South Korea - The Korea Times

Korean man shot to death in Philippines

By Jung Min-hoA Korean man has been shot to death in the Philippines, Koreans living there said Saturday.According to them, the 41-year-old man was shot to death Friday night while driving on a street in Mandaue, one of three densely populated cities on Cebu Island.He was reportedly shot by two men riding on motorcycles.Given that the two did not take anything from him after the killing, police suspect it was a case of premeditated murder.The victim was known to have run a Korean restaurant on the island.

Feb 24, 2018

Ex-soldier found not guilty of gay sex

By Kim Jae-heunA lower court in Seoul made a not-guilty ruling Thursday on behalf of a former soldier charged for sexual contact with another male colleague, the first such ruling on gay sex.The Seoul Northern District Court judged a reserve lieutenant innocent. The soldier had been indicted by army prosecutors for engaging in sexual activity with another serviceman, saying it took place under mutual consent.Military law stipulates homosexual activity can be punished despite consensus, upon which the military prosecution indicted the lieutenant last June.According to the prosecution, the former officer had consensual sexual relations six times with another lieutenant from a different unit from September 2016 to February next year.Under military law, those found guilty can be subject to up to two years of imprisonment.However, the civilian court said the military criminal law banning and punishing any type of consensual sex is an infringement of individual privacy and freedom as well as a soldier’s self-determination.Furthermore, the court added the sexual relationship was mutua

Feb 23, 2018

Hypnotist helps police find missing child

Police found a missing girl with the help of a hypnotist / YonhapBy Jung Min-ho, Kang Aa-youngPolice said Thursday they found a missing child with the help of a hypnotist.According to the Siheung Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, police have found a seven-year-old girl who went missing last month.The investigation began after the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education reported her absence at school to police.It did not take long for police to find her biological mother. But she said the girl had been adopted into another family in 2011 when she was six months old.The problem was the mother could barely recall the people who adopted her daughter. She said she had not gone through formal procedures for adoption.Police brought the case to a hypnotist at the National Forensic Service. With the special help, the mother recalled the place she met the adoptive parents and the roads nearby.Based on that information, the police narrowed down the possible location of the new parents to six cities. After searching through birth papers submitted in the cities between 2012 and 2011, the polic

Feb 23, 2018

Hypnotist helps police find missing child

Lieutenant ruled not guilty over homosexual activity

By Kim Jae-heunA lower court in Seoul made a not-guilty ruling Thursday on behalf of a former soldier charged for sexual contact with another male colleague, the first such ruling on gay sex. The Seoul Northern District Court judged a reserve lieutenant innocent. The soldier had been indicted by army prosecutors for engaging in sexual activity with another serviceman, saying it took place under mutual consent. Military law stipulates homosexual activity can be punished despite consensus, upon which the military prosecution indicted the lieutenant last June. According to the prosecution, the former officer had consensual sexual relations six times with another lieutenant from a different unit from September 2016 to February last year. Under military law, those found guilty can be subject to up to two years of imprisonment. However, the civilian court said the military criminal law banning and punishing any type of consensual sex is an infringement of individual privacy and freedom as well as a soldier’s self-determination.Furthermore, the court added the sexual relationship was

Feb 23, 2018

Olympic ticket swindler arrested

Olympic tickets. / YonhapBy Jung Min-ho, Cho Se-YongA man has been arrested on charges of defrauding Olympic fans of 11 million won ($10,000) with fake tickets, police said Wednesday.The man, 27, whose identity is being withheld, is suspected of deceiving 17 people, including two foreigners, who paid him for fake Olympic tickets he promoted online.One victim wired him 2.3 million won for two tickets, police said.The man reportedly spent all the money on illegal online gambling.Police are investigating whether he has also been involved in other similar frauds.

Feb 23, 2018

Dutch man caught stealing Olympic mascots

PyeongChang Olympic mascots. / YonhapBy Jung Min-ho, Kang Aa-youngA Dutch man was investigated after stealing PyeongChang Olympic souvenirs, including mascot dolls, at Incheon International Airport, police said Wednesday.The 53-year-old, whose identity is being withheld, admitted that he stole souvenirs worth 109,000 won ($100) ― six dolls and a hooded T-shirt ― from a souvenir shop at around 10:05 p.m. on Monday, according to police.The man, who came to Korea to watch the Olympics, said he wanted to give the souvenirs to his daughter. He was on his way home that day.According to police, he said he wanted to pay for the souvenirs, but that the store was closed. Airport security guards saw him taking the goods and took him to police.Police said they later released the man."The owner got all the stolen items back and did not want him to be punished," a police spokesman said.

