South Korea - The Korea Times

Court suspends revocation of Medytox's license

Meditoxin botulinum toxin products developed by Medytox / Courtesy of MedytoxBy Jun Ji-hyeA district court here has ordered the suspension of a government decision to revoke Medytox's license to sell its botulinum toxin products until July 14, company officials said Wednesday. On June 18, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that the permit for the company's 50-unit, 100-unit and 150-unit Meditoxin products was being revoked and the products would be permanently removed from domestic shelves, starting June 25. The court's order came after the botulinum toxin maker applied for a provisional injunction and filed a lawsuit later that day, asking Daejeon District Court to reverse the decision of the drug safety watchdog.The order means the court needs time to determine whether to accept the firm's request.A lawyer for the company said this showed there was room for argument about whether the ministry made the right decision.The ministry earlier said the pharmaceutical company was found to have used an unapproved ingredient to produce the drug and fabricated efficacy test result

Jun 24, 2020

Court suspends revocation of Medytox's license

Daegu files damage suit against Shincheonji for mass coronavirus infections

A man wearing a mask to prevent contracting the coronavirus walks past a branch of the Shincheonji in Daegu, Korea, Feb. 21, 2020. ReutersDaegu, once the epicenter of South Korea's new coronavirus outbreak, filed a civil damage suit against a fringe religious sect for allegedly causing mass infections by hindering the city's quarantine efforts, the city said Tuesday.The city filed the suit with the Daegu District Court on Thursday against the Shincheonji Church of Jesus and its chairman, Lee Man-hee. It demanded Shincheonji provide financial compensation of 100 billion won (US$82.3 million), more than two-thirds of the city's total virus-related spending of 146 billion won. The city said it was planning to increase the amount as it secures more evidence of financial damage down the road.The city believed mass infections among the religion's practitioners led to a spike in the city's COVID-19 caseload, putting huge financial strain on the city and stretching health care facilities there. The city spent a huge sum of money on quarantine and health-related work to stop the rapid spread

Jun 23, 2020

Daegu files damage suit against Shincheonji for mass coronavirus infections

Man arrested for assaulting bus driver demanding face mask use

The police in the city's northeastern ward of Gwangjin said they had arrested the man in his 50s after the Seoul Eastern District Court issued a warrant sought by the police on Saturday.A man was arrested for physically assaulting a bus driver who demanded the man wear a face mask to ride the bus, police said Monday, in the first arrest case for a violation of mandatory mask use against COVID-19.The police in the city's northeastern ward of Gwangjin said they had arrested the man in his 50s after the Seoul Eastern District Court issued a warrant sought by the police on Saturday.According to police, the man attacked and verbally insulted the bus driver and also attacked a fellow bus rider who tried to stop him on Thursday.It marked the first case in which a violator of a mask use policy for public transportation was arrested. The policy was introduced last month to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.There have been a handful of similar cases.On Tuesday, a man was taken into police custody for swearing and making a fuss on a bus after the driver asked him to wear a mask.

Jun 22, 2020

Man arrested for assaulting bus driver demanding face mask use

'Seoul could re-impose strict social distancing'

One in 10 youths have experienced unwanted sexual inducement online: poll

One out of 10 teenagers in South Korea has experienced a form of sexual inducement online, such as being asked to provide a video of their body, over the past three years, a poll showed Saturday, indicating many youths are vulnerable to sexual exploitation.In the survey of 6,423 middle and high school students nationwide, conducted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family between May and November last year, 11.1 percent said they had experienced sexual inducement against their will in cyberspace from August 2016 to July last year.As for unwanted inducements requested online, 9.3 percent cited conversation about sexual matters, followed by conversation about sexual information (3.3 percent), photos and videos of their body (2.4 percent) and a mix of video chatting and sexual acts (1.6 percent), the poll found.It also found 2.7 percent of the polled teenagers were asked to meet with offenders offline or actually had a face-to-face meeting.The largest percentage of the respondents, at 28.1 percent, said they experienced such sexual exploitation through instant messaging services, s

Jun 20, 2020

Pandemic brings changes to Korea's courts

Seoul District Court judge Kim Young-ki, right, listens to a plaintiff's lawyer, visible on the screen, during a video hearing on Wednesday in Seoul. YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong At 11:20 a.m. on Wednesday, courtroom 477 of the Seoul Central District Court was unusually empty.Judge Kim Young-ki entered the room, sat down, took off his mask and started to talk to the computer screen in front of him.“Legal representative for the plaintiff, can you hear me okay?” he asked. “Yes, I can,” the lawyer on the computer screen answered. Her face was projected on a big white screen on the wall to the judge's right. The judge also asked the same question to the defendant's side before hearing their claims. The hearing was to decide whether a hot dog outlet located at a tourist spot on Geoje Island violated the unfair competition prevention law by selling the same food that was being sold in another outlet close by. The owner of the original restaurant who brought up the case claimed the second restaurant also stole its trademark. The plaintiff's lawyer took part in the hearing f

Jun 17, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

Pandemic brings changes to Korea's courts

Boy faces arrest for taking pants off in online class

A high school student exposed himself during an online class session. gettyimagebanksBy Park Han-sol, Park Si-soo A high school student took his pants off and revealed his “private parts” during an online class that he had entered using a stolen ID. Police caught him recently and an investigation is under way. The incident happened on April 22, according to Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency. The student, 18, logged into a two-way online class of a high school using an ID he had secured on a social media platform. Then he took his pants off and left his penis exposed for “dozens of seconds.” A teacher hosting the class hurriedly shut the screen and called police. Police confirmed the student did not attend the school and had secured the ID on social media.Police are considering seeking an arrest warrant.

