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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Gov't to expand safety inspections on overseas direct purchase products

The government will more than double safety inspections on products imported from overseas directly by consumers in an effort to keep hazardous products from flowing into the country, officials said Tuesday. The number of safety inspections on such products will jump to more than 2,000 a year by 2028 from 1,000 last year, according to the Office for Government Policy Coordination. The move is one of the key points in a three-year product safety management plan approved Tuesday in a meeting of the product safety policy committee involving 12 government ministries and agencies, it said in a release. "A need for preemptive responses is rising recently amid growing concerns about the inflow of hazardous products with the spread of overseas direct purchases," the office said. "The government will apply artificial intelligence to the entire product safety cycle and shift to a policy centered on prevention so as to build a tight product safety net." The government will also strengthen safety checks on products prone to accidents, including those with built-in batteries, and children's products,

May 12, 2026By Yonhap
Gov't to expand safety inspections on overseas direct purchase products

Supreme Court confirms 2-year prison term for retired general over martial law involvement

The Supreme Court on Tuesday confirmed a two-year prison sentence for retired Army Maj. Gen. Noh Sang-won for collecting the personal information of military intelligence agents ahead of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid. The ruling is the first to come from the top court in connection with the martial law declaration in December 2024. The 64-year-old former commander of the Defense Intelligence Command had been indicted on charges of violating the personal information protection law by retrieving data on the command's agents for use in establishing an electoral fraud investigation team under Yoon's martial law. He was also charged with receiving 20 million won ($13,500) in cash and 6 million won worth of gift certificates from two military officers in exchange for his help in getting them promoted. The Supreme Court convicted him of both charges and sentenced him to the prison term while ordering a forfeiture of 24.9 million won in line with the rulings of the district and appellate courts. Later in the day, a special counsel team requested a five-year prison term f

May 12, 2026By Yonhap
Supreme Court confirms 2-year prison term for retired general over martial law involvement

Police clear ex-first lady of wrongdoing over naval ship party

Police said Monday they will not pursue charges against former first lady Kim Keon Hee over a party held aboard a naval ship in 2023. Kim and her husband, ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, have been under investigation for allegedly using military assets for private purposes during the naval ship party at the Jinhae Naval Base in August 2023. A special police investigation team said in a notice to the press that they decided to close the case without pursuing charges due to a lack of evidence. The team has been looking into various corruption allegations involving the former first lady that were previously unresolved by a special counsel team. Police did, however, refer Kim Yong-hyun, a former chief of the Presidential Security Service, to the prosecution on suspicions of instigating abuse of power, along with his former deputy Kim Seong-hoon for abusing power by organizing the party. The former deputy chief of the security service is accused of instructing staff to purchase premium fish, install karaoke equipment and prepare firecrackers for the party, among other allegations.

May 11, 2026By Yonhap
Police clear ex-first lady of wrongdoing over naval ship party

Nat'l Police Agency to train Southeast Asian investigators to combat online scams

Korean police are launching a specialized training program this month for law enforcement officials from Laos and Cambodia, part of a broader effort to dismantle the growing network of online scams and cybercrime syndicates operating across Southeast Asia. The initiative, conducted under the "K-Police Wave" project, will bring 20 investigators to Korea for intensive technical workshops. Ten middle managers from the Lao General Department of Police are scheduled to train through May 23, followed by 10 investigators from Cambodia’s "Korea Desk" and intelligence units, who will attend sessions at the National Police University and other facilities through the end of the month. The curriculum is designed to address the increasingly sophisticated methods used by transnational criminal organizations that have found a foothold in the region. During the training, participants will focus on advanced technical skills including the tracking of hidden criminal proceeds and the monitoring of complex cryptocurrency transactions. The program also provides specialized tactics for investigating onlin

May 11, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Nat'l Police Agency to train Southeast Asian investigators to combat online scams

Gov't to crack down on fraudulent 'perfect score' apartment application winners

The government will look into all "perfect-score" winners in apartment applications since July last year to see if any foul play was involved, officials said Monday, amid complaints that perfect scores should be rare in principle but too many such cases have been reported. In Korea, those wanting to buy newly built apartments should file applications in usually highly competitive processes, and winners are determined by lottery weighted by points based on how long they have been living without owning homes and how many dependents are in their families. The system is designed to give priority to those in real need of homes. Perfect scores should be rare because the size of a family living together for the full score is seven, which is not common in a nation where household sizes have become increasingly smaller. But the Office for Government Policy Coordination said Monday that the country has seen a series of "unrealistic" score winners recently. "We will carry out an intensive inspection of fraudulent applicants in cooperation with related ministries and agencies," the office said in a

May 11, 2026By Yonhap
Gov't to crack down on fraudulent 'perfect score' apartment application winners

