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Male celebrities' chatroom reveals insensitivity to sexual violence

Reporters wait outside the office of a digital forensic company in southern Seoul, Wednesday, while police search the business that singer Jung Joon-young left his phone with for 'repairs' in 2016. At the time Jung refused to submit his phone to police after he was accused of secretly filming his ex-girlfriend, saying it was with a repair firm due to a problem. / Yonhap Chatroom comments suggest police complicity in wrongdoings at clubsBy Lee Suh-yoonNew revelations from a chatroom where male celebrities and their acquaintances shared sex videos filmed without the consent of their partners have refueled an age-old debate on how male-only groups continue to tolerate ― even encourage ― a culture of sexual violence toward women.One dialogue from April 2016, first reported by local broadcaster SBS, is particularly revealing about how women were sexually objectified by the chatroom members for their own bonding in these closed online spaces. In the disclosed snippet, a m

Mar 13, 2019
Male celebrities' chatroom reveals insensitivity to sexual violence

IT group CEO found dead during investigation into alleged abuse

Marker Group CEO Song Myeong-bin was found dead on Wednesday morning, the day he was scheduled to undergo a court review over issuance of an arrest warrant for his alleged abuse of an employee. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunMarker Group CEO Song Myeong-bin was found dead Wednesday morning, the day he was scheduled to undergo a court review over the issuance of an arrest warrant for his alleged abuse of an employee. According to the police, a neighbor found his body at his apartment complex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, at 4:40 a.m. He was already dead when first responders arrived.He was scheduled to attend a Seoul Southern District Court session in the morning where the court was to decide whether to issue a warrant for his arrest.He was accused of habitual assault, blackmail and violation of the Labor Standards Act, after an employee of his company, surnamed Yang, filed a complaint with the police last November accusing Song of habitually assaulting him with an iron pipe, shoehorn and wooden bar over a period of three years. A video of Song beating him was made public a month later and we

Mar 13, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
IT group CEO found dead during investigation into alleged abuse

Digital entrepreneur dead in apparent suicide amid assault probe

Song Myung-bean, head of Marker Group, leaves Seoul Gangseo Police Station on Jan. 6 after receiving an investigation on charges of abusing his employees over multiple times. YonhapA digital expert known for introducing the concept of "the right to be forgotten" to South Korea fell to his death Wednesday in an apparent suicide amid a police investigation into allegations he assaulted a colleague. Song Myung-bean, head of Marker Group, was found dead on the ground outside his apartment in Goyang, just north of Seoul, at about 4:40 a.m., according to police. Police said they found a six-page suicide note in Song's home. Song lived on the 12th floor of the building.Song, 50, was being probed over a complaint filed by the former head of the company, who claims that he was repeatedly beaten by Song with various tools, such as a steel pipe, over the past three years. Police have sought an arrest warrant for Song and a court hearing was due to be held Wednesday to decide on his detention. He has denied the allegations, accusing the partner of framing him to conceal his own crimes, including

Mar 13, 2019
Digital entrepreneur dead in apparent suicide amid assault probe

K-pop singer Jung Joon-young booked for illegal sex video filming

Nightclub scandal expands to other celebritiesBy Kang Seung-wooA brawl at a nightclub affiliated with Seungri of boy band Big Bang is rapidly expanding into a scandal that is rocking the entertainment industry, with fellow K-pop star Jung Joon-young being booked for illicitly recording and sharing sex videos.Jung Joon-young, right, arrives at Incheon International Airport, Tuesday, amid allegations that he secretly filmed women he was having sex with and shared the videos with acquaintances. / Korea Times photo by Hong In-kiThe Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said, Tuesday, that it booked Jung as a suspect following allegations that he secretly filmed women he was having sex with and shared the videos with acquaintances, including Seungri, in several mobile group chat rooms. The allegations were first reported by local broadcaster SBS, Monday night.The police plan to question Jung as soon as possible, following his return to Korea late Tuesday after he canceled participation in the shooting of a reality TV show in the United States. When he arrived at Incheon International Airport,

Mar 12, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
K-pop singer Jung Joon-young booked for illegal sex video filming

10 Vietnamese arrested for smuggling fake alien registration certificates from China

Ten Vietnamese nationals have been arrested on charges of attempting to buy fake certificates of alien registration from a Chinese broker. gettyimagesbankTen Vietnamese nationals staying in South Korea illegally have been arrested on charges of attempting to buy forged certificates of alien registration from a Chinese broker, immigration officials said Tuesday.The Ministry of Justice's Korea Immigration Service (KIS) said it has arrested a 20-year-old Vietnamese man and nine other nationals of the Southeast Asian country on charges of forgery of official documents and violation of the Immigration Control Act and referred all of them to the prosecution for indictment.The Vietnamese nationals, whose identities were not disclosed, are accused of asking a Chinese broker to forge South Korean certificates of alien registration and send them via international express mail in order to conceal their status or avoid crackdowns.The Incheon International Airport branch office of the KIS launched an investigation after discovering 13 forged alien registration certificates dispatched via internat

Mar 12, 2019
10 Vietnamese arrested for smuggling fake alien registration certificates from China

Chinese student stabs friend in Busan

Police arrested a Chinese student, 27, for attempted murder. YonhapBy Lee Gyu-leePolice have arrested a Chinese international student for allegedly trying to kill a fellow Chinese student in Haeundae, Busan, on March 11.According to Haeundae police, the suspect, 27, and the victim, 31, had been drinking. Shortly after midnight on Monday, they got into an argument and the student stabbed the other one with a 30-centimeter knife.The victim is in a stable condition in hospital. Police went to a house after the victim called his friend, and the friend phoned 119, saying, “Two Chinese men are fighting, and one is bleeding.” Police said they found the suspect drunk and incoherent, and took him into custody. The suspect and victim go to the same school in Busan.

