South Korea - The Korea Times

Taxi drivers given suspended jail term for blackmailing homosexual passengers

The Seoul Central District Court gave suspended prison terms to two taxi drivers for blackmailing homosexual passengers, Tuesday. Korea Times fileBy Kim Hyun-binThe Seoul Central District Court sentenced a taxi driver to 16 months imprisonment suspended for two years, Tuesday, for blackmailing homosexual passengers after inducing them to touch his genitals and threatening to report them to police for sexual harassment.Another cabbie, who aided the driver, was given a one year prison term suspended for two years.According to the court, the two taxi drivers blackmailed four homosexual passengers in Seoul into paying them 5.3 million won ($4,492) in January last year.Picking up a drunken passenger in a district having several gay clubs, the first cabbie asked if the passenger was gay and got him to touch his penis. He then called the police to report that he had been sexually molested.While the passenger was undergoing police questioning, the driver called his accomplice, who came and encouraged the passenger to settle the issue be paying money.The two taxi drivers used a similar method

Jun 11, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin

Taxi drivers given suspended jail term for blackmailing homosexual passengers

Bakery thief eats bread, cakes for 4 hours before taking money

By Kim RahnA thief of a bakery in Itaewon, Seoul, holds a piece of bread, early Friday morning, in the CCTV footage. He ate bread and cakes there for four hours before leaving with cash. / Captured from InstagramA burglar who entered a bakery ended up eating up bread and cakes there for four hours, according to the bakery owner and police, Tuesday. The owner of Sunny Bread in Itaewon, central Seoul, posted CCTV footage of her shop on her Instagram on Saturday, saying a thief broke into the bakery on early Friday morning and she laughed a lot while watching the footage with police officers.The thief, who first appeared at 12:40 a.m. at the shop, picked up a muffin from one of the shelves. He disappeared, but came back and took several more pieces of bread. The man disappeared again, then came back and began to dig into some cake.He ate bread and cake for four hours and then he took 300,000 won in cash from the counter and left.“What was funny was, the thief took one piece of bread and ate it in front of the door. Then, maybe because it was delicious, he took some more bread and

Jun 11, 2019By Kim Rahn

Bakery thief eats bread, cakes for 4 hours before taking money

Samsung Electronics president grilled about accounting scandal at biotech affiliates

Chung Hyun-ho, president of Samsung Electronics / YonhapChung Hyun-ho, president of Samsung Electronics, was questioned by prosecutors on Tuesday about his suspected involvement in alleged accounting fraud at the company's biotech affiliates.The 59-year-old Chung, known as one of the closest aides to Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, arrived at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office around 8:50 a.m. in compliance with a summons from the prosecution.Prosecutors reportedly grilled Chung about his role in the conglomerate's alleged systematic attempt to cover up accounting irregularities at contract drug manufacturer Samsung BioLogics and its affiliate, Samsung Bioepis.Prosecutors suspect that Chung ordered the destruction and manipulation of evidence about window dressing by the two biotech affiliates ahead of the launch of their probe last year. Samsung Electronics is believed to be functioning as a control tower for other Samsung Group companies.Window dressing was allegedly committed in 2015 to inflate the valuation of Samsung BioLogics ahead of its initial publ

Jun 11, 2019

Samsung Electronics president grilled about accounting scandal at biotech affiliates

Popular violinist Eugene Park rooked again

By Kim Jae-heunEugene ParkPopular electric violinist Eugene Park has been allegedly scammed by his manager, suffering losses worth up to 700 million won ($590,000).Park, who suffers from bipolar disorder, has been “exploited” in the past when his former agency abused him.According to legal circles, Monday, the Seoul Advocacy Agency for Persons with Disabilities (SAAPD) filed a complaint against Park's current manager surnamed Kim to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office for charges of fraud, embezzlement and breach of trust. The agency said Kim borrowed 108 million won from loan sharks under the musician's name and misappropriated Park's performance fees worth 506 million won. Kim also allegedly sold the violinist's real estate at a lower-than-market price, causing economic losses for Park. Local broadcaster MBC first learned about the problem while filming a television documentary on Park. MBC collected related materials while filming and handed them over to the advocacy center to help them sue Park's manager.Police are currently investigating the case und

Jun 10, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Popular violinist Eugene Park rooked again

Radical pastor calls for impeaching President Moon

Activists urge Rev. Jun Gwang-hoon, president of the Christian Council of Korea, to step down to take responsibility for his radical statement calling for the impeachment of President Moon Jae-in, in front of Guro Police Station in Seoul. YonhapCCK leader draws criticism from withinBy Kang Hyun-kyungRev. Jun Gwang-hoon, president of the Christian Council of Korea (CCK), said on Monday he would hold a news conference to rally support from the public to impeach President Moon Jae-in for allegedly spreading communism in South Korea. In a statement released on Monday for fellow Protestant believers, the pastor said he would unveil his letters for U.S. President Donald Trump and both House and Senate members of the United States. “I hope each and every one of you can show up to the Press Center in central Seoul tomorrow for my news conference and show your support for me to save this country in peril from the tight grip of communist sympathizers,” he said in the statement. After the news conference, the pastor said he would hold a sit-in rally in front of the foundation in Che

