South Korea - The Korea Times

Court takes Facebook's side against media regulator

Getty Images BankBy Lee Suh-yoonThe Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of Facebook over a fine the Korea Communication Commission (KCC) imposed on the social media giant last year for what it considered “a deliberate slowdown” of services, Thursday.The court concluded Facebook did not intend to slow down the services, saying the KCC's administrative measures taken against the company, including the fine, should be cancelled. In December of 2016, Facebook redirected some of SK Broadband's and LG Uplus's network connections to overseas servers, causing service delays to some Korean users. The rerouting happened after regulatory changes made it trickier for the SK Broadband and LG Uplus users to borrow KT's existing cache server. Facebook rerouted the network connections to its Hong Kong server without giving prior notice while it was still negotiating with each telecom company on how to share the costs for the new cache servers, according to SK Broadband and LG Uplus officials.In March the following year, the KCC decided Facebook's move counted as a deliberate disrup

Aug 22, 2019

Court takes Facebook's side against media regulator

PHOTOS 'He deserved to die,' motel murder suspect says

Jang Dae-ho looks at a journalist as he enters the Goyang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. YonhapYonhapYonhapBy Jung Min-hoA man arrested for allegedly killing a motel guest said Wednesday that he was “not sorry” and would “kill him again.”Seoul motel employee Jang Dae-ho, 39, is being investigated on charges of murdering a guest, 32, and dismembering his body after the guest “insulted” him on Aug. 8.“I'm not sorry for his family at all,” Jang told journalists. “At the detention center, I thought about whether what I did was wrong. But no … He deserved to die.”On Tuesday, police decided to reveal Jang's face to the media, given the seriousness of the crime and sufficient evidence.Jang turned himself in on Aug. 17 after police found a dismembered torso near the pier of Magok Bridge over the Han River.Jang told police he killed the guest in anger after the man used abusive language and refused to pay a 40,000 won ($34) fee.Police said Jang used a spare key to get into the guest's room and then beat him to

Aug 21, 2019By Jung Min-ho

'He deserved to die,' motel murder suspect says [PHOTOS]

Suspect of 'torso murder' turns self in

Overseas travel ban slapped on former YG chief

Former YG Entertainment head Yang Hyun-suk, left, and disgraced ex-BIGBANG member Seungri / Courtesy of YG EntertainmentBy Lee Suh-yoonAn overseas travel ban has been imposed on former YG Entertainment head Yang Hyun-suk amid the ongoing investigations into his alleged overseas gambling.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Tuesday, its intellectual crime investigation division recently requested for the Ministry of Justice to place the ban on Yang, and the ministry issued it.The travel ban was also slapped on Seungri, the fallen K-pop idol who was a member of BIGBANG ― one of YG's most successful K-pop idol groups ― for the same gambling allegation. He had already been banned from leaving the country since March for separate allegations including pimping and possible "drug rape" services at his Burning Sun nightclub.Last Saturday, police raided YG Entertainment's building to secure evidence that could trace the origin of over a million dollars Yang allegedly put on the betting table at casinos in Las Vegas and Macau. Whether he dipped into company money to fund his ille

Aug 20, 2019

Overseas travel ban slapped on former YG chief

Hold on to wallets while touring in Turkey

By Kim Hyun-binISTANBUL, Turkey ― Chung, 35, encountered an unpleasant experience in July while traveling around Turkey on an INTERPARK Tour package, one of the nation's major online travel agencies.She left her backpack on the tour bus, which contained money for additional tour options, as she thought it was the best way to keep her belongings safe thanks to the presence of a bus driver and a local tour guide there.After finishing her 40-minute tour and returning to the bus, she realized some of her money had been stolen.“I had 780 euros in my backpack, which was exactly calculated to be used for the package option tours, but 100 euros went missing within the 40 minutes,” Chung told The Korea Times. “I can only speculate that it was the local tour guide or the bus driver as the bus was kept locked after we hopped off. But it is impossible to prove as there are no cameras on the bus,” she said.By Turkish law, a local bus driver and a local tour guide must accompany foreign guides and travelers throughout their visit.But petty theft cases of this kind have beco

Aug 19, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin

Hold on to wallets while touring in Turkey

BTS photo-printed transportation card is property: court

By Kim RahnBTS is at a press conference in Seoul in this April photo. A local court ruled Sunday picking up a lost transportation card with a BTS photo is a crime because the owner is unlikely to have abandoned it and the special collection is regarded as property. / Korea Times fileAccording to a court ruling, if you pick up a public transportation card with a BTS photo printed on it in the street, keeping it can constitute a crime, as the card is unlikely to have been “abandoned” by the owner.The Seoul Western District Court said Sunday that it recently handed down a 30-month jail term to a 56-year-old man, surnamed Kim, for theft and pocketing lost items.Kim was indicted for stealing bags and purses over three times in Mapo-gu, western Seoul, in March, and picking up five transportation cards in the streets around Hongdae and Sinchon areas between January and April. He admitted to the theft, but claimed the latter charge was inappropriate because he only picked up cards the owners had “abandoned.”Kim called for a jury trial, and four out of seven jurors did