Mar 11, 2019By Lee Gyu-lee
Chinese student stabs friend in Busan

'Reenactments of sex crimes violate human rights'

It is a human rights violation for a law enforcement authority to make a victim of sexual violence participate in a reenactment as part of its investigation, Korea's human rights watchdog said. / GettyimagebankBy Kim Jae-heunIt is a human rights violation for a law enforcement authority to make a victim of sexual violence participate in a reenactment as part of its investigation, Korea's human rights watchdog said Sunday. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) recommended prosecutors devise measures to prevent such human rights violations from reoccurring and further traumatizing victims.In 2014, Lee Kyung-hee, a national rhythmic gymnastics team coach who defected from North Korea, claimed a ranking official at the Korea Gymnastics Association had sexually harassed her and tried to rape her. The official resigned at the time but was again named as a vice head of the association, and Lee made the assault public via broadcast.According to the NHRCK, the prosecutors told Lee to re-enact the crime twice during their investigation in 2017 and had a stand-in do so once. A j

Mar 11, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
'Reenactments of sex crimes violate human rights'

PHOTOS Ex-dictator Chun shows no remorse for 1980 massacre in Gwangju trial

Former President Chun Doo-hwan arrives at Gwangju District Court, Monday, to attend a libel case trial over his alleged defaming of a deceased pro-democracy activist, priest Cho Bi-oh. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Lee Suh-yoonFormer President Chun Doo-hwan was forced to show up at a courtroom in Gwangju, Monday, for a hearing in a libel case brought against him. Gwanju is where hundreds of pro-democracy activists were gunned down or beaten to death almost four decades ago during a military crackdown he ordered on the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising.Chun, 87, showed no signs of remorse as he left his home in Yeonhui-dong, western Seoul, with his wife Lee Soon-ja, and before entering the Gwangju District Court at 12:30 p.m. ― two hours before the scheduled hearing.“What do you think you are doing!” he angrily snapped at a reporter who asked him if he denied having ordered the military to open fire on civilian protesters, as he made his way into the court with his aides. Earlier, as Chun left his house, he was given loud vocal support from ultra-conservative groups

Mar 11, 2019
Ex-dictator Chun shows no remorse for 1980 massacre in Gwangju trial [PHOTOS]

PHOTOS 'What?!': Former leader bristles at reporters questioning 1980 massacre

Reporters flank former President Chun Doo-whan at Gwangju District Court, Monday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulFormer President Chun Doo-hwan arrived at a district court in Gwangju on Monday to testify in a trial handling a defamation case against him. He arrived at the court at 12:35 p.m., nearly four hours after he left his residence in Yeonhui-dong, Seoul. The trial is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. Chun is accompanied by his wife and former first lady Lee Soon-ja and his attorney.Chun, who led an authoritarian government from 1980-1988, was indicted last May on charges that his memoir defamed victims of his government's bloody crackdown on the Gwangju pro-democracy revolt.He is accused of libeling late activist priest Cho Chul-hyun, who said he saw soldiers shooting at citizens from helicopters during the bloody suppression of the protests against Chun's rule. Chun denied the claim in his memoir published in early 2017. He called Cho "Satan wearing a mask" and claimed that what Cho said was a flat-out lie.Chun reacts angrily to questioning reporters. Asked if he ordered live-fir

Mar 11, 2019
'What?!': Former leader bristles at reporters questioning 1980 massacre [PHOTOS]

Ex-president Chun to attend libel trial

An officer sets up police lines in front of former President Chun Doo-hwan's house in Seodaemun-gu, western Seoul, Sunday, one day before he travels to attend a hearing at the Gwangju District Court. / Yonhap 15 police to accompany former leader on 315-kilometer journeyBy Kim Jae-heunFormer President Chun Doo-hwan has been summoned to a hearing today at Gwangju District Court in a libel action filed against him for allegedly slandering the late activist priest Cho Chul-hyun, also-known as Cho Bi-oh here.Chun was indicted last May after a relative of Cho filed a suit against him for defaming the priest, who testified that he witnessed soldiers shooting at citizens from helicopters during the crackdown on the pro-democratic uprising in Gwangju in 1980. The former president described Cho as “Satan wearing a mask” and called him a “liar” in his 2017 memoirs ― denying the priest's claim. The court has ordered Chun to appear in court twice before ― Aug. 27 last year and Jan. 7 ― but he refused, saying he had Alzheimer's disease the first time and influenza, the

Mar 10, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
Ex-president Chun to attend libel trial
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