my timesThe Korea Times
South KoreaLaw & Crime

Law & Crime

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Police raid National Assembly, other offices in probe into 2024 knife attack on Lee

Police raided the National Assembly, the intelligence agency and other offices Thursday as part of an investigation connected to a knife attack on President Lee Jae Myung in 2024 when he was the opposition leader. A police investigation team searched the parliamentary intelligence committee, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the National Counter Terrorism Center to secure evidence. The investigation is related to the knife attack Lee sustained during a visit to the southeastern city of Busan on Jan. 2, 2024, while he was leader of the Democratic Party. Lee sustained a stab wound to the neck from a 67-year-old man who approached him posing as a supporter, leaving him hospitalized and requiring surgery. Last month, the government designated the attack as a terrorism case during a meeting of the National Counterterrorism Committee and subsequently launched a task force to revisit the stabbing. On Thursday, three investigators were sent to the National Assembly to seize what sources described as classified minutes of the intelligence committee concerning the knife attacker but left

Feb 12, 2026By Yonhap
Police raid National Assembly, other offices in probe into 2024 knife attack on Lee

Arrest motion of ex-DPK lawmaker under bribery investigation reported to parliament

The National Assembly on Thursday received a report on a motion seeking the approval to arrest Rep. Kang Sun-woo, who is under investigation on bribery allegations related to a nomination by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). Kang, now an independent lawmaker who formerly belonged to the DPK, is accused of receiving 100 million won ($68,300) in exchange for supporting the nomination of former Seoul city councilor Kim Kyung as a DPK candidate ahead of the 2022 local elections. Kang was ousted from the party after the allegations surfaced last month. Prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for Kang on Monday, and the request was forwarded to the National Assembly by the Justice Ministry earlier in the day, according to a senior Assembly official. By law, sitting lawmakers are immune from arrest while parliament is in session and can only be put under arrest with consent from the National Assembly. If the motion is approved by a majority vote, a court will proceed with a hearing to determine whether to issue a warrant to formally arrest Kang. Under the law, the National Assembly speake

Feb 12, 2026By Yonhap
Arrest motion of ex-DPK lawmaker under bribery investigation reported to parliament

Court orders HYBE to pay $17.7 mil. to ex-CEO of Ador

A court on Thursday dismissed K-pop powerhouse Hybe's lawsuit seeking to confirm the termination of its shareholders' agreement with Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of a Hybe subsidiary named ADOR. The Seoul Central District Court also ruled that Hybe has to pay 25.5 billion won ($17.7 million) worth of put options to Min because of the validity of the shareholders' agreement. Hybe was also ordered by the court to pay 1.7 billion won and 1.4 billion won, respectively, to two former ADOR executives for the same reasons. Hybe has argued that the termination of the shareholders' contract is valid because Min violated it by seeking to end girl group NewJeans' agency contract with ADOR and pushing for an initial public offering for ADOR. The court ruled that Min probably sought ways to make ADOR independent from Hybe but the circumstances cannot be considered a serious breach of the shareholders' agreement. Min expressed "deep respect" for the decision and said she would "humbly accept" it. "I will focus all my capabilities on building a stable management environment, maximizing the value of the ar

Feb 12, 2026By Yonhap
Court orders HYBE to pay $17.7 mil. to ex-CEO of Ador

Top court orders late President Chun's family to pay damages over memoir's distortions about 1980 pro-democracy movement

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that late President Chun Doo-hwan's family must pay damages for factual distortions in his memoir about the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju and for defaming a late witness who testified about the military's bloody crackdown of the movement. The top court ruled against the late dictator and his son, Chun Jae-guk, over the memoir published in 2017, saying that it contains false information denying martial law troops fired upon civilians aboard a helicopter during the movement that began on May 18, 1980. The court confirmed a lower ruling, ordering Chun's wife, Lee Soon-ja, and his son to pay 60 million won ($41,600) in total to four groups dedicated to remembering the uprising and 10 million won to a nephew of the late priest Cho Pius, who testified to witnessing the helicopter shooting. It also banned the memoir from being published or distributed unless the distorted expressions are deleted. "Certain expressions in the memoir are false information stated by Chun Doo-hwan, and they have undermined societal assessments of the May 18 organizations,

Feb 12, 2026By Yonhap
Top court orders late President Chun's family to pay damages over memoir's distortions about 1980 pro-democracy movement

Court to rule on ex-interior minister's insurrection trial

A court is set to deliver its verdict Thursday in the trial of former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, who is accused of playing a key role in an insurrection in connection with former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed bid to impose martial law in 2024. Lee will be the second member of Yoon's Cabinet to be sentenced over the Dec. 3, 2024, emergency order after former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo last month received a 23-year prison term for his involvement in the short-lived attempt. The Seoul Central District Court is scheduled to hold the sentencing hearing at 2 p.m., which will be broadcast live. Special counsel Cho Eun-suk has demanded a 15-year prison term for Lee after indicting him on charges of abetting Yoon's martial law declaration and ordering the police and fire agencies to cut off power and water to media outlets critical of the then administration. He has also been charged with perjury for denying during Yoon's impeachment trial last year that he received such instructions from the then president or conveyed them to the agencies. During his trial, Lee denied taking part in plan

