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Seoullo 7017 new attraction in Korea's capital

 Seoullo attracts 250,000 visitors over weekend after opening By Lee Kyung-min More than 250,000 people visited Seoullo 7017, an old overpass transformed into an elevated urban walkway near Seoul Station, after the park was opened to the public Saturday.The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday about 151,100 people visited the 1,024-meter-long, 17-meter-high walkway Saturday, and 104,400 Sunday.The city government said it hopes the walkway, connecting Malli-dong and Jungnim-dong in the west to Namdaemun Market in the east, becomes a popular tourist destination for locals and tourists alike who seek a joyful rest in the busy city while learning about Seoul’s modern development history.Seoullo means “Seoul Road” in Korean and 7017 is a compound of the last two digits of two significant years _ 1970 when the overpass was first built, and 2017 when it was turned into a public park.Visitors welcomed the rejuvenation project, praising it as a meaningful transformation from a dangerous and old-looking roadway for cars only.“I did not expect much bu

May 22, 2017

VIDEO Moon orders audit of '4 river project'

/ Korea Times fileBy Kim Rahn President Moon Jae-in has ordered a state audit of the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project carried out under the Lee Myung-bak administration (2008-2013), Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.The Moon administration said the audit is not targeting the former governments’ policies or aimed at punishing then-policymakers, but made it clear that any illegalities, if found, will face “corresponding responses.”Sources said the audit reflects Moon’s campaign pledge to eradicate “deep-rooted evils” of former conservative administrations.The presidential office said Moon has told the Board of Audit and Inspection to look into how the river refurbishment policy was created and implemented.The project for four major rivers — the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan — was former President Lee’s flagship project. Lee’s administration poured more than 22 trillion won ($20 billion) of taxpayers’ money into building 16 dams on the rivers to fight droughts. But environmentalists and critics say the refurbishment w

May 22, 2017
Moon orders audit of '4 river project' [VIDEO]

Vice justice minister deputy prosecutor general named

 By Lee Kyung-min   President Moon Jae-in appointed Lee Geum-ro as vice justice minister and Bong Wook as deputy prosecutor general, Sunday.The appointments follow the resignations last week of their predecessors _ Lee Chang-jae and Kim Joo-hyun.Lee Chang-jae had been the acting justice minister for more than six months after former President Park Geun-hye appointee Justice Minister Kim Hyung-woong resigned last year following the emergence of the influence-peddling scandal in which Park was implicated.Kim had been the acting prosecutor general for a week after former Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam, also a Park Geun-hye appointee, resigned four hours after President Moon appointed Cho Kuk as the new presidential secretary for civil affairs on May 15.The appointment also came two days after former Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office head Lee Young-ryeol and the justice ministry’s criminal affairs deputy minister Ahn Tae-geun were demoted amid allegations of bribery and breach of the anti-graft Kim Young-ran Act.The demotion came after President Moon o

May 21, 2017

Park faces first trial this week

By Kim Bo-eun Former President Park Geun-hye’s official trial on bribery charges will begin Tuesday.Bribery is one of the main charges Park faces _ she is suspected of accepting or receiving promises for funds amounting to 59.2 billion won ($53 million) from conglomerates including Samsung.Although Park was not required to attend pre-trial hearings, she will have to be present for her official trial, at which her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil will also be present. Park’s expected appearance on Tuesday will come 53 days since she was detained at Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, on March 31.At the trial, prosecutors will elaborate on the 18 charges she faces, and defendants will deliver their pleas on the charges.Park faces other charges including abuse of power, mishandling classified state information and drawing up a blacklist of artists critical of the government.Park, who has been flatly denying all of the charges she faces, will likely maintain her not guilty plea at her trial.Park