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K-pop singer Park Yu-chun released with suspended jail term

Actor and singer Park Yu-chun walks out from the Suwon District Court in Gyeonggi Province, after it has set him free on a suspended jail term on his drug charges, Tuesday. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunActor and former member of K-pop boy band JYJ Park Yu-chun has been set free after a court sentenced him to a suspended jail term on drug charges.The Suwon District Court, Tuesday, gave him 10 months in jail suspended for two years, and fined him 1.4 million won. It also put him on probation and ordered him to receive treatment, so he will undergo regular drug tests.The court said illegal drug abuse should be punished severely but Park should be given a second chance.“The defendant has confessed his offense and his drug test results, along with other evidence, proving his guilt. Narcotic-related crimes cause huge damage to individuals and society, so severe punishment is required,” the court said in the ruling.“However, the defendant has admitted his crime and shown a reflective attitude since he has been detained. And considering that this is his first offense, it is bette

Jul 2, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
K-pop singer Park Yu-chun released with suspended jail term

Automated immigration service available for foreign tourists

By Kim RahnAn automated immigration service will become available for foreign visitors to Korea without prior registration starting July 10 at the time of departure using facial and fingerprint recognition technology, the Ministry of Justice said Monday. / YonhapForeign visitors to Korea will be able to use an automated immigration service without prior registration when departing the country at the nation's major airports starting July 10, according to the Ministry of Justice, Monday.The ministry said foreigners aged 17 or older who have provided facial and fingerprint records at the time of entry are eligible to use the service. When leaving Korea, they can use automated immigration checkpoints at Incheon, Gimhae, Gimpo, Jeju and Daegu international airports and Busan Port.The service is available for people visiting Korea for 90 days or less who mostly come for tourism. A longer period of stay is possible for nationals of countries with which Korea has reciprocal agreements on this, such as six months for Canadian citizens.The ministry said the service has become available due to

Jul 1, 2019By Kim Rahn
Automated immigration service available for foreign tourists

Two Russian men detained for robbing convenience store

GettyimagesbankBy Lee Gyu-leeTwo Russian men have been detained for robbing a convenience store in Buan, North Jeolla Province.According to police, the suspects, whose identities are being withheld, allegedly took a million won ($865) in cash from the store after threatening the cashier, surnamed Kim, 51, at 4:50 a.m. Thursday.The two entered the store wearing masks, but did not carry weapons. No one was injured. About 13 hours later, police caught them at a motel in Gwangju.

Jun 30, 2019By Lee Gyu-lee
Two Russian men detained for robbing convenience store

South Korean woman dies in Spain after attempted robbery

BarcelonaA South Korean woman who was part of a government advisory body died Thursday at a Barcelona hospital, three days after being injured in an attempted robbery in the Spanish city, police said."As a result of the robbery, the victim suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital where she died this afternoon," police in Spain's northeastern Catalonia region said in a statement.The woman was walking on a street near the beach in Barcelona, Spain's second-largest city, on Monday night when someone on a motorcycle grabbed her purse with force, a police source said.She fell and seriously injured her head, the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement at the time.According to local media, the woman was part of an official delegation from South Korea which was visiting Barcelona.Catalonia's regional police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, are investigating to try to catch the culprit, the force added in its statement.Thefts of wallets, purses, cameras and other belongings are common in the picturesque historic centre of Barcelona, which is home to around 1.6 million peop

Jun 28, 2019
South Korean woman dies in Spain after attempted robbery

Ex-YG chief questioned over sex scandal

Yang Hyun-suk, former CEO and chief producer of YG Entertainment, comes out of a police agency in Seoul, Thursday, after undergoing questioning over allegations that he arranged sex services for foreign investors. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiYang Hyun-suk, the former CEO and the chief producer of K-pop agency YG Entertainment, underwent nine hours of questioning by police over allegations that the 50-year-old provided prostitutes to foreign investors. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Yang was called in at 4 p.m., Wednesday, and grilled over allegations that he courted potential foreign investors at a fancy restaurant and arranged prostitution services for them in July 2014.The probe came after local media broadcaster MBC's investigative journalism program “Straight” revealed allegations last month that Yang, singer Psy and a YG employee were involved in the prostitution procurement for a Malaysian business tycoon in 2014. In the follow-up episode broadcast earlier this week, it alleged Yang arranged a “suspicious” investor trip to Europe in 2014 to e

