my timesThe Korea Times
South Korea

Law & Crime

Human rights commission to investigate harassment allegations against ex-mayor

National Human Rights Commission of Korea Chairwoman Choi Young-ae speaks during a standing committee meeting held at the commission's office in central Seoul, Thursday. The commission has decided to begin an investigation into sexual harassment allegations raised against the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeThe National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said Thursday that it will create an investigation team to look into allegations that the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon sexually harassed his secretary over four years.The state-run human rights watchdog noted its investigation will also encompass an accusation that the Seoul Metropolitan Government turned a blind eye to the victim despite her repeated complaints. The decision was made unanimously during a standing committee meeting presided over by NHRCK Chairwoman Choi Young-ae. “We have decided to begin an investigation as requested by the victim into sexual misconduct allegations raised against the former mayor,” an NHRCK official said. Park, a former civic activist, human rights lawyer and

Jul 30, 2020
Human rights commission to investigate harassment allegations against ex-mayor

Calls growing to punish 'abusive' FCA Korea CEO

Pablo Rosso, CEO of FCA Korea has been suspended while harassment allegations against him are investigated, July 24. / YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Pablo Rosso, head of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Korea, has been suspended from duty for allegedly physically and verbally abusing employees, according to the company Tuesday. He has also been accused of sexually harassing female workers.The company's headquarters announced his suspension on July 24 after a petition was posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website two days earlier, accusing Rosso of engaging in abusive behavior toward staff. The petition had been deleted shortly after but was reposted on Monday with names of the firm and CEO hidden.The petitioner described Rosso's alleged physical and verbal abuse.“He urges male employees to say which female employee they like the most, and he repeatedly states with whom he wants sexual relations among the female staff members. He constantly enacts physical abuse by slapping employees in the face and hitting their heads. We are also suffering from verbal abuse and insults,” the petition re

Jul 28, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin
Calls growing to punish 'abusive' FCA Korea CEO

14,000 estimated to have died from humidifier sanitizer scandal: study

Some 14,000 people were estimated to have died from a humidifier sanitizer scandal that broke out in 2011, according to a recent study. Korea Times fileSome 14,000 people were estimated to have died from a deadly humidifier sanitizer scandal that broke out in 2011, a figure that is roughly 10 times bigger than previously reported, a study showed Monday.The number of adults who died after being diagnosed as patients of relevant diseases, such as asthma and interstitial lung disease, were estimated at ranging between 13,000 and 16,000, according to the first study that looked into deaths caused by the health scandal.The study was based on a survey of 15,472 adults aged between 19 and 69, commissioned by the Special Commission on Social Disaster Investigation. It had a margin of error of 1.414 percentage points and a 95 percent confidence level.The estimate is roughly 10 times bigger than 1,553 ― the number of people who have been registered as victims of the scandal, involving Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, the local unit of British hygiene product maker Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RB).The fa

Jul 27, 2020
14,000 estimated to have died from humidifier sanitizer scandal: study

5 South Koreans kidnapped in waters off Benin released

Members of U.S. Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Detachment 406 and a 'visit, board, search and seizure team' embarked aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56) search a skiff suspected of participating in recent pirate activity. PinterestFive South Korean nationals who were kidnapped by an unidentified armed group in waters off the western African country of Benin have been released, the foreign ministry said Saturday.The South Koreans were released from southern Nigeria, Friday (local time), about a month after being abducted in waters 111 kilometers south of Cotonou Port in Benin, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.On June 24, the armed group attacked the 994-ton fishing vessel, the Ghanaian-flagged Panofi Frontier, and kidnapped six of the 30-man crew.The ministry said the released South Koreans were in good health and are currently in a safe location prepared by its embassy in Nigeria.The other abductee, a Ghanaian national, was also safely moved to the Ghanaian Embassy in the country.The South Koreans will be transported to Ghana if they desire, as

Jul 25, 2020
5 South Koreans kidnapped in waters off Benin released

Second son of Sewol ferry owner seized in NY

Yoo Hyuk-kee /Yonhap By Bahk Eun-jiYoo Hyuk-kee, the second son of Semo Group's late former chairman Yoo Byung-eun, was arrested on an extradition warrant at his home in the United States, the New York Times reported Friday.Korean prosecutors had requested the warrant for Yoo who has been charged with embezzlement here. A U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman said the arrest came in response to the extradition request. Yoo was the only child among the senior Yoo Byung-eun's two sons and two daughters whose whereabouts the prosecution here had failed to ascertain. He is considered to be one of the key people in the scandal surrounding the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014 that killed more than 300 people, most of whom were high school students. Yoo Hyuk-kee was also reportedly the de facto heir to the Semo Group and its subsidiaries under the late Chairman Yoo, who was the controlling shareholder of Chonghajin Marine, the “paper” operator of the Sewol. Yoo and other f

Jul 24, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Second son of Sewol ferry owner seized in NY

