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Feminists vs. male supremacists

/ Korea Times graphic by Cho Sang-wonMutual hatred in cyberspace spreads to offline confrontation By Kang Hyun-kyung“There's no government that can protect women in this country.”Internet user Skeleso groaned in a post regarding a news article explaining the rejection of arrest warrants for baseball players Cho Sang-woo and Park Dong-won, who are accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s at a hotel in the port city of Incheon on May 23. Cho, pitcher of the Nexen Heroes, reportedly admitted he had a sexual relationship with the girl that night but insisted it was consensual. Meanwhile, his teammate Park has denied the allegation he raped her. If the victim is female, Skeleso complained the woman is portrayed as a hooker who had sex with the men for money. “The female victim will have a difficult time proving anything happened against her will,” the internet user wrote. Some internet users believed to be men, meanwhile, blamed the victim for allegedly enticing the baseball players, calling her “a kimchi girl.” “Kimchi girls” is in

Jun 10, 2018
Feminists vs. male supremacists

Prosecutors to probe state textbook allegations

By Kim Hyun-binThe Ministry of Education said, Friday, it has requested the prosecution to investigate 17 people, including former Cheong Wa Dae senior officials, who were involved in the now-scrapped state-authored history textbook plan. According to the ministry, the 17 are five former presidential officials, including former chief of staff Lee Byung-kee and Kim Sang-ryul, a former senior secretary for education and culture, eight then education officials and four people from the private sector. However, the list failed to include former President Park Geun-hye and her presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon, believed to have masterminded the drive for the books for middle and high school students. On March 28, the fact finding committee under the education ministry initially requested that 25 people be questioned, including Park and Kim, for possible abuse of power and other violations of related laws.The history book plan was ditched by President Moon Jae-in last year right after he took office. “We are not authorized to investigate those who do not belong to the educatio

Jun 8, 2018

Police say suspect in US Embassy car crash has history of mental illness

Police investigate the car, which was driven into the gates of the U.S. Embassy in central Seoul, Thursday. / YonhapPolice said Friday the man who rammed a car into a gate of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul a day earlier has a history of being treated for mental illness.The 47-year-old surnamed Yoon, an official with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, has been booked on the count of special property damage after he slammed a sedan into the front gate of the embassy building in central Gwanghwamun around 7:20 p.m. on Thursday.He claimed he wanted to seek asylum in the United States, saying he's been involved in affairs related to North Korea. The crash damaged the car and the embassy gate.Police said Friday that Yoon has admitted to the crime and said he was "out of his mind and haunted by a ghost.""He told us he had this delusion that he could go to the U.S. if he seeks asylum by ramming the embassy gate," a police officer told reporters.Yoon's medical history shows he has been treated twice for delusion, police said. He said his symptoms became worse after he was selected as a ca

Jun 8, 2018
Police say suspect in US Embassy car crash has history of mental illness

Gov't launches probe into sexual violence during 1980 pro-democracy uprising

President Moon Jae-in hugs Kim So-hyung, whose father was killed during the May 18th Gwangju Uprising, during a ceremony marking the 37th anniversary of the democratic movement in Gwangju last year. YonhapThe government launched a fact-finding commission Friday to look into sexual assaults by soldiers who were sent to suppress a pro-democracy uprising in the southern city of Gwangju in 1980.The fact-finding mission is part of the government's wider efforts to find out who was responsible for the mobilization of military forces against the civilian protest against the then-ruling junta of Chun Doo-hwan.The new commission, jointly headed by the vice minister for gender equality and the secretary general of the National Human Rights Commission, will collect and investigate cases of sexual violence by the military during the May 18th Democratization Movement by going through military documents and gathering reports from victims and their families, according to the government.It starts on Friday and runs till Oct. 31 and will have 12 members from the ministries of gender equality and defe

Jun 8, 2018
Gov't launches probe into sexual violence during 1980 pro-democracy uprising

35 court heads meet over 'judiciary abuse'

By Lee Kyung-min Thirty-five heads of courts nationwide met Thursday over a “judiciary abuse” allegation that the Supreme Court under the leadership of former chief justice Yang Sung-tae drafted documents to deliver verdicts on politically sensitive trials in exchange for the establishment of what would have been a de facto “Second Supreme Court.” This was Yang's top initiative to help lower the workload of top court justices and help many senior judges nearing retirement retain their prestigious high-ranking public posts longer. Officials at the Office of Court Administration (OCA) under the top court are alleged to have made detailed plans to curry favor with the 2013-17 Park Geun-hye administration, evidenced by 410 documents in computers used by only a handful of OCA officials reviewed by an internal committee, after two earlier bodies were denied access. In a meeting at the Supreme Court, the 35 heads of district and high courts exchanged views on a possible criminal investigation of related figures, and the expected far-reaching implications and conseque

