South Korea - The Korea Times

PHOTOS 3 students found dead, 7 unconscious at resort house; toxic gas suspected

Three high school students were found dead and seven others unconscious at the resort house seen here, Tuesday. YonhapThe students were found on the floor about 1:12 p.m., with some vomiting or foaming at the mouth. YonhapThe site is locked down for investigation. YonhapBy Park Si-soo Three high school students were found dead and seven others unconscious at a toxic gas-filled two-story resort house in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, police said Tuesday. The death toll could rise because some of the survivors are in critical condition, they said. The victims ― all male ― are reportedly senior students of Daesung High School in Seoul who were on a self-arranged field trip after finishing the state-administrated scholastic aptitude test for university entrance.They checked in on Monday without a teacher. Before allowing their check-in, the rental house's manager called a parent to check the purpose of the students' visit, Lee Jin-ho, chief of the Gangneung Fire Station, told reporters at the scene. One of the students made the reservation on the lodging's website, he said. The manager fou

Dec 18, 2018

3 students found dead, 7 unconscious at resort house; toxic gas suspected [PHOTOS]

Police confirm defect in gas-fired boiler in Gangneung guesthouse accident

Lawmaker fined W3 million for DUI

Lee Yong-juAn opposition lawmaker has been assessed a fine for driving while intoxicated, court officials said Tuesday.Rep. Lee Yong-ju of the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace was fined 3 million won ($2,652) for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).Lee was indicted last month for driving a distance of about 7-8 km in Seoul's Gangnam district.The case drew public ire since Lee was among the lawmakers who co-authored a bill aimed at toughening punishment for drunk driving. That bill followed a drunk-driving accident in the southern port city of Busan that left a 22-year-old soldier killed.The party suspended Lee's party membership for three months shortly after he was given a DUI citation.The fine set by the Seoul Central District Court is the highest possible amount for DUI. Prosecutors had demanded a 2 million won fine for Lee. (Yonhap)

Dec 18, 2018

Eight-month jail term sought for Chong Kun Dang chief

Rhee Jang-han, chairman of Chong Kun Dang PharmaceuticalBy Park Si-soo The prosecution is seeking an eight-month jail term for the chairman of Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical accused of verbal abusing his drivers and disrupting their safe driving. Prosecutors made the request in the final hearing of the case at Seoul Central District Court, Monday. Rhee Jang-han, the chairman, admitted his wrongdoing and apologized to the victims. “I'm really sorry to the drivers whose hearts got hurt by me,” the chairman said. “Also I feel sorry to the people.” He begged for mercy. “I did it mistakenly, without any malicious or authoritative intent. I admit I did something wrong. Please show mercy.” Rhee was charged with verbally abusing six drivers and forcing them to violate traffic rules for four years from June 2013. This case came to light in July 2017 after audio clips of him verbally attacking his chauffeurs were made public. The ruling will be made on Jan. 24.

Dec 17, 2018

Eight-month jail term sought for Chong Kun Dang chief

Man jailed for raping stepdaughter

By Park Si-soo A middle-aged man has been jailed for six years for raping his teenage stepdaughter multiple times. An appellate court in Daegu said Sunday it had upheld a lower court's verdict. The court has also put him on three years' post-release probation and banned him from working at any organization for children for five years. “It's considered to be true that the man has suffered from chronic depression and anxiety disorder, but it was hard to find any co-relation between them and his sexual crime,” Judge Park Joon-yong wrote in a ruling statement. “There was no corroborating evidence that his mentality was out of his control when he committed the crime.” The man was charged with raping his stepdaughter five times between February 2014 and March this year.

Dec 16, 2018

'Three strikes and you're OUT': Man jailed for drunk driving

A driver takes a sobriety test. / Korea Times fileBy Park Si-soo A man has been jailed for his third drunk driving offence after two “generous” trials. An appellate court in Cheongju said Sunday it had sent the man, 26, to prison, overturning a lower court ruling to fine him 8 million won.The court said that in light of the “three strikes and you're out” principle, the lower court's penalty was “too light to accept.” The man was caught drunk driving in Cheongju on Jan. 25. His blood alcohol level was 0.087%, higher than the legal threshold to suspend his driver's license. In December 2016 he received a suspended jail term for drunk driving. Two years later, he was caught again and fined 4 million won.