Ex-mayor's accuser rejects investigation by city gov't

Kim Jae-ryun, a lawyer representing a government employee who was allegedly harassed by former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon when she was his secretary, speaks during a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday./ Yonhap By Kim Se-jeongA lawyer representing a former secretary of the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who filed a sexual harassment complaint against him with police, rejected taking part in the Seoul Metropolitan Government's planned investigation into the allegations, Wednesday, instead asking the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) to look into the case.“It is inappropriate for the city to investigate the case. Instead it should be held accountable for its failures,” Kim Jae-ryun said at a press conference in Seoul, the second press such following one July 13. “The victim reached out to almost 20 officials in the government for help over more than four years. But, the system within the administration made her stay silent,” added Lee Mi-kyoung, direc

Jul 22, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Ex-mayor's accuser rejects investigation by city gov't

Triathlon coach arrested for alleged assault

Kim Gyu-bong, head coach of Gyeongju City Hall's semi-pro triathlon club, is taken out of a local court in the southern city of Daegu, Tuesday. / YonhapA triathlon coach was arrested Tuesday for allegedly assaulting athletes, including Choi Suk-hyeon, who took her own life last month after calling for him and other abusers to be punished. The Daegu District Court issued the arrest warrant for Kim Gyu-bong, head coach of Gyeongju City Hall's semi-pro club, citing concerns that he may flee or destroy evidence.The 42-year-old coach, along with a team therapist and two team members, is suspected of verbally and physically abusing athletes.The coach is also alleged to have illegally taken money from team members when they went overseas for training. Choi filed complaints against them with local police and related sporting entities. But her pleas for help had gone unanswered, and it was only after her passing that legal and sports authorities began looking into those allegations more seriously.The therapist, named Ahn Joo-hyeon, was also arrested last week, with the two teammates under pro

Jul 21, 2020
Triathlon coach arrested for alleged assault

Ex-reporter arrested in blackmail case involving key aide to chief prosecutor

Former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae leaves the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, Friday, after the court review on whether to issue an arrest warrant for him over blackmail allegations. YonhapA former TV reporter was arrested Friday in an alleged blackmail case involving a key aide to the prosecutor general.The Seoul Central District Court accepted the prosecution's request to issue a warrant for the arrest of Lee Dong-jae, a fired reporter of cable network Channel A, on attempted extortion charges.Lee is suspected of using his close ties with ranking prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, a close associate of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, to blackmail a jailed financier into leaking allegedly corrupt acts by a pro-government commentator.The inmate claimed that the former reporter pressed him by sharing the voice recording of a conversation between the reporter and the prosecutor Han. The prosecution is said to be using the recording made on Feb. 13 as key evidence to prove the collusion allegation.The reporter denied the accusation.Earlier this month, the case served as a f

Jul 17, 2020
Ex-reporter arrested in blackmail case involving key aide to chief prosecutor

'Female secretary's main role was to make mayor happy'

Kim Jae-ryun, center, the lawyer for the former secretary of the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon who accused him of sexual harassment, speaks during a press conference in Seoul, Monday.By Jun Ji-hyeA secretary who accused Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon of sexual harassment has claimed she made repeated requests to be transferred to another department, but the late mayor denied her requests and continued his harassing behavior, according to civic groups representing the woman.The victim was allegedly forced to do things unrelated to work for years, such as taking the mayor's blood pressure. Then, the mayor made inappropriate remarks such as “My blood pressure is high because you took it,” according to the Korea Women's Hot Line and Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center that raised further sexual harassment allegations against the former mayor on the behalf of the victim, Thursday.Park, a former civic activist, human rights lawyer and three-term Seoul mayor, was found dead on Mount Bugak in Seoul at 12:01 a.m. on July 10, after the former secretary went to police to file a sexual h

Jul 17, 2020
'Female secretary's main role was to make mayor happy'

Shincheonji founder questioned for allegedly disrupting anti-virus efforts

Lee Man-hee, the founder of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, speaks during a press conference held on March 3 in Gyeonggi Province./ Korea Times fileState prosecutors questioned the founder of a minor religious sect Friday over alleged obstruction of the government's efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.Lee Man-hee, the leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, is being questioned at the Suwon District Prosecutors Office in Suwon, south of Seoul, on charges of breaking the country's infectious disease control and prevention laws.Lee, 89, is suspected of submitting false documents to health authorities on the number of participants at the sect's gatherings and where the gatherings took place. He is also suspected of destroying evidence to prepare for a possible probe.A Shincheonji official confirmed that Lee is attending the questioning, adding that this was the first questioning by prosecutors.The fringe religious sect was at the center of the early phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea in February-March. Some 4,000 followers, most of whom were from its branch in

Jul 17, 2020
Shincheonji founder questioned for allegedly disrupting anti-virus efforts
previous page
362363364365366
next page

Most Read in South Korea