants at the center and transplanted others to some wetlands off Incheon. They are alleged to have sowed seeds there also.The son of the daycare center operator allegedly used the marijuana he grew and then drove his car for som

Aug 3, 2021By Kim Rahn

5 people arrested for growing cannabis at daycare center

Police launch crackdown on crimes by foreign nationals

Organized crime by foreigners on riseBy Lee Hyo-jin The National Police Agency (NPA) announced a crackdown Sunday on crimes committed by foreign nationals ― including possible cross-border criminal acts ― that will run from August through October. Targets of the crackdown will be criminal organizations engaged in loan sharking, drug trafficking and illegal gambling, as well as illegal foreign exchange transactions.In cases of assault, the NPA will actively cooperate with provincial police agencies to organize special investigation teams, if deemed necessary, in order to uncover the possible involvement of local or international criminal organizations.The law enforcement authority said it had recently found that a growing number of crimes by foreign nationals ― such as drug-related offenses and the operation of illegal businesses ― were associated with organized crime groups.From April to June this year, 391 foreign nationals were apprehended, among whom 133 were taken into custody, according to police data. About a third, or 34 percent, of the latter belonged to one of five criminal

Aug 1, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Police launch crackdown on crimes by foreign nationals

Man cleared of attempted house break-in charge because he 'did not turn doorknob'

The Seoul High Court / Korea Times fileBy Jung Da-min An appellate court overturned a lower court ruling that handed a one-year jail term to a man who had tried to enter a woman's house, holding a weapon and ringing the doorbell, because he “did not actively try to break into the house by turning the doorknob.” The Seoul High Court acquitted the man, 23, of the attempted breaking and entering charge on Thursday. According to the court, the man tried to break into the home of a woman living upstairs in his apartment building in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, at around 12:20 a.m. on Aug. 31 of last year. He rang the doorbell and knocked on the door, holding a weapon.He was detained at the scene as she called the police.The man, who was found to have schizophrenia, had told police that he had tried to get inside the woman's home and sexually assault her.A local court had found him guilty and sentenced him to a jail term, saying that his act had impaired the woman's safety and caused her considerable fear and mental pain. But the local court had found the man guilty of attempt

Jul 30, 2021

Man cleared of attempted house break-in charge because he 'did not turn doorknob'

Man stabs veterinarian after death of dog

gettyimagesbankBy Jun Ji-hyeA man in his 50s has been detained for stabbing a veterinarian and attacking an animal hospital director after his dog died while being neutered there.The Yangcheon Police Station in Seoul said on Wednesday that they are investigating the man on suspicion of inflicting injury.According to police, the man allegedly stabbed the veterinarian in the arm with surgical scissors at the animal hospital in Seoul's Yangcheon District at about 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, after becoming enraged at the death of his dog during surgery.The man left the hospital after stabbing the veterinarian, but came back 30 minutes later. This time, he was drunk and hit the hospital director in the head with a soju bottle. The victims underwent medical treatment for non-life threatening injuries to their arm and head, respectively.“We will investigate the details of the incident and decide about whether to seek an arrest warrant,” a police officer said.

Jul 29, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

Man stabs veterinarian after death of dog

Farm owner confesses to falsifying bear escape to cover up slaughter

Asian black bear /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiIt was found that only one Asian black bear escaped earlier this month from a breeding farm in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, contrary to the farm owner's initial report of two bears, according to the Yongin Dongbu Police, Wednesday. The owner confessed to lying about the number to hide his illegal slaughter of a bear.Earlier on July 6, the police received a report from the farm owner that two three-year-old male bears, each weighing 60 kilograms, disappeared at around 10:30 a.m. Workers of Yongin City and the Ministry of Environment immediately conducted search operations, and about two hours later found one bear about 1 kilometer from the breeding farm which they killed.Although no trace of the other bear was found, the farm owner insisted that two had gone missing. The city government and the ministry continued to search the area around the farm. Meanwhile, residents of the region refrained from going outside, fearing the possibility of an encounter with the runaway bear.But as the police obtained a search warrant for the farm on Tuesday and found

Jul 28, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

Farm owner confesses to falsifying bear escape to cover up slaughter

Smartphone users can soon detect sex offenders by shaking phone

gettyimagesbankSmartphone users will soon be able to shake their phones to detect registered sex offenders if they are wearing an electronic anklet and within a 20-meter radius, the Ministry of Justice said Monday.The new service, which was developed in concert with the Gyeonggi provincial government, will launch Wednesday for a trial run in 15 cities and counties in the province surrounding Seoul, the ministry said.The program has been designed so that anyone who installs the relevant app on their smartphone can find out if a sex offender is nearby by shaking their device three or more times. The sex offender has to be wearing an electronic anklet for the system to work.Shaking the phone will send the user's location to the justice ministry's electronic monitoring system. The ministry's location tracking control center will then check if a registered sex offender is within a 20-meter radius, and if confirmed, call the person to discourage any bad behavior.If necessary, probation officers will also be sent to the location after checking footage on security cameras.Justice Minister Pa

Jul 26, 2021

Smartphone users can soon detect sex offenders by shaking phone

COVID-19 patient from Uzbekistan captured after escaping from treatment facility

gettyimagesbankAn Uzbek national, infected with the new coronavirus, was captured shortly after he escaped from a residential treatment center in a South Chungcheong Province city earlier this week, sources said Thursday.The 24-year-old ran away from the Police Human Resources Development Institute in Asan, about 100 kilometers south of Seoul, at around 2 p.m. Tuesday.The institute is currently being used as a treatment facility for COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms. Upon learning of the escape, local health officials began a search and found the patient hiding at a residence in Cheonan, where his coworkers had been put under a mandatory self-quarantine.The patient was readmitted to the treatment center at 5:20 p.m., about three hours after his escape. According to the sources, the man was diagnosed with COVID-19 at an airport here Saturday upon entering the country on a work visa with a group of coworkers. Local residents called for measures to prevent similar cases from happening. (Yonhap)

Jul 22, 2021

Law & Crime