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Prosecutors raid Kumho Asiana's offices over unfair trade allegations

The headquarters of Kumho Asiana in Seoul / YonhapProsecutors raided offices of Kumho Asiana Group on Friday as part of a probe into an alleged unfair trade among affiliates, which resulted in huge gains for its owner family.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said its investigators seized accounting records and computer data from the headquarters of the conglomerate and the office of its affiliated Asiana Airlines Inc., both in Seoul.The nation's 20th-largest business group was fined 32 billion won (US$28 million) in August by the Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) for providing illegal support to Kumho Buslines Co., in which the group's head held a majority stake through other affiliates, including Asiana Airlines.The antitrust watchdog also filed complaints with the prosecution against former Chairman Park Sam-koo and two executives, as well as Kumho Industrial Co. and Asiana Airlines.In 2016, Asiana Airlines signed a 30-year contract with Gategroup Holding of Switzerland to provide in-flight meals on condition of Gategroup's investment in Kumho Buslines, according to the KFTC

Nov 6, 2020
Prosecutors raid Kumho Asiana's offices over unfair trade allegations

South Gyeongsang Province governor given 2-year prison term by appellate court in opinion rigging case

South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo speaks to reporters as he enters the Seoul High Court in southern Seoul, Friday. YonhapAn appeals court on Friday sentenced South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo, a close confidant of President Moon Jae-in, to two years in prison for conspiring to manipulate online opinions in favor of Moon ahead of the 2017 presidential election.The Seoul High Court found Kim guilty of participating in the online opinion rigging scheme, affirming the guilty verdict handed down to him by a district court in January last year.It, however, acquitted him of his previous conviction in connection with the secret offer of a consul general post in Sendai, Japan, for an associate of a blogger named Druking, saying that the alleged offense was not clear enough.Kim avoided imprisonment as the court did not revoke his bail, citing the acquittal. He has been out of bail since April last year.In January last year, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced him to two years in prison for colluding with Kim Dong-won, a blogger better known by his online pseu

Nov 6, 2020
South Gyeongsang Province governor given 2-year prison term by appellate court in opinion rigging case

Man sentenced to life in prison for brutally murdering two women

Choi Shin-jong / Korea Times fileA man has been sentenced to a life imprisonment for brutally murdering two women and abandoning their bodies, a local court said Friday. The Jeonju District Court delivered the life sentence to Choi Shin-jong, 31, convicting him of murder and robbery, as well as rape and abandonment of dead bodies, according to court officials.The court also issued an order, banning Choi from working at institutions for the underage and the disabled for 10 years. Under the order, Choi's identity and other personal information will also be open to the public for 10 years, while he will be wearing for 30 years an electric device that will allow law enforcement authorities to keep track of his location.Choi was indicted on charges of theft, murder and rape. He allegedly stole money and a piece of jewelry from one of his wife's female acquaintances who comes from Jeonju, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul, in April. After that, he allegedly raped and murdered the 34-year-old woman and discarded her body near a stream. The same month, court records showed he again murdered

Nov 6, 2020
Man sentenced to life in prison for brutally murdering two women

Census questions raise eyebrows over privacy

A census interviewer asks questions in this file photo from 2010. Yonhap By Kim Se-jeongPeople are raising concerns over questions in the ongoing 2020 Korea census, which many see as a violation of their privacy, as the government tries to gather as much personal information as possible. The census is conducted every five years and about 20 percent of the population is randomly selected for face-to-face interviews ― this year allows an online survey because of COVID-19 ― on their finances, employment and other topics.“I expected to be asked about basic things, but the questions ranged from my academic background to wealth and my social activities, which can possibly reveal my political views,” one person wrote in a mothers' group on Naver.Speaking with a local newspaper, a 29-year-old woman in Seoul said she had also been put off by the types of questions asked. “The interviewer asked if I am planning to get pregnant, if I own my own home, how many rooms I have in m

Nov 5, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Census questions raise eyebrows over privacy

Supreme Court confirms life imprisonment for woman in murder of ex-husband

Koh Yu-jeong / YonhapThe Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a sentence of life imprisonment for a 37-year-old woman who shocked the country last year by brutally killing her former husband, mutilating his body and throwing away the dismembered body parts.The nation's top court confirmed lower courts' life sentence for Koh Yu-jeong after finding her guilty on charges of murdering her ex-husband and abandoning his body."The defendant's argument that her former husband had attempted to rape her before the murder is not reliable," the court said."She had carefully planned her crime by searching for information on tools and methods of her crime and preparing Zolpidem (sleeping pills) in advance. It is fully acknowledged that she murdered the victim and disposed of his body in accordance with her prior planning."Koh was indicted for killing her ex-husband, surnamed Kang, at a pension on the southern resort island of Jeju in May last year, mutilating his body and disposing of the dismembered body parts in the sea and elsewhere.She received the life sentence from Jeju's district and appellate

Nov 5, 2020
Supreme Court confirms life imprisonment for woman in murder of ex-husband