Appeals court finds ex-prosecutor guilty in bribery case involving ex-first lady

An appeals court on Friday overturned a lower court's acquittal of a former prosecutor on charges of violating the anti-graft law in a bribery case involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee. The Seoul High Court sentenced Kim Sang-min to two years in prison suspended for three years on charges of gifting a painting by renowned artist Lee Ufan to the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2023. The former prosecutor had been indicted for giving the 140 million-won ($95,500) painting to the then first lady in return for her support for his bid to win a nomination to run in the 2024 general elections. The lower court had acquitted him of the charge, citing the lack of credibility of a key witness in the case, an art dealer who had partially reversed an earlier testimony. The appeals court ruled that the witness' overall testimony could be recognized as valid, noting the defendant had purchased the painting through the witness and the artwork appeared to have been delivered to the then first lady. The appellate court also sentenced the former prosecutor to one year in prison suspended for t

May 8, 2026By Yonhap
Appeals court finds ex-prosecutor guilty in bribery case involving ex-first lady

Police to strengthen patrols as deadly random attack fuels public fear

Police said Friday they will step up patrols and inspections after the recent random killing of a female high school student in the southwestern city of Gwangju sparked public anxiety. The 17-year-old student was fatally stabbed by a 24-year-old stranger at around 12:11 a.m. Tuesday on a road near a university in the city's Gwangsan district, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul. Another high school student, who approached the scene upon hearing the victim scream, was also injured in a knife attack by the suspect. The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) issued a press notice, saying it has decided to strengthen visible police activities to deter crimes and prevent similar incidents from recurring. Acting KNPA chief Yoo Jae-sung presided over a video conference of police leadership Friday afternoon to devise measures to reinforce patrols, particularly in sparsely populated areas, by making maximum use of personnel. In addition, the police will expand patrols in areas at risk of crime through active cooperation with private security firms and volunteers, the KNPA said, adding individuals su

May 8, 2026By Yonhap
Police to strengthen patrols as deadly random attack fuels public fear

Itaewon disaster committee decides to file complaint against Yongsan ward chief

A special investigation committee on the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush decided Friday to file a complaint against the head of the Yongsan ward office for allegedly giving instructions that prevented officials from immediately responding to the tragedy. Park Hee-young is accused of ordering officials to remove anti-government posters just as they were set to respond to the deadly crowd crush in the nightlife district of Itaewon on Oct. 29, 2022. The crowd crush, which killed 159 people, happened during Halloween festivities in a narrow alley in Itaewon amid a lack of effective crowd control measures. The committee said it would seek an investigation into Park on charges of abuse of power and perjury by filing a request to a joint team of police investigators and prosecutors. Park denied making such instructions in a March committee hearing. The committee also decided to file a complaint against a former Itaewon subway station chief for allegedly perjuring herself during the hearing when she said there was no police request for trains to pass the station without stopping on the day of the trage

May 8, 2026By Yonhap
Itaewon disaster committee decides to file complaint against Yongsan ward chief

Ex-Marine commander gets 3-year sentence over conscript’s death

A former Marine commander has been sentenced to three years in prison over the death of a young conscript who was swept away and killed during a river search operation in 2023. The Seoul Central District Court on Friday convicted Lim Seong-geun, former commander of the Marine Corps 1st Division, of occupational negligence resulting in death and violating a military order. He was indicted over the death of Cpl. Chae Soo-geun (then a private), who was swept away by strong currents and died while taking part in a search operation for a missing resident in the Naeseong Stream in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, on July 19, 2023. A panel of judges, led by Cho Hyung-woo, also handed suspended or custodial sentences to four other officers involved. Park Sang-hyun, former commander of the 7th Brigade of the 1st Marine Division, and Choi Jin-kyu, former commander of the division’s 11th Artillery Battalion, who oversaw operations in the flood-hit area, were each sentenced to 18 months in prison. Former 7th Artillery Battalion Commander Lee Yong-min, the immediate superior of the headquarters

May 8, 2026By Jung Min-ho
Ex-Marine commander gets 3-year sentence over conscript’s death

Top court confirms 2-yr prison term for Hankook & Company chairman in embezzlement case

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a two-year prison sentence for Hankook & Company Chairman Cho Hyun-bum for misappropriating and embezzling company funds. The top court confirmed an appellate court ruling that found Cho guilty of breach of trust and embezzling about 2 billion won ($1.36 million), dismissing appeals by both Cho and the prosecution. The appellate court had ruled that Cho used corporate cards for personal use, made the company chauffer a personal aide to his wife, and bought vehicles under the name of affiliate companies. Prosecutors had accused Cho of misappropriating and embezzling funds in the range of 20 billion won. The appellate court had reduced Cho's prison sentence from three years after overturning a lower court's guilty verdict on charges of lending 5 billion won from MKT, an affiliate company, to an auto parts company despite being aware of its poor financial status.

May 8, 2026By Yonhap
Top court confirms 2-yr prison term for Hankook & Company chairman in embezzlement case
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