Jun 10, 2019By Kang Hyun-kyung

Radical pastor calls for impeaching President Moon

Motive for killing ex-husband remains mystery

By Kim Hyun-binThe motive behind a gruesome murder case in which a woman is accused of murdering her ex-husband at a vacation house on Jeju Island before dismembering the body and discarding the pieces, remains unknown, with police remaining unconvinced about her account of events. Koh Yoo-jung Koh Yoo-jung, 36, who has been arrested on suspicions of killing her ex-husband surnamed Kang, told police she committed the crime in self-defense to stop him from raping her. She claimed she was cutting a watermelon when he tried to rape her so she used the knife to defend herself. Koh and Kang, who divorced two years ago, were supposed to meet at the vacation home May 25 so that he could see their six-year-old son.However, police do not believe this, suspecting she carefully pre-planned the murder.They revealed CCTV footage of Koh purchasing several items from a local supermarket on Jeju ― a knife, three bottles of bleach, rubber gloves, a cleaning brush and trash bags. The f

Jun 10, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin

Motive for killing ex-husband remains mystery

Police water cannons to be banned at street protests

Baek Nam-ki, 69, a farmer who participated in mass street protests against the former Park Geun-hye administration, lies unconscious on the ground near Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, after being sprayed by a police water cannon on Nov. 14, 2015. He went into a coma and died about 10 months later. / YonhapPolice will also have to store communication records between officers for referenceBy Lee Suh-yoonA police reform committee has passed new rules banning police from using water cannons and making it mandatory to store recordings of communication of police officers deployed to street rallies, the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) confirmed Monday. “The committee review on the proposed changes is over,” a security department police officer who partook in the discussion told The Korea Times on the condition of anonymity. “Regarding the mandatory storage of communication recordings, an official announcement is likely within a week.” According to the new rules, police will have to store communication records among police officers dispatched to control rallies for at

Jun 10, 2019

Police water cannons to be banned at street protests

Fury grows over young parents' role in death of 7-month-old baby

By Lee Suh-yoonPublic fury is erupting over a young couple accused of leaving their seven-month-old baby daughter unattended for a week at home, which led to her death. Anger has grown even larger after it was found the mother posted photos and comments documenting nights of drinking with her friends on social media almost every day while the baby was alone.Cho, 21, left, and Gyeon, 18, who left their 7-month-old baby alone at home for days, are led out of Michuhol District Police Station in Incheon to attend a court hearing on arrest warrants for them, Friday. The court issued the warrants later in the day. / YonhapThe couple ― a 21-year-old man surnamed Cho and an 18-year-old woman surnamed Gyeon ― was arrested late Friday on charges of child abuse resulting in death, according to Incheon police. The couple left the baby alone in their apartment for six days from May 25 to 31, according to the couple's testimony and CCTV footage collected by the police.The couple later told police they had a fight shortly before they both left the house. Neither returned for days, assuming the othe

Jun 9, 2019

Fury grows over young parents' role in death of 7-month-old baby

Man leaps to death in front of Seoul subway train

Rescue workers at Sindorim Station in Seoul. Screengrab of InstagramBy Lee Gyu-leeA man has died after jumping in front of an incoming train at Sindorim subway station in Seoul, police said Sunday.According to police, the man, 82, whose identity is being withheld, threw himself in front of the train around noon.He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Service subway line No. 1 was suspended for 35 minutes.Police said the man had no family.

Jun 9, 2019By Lee Gyu-lee

Man leaps to death in front of Seoul subway train

Over 1,000 may get caught drunk driving monthly under tougher rules

A police officer conducts a sobriety test on the road in Yeouido, Seoul, in this August photo. Tough drunk driving rules will take effect on June 25. / Korea Times fileBy Kim RahnTougher drunk driving rules, which will take effect at the end of this month, are likely to see more than 1,000 people subject to fines and license suspensions every month, according to the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), Sunday.From June 25, drivers whose blood-alcohol level is 0.03 percent or higher will be subject to up to a year in jail or a 5 million won ($4,200) fine, along with a suspension of their license ― a tougher standard than the current 0.05 percent.According to the agency, the number of drivers whose blood-alcohol concentration measured between 0.03 percent and 0.05 percent has been increasing in recent months, from 941 in February to 1,124 in March, 1,213 in April and 1,296 in May ― 1,144 per month on average.Those people were dismissed with only warnings so far, but under the new tougher rules, they will face punishment.Although there is a difference among individuals, people's blood-

Jun 9, 2019By Kim Rahn

Law & Crime