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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.

Father of golf legend Pak Se-ri receives suspended sentence over document forgery

The father of the Korean golf legend Pak Se-ri received a suspended jail term Wednesday for an illegal attempt to borrow the name of his daughter's foundation to build an international golf school. The Daejeon District Court in the central city of Daejeon handed down a 10-month sentence, suspended for two years, on Pak Joon-chul, on a number of charges, including forging a private document. The senior Pak was convicted of forging a document and a company seal to set up an international golf school under the name of the Seri Pak Hope Foundation, and of acting as the chairman of the foundation while pursuing the project between June 2021 and July 2023, when Pak Se-ri was the person in charge of the foundation as its director. The daughter took her father's case to police in September 2023, and police referred it to the prosecution for possible indictment early in 2024. The father claimed that he was trying to work on behalf of his daughter and he had received tacit approval from the foundation to go ahead with the school project. However, the court ruled that the senior Pak still had no leg

Dec 17, 2025By Yonhap
Father of golf legend Pak Se-ri receives suspended sentence over document forgery

Police transfer case on alleged bias in special counsel's investigation to anti-graft agency

Police on Wednesday transferred a case over allegations of bias in a special counsel team's investigation to the anti-corruption agency, an investigation team said. The case against special counsel Min Joong-ki investigating corruption allegations surrounding former first lady Kim Keon Hee was sent to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, the police team said in a notice to reporters. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) earlier filed a complaint against Min and his team for allegedly conducting a biased probe targeting its members despite securing a statement that the Unification Church also provided money to members of the now-ruling Democratic Party. The special counsel team has investigated bribery allegations involving the church, the former first lady and the PPP affiliated with former President Yoon Suk Yeol, Kim's husband. The case's transfer came after police investigators raided Min's office for the second day Tuesday to seize records in connection to the allegations. A former Unification Church official testified at court earlier this month tha

Dec 17, 2025By Yonhap
Police transfer case on alleged bias in special counsel's investigation to anti-graft agency

Special counsel raids opposition lawmaker's home over gift to ex-first lady

A special counsel team raided the home of Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Wednesday over bribery allegations involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team said its investigators searched Rep. Kim's home to gather evidence related to a luxury gift allegedly given to the former first lady two years ago. The team is also attempting to raid Rep. Kim's office at the National Assembly. The lawmaker's wife, surnamed Lee, is suspected of delivering a Roger Vivier clutch bag worth 2.6 million won ($1,760) to Kim soon after Rep. Kim was elected the PPP chairperson in March 2023. The search and seizure warrant obtained by the special counsel team reportedly lists Rep. Kim as an accomplice in the alleged anti-graft law violation by Lee. The clutch bag was discovered at the former first lady's home, along with a thank you letter written by Lee, during the special counsel team's raid on Nov. 6. The team suspects that Kim colluded with a shaman to recruit about 2,400 Unification Church members to the PPP to support Rep. Kim in the party

Dec 17, 2025By Yonhap
Special counsel raids opposition lawmaker's home over gift to ex-first lady

Police question jailed Unification Church leader over bribery allegations

Police questioned jailed Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja on Wednesday over bribery allegations involving multiple politicians, officials said. Police have been investigating allegations the church gave tens of millions of won and luxury gifts to former Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo, former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lim Jong-seong and former United Future Party lawmaker Kim Gyu-hwan from 2018 to 2020. A special police investigation team visited the Seoul Detention Center, where Han is currently held on bribery charges linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee, and questioned her about the latest allegations. Investigators are expected to look into whether Han was the person ultimately responsible for the alleged bribes. A former church official who first raised the allegations has accused Han of giving bribery orders. Police also questioned Han about cash bundles worth 28 billion won ($19 million) reportedly found in her personal safe in an earlier special counsel raid at her residence. On Monday, police raided Han's residence in Gapyeong County, the church's headquarters in Se

Dec 17, 2025By Yonhap
Police question jailed Unification Church leader over bribery allegations

Ex-vice land minister arrested over favoritism allegations related to presidential residence relocation

Former Vice Land Minister Kim Oh-jin was placed under arrest Wednesday on charges linked to favoritism allegations surrounding the 2022 relocation of the presidential residence. The Seoul Central District Court issued arrest warrants for Kim and a former presidential official, surnamed Hwang, citing concerns they may destroy evidence. The two are accused of involvement in helping 21 Gram, an interior company without proper licensing, be improperly chosen for the presidential residence's relocation and renovation work, following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's election victory in March 2022. Yoon relocated the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae to what was then the defense ministry compound in Yongsan and the presidential residence to what was formerly the foreign minister's official residence. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team, mandated to investigate corruption allegations surrounding the former first lady, suspects 21 Gram received preferential treatment on the back of its ties to the former president's wife. The company is known to have sponsored exhibitions held by Kim's former

Dec 17, 2025By Yonhap
Ex-vice land minister arrested over favoritism allegations related to presidential residence relocation