Jun 27, 2019By Bahk Eun-ji
Ex-YG chief questioned over sex scandal

'World lawyers would welcome North Korean counterparts'

Choi Chung-hwan, a partner at Lee & Ko and president of the International Association of Korean Lawyers, speaks about the upcoming International Bar Association conference in Seoul during a June 4 interview. Choi is the chairman of the organizing committee for the event happening from Sept. 22 to 27. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulSouth Korean capital to host annual IBA conferenceBy Lee Suh-yoonSouth Korean lawyers are trying to invite North Korean lawyers to the International Bar Association (IBA) conference, one of the biggest annual gatherings of lawyers, which will take place in Seoul this fall, according to the head of its organizing committee. Though the speakers' list is not finalized yet, he says the event will feature participants who embody Seoul's unique position in the geopolitical arena and global economy. “We are working to invite North Korean lawyers to the event, as well as IT experts to run special sessions on AI and electric car regulations,” Choi Chung-hwan, chairman of the organizing committee for the Seoul IBA conference, said in an interview

Jun 27, 2019
'World lawyers would welcome North Korean counterparts'

Hyosung under investigation for tax evasion: reports

By Jung Min-hoIn this photo provided by Hyosung, Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon shakes hands with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue after discussing business cooperation at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul on June 19.Korean conglomerate Hyosung is reportedly being investigated on suspicion of tax evasion.According to Yonhap and other local media Tuesday, the National Tax Service (NTS) is looking into allegations that Hyosung, which specializes in chemicals, textiles and industrial machinery, dodged paying tens of billion won (millions of dollars) in taxes through fraudulent accounting.Hyosung is accused of deliberately underestimating the money its Vietnam branch must pay to its head office in Seoul for using technologies and other resources to evade taxes.The NTS is also looking into the company's other overseas branches.Asked by The Korea Times, a senior Hyosung PR official denied the accusations, saying the company did not violate tax laws.

Jun 26, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Hyosung under investigation for tax evasion: reports

Top prosecutor Moon apologizes for past wrongdoing

Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il bows his head in apology during a press conference at the Prosecution History Museum at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapBy Lee Suh-yoonProsecutor General Moon Moo-il issued a public apology Tuesday for the prosecution's past failures to properly investigate and press charges in politically sensitive cases ― one month after a special committee wrapped up its investigation into 17 such cases. “The prosecution repents for its failure to protect the people's basic rights and fairly exercise its investigative powers,” Moon said in a press conference at the Supreme Prosecutor's Office. The Special Committee on Past Wrongdoings by the Prosecution was set up in February last year under the Justice Ministry to review whether some politically sensitive issues were properly and fairly investigated.Moon apologized to the victims and their families, who were unfairly treated or investigated according to the committee. “In some cases where people's human rights were abused by the state authorities, the facts were scaled down o

Jun 25, 2019
Top prosecutor Moon apologizes for past wrongdoing

'Fugitive Hanbo Group chief died in Ecuador last December'

Prosecutors escort Chung Han-keun, the son of Hanbo Group's former chairman, after he arrived at Incheon International Airport, Saturday, from Panama after being on the run from embezzlement charges for 21 years. YonhapBy Kim Hyun-binProsecutors have obtained key evidence regarding the death of Chung Tae-soo, the former head of the now-defunct Hanbo Group, who went on the run in 2007 during an investigation into embezzlement allegations.According to the prosecution, Tuesday, Chung's fourth son Han-keun, 54, who was caught recently in Panama after 21 years as a fugitive, testified that his father died in Ecuador, Dec. 1, 2018. Following his testimony, prosecutors received his belongings, which Panamanian authorities had seized, through the foreign affairs ministry. Among the seized items were the former chairman's death certificate issued by the Ecuadorian government, a burial urn and a fake Kyrgyzstan passport. The certificate read that a person, who had the same name as the one on the fake passport, had died of cardiac arrest last December. The senior Chung had been on trial for all

Jun 25, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin
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