Feb 12, 2026By Yonhap
Court to rule on ex-interior minister's insurrection trial

Special counsel appeals acquittal of ex-first lady's associate in embezzlement case

A special counsel team said Wednesday it appealed against a court's recent acquittal of former first lady Kim Keon Hee's associate over embezzlement charges. The appeal from special counsel Min Joong-ki's team came after the Seoul Central District Court on Monday found the associate, named Kim Ye-seong, not guilty of embezzling billions of won from his company and dismissed other charges brought against him. Min's team had sought an eight-year prison term for the associate after indicting him last August on charges of embezzling 2.43 billion won ($1.67 million) from IMS Mobility, a car rental company he helped establish. But the court ruled that the associate's charges cannot be presumed to be an act of embezzlement. It also dismissed special prosecutors' indictment of Kim on numerous corruption charges involving his family, saying they are not subject to investigation by the special counsel. Min's team also said it filed an appeal against the same Seoul court's acquittal of a former prosecutor, named Kim Sang-min, of bribery charges related to the former first lady. The former prosecutor

Feb 11, 2026By Yonhap
Special counsel appeals acquittal of ex-first lady's associate in embezzlement case

Court allows live broadcast of ex-President Yoon's sentencing trial

A court on Wednesday allowed live broadcast of next week's sentencing trial for former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed imposition of martial law. The Seoul Central District Court said it accepted broadcasters' request to air the verdict for Yoon, which will be delivered at a hearing at 3 p.m. on Feb. 19. Accordingly, broadcasters will transmit live trial footage filmed with the court's own equipment, though transmission delays may occur due to technical circumstances. Yoon was indicted in January 2025 on charges of leading an insurrection through his declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. He was accused of staging a riot with the aim of subverting the Constitution after conspiring with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and others, and illegally declaring martial law in the absence of war or an equivalent national emergency. In particular, he was charged with mobilizing troops and the police to seal off the National Assembly compound and prevent lawmakers from voting down his decree, and ordering the arrest and detention of the National Assembly speaker and the then leade

Feb 11, 2026By Yonhap
Court allows live broadcast of ex-President Yoon's sentencing trial

Sampyo Group chairman acquitted in 1st workplace disaster law case

A court on Tuesday acquitted the chairman of a construction materials group of violating a workplace disaster law following a deadly quarry landslide that claimed three lives in 2022. Prosecutors had sought a four-year prison term for Chung Do-won, chairman of Sampyo Group, on charges of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act for allegedly failing to comply with safety requirements, marking the first case under the law that went into effect in early 2022. On January 29, 2022, a landslide at a quarry slope operated by Sampyo Industry in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, left three workers dead, just two days after the law went into force. The Uijeongbu District Court found Chung not guilty, ruling that he could not be clearly identified as a person in a position to effectively carry out duties stipulated by the law as argued by the prosecution. It also found former Sampyo Industry CEO Lee Jong-shin, as well as the company itself, not guilty in the case. Under the law, owners and CEOs of companies can face a minimum one-year prison sentence or a fine of up to 1 billion won ($687,000) in th

Feb 10, 2026By Yonhap
Sampyo Group chairman acquitted in 1st workplace disaster law case

FSS launches investigation into Bithumb's accidental bitcoin pay out: sources

Financial authorities began a formal investigation Tuesday into Bithumb, a local crypto exchange, to determine how it was able to pay out over 60 trillion won ($41.2 billion) in bitcoins it apparently did not have, industry sources said. Regulators informed the crypto exchange Monday that an investigation will be conducted, three days after they conducted an on-site inspection, according to the sources. "We are taking this case very seriously," an official from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said. "The FSS will take stern legal actions against acts that harm the market order." On Friday, Bithumb erroneously sent 620,000 bitcoins, instead of the 620,000 won originally planned, to 249 customers in a promotional event, triggering a sell-off at the exchange. Most of the missent bitcoins were retrieved immediately after the accident, but 1,788 tokens were already sold off, the crypto exchange said in a statement. Centralized exchanges like Bithumb use a "book-entry trading system," in which exchanges record ownership and execute trades electronically within their internal databases, r

Feb 10, 2026By Yonhap
FSS launches investigation into Bithumb's accidental bitcoin pay out: sources

Prosecutors request arrest warrants for lawmaker, ex-councilor over bribery

Prosecutors on Monday requested arrest warrants for a lawmaker and a former Seoul city councilor accused of involvement in a bribery case linked to the 2022 local elections. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said it sought the pretrial detention of Rep. Kang Sun-woo, an independent who formerly belonged to the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), and Kim Kyung, who until recently served as a Seoul city councilor. They face charges of violating the Political Funds Act and accepting bribes in breach of trust. The move comes three days after police requested the prosecution to seek the warrants. "After scrutinizing the gathered evidence, we requested the warrants considering the gravity of the crime, as well as the risk of flight and destruction of evidence," the prosecution office said. Kang and Kim are accused of exchanging 100 million won ($68,300) in return for Kim's nomination as a DPK candidate for the Seoul city council ahead of the 2022 elections. Investigators said Kang received the money from Kim and later pressed the DPK's nomination committee to select Kim as its c

Feb 9, 2026By Yonhap
Prosecutors request arrest warrants for lawmaker, ex-councilor over bribery
previous page
3738394041
next page

Most Read in South Korea