Feb 21, 2018

Dutch man caught stealing Olympic mascots

'Molar father' sentenced to death for killing daughter's friend

A Seoul court on Wednesday meted out a death sentence for a man charged with killing a school friend of his daughter after sexually molesting her.The Seoul Northern District Court handed down the gravest possible punishment on Lee Young-hak, 36, who had confessed to choking a 14-year-old girl to death in his home last September after committing lewd acts on her body while she was drugged.Prosecutors had demanded the death penalty.The court sentenced his daughter, whose identity was not revealed, to four years in prison for luring the friend to the house and helping her father dump her body. But her sentence can be extended up to six years in case of an infraction during her four-year imprisonment.The killing shocked the nation as Lee was publicly known after appearing on a TV show in the 2000s, which portrayed him as a poor man suffering from a rare dental disease while trying to eke out a living with a daughter who had the same incurable illness.Lee earned the nickname of "molar father" after losing all but one molar while treating the disease. (Yonhap)

Feb 21, 2018

'Molar father' sentenced to death for killing daughter's friend

Scandal-hit actor drops out of new drama

Cho Min-giThe actor Cho Min-gi has stepped down from his role in an upcoming TV series following allegations of sexual abuses, his management agency said Wednesday.Will Entertainment issued an apology for the controversy and said the actor will drop out of "Children of a Lesser God," set to premiere on the cable channel OCN on Feb. 24."The company is well aware of how serious the testimonies against him are ... Cho Min-gi will sincerely respond to the police investigation," the company said in a statement.The veteran actor was scheduled to play a major role in the drama. The channel is mulling how to fill the vacancy left by Cho's departure.On Tuesday, news surfaced that the actor sexually harassed and assaulted female students for years while he was teaching acting at Cheongju University in Cheongju, 137 kilometers south of Seoul. Cho resigned after the school's internal probe reportedly found that those allegations were true.The actor, however, strongly denied the allegations against him in a statement issued late Tuesday by his agency.Cho made his debut as a theatrical actor

Feb 21, 2018

Scandal-hit actor drops out of new drama

Veteran actor denies sexual misconduct

Veteran actor denies sexual misconduct

By Park Si-soo Cho Min-giVeteran actor Cho Min-gi has become a target of #MeToo claims here. Cho, 52, recently lost his professorship at Cheongju University where he had taught theater students for years, with his agency and the school giving different reasons. The school cites sexual misconduct involving a female student while his agency cites a controversy in the classroom. A school committee is trying to figure out what happened. Online news outlet News1 quoted a university official as saying, “The reason will be decided by the disciplinary committee sooner or later.” The official did not elaborate, saying the issue was “linked to a student’s privacy.” Cho’s agency, Will Entertainment, denies claims that Cho was involved in sexual misconduct. The agency also denies reports that he was forced to leave the school. “Some of his remarks and deeds during class sparked a controversy early last year,” an agency official said.“The school took issue with it, so he voluntary quit the job, taking responsibility for the controversy. It is

Feb 20, 2018

Scandal-hit actor drops out of new drama

Afghan asylum seeker tries to set himself on fire during immigration interview

/ Courtesy of the Busan Police Station By Cho Se-yong, Park Si-soo An Afghan asylum seeker with a Pakistani passport tried to set himself on fire during an interview with an immigration official, police said Monday. The exact reason for the life-threatening act was unknown.According to police, the asylum seeker, 39, was talking with an immigration official at the Busan Immigration Office on Monday morning. At around 10:40 a.m., he suddenly opened a 500mm gasoline-filled plastic bottle, poured the gas over his head, and tried to ignite a lighter. He was subdued swiftly. Police said the incident took place when he and the official were discussing a re-trial of the asylum seeker’s rejected petition to get refugee status.

Feb 19, 2018

Law & Crime

Law & Crime

Korean man shot to death in Philippines

Ex-soldier found not guilty of gay sex

Hypnotist helps police find missing child

Lieutenant ruled not guilty over homosexual activity

Olympic ticket swindler arrested

Dutch man caught stealing Olympic mascots

'Molar father' sentenced to death for killing daughter's friend

Scandal-hit actor drops out of new drama

Veteran actor denies sexual misconduct

Afghan asylum seeker tries to set himself on fire during immigration interview

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