Aug 18, 2019By Kim Rahn

BTS photo-printed transportation card is property: court

Suspect of 'torso murder' turns self in

Police officers under Magok Bridge in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday, search for body parts of a man whose dismembered torso was found earlier. The suspect surrendered himself on Saturday. / YonhapBy Kim RahnA suspect has turned himself in for killing a man, and dismembering and abandoning the body parts into the Han River, Goyang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province said, Sunday. The 39-year-old man, whose name was withheld, surrendered himself to police at around 1 a.m. on Saturday, five days after a dismembered male torso was found near the pier of Magok Bridge over the Han River.The man, who was a motel worker in Seoul, said that the victim, 32, was a guest there. He told police that he killed the victim as he was angry at the man for trying to avoid paying the lodging fee, and using abusive language to him. He said he sneaked into the man's room with a spare key on Aug. 8, beat him to death with a blunt weapon and kept the body in his own room within the motel. He said he dismembered the body and dropped the severed limbs in the river early in the morning on Aug. 12, transp

Aug 18, 2019By Kim Rahn

PHOTOS 'He deserved to die,' motel murder suspect says

Ex-YG head to be questioned over alleged gambling

YG Entertainment headquarters, Mapo-gu, Seoul / YonhapBy Lee Suh-yoonDisgraced former YG Entertainment head Yang Hyun-suk is likely to face more police questioning soon, this time over his alleged illegal gambling overseas, together with Seungri, a former member of the YG act BIGBANG.The questioning will be the latest chapter in the investigation into multiple allegations involving Yang, Seungri and other stars there, such as prostitution, drug use and pimping.Yang Hyun-suk / Courtesy of YG EntertainmentOn Saturday, police searched the YG Entertainment building in Mapo, Seoul, three days after booking Yang and Seungri over habitual gambling. The raid lasted for five hours, starting at 9 a.m.Police are analyzing collected evidence to evaluate suspicions over whether the former YG head gambled abroad for years.Investigators said they could not reveal specifics of the evidence they have confiscated at this point, but added they collected “all available evidence.” Yang's residence was not included in Saturday's search.They are also looking into whether Yang dipped into compan

Aug 18, 2019

Ex-YG head to be questioned over alleged gambling

Police raid YG Entertainment over ex-chief's gambling suspicion

Police load the authority vehicle with findings from YG Entertainment's headquarters in Seoul's Mapo District after they raided there Saturday over charges of illlegal gambling in overseas against the company's former CEO Yang Hyun-seok and its former star Seungri. NewsisYang Hyun-seok. Courtesy of Star KoreaPolice raided the headquarters of YG Entertainment on Saturday over allegations that Yang Hyun-suk, former CEO and chief producer of the influential K-pop label, engaged in habitual gambling.Police have been looking into suspicions that Yang, 49, and Seungri, a former member of the K-pop boy band BIGBANG, gambled while overseas. They were both booked for the allegation earlier this week.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent investigators to YG Entertainment in Mapo Ward, western Seoul, at 9 a.m. to search for evidence related to the suspicion. Yang's residence was not subject to the raid.Police earlier said they are also looking into whether Yang and Seungri violated the foreign exchange transaction law to secure gambling funds.Separately, Yang was booked in July on suspicion

Aug 17, 2019

Police raid YG Entertainment over ex-chief's gambling suspicion

Woman arrested over K-pop concert swindle

A woman in her 20s has been arrested for swindling nearly 500 million won ($412,000) from K-pop fans in Korea and overseas, according to police, Friday. By Kim Jae-heunA woman in her 20s has been arrested for swindling nearly 500 million won ($412,000) from K-pop fans in Korea and overseas, according to police, Friday. The Mapo Police Station said the woman, identified by her Twitter handle Maydoni, deceived 282 people from last July to March this year into paying a total 489 million won, saying she would buy them tickets to sold-out concerts of K-pop bands such as BTS, EXO and Wanna One.However, after taking their money, she would suddenly break contact.According to the police, she used bank accounts borrowed from two Chinese people, pretending to be Chinese. In addition, the investigation also found she had created more social media accounts on several other platforms to post her fake offer for tickets to concerts and fan meeting events of popular K-pop bands held in Taiwan and Hong Kong. “She has acknowledged most of her charges and we will investigate further to see if

Aug 16, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Woman arrested over K-pop concert swindle

Dismembered body found near Han River

The Goyang Police Station said the body of a man believed to be in his 20s or 30s was found near the southern end of Magok Railway Bridge around 9:15 a.m. / GettyimagebankBy Kim Jae-heunA dismembered male torso has been found around the Han River in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, according to police, Wednesday. The Goyang Police Station said the body of a man believed to be in his 20s or 30s was found near the southern end of Magok Railway Bridge around 9:15 a.m. Monday by a staffer of the Hangang Project Headquarters.The police sent the body to the National Forensic Service (NFS) for an autopsy and DNA testing and found that the victim died about a week ago but the NFS couldn't determine the cause of his death. “It has not been so long since the corpse was abandoned near the river and we are trying to identify the man through DNA testing at NFS,” a police officer said. “The body had no arms or legs and it was naked when it was first spotted.”Police are looking at missing persons cases to see if the body matches anyone reported missing. Police secured surveillance

Aug 15, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Law & Crime