Lawyers claim close associate of ex-first lady gave her $203,400 in checks

The lawyers for a close associate of former first lady Kim Keon Hee claimed Tuesday their client previously handed her 300 million won ($203,400) in checks, noting he told special prosecutors of the incident to cooperate with their investigation. The legal team of Lee Jong-ho, former head of Blackpearl Invest, made the claim during the final arguments of his trial on charges of accepting money in exchange for promising to use his connections to secure a lighter sentence for an individual. The lawyers said Lee disclosed the incident during earlier questioning by special counsel Min Joong-ki's team, citing it as an example of his cooperation with the team's investigation. The remarks came after the special counsel team claimed Lee did not cooperate with their probe, saying he threw away his phone and created an alibi based on false evidence. The team demanded the court sentence him to four years in prison, a fine of 10 million won and a forfeiture of 83.9 million won, arguing his offense dealt a "lethal" blow to the integrity of the criminal justice process. Lee is accused of receiving 83 m

Dec 16, 2025By Yonhap
Lawyers claim close associate of ex-first lady gave her $203,400 in checks

EXPLAINER Why Unification Church is so desperate for Korea-Japan undersea tunnel

The Unification Church's long-cherished Korea-Japan undersea tunnel proposal is regaining public attention after Rep. Chun Jae-soo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea resigned as oceans minister last week. He stepped down amid allegations that the church bribed him and other politicians to win support for the project. Questions are mounting over why the church has spent more than four decades lobbying for a megaproject that the government has already concluded makes little economic sense. The tunnel plan dates back to 1981, when the church's founder, Moon Sun-myung, proposed the construction of a "Great Asian Highway" to link major Asian cities by road. "This would be a great international highway around which freedom is guaranteed," Moon said that year at the 10th International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences in Seoul. His proposal echoed the Japanese Empire’s idea from the 1910s and 1940s to connect the island nation to the continent by land to improve wartime logistics. Former Korean presidents — including Roh Tae-woo, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun — also brought up

Dec 16, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
[EXPLAINER] Why Unification Church is so desperate for Korea-Japan undersea tunnel

Court to rule on ex-President Yoon's obstruction of arrest charges on Jan. 16

A court said Tuesday it will deliver its verdict next month on whether former President Yoon Suk Yeol obstructed justice by blocking investigators from detaining him over his short-lived imposition of martial law. The sentencing hearing will be held Jan. 16, the bench overseeing his trial at the Seoul Central District Court said, citing a law that requires the first ruling to be delivered within six months of an indictment by the special counsel team that investigated his case. It will be the first verdict from the four cases Yoon is standing trial for in connection with his December 2024 declaration of martial law. Also, it will come two days before his arrest period expires. Yoon has been indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, violating the rights of nine Cabinet members who were not called to a meeting to review his martial law plan, drafting and destroying a revised proclamation after the decree was lifted, and ordering the deletion of secure phone records. The indictments were filed by special counsel Cho Eun-seok's team on July 17. The bench said it plans to conclude hearin

Dec 16, 2025By Yonhap
Court to rule on ex-President Yoon's obstruction of arrest charges on Jan. 16

Ex-military commander recants testimony on Yoon's alleged order to arrest lawmakers

A former commander of the Capital Defense Command on Monday recanted his earlier testimony that former President Yoon Suk Yeol had ordered him to "drag out" lawmakers from the National Assembly during a failed attempt to impose martial law last December, officials said. Lee Jin-woo, who is suspected of having played a key role in Yoon's imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, made the reversal while testifying as a witness at a hearing on charges of insurrection against the former president. In May, Lee testified at a court martial in Seoul that he found it "abnormal" when the president allegedly ordered him to "kick and break down the door" to drag out lawmakers. He also told the court he recalled Yoon saying that "four people can take out one person each at the National Assembly building," noting that the memory had come back to him after being reminded by an adjutant. However, Lee backtracked on his previous testimony Monday, saying his memory had been "distorted" by things he had heard and seen on television and YouTube. "I did say that at the time," Lee said, adding he had made th

Dec 15, 2025By Yonhap
Ex-military commander recants testimony on Yoon's alleged order to arrest lawmakers

Crypto mogul Do Kwon may face separate trial in Korea despite 15-year US sentence

Do Kwon, the crypto tycoon at the center of the 2022 collapse of cryptocurrencies TerraUSD and Luna that caused an estimated $40 billion in investor losses, may face another trial and a jail sentence here if he is extradited to Korea in addition to the 15-year prison sentence given by a U.S. court, according to government officials and prosecutors Monday. It is widely expected that the 34-year-old Korean national may apply to the International Prisoner Transfer Program after serving half of his 15-year sentence, with U.S. prosecutors agreeing not to oppose such a request as part of a plea deal. This leaves open the possibility of his transfer to Korea. After his arrest in Montenegro in March 2023, Kwon pursued legal action seeking extradition to Korea rather than the U.S. He was ultimately transferred to the U.S. on Dec. 31, 2024, and sentenced on Thursday (local time). If sent back to Korea, Kwon would face a separate trial on charges including violations of the Capital Markets Act, and could receive additional punishment independent of the U.S. proceedings. The joint financial crimes un

Dec 15, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Crypto mogul Do Kwon may face separate trial in Korea despite 15-year US sentence
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