South Korea - The Korea Times

SoCar in hot seat for refusing to give sex offender's information to police

A sign indicates a designated parking space for vehicles owned by SoCar, a car-sharing service provider. Korea Times fileBy Bahk Eun-jiSoCar, a car-sharing app operator, is facing public backlash over its initial refusal to provide the police with the information of a user who was suspected of kidnapping an elementary schoolgirl, citing the “law on personal information protection.”In response, the girl's mother filed an online petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website, calling for a revision of the law.According to the petition and media reports, Monday, the man in his 30s, who rented a car from SoCar on Feb. 6, picked up the 13-year-old girl from Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, after they met through an online chat room.The man allegedly took her to his house in Gyeonggi Province and raped her. He released the girl the next day and she returned home.The mother said she reported the girl missing to the police at 11:20 a.m. on the day she was taken. Police were able to connect the abduction to the driver of the rental car. When the police requested SoCar to provide GPS inf

Feb 15, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

SoCar in hot seat for refusing to give sex offender's information to police

Six foreign nationals apprehended for alleged assault

A screen capture from video footage showing six foreign nationals attacking two other foreigners in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Feb. 8, was widely shared on the internet. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jinSix foreign nationals have been apprehended for allegedly attacking two other foreigners in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, according to police, Sunday.Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency announced that the six suspects from Uzbekistan and Russia are currently being held for alleged assault against two foreign residents, one from Russia and the other from Ukraine. The crime took place at around 4:50 p.m., Feb. 8, in a two-lane road in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The suspects stopped the victim's car on the road and began to damage the vehicle with a blunt weapon, and pulled the driver and passenger out of the automobile. They beat and kicked the victims in the head and stomach multiple times before fleeing the scene. The victims were left with several injuries, including fractured bones and bruises. But none of them were critically injured, according to police. The brutal attack was filmed thr

Feb 15, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Six foreign nationals apprehended for alleged assault

3-year-old found dead in empty house, mom arrested for murder

gettyimagesbankBy Jun Ji-hyePolice in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, are investigating the death of a three-year-old girl who is believed to have died in an empty house after her mother moved out without her.The death of the child was reported to police on Feb. 10 after her body was discovered by her maternal grandmother. The grandmother visited the house after she received a phone call from the building's owner who told her that the contract had run out. By the time the girl's body was discovered, it had already begun to decompose, police said, noting that the father of the girl had left home long ago, and the mother moved out six months before the girl was found. The mother has remarried and has a child with her current husband. On Feb. 11, the police requested a warrant to arrest the mother on suspicion of murder, which the court granted, citing concerns that she was a flight risk.During the police investigation, the mother reportedly testified that she had been aware that her three-year-old daughter was left in the empty house.“We are investigating various possibilities ―

Feb 14, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

3-year-old found dead in empty house, mom arrested for murder

Gov't seeking to allow foreigners subject to deportation to extend stay in return for 'donation'

The government is pushing for a program in which foreign nationals subject to deportation due to minor offenses could extend their stay legally in return for a “donation,” the justice ministry said Saturday.According to a research paper on the subject commissioned by the Ministry of Justice, convicted foreign nationals who are given even minor punishments, such as a fine or suspended sentence, could face deportation under the current Immigration Act. The government is working to add to the act a new clause about "a financial contribution," as a way to give a second chance to those who are "at low risk of repeating their crimes, have lived a stable life here and are considered to be beneficial to the interests of the Republic of Korea."The donation should be up to 10 million won (US$9,000), the paper suggested, and money raised should be used for a fund to primarily maintain law and order, and to help immigrants and foreign visitors integrate into society. The ministry said it has been reviewing the revision of the current law and would consult the paper to determine the

Feb 13, 2021

Gov't seeking to allow foreigners subject to deportation to extend stay in return for 'donation'

Main opposition to seek prosecution probe against chief justice

Chief Supreme Court Justice Kim Meong-su arrives at the Supreme Court in Seoul's Seocho District on Feb. 9. YonhapThe main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Friday stepped up its pressure on the chief justice to step down for his alleged role in the parliamentary impeachment of a judge, threatening to file a criminal complaint against him if he refuses to resign."(The PPP) has a stance that it will lodge a complaint against Chief Supreme Court Justice Kim Meong-su with the prosecution if he does not step down," Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, who heads the party's campaign against the chief justice, told Yonhap News Agency. The complaint, in that case, will be filed early next week, he added. Kim has been under growing pressure to step down since Feb. 4 when he was found to have lied about refusing, for a political reason, to accept the judge's offer to resign. He apologized for the untrue denial but has been keeping silent on the pressure to step down.PPP lawmakers have also raised suspicions that Kim instructed former and sitting judges to lobby opposition lawmakers they personally know so