More minors make unauthorized payments amid COVID-19

Hakuna live logo / Courtesy of Hakuna liveBy Lee Hyo-jin A 48-year-old man surnamed Kim living in Eunpyeong district, Seoul, was shocked to find that a lump sum of 130 million won ($114,000), the money he and his spouse had been saving for a new house, had vanished from their account in August.It turned out that the money had been spent on “Hakuna live,” a live streaming app, by his 11-year-old daughter. “Hakuna live” is a Japanese media platform through which anyone above the age of 14 can become what is known in Korea as a “broadcasting jockey,” someone who produces livestreamed video content and interacts with commenters. Viewers and fans are invited to support the streamers by sending limitless amounts of online currency called “diamonds.”Kim's daughter had sent 130 million won worth of diamonds in total to 35 streamers between Aug. 3 and 12, through the mobile payment system on her mother's smartphone. “My wife always leaves her phone unlocked since she is visually impaired and suffers from brain damage,” Kim said, exp

Nov 4, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin
More minors make unauthorized payments amid COVID-19

Woman who bit off attacker's tongue recommended for non-indictment

Gwangnam Police Station located in Suyeong District, Busan / Korea Times photo by Lee Han-hoBy Lee Hyo-jinThe police have recommended non-indictment for a woman who bit off part of a man's tongue in self-defense, according to Busan Nambu Police Station, Tuesday.While forwarding the case to the prosecution, the police announced that they did not find legal grounds to charge the woman, who bit off approximately three centimeters of the man's tongue when he tried to rape her. The man claimed that the woman in her 20s caused the man in his 30s severe injury through excessive self-defense.Under Korea's criminal law, it is permissible to use reasonable force to defend oneself or others, but overwhelming counteractions may not be recognized as self-defense. “Although her actions exceeded normal limits of self-defense, based on discussions with external experts and lawyers, we came to the conclusion that it can be justified according to Article 21 of the Criminal Law Act,” said an officer from the police station. The man made a report at a Gwangnam police station in Busan's Suyeo

Nov 3, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin
Woman who bit off attacker's tongue recommended for non-indictment

Notorious serial killer says he's surprised it took so long for police to solve the case

Lee Chun-jae / Korea Times fileLee Chun-jae, the suspect in one of the nation's most notorious serial killings, admitted in court Monday that he murdered 14 women and girls three decades earlier, including a 13-year-old girl in 1988, while attending the retrial of a man who was allegedly wrongly convicted and served 20 years in prison in the case.Lee, 57, was identified in September last year as a suspect in at least three of the 10 killings that took place in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, between 1986 and 1991. He later confessed to all the cases, including one in which another man, identified by his surname Yoon, was charged and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1989.Yoon, who was released on parole in 2009, filed for a retrial at a district court in Suwon, south of Seoul, in November last year.Lee attended the hearing as a witness and admitted that he committed 14 murders and about 30 sexual crimes."I am the real criminal," Lee said while wearing a blue-green prisoner's uniform. He is serving a life sentence for raping and killing his sister-in-law in 1994. "I sincerely apologize to M

Nov 3, 2020
Notorious serial killer says he's surprised it took so long for police to solve the case

Ex-President Lee Myung-bak jailed again following Supreme Court's ruling in corruption case

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak leaves his home in Nonhyun area in Seoul's Gangnam District, Monday, and heads to the Seoul Central District Court. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulFormer President Lee Myung-bak was put behind bars again on Monday afternoon, following the Supreme Court's decision last week to confirm a 17-year jail sentence handed down by an appeals court in a corruption case.The 78-year-old has been out of jail since February, as he appealed a court's decision to deny him bail.The former president, who governed the country from 2008-2013, was taken to Seoul Dongbu Detention Center in eastern Seoul, where he had served time for about a year after his arrest on March 22, 2018, in a 13.07-square-meter single cell.His term will be 16 years, as he already served about one year behind bars.From early Monday, around 100 reporters, supporters and protestors gathered in front of Lee's house in southern Seoul to get a glimpse of the former president before he was taken away for incarceration possibly for the rest of his life. Around 170 police officers were disp

Nov 2, 2020
Ex-President Lee Myung-bak jailed again following Supreme Court's ruling in corruption case

'Karaoke in prison for therapy, not for entertainment'

An inmate uses a karaoke machine installed in Jeonju Prison located in North Jeolla Province, Wednesday. / Yonhap By Lee Hyo-jinIn response to rising public criticism on karaoke and game machines being installed in prisons for inmates, a correctional facility in Jeonju said Friday that they were used for therapy not entertainment. On Wednesday, the Jeonju Correctional Institution in North Jeolla Province announced that it had installed three karaoke machines and two “whack a mole” game machines in the prison.The correctional facility explained that they will help inmates to relieve stress as other rehabilitation programs such as religious activities had been suspended due to the prolonged COVD-19 pandemic. The prisoners are allowed to use the karaoke machine free of charge if they sign up in advance. Those sentenced to death or who are suffering from a psychiatric problem will be given more opportunity to use them. The machines cost approximately 50 million won ($44

Oct 30, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin
'Karaoke in prison for therapy, not for entertainment'
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