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Drunken students bash Russian-Koreans

Three high school students allegedly attacked two Russian-Koreans. Capture from JTBCBy Dong Sun-hwaPolice booked three drunken high school students for allegedly bashing two Russian-Koreans in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, on Jan. 1, according to JTBC Tuesday. CCTV footage showed the moment the students assaulted the Russian-Korean father-in-law and son-in-law. When one victim tried to flee, the attackers chased him and kicked him. The attack lasted several minutes. The father-in-law suffered a serious right eye injury and had an operation in Seoul. The victims say the attack happened after they asked the students for directions. “I was horrified and confused,” one victim said. “I had no idea of what was going on.” The attackers have not yet graduated high school, but could have drunk alcohol because they legally became adults in "Korean age," Jan. 1.

Jan 10, 2019By Dong Sun-hwa
Drunken students bash Russian-Koreans

Cabbie in apparent self-immolation protest dies

Blaze engulfs a K5 taxi and its driver near Gwanghwamun subway station in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Jan. 9. YonhapA cabbie presumed to have set himself and his taxi on fire in another apparent suicide protest over a planned commercial ride-sharing service, died in hospital early Thursday, police said. A sedan taxi near Gwanghwamun Station in central Seoul caught fire on Wednesday night. The driver, only identified by the last name Lim, was moved from his vehicle with severe burns on much of his body. Lim's death is the second case in which a taxi driver apparently killed himself to protest the carpool service. Last month, a 57-year-old taxi driver from Seoul set himself ablaze in protest against Kakao T. Rescue workers from Jongno Fire Station put out fire on the taxi near Gwanghwamun subway station in the Wednesday evening. YonhapPolice have raised the possibility of self-immolation by the 64-year-old, in protest of the planned launch of Kakao T, a carpooling app created by a unit of major South Korean IT company Kakao Corp. Police found flammable materials and a burned notebook believed to

Jan 10, 2019
Cabbie in apparent self-immolation protest dies

Calls grow to protect privacy in civil lawsuits

This image is unrelated to the story. / GettyimagesbankBy Kim Jae-heunLegislators are seeking to protect the personal information of plaintiffs in legal documents, to prevent possible retaliation by defendants.Rep. Yoon Sang-jick of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) submitted a revision bill to the Civil Proceedings Act to a National Assembly committee, Tuesday, to remove plaintiffs' personal information, such as resident registration number, phone number and address, from written complaints and written judgments.Unlike criminal suits, a civil suit requires such information under the current law. Many plaintiffs have demanded the revision to protect themselves from retaliation. “Many victims withdraw their complaints out of worry they could be subject to retaliation by the defendants. We have to prevent secondary damage that comes from the disclosure of a plaintiff's private information by revising the law,” Rep. Yoon said. Yoon's proposal came after a 23-year-old woman posted a message on an online community in October titled “I'm scheduled to be killed

Jan 9, 2019By Kim Jae-heun
Calls grow to protect privacy in civil lawsuits

Court orders seizure of Nippon Steel's assets for compensation of wartime forced laborers

Japanese and Korean civic activists and lawyers visit Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal headquarters in Tokyo, holding pictures of deceased wartime forced laborers, Nov. 12, calling for a speedy compensation in line with the top Korean court's ruling. / YonhapBy Lee Suh-yoonAn assets seizure order against Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal (NSSM) for withholding compensation from wartime forced laborers went into effect Wednesday, following the filing of confiscation documents with NSSM's joint venture company in Pohang. A local court ordered the confiscation of NSSM's assets in Korea, Jan. 3, following a request from the plaintiff's legal team made earlier, after the Japanese steelmaker failed to follow a top court ruling made in October for it to compensate four wartime forced laborersThe court's order is likely to further chill the already-strained relations between the two countries over multiple issues mostly regarding atrocities committed during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.In a landmark victory, four wartime forced laborers, only one of whom is still alive, won a comp

Jan 9, 2019
Court orders seizure of Nippon Steel's assets for compensation of wartime forced laborers

'Hospital murder was premeditated'

Police officers escort a murder suspect surnamed Park from Jongno Police Station, Seoul, for further investigation by the prosecution over his killing of psychiatrist Lim Se-won, Wednesday. YonhapPolice conclude patient killed psychiatrist out of delusionBy Kim Hyun-binPolice said Wednesday that they had referred a suspect who allegedly murdered a psychiatrist on Dec. 31 to the prosecution after concluding he was mentally unbalanced when committing the crime, based on previous psychiatric reports and his claim that a bomb had been planted inside his head. The Jongno Police Station in Seoul, in charge of the investigation, referred the case to seek an indictment of the murder suspect identified by his surname Park, aged 30.“During questioning, Park repeatedly gave incomprehensible responses, and showed signs of confusion,” a police officer said. “We have reviewed his psychiatric records comprehensively and concluded that he was in a delusional state.” Park, who reportedly suffers from bipolar disorder, told police he was arguing with his psychiatrist, Lim Se-wo

Jan 9, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin
'Hospital murder was premeditated'

Korea introduces measures to wipe out sexual misconduct in sports

Vice Sports Minister Roh Tae-kang speaks during a press briefing at the government complex in Sejong, Wednesday. YonhapSouth Korea on Wednesday unveiled a set of measures to wipe out sexual assault and abuse in sports following a sex crime case involving an Olympic short track gold medalist.The sports ministry issued an apology and introduced measures to prevent and eliminate sexual misconduct in the country's sports community, one day after Shim Suk-hee's allegations that her former coach Cho Jae-bum had sexually assaulted her for years were revealed."We apologize to athletes, their families and people in South Korea for not preventing such an incident and failing to protect athletes," South Korea's Vice Sports Minister Roh Tae-kang said at a press briefing. "It proved that our current system and measures were not effective. We will overhaul and review all existing rules from the start." According to these new steps, South Korea will first strengthen the punishment for sex offenders in sports.Under the current discipline code of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committe

Jan 9, 2019
Korea introduces measures to wipe out sexual misconduct in sports

Man gets 30-month jail term in YouTuber sex abuse case

Yang Ye-won speaks to reporters after the ruling at the Seoul Western District Court in Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapA Seoul court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 2 1/2 years in jail for molesting a YouTube celebrity and leaking semi-nude photos of her on the Internet.The Seoul Western District Court found the 46-year-old defendant, only identified by the surname Choi, guilty on charges of sexual molestation and circulating photographic material banned by the sex crime act.The court said the evidence was sufficient to acknowledge the charges and that there were a few reasons to suggest the defendant was not telling the truth.Yang Ye-won, a popular YouTuber in South Korea, revealed via the video streaming site that she was sexually abused by a group of men while auditioning as a lingerie model in 2015, previous to her career as a YouTuber.She claimed she was forced to pose for a photo shoot wearing gaudy garments and that the men who ran the studio humiliated her by touching parts of her body. Five other women filed complaints against the suspects following Yang's revelation, claiming

Jan 9, 2019
Man gets 30-month jail term in YouTuber sex abuse case

Ukrainian given jail sentence for ghostwriting fake refugee applications

By Lee Suh-yoonA 34-year-old Ukrainian woman was sentenced to 14 months in jail for helping other foreigners draft fake refugee applications, Tuesday.The Incheon District Court said the woman “repeatedly disrupted immigration processes” by writing false refugee applications for 57 foreign clients who arrived in Korea on temporary B-1 or E-9 visas.According to court documents, the woman cooked up clients' stories telling of prosecution in their home countries, including kidnapping, rape and unfair treatment by law enforcement, between March 2017 and June 2018. She was paid 200,000 won per application by a broker company that linked her with the foreign clients.“Such mass channeling of fake refugees can prevent real refugees from getting necessary help and foster negative public sentiment about all refugees,” presiding judge Jung Won-suk said. The court did not disclose how many of the 57 were actually recognized as refugees or given humanitarian stay permits.Korea is signatory to the U.N. Refugee Convention, allowing refugees to work and access healthcare,

Jan 8, 2019
Ukrainian given jail sentence for ghostwriting fake refugee applications

Defective exhaust pipe killed 3 high school students: police

Kim Jin-bok, commissioner of the Gangneung Police Station announces the investigation results of the Gangneung vacation house tragedy, Friday. On Dec. 18, 2018, three high school students were found dead and seven others unconscious from inhaling toxic fumes. YonhapBy Kim Hyun-binA faulty exhaust pipe was the cause of the fatal gas leak accident at a vacation house in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, in mid-December, which killed three high school students and left seven unconscious, police said, Friday.In addition, poor management of the boiler also caused the accident. “The exhaust pipe was improperly connected to the boiler, which leaked toxic gases including carbon monoxide straight into the rooms,” Kim Jin-bok, commissioner of the Gangneung Police Station, said during a press briefing after wrapping up a two-week investigation.“The exhaust pipe was disconnected as the boiler installer cut off 10 centimeters of the pipe, chopping off a key part that holds the pipe in place and also damaging the O-ring inside the boiler when installing the pipe.”During the inve

Jan 4, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin
Defective exhaust pipe killed 3 high school students: police

Prosecution to summon ex-chief justice next week

By Kang Seung-wooFormer Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae will be questioned next week over his alleged involvement in a judiciary power abuse scandal, the prosecution said, Friday.Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-taeAccording to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Yang will be summoned as a suspect at 9:30 a.m. next Friday. It would be the first time in history for the former head of the nation's top court to face prosecution questioning as a criminal suspect. Yang, 70, headed the Supreme Court from 2011 to 2017 and is now retired from the court. He is facing allegations of using high-profile trials as bargaining chips in dealings with the Park Geun-hye administration and the establishment of a new court of appeals.Yang is alleged to have instructed his officials at the National Court Administration (NCA) to devise ways to interfere in trials whose rulings potentially held high political significance for the Park administration and pressured judges in charge to deliver verdicts in Park's favor. The NCA is the top court's administrative body. Thus far

Jan 4, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
Prosecution to summon ex-chief justice next week
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