Jun 7, 2018

Scuba diver found dead off Gangneung coast

Rescue workers search the waters off Gangneung in Gangwon Province, Wednesday, after a woman went missing. She was found dead later that day. / YonhapBy Jung Min-hoA woman who went missing on Wednesday while scuba diving off Gangneung has been found dead.According to the Donghae Coast Guard Wednesday, divers found her body at a depth of 35.6 meters about 5:22 p.m.The Seoul resident, surnamed Kim, 37, went missing soon after getting into the water with four other people.Their diving instructor said he could not find her immediately because the water was muddy.Kim had advanced diver certification, which requires several years' experience, and was fully equipped. When found, her lantern was on and her scuba tank was empty.Police said they are investigating the cause of her death.On Sunday, a man, 48, who went missing the previous day while scuba diving was found dead off the coast of Yangyang, a neighboring city of Gangneung.

Jun 7, 2018
Scuba diver found dead off Gangneung coast

'French Spiderman' arrested for illegally climbing Seoul's skyscraper

"French Spiderman" is about to be caught. / Yonhap / YonhapWorld-renowned French climber Alain Robert was arrested for scaling a skyscraper in southern Seoul without permission Wednesday, police said.The 55-year-old known as the "French Spiderman" for his gravity-defying climbing skills was caught on the rooftop of the 125th floor of Lotte World Tower at about 11:35 a.m.Robert was specifically charged with obstruction of business for climbing to the 75th floor of the skyscraper without seeking any prior consent from Lotte Property and Development Co., the building's operator, according to the police.Upon reaching the floor about two hours after he began scaling the tower at about 7:50 a.m., he was transported to the top aboard a building management utility on standby by the company."I had this event to celebrate the quickly improving ties between South and North Korea," the company quoted the man as saying."Robert was not wearing proper safety gear," police said. "We'll decide how to handle him after investigating his motive for the crime and other details."The French climber ro

Jun 6, 2018
'French Spiderman' arrested for illegally climbing Seoul's skyscraper

T'way Air undermined by sexual harassment case

T'way Air jet / Courtesy of T'way AirBy Kim Jae-heunT'way Air, the country's third largest low-cost carrier (LCC), is embroiled in a controversy as it imposed a light punishment on a pilot who allegedly harassed a female first officer. This is expected to deal a blow to its corporate image as one of the top three LCCs. The pilot in command allegedly caressed his first officer's thigh and touched her breast during a flight last September. The captain also made improper comments, harassing the first officer by pointing at her breasts.The captain has only a few years left until his retirement.The female officer immediately reported the case to the company when she returned to Seoul. However, the airline only made the captain apologize and cut his wages for three months. Some observers said T'way Air did not take sufficient action to protect the female officer and was reluctant to resolve the problem.“Other senior captains at the company complained about the first officer, saying she was being too sensitive. The company too was reluctant to resolve the issue and played a part in ma

Jun 5, 2018
T'way Air undermined by sexual harassment case

Judges seek thorough investigation of ex-chief justice

By Kim Hyun-binThe Supreme Court will disclose documents relating to former chief justice Yang Sung-tae's allegations of controversially using trials as leverage to gain presidential approval for organizational changes.The head of the National Court Administration (NCA) Ahn Chul-sang said Tuesday that 98 documents that were cited in a recent internal probe will be released, without disclosing the names of persons mentioned.A special probe found that NCA wrote around 410 documents in March 2015 on how to persuade senior presidential aides with high profile cases to establish a de facto “Second Supreme Court.”Yang, who served under ousted President Park Geun-hye, allegedly influenced decisions at the Supreme Court and created a blacklist of mostly liberal judges who were opposed to the plan. Yang is accused of deliberately using politically sensitive trials as bargaining chips to curry favor with the Park administration in exchange for the establishment of the “Second Supreme Court.”Yang allegedly used cases involving unions and a former spy chief whose verdicts

Jun 5, 2018

1 killed, 4 injured in 'noraebang' fire

/ Courtesy of Daegu Dalseo Fire stationAn apparent arson attack occurred Tuesday in a karaoke bar in the southeastern South Korean city of Daegu, killing a male guest and injuring four other people, police said.Police said the fire broke out inside the karaoke salon, also known as a "noraebang," in the basement of a building at around 4:44 a.m. before being put out in about 20 minutes. The four injured people, including the establishment's owner, were taken to a nearby hospital.Although details are unclear, police said the incident could be an arson attack, given that there was a smell of inflammable material near the salon's counter. Police are looking at CCTV footage obtained at the site and meeting witnesses to determine what caused the fire.Noraebangs are places that rent out rooms equipped with sing-along sound systems, usually including a video monitor. (Yonhap)

Jun 5, 2018
1 killed, 4 injured in 'noraebang' fire
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