my timesThe Korea Times
South KoreaLaw & Crime

Law & Crime

Choi Soon-sil to stay in jail longer

By Kim Se-jeong A court in Seoul approved on Friday an extended arrest warrant for Choi Soon-sil, former President Park Geun-hye’s confidant who is on trial for corruption charges.The Seoul Central District Court did the same for An Chong-bum, a former presidential secretary also on trial in connection with the corruption scandal.The court said the two present a flight risk if released. The two were supposed to be freed at the end of this month.An requested a month of freedom for medical reasons. The corrections office said he suffered spinal pain and wished to have surgery.Choi and An were caught in one of Korea’s worst political scandals that removed the president from power.Choi was charged with influencing Park and her associates in the presidential office to pocket money, while An was charged with assisting Choi knowing it would only benefit Choi personally.The scandal took angry citizens to the streets and prompted the Constitutional Court to impeach the former president. Park is now in jail, on trial for corruption.     

Nov 17, 2017

Thai worker found dead in Namyangju

By Park Si-sooA Thai man was found dead near his dorm room in a factory-crammed village in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, police said Friday.The man, 24, was found hanging from a steel pole near his room at 6:20 a.m. Thursday, according to police. His room is next to a factory where he had worked since 2014 as an undocumented foreigner, investigators said.An investigation is under way to find the cause of his death. Police will conduct an autopsy soon.His colleagues reportedly told police that he used to have frequent contact with his family in Thailand but recently cut contact for unknown reasons.He entered South Korea on a travel visa and started working at the factory, investigators said. 

Nov 17, 2017
Thai worker found dead in Namyangju

Moon's former secretary to be quizzed over graft scandal next week

Jun Byung-hunProsecutors said Friday that they will summon Jun Byung-hun, former senior presidential secretary for political affairs, next week as a suspect in a probe into a graft scandal involving his two former aides.Jun will face the prosecutors' investigation Monday to answer questions on alleged bribery, they said.His former aides are suspected of pressing a local home shopping channel in 2015 to donate 300 million won ($274,000) to an association on e-sports. He was then its honorary chairman.He will be the first high-profile official in the Moon Jae-in government to be grilled over a corruption scandal. (Yonhap)

Nov 17, 2017
Moon's former secretary to be quizzed over graft scandal next week

Prosecutors raid Hyosung Group HQ for suspected slush fund

Prosecutors said Friday they raided the main headquarters of South Korean conglomerate Hyosung Group in western Seoul over alleged management of secret funds through their affiliates.Investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office also searched four of its affiliated firms and the residences of four officials suspected of involvement to seize evidence, they said.The raid came as part of a probe into allegations that Hyosung, the 25th-largest family-controlled conglomerate here, has been running slush funds for former chairman Cho Suck-rai and his eldest son and the group's current head Hyun-joon, through its affiliated companies.Prosecutors have been investigating top officials of Hyosung including the two over suspected embezzlement and breach of duty, after Cho's younger son, Hyun-moon, filed a complaint with the prosecution seeking a probe against his father and older brother.Hyosung's businesses stretch out from textile, chemical and trading to heavy industries and construction. (Yonhap)

Nov 17, 2017
Prosecutors raid Hyosung Group HQ for suspected slush fund

200 men investigated for buying sex

By Lee Kyung-minAbout 200 men are under investigation for buying or attempting to buy sex, by participating in orgies organized by three men who ran a website where they allegedly distributed footage of their events, police said Thursday.This is an expanded investigation of an earlier case involving the three website operators who hired nine female prostitutes to bring in 71 male buyers.Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency said it secured cellphone numbers of the 200 men after reviewing the call logs of the website operators who gathered customers for the event between January last year and September.The suspects include a resident at a university hospital near Seoul, a high school teacher in his 30s and a soldier in his 30s.Police detained them in September in a parking lot near a motel where the orgy was about to take place in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Police said the three organized 29 similar events in motels in Suwon and nearby Anyang.       