Jun 16, 2020By Park Han-sol

Boy faces arrest for taking pants off in online class

Woman found dead in waters off Jeju

Jeju Coast Guard Station. / Korea Times fileBy Park Han-sol, Park Si-soo A woman was found dead in waters off Jeju Island, Monday. Police are trying to identify the woman, whose body was retrieved without any traces of her identity such as an ID card. Police are also investigating the cause of death. According to police, the body ― a woman estimated to be in her 30s ― was found off Iho Tewoo Beach at around 11:53 a.m. She was wearing a black T-shirt and gray shorts without a life jacket.“We couldn't find any belongings that indicate her identity, so we are looking for other things with which we would be able to identify the body,” a Jeju Coast Guard official said.

Jun 15, 2020By Park Han-sol

'Icheon warehouse fire resulted from disregard for safety rules'

Police officials, fire authorities and the National Forensic Service officials inspect the scene of a fire at a warehouse construction site in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, May 6. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeA fire at a warehouse construction site in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, in April was caused by sparks from welding equipment that ignited nearby flammable materials, police said Monday, noting that welding activities there were carried out without proper safety measures.The fire broke out at the structure, which had four stories and two additional underground levels, on April 29, killing 38 workers and injuring 10 others.Police unveiled the findings during their announcement of the interim results of the investigation.Police said they have reached a tentative conclusion that the fire started on the second basement level after sparks from welding activities shot up and ignited the urethane foam that covered the ceiling. There was a high number of casualties because those in charge of the construction project put in more workers than initially planned in a bid to shorten the construction perio

Jun 15, 2020

'Icheon warehouse fire resulted from disregard for safety rules'

Man gets eight-year jail term for revenge attack on ex-girlfriend

“The accused admitted during police questioning he kept wielding the knife at her when the woman fell to the ground.” gettyimagesbankBy Park Han-sol, Park Si-soo A man in his 60s has been jailed for eight years for the attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend, who had made a legal issue of his arbitrary filming of their sexual acts. Judge Oh Sang-yong of Seoul Southern District Court made the ruling on Monday. According to court documents, the man, identified only by his surname Kim, was on trial in December for recording his sexual acts with the victim without her consent three months earlier. The man allegedly went to the estranged girlfriend's home armed with a knife and stabbed her and her son, who came out after hearing her scream. The two suffered non-life threatening injuries and police, called by neighbors, caught the man. The accused claimed the attack was “accidental,” denying the prosecution's claim that his possession of a knife meant he was planning to kill her. But Judge Oh said the accused “admitted during police questioning he kept wiel

Jun 15, 2020By Park Han-sol

Man gets eight-year jail term for revenge attack on ex-girlfriend

Police arrest man for brutally abusing 9-year-old stepdaughter

The foster father of a nine-year-old girl is escorted to Changnyeong Police Station in Changneyong County, South Gyeongsang Province, for questioning on charges of abusing the child, June 13. YonhapPolice kept a man charged of brutally abusing his nine-year-old stepdaughter in custody Saturday, two weeks after the girl escaped from her home seeking help. The 35-year-old suspect was to appear in court for an extension of detention warrant hearing, but this was delayed after he attempted to harm himself to protest a decision to place his other children in temporary custodyThe suspect declined to answer questions asked from reporters.The police plan to question the victim's 27-year-old mother, who has been hospitalized, in the near future.On May 29, a barefooted 9-year-old girl was found wandering on a roadside by a neighbor in the southeastern city of Changnyeong.It was later revealed that the girl ran away from home after being brutally abused by her mother and stepfather, who allegedly even burnt her feet with heated metal chopsticks.The victim also testified to the child protection

Jun 13, 2020

Law & Crime

Law & Crime

Court suspends revocation of Medytox's license

Daegu files damage suit against Shincheonji for mass coronavirus infections

Man arrested for assaulting bus driver demanding face mask use

One in 10 youths have experienced unwanted sexual inducement online: poll

Pandemic brings changes to Korea's courts

Boy faces arrest for taking pants off in online class

Woman found dead in waters off Jeju

'Icheon warehouse fire resulted from disregard for safety rules'

Man gets eight-year jail term for revenge attack on ex-girlfriend

Police arrest man for brutally abusing 9-year-old stepdaughter

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