Feb 12, 2021

Main opposition to seek prosecution probe against chief justice

Officials at Korean embassy in Beijing accused of assaulting junior staffer

The entrance to the Korean embassy in Beijing. Two Korean officials there allegedly assaulted a junior staffer, who is also Korean, while drinking at a bar recently, according to the Federation of Korean Trade Unions. Korea Times fileBy Kim RahnTwo officials at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing have been accused of assaulting a junior staff member, according to a union representing Korean embassy workers around the world, Tuesday.It was the latest case of misconduct taking place at a Korean diplomatic mission overseas, following a series of sexual harassment, violence and corruption allegations against diplomats and other dispatched government officials.According to the union, a unit of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, two officials at the embassy allegedly assaulted the staffer at a bar in Beijing at around 11 p.m., Feb. 4. One of the officials worked for the National Assembly and the other was a member of the National Intelligence Service (NIS). The staffer who was assaulted is in charge of administrative work such as visa issuance and translation. All of them are South Kor

Feb 10, 2021By Kim Rahn

Officials at Korean embassy in Beijing accused of assaulting junior staffer

Parents file complaint against baby bathtub maker over harmful chemical

A lawyers representing about 1,000 infants and their parents speaks to reporters before filing a complaint against two baby bathtub makers with police at Dongjak Police Station in Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapAbout 3,000 consumers on Tuesday filed a complaint against two companies that produced and distributed baby bathtubs found to have an excessive level of a harmful chemical substance.A lawyer representing about 1,000 infants and their parents reported Daehyun Chemistry Industry Co. and its distributor to Dongjak Police Station in southeastern Seoul on charges of violating the Special Act on the Safety of Children's Products.In December, the state-run Korean Agency for Technology and Standards announced that the company's baby bathtub contains 612.5 times the amount of phthalate plasticizer allowed under safety standards.The substance is used to make plastics soft and flexible. It is an endocrine-disrupting chemical, and experts said high exposure to it could lead to liver damage and reproductive dysfunction.The bathtub was highly popular, selling for a mere 5,000 won (US$4.48) at Daiso,

Feb 10, 2021

Parents file complaint against baby bathtub maker over harmful chemical

Police officers caught violating COVID-19 distancing rule

Six police officers in Sejong have been caught binge drinking while the city and the rest of the country enforced bans on public gatherings of five or more people to prevent the spread of COVID-19. GettyimagesbankBy Ko Dong-hwanA group of police officers has been caught violating the government's COVID-19 distancing rule by holding an alcohol-fueled party at an apartment complex.According to the North Chungcheong Provincial Police Agency Monday, the police officers violated the rule banning gatherings of five or more people amid the pandemic. They were discovered after police received a complaint over “noise from the upper floor” at Jochiwon Village in Sejong, Feb. 1.Whether the officers were drinking on duty has not been confirmed. They said they were celebrating the promotions of some of their colleagues, according to the local Chosun Ilbo daily.The province has been enforcing the ban since Dec. 24, 2020. Violators must pay a fine of 100,000 won ($90). According to telecom service provider KT, the gathering ban has helped reduce the number of COVID-19 infection cases. T

Feb 9, 2021By Ko Dong-hwan

Police officers caught violating COVID-19 distancing rule

Parents call for heavy punishment of daycare center staff for abusing disabled children

A captured image from a surveillance camera shows staff at a public daycare center in Incheon grilling meat to eat while unattended children watch a video on a laptop during operating hours. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiParents are calling for heavy punishment for staff at a public daycare center in Incheon, who were booked on charges of abusing children with disabilities.Members of the Incheon Disabled Peoples' Association, the Incheon Differently Abled Federation, the Korean Parents' Network for People with Disabilities and the parents of the children of the daycare center held a press conference in front of the Incheon Seo District Office building, Monday. They called for strong punitive actions and measures to prevent the recurrence of such cases.It was reported earlier that six staff of the daycare center abused 10 children, aged one to six who had disabilities, between November and December last year ― beating them, pulling a girl's hair and dragging her, and leaving them unattended.“Shown in the surveillance camera footage, the acts of abuse by the teachers were unimaginably brut

Feb 9, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

Parents call for heavy punishment of daycare center staff for abusing disabled children

Man, woman detained for inflicting fatal abuse on live-in niece

Ex-minister goes to jail

Former Environment Minister Kim Eun-kyung arrives at the Seoul Central District Court, Tuesday, to attend a sentencing hearing over allegations that she abused her authority while in office by forcing chiefs of ministry-affiliated organizations, appointed by the former Park Geun-hye administration, to resign. She was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison and was taken into custody at the courtroom. / Yonhap

Feb 9, 2021By Kang Seung-woo

Law & Crime