Nov 16, 2017

Man gets 25 years' jail for setting ex-girlfriend on fire

By Rha Hae-sung, Park Si-sooA man in his 50s who poured gasoline on his ex-girlfriend and set her alight was sentenced to 25 years in prison.The woman, also in her 50s, suffered serious burns and died of complications two weeks after the incident in March 2016.The Seoul Southern District Court on Monday found the man guilty of attempted murder.“It was a premeditated crime,” Judge Shim Gyu-hong said. “The ruling was made after taking into account the nature and circumstances of the crime and his criminal record that indicates there are high chances of him committing another crime.”He had been convicted more than 20 times for violent acts.The man lived with the woman for a year in 2005. She dumped him in 2006. He tried unsuccessfully to restore the broken relationship over 11 years.In March 2016, the man visited the woman at work holding a bag containing a gasoline-filled container and a lighter. When she refused to talk to him, he opened the container, poured the gasoline onto her head and set her on fire.Court documents showed the women suffered burns to 80 pe

Nov 16, 2017
Man gets 25 years' jail for setting ex-girlfriend on fire

Presidential secretary offers to resign over corruption scandal

Jun Byung-hun / YonhapJun Byung-hun, the senior presidential secretary for political affairs, offered to resign Thursday over a burgeoning graft scandal involving his two former aides.In a meeting with reporters, Jun repeated his denial of any involvement in the scandal and said he is ready to face a prosecutorial probe."I feel very frustrated that I have caused trouble to the president though I have done my best to serve him in the short period of time," he said."I am once again sorry for the aberrant acts that my former aides had carried out... I will explain my position to the prosecution any time," he added.His offer to resign came a day after the prosecution said it would "inevitably" question Jun over the scandal.The scandal has been posing a tricky dilemma for President Moon Jae-in, as it could undercut the government's anti-corruption crusade and reform drive.Despite Jun's denial, concerns are rising that he could become a political liability for the young administration and embolden opposition parties to escalate their offensive. (Yonhap)

Nov 16, 2017
Presidential secretary offers to resign over corruption scandal

Ex-Presidential aide gets 18-months for leaking classified gov't documents

By Lee Kyung-minA district court sentenced former presidential secretary Jeong Ho-seong to 18 months in prison, Wednesday, for passing classified Cheong Wa Dae documents to Choi Soon-sil, a longtime friend of former President Park Geun-hye. Choi was the central figure in the corruption scandal that removed Park from office.The Seoul Central District Court convicted Jeong, recognizing that his act resulted in Choi’s deep and continued involvement in state affairs.“Jeong gave the highly classified government documents to Choi, an unauthorized individual, many times over a long period of time,” the court said in its ruling.“This undermined public trust in the government and public officials, and ended up providing cause for the influence-peddling scandal to continue. It also resulted in the disappointment of the public.”The court also recognized that Jeong conspired with Park in wide-ranging illicit activities.“Jeong admitted that Park gave explicit and implicit orders, and Park was aware that the documents were being delivered to Choi. Jeong and Park

Nov 15, 2017

Rights Commission tackles sexual harassment

By Kim Se-jeongThe National Human Rights Commission will carry out a special inspection on workplace sexual harassment cases through the end of this year. The commission said victims can call its special hotline, 1331, for free counseling. The announcement came immediately after the government announced its own measures on Tuesday to tackle sexual harassment. The commission will release recommendations based on the results of its findings but they will not be legally binding.Nonetheless, the move is symbolic in that it signals that sexual harassment is a serious human rights issue and the commission cares about it. The commission investigates sexual violence cases but cannot indict suspects. Periodically, it releases data based on the victims it has helped. Last year, the commission received 203 complaints and helped resolve 173 cases. From January to October this year, it received 217 complaints and resolved 175. “What we see often in recent sexual harassment cases at the workplace, predators threaten the victims or take revenge against employees using their position and power

Nov 15, 2017

Female teacher gets five years' jail for sex with young student

By Bahk Eun-jiA female teacher who had sex with a young male student has been sentenced to five years’ prison and ordered to undergo 80 hours of treatment for sexual offenders.According to Changwon District Court, the teacher, 32, had sex with the boy, 12, nine times in the classroom and her car between June and early August.Police said the teacher claimed it was consensual. But having sex with a person under 13 is illegal.She was dismissed from the school in September and banned from teaching.The boy’s parents found text messages from the teacher and told police at the end of August. Police discovered messages from the teacher saying, “I love you,” and “I’ll buy you dumplings, come outside.”The court said the teacher should understand that what she did was rape even if she claimed it was by consent. It said primary school students under 13 can never be the object of physical pleasure.However, the court considered the teacher’s admission and that she deeply regretted her actions when deciding its sentence.   

Nov 15, 2017
Female teacher gets five years' jail for sex with young student
previous page
543544545546547
next page

Most Read in South Korea