Dec 16, 2018

'Three strikes and you're OUT': Man jailed for drunk driving

Prosecutors raid Samsung BioLogics headquarters

Samsung Biologics headquarters in Yeonsu-gu District in Incheon was raided by prosecutors Thursday for a probe into alleged accounting fraud. YonhapProsecutors raided the main offices of Samsung BioLogics Co. and its accounting firms on Thursday as part of a probe into alleged accounting fraud. The raids come about a month after the financial watchdog ruled that Samsung BioLogics intentionally violated accounting rules ahead of its initial public offering in 2016. The case has been referred to the prosecution. The regulatory review centers on questions about the loss-making Samsung BioLogics' reporting of sudden profits in 2015 after changing the method used to calculate the value of Samsung Bioepis, a joint venture with U.S.-based Biogen Inc.Investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office searched the accounting division of the bio company in Incheon, west of Seoul, to confiscate evidence related to the suspicion. Separate raids were carried out at KPMG Samjong Accounting Corp. and Deloitte Anjin LLC, the two auditors for Samsung BioLogics. Samsung BioLogics CEO Ki

Dec 13, 2018

Prosecutors raid Samsung BioLogics headquarters

Older heating pipes may burst in winter

Korea District Heating Corp. CEO Hwang Chang-hwa bows to apologize for the hot water pipe rupture accident at the Government Complex Sejong, Thursday, before a briefing on the results of an emergency check of pipelines across the country and the corporation’s repair plans for old and dangerous pipes. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunA total of 203 hot water pipes in the country were found to be fragile in cold weather during an emergency inspection, the Korea District Heating Corp. (KDHC) said, Thursday.Sixteen of them were in very poor condition and could burst at any time.The week-long inspection came after the rupture of a hot water pipe near Baekseok Station in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Dec. 5 that killed one and injured 55.The KDHC said it checked 686 kilometers of heating pipes that are over 20 years old, or 32 percent of the 2,164 kilometers of pipelines installed across the country, which the public corporation manages. In the inspection using thermal imaging cameras, 203 spots showed a temperature difference of more than 3 degrees Celsius between the pipe and the ground, whi

Dec 13, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Court dismisses compensation suit against perpetrators in 'Itaewon murder' case

Arthur Patterson walks out of Incheon International Airport on Sept. 23, 2015, after being extradited to Korea on charges of killing a university student in Seoul back in 1997 in the infamous “Itaewon murder” case. / YonhapBy Lee Suh-yoonA Seoul court dismissed Thursday compensation claims filed against Arthur Patterson and Edward Lee for their involvement in the “Itaewon murder” case, by the victim's family. The two U.S. citizens were charged separately with the murder of Korean university student Cho Joong-pil in a Burger King restroom in Itaewon, Seoul, in April 1997.The victim's family demanded 600 million won ($534,000) in compensation for the murder.“Another local court had already ordered Patterson to pay 300 million won to the family members in 2003, and that's why the court did not acknowledge the compensation claim this time,” Ha Joo-hee, the lawyer representing the victim's family, said outside the courthouse. The family filed the new suit this time after Patterson was extradited to Korea following new evidence about the crime being foun

Dec 13, 2018

Court dismisses compensation suit against perpetrators in 'Itaewon murder' case

Weed smuggling skyrockets following legalization in N. America

An official from Incheon Main Customs shows different types of marijuana products smuggled into the country, including jelly, chocolate, caramel and alcohol, during a press briefing at Incheon International Airport, Tuesday. / YonhapBy Kim Hyun-binKorea is seeing a drastic rise in cases of marijuana being smuggled into the country since some states in the United States, and lately Canada, legalized the drug.According to Incheon Main Customs (IMC), Tuesday, the authorities caught 182 cases of marijuana products smuggling from the North American region from January to November, a 314 percent increase from the same period last year.The value of the drugs confiscated was estimated at 570 million won ($433,000), an increase of 123 percent.Along with conventional forms, more diverse marijuana products have been smuggled, including jelly, chocolate, marijuana concentrate and alcohol. There were 105 cases where the substance was caught coming into the country via mail, followed by 70 cases of entering through express cargo. In seven cases, the travelers themselves were carrying the products,

Dec 11, 2018By Kim Hyun-bin

Weed smuggling skyrockets following legalization in N. America

Gyeonggi governor indicted for violating Election Law

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung speaks to the press in front of his office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, after the prosecution announced it had indicted him for alleged violations of the Election Law during the local election campaign in June, and abuse of power. /YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunThe prosecution indicted Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, Tuesday, on two charges of violating the Election Law, and one on abuse of power in committing his estranged brother to a psychiatric hospital. However, prosecutors didn't indict Lee's wife, Kim Hye-gyeong, on allegations she used a “controversial” Twitter account to illegally campaign for her husband due to a lack of evidence.The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office indicted Lee without detention two days before the statute of limitations on the alleged Election Law violations is reached.The office said the governor abused his power in forcibly hospitalizing his older brother in 2012 when he was Seongnam mayor. Lee is suspected of ordering local government civil servants to get his brother committed. While it

Dec 11, 2018By Kim Jae-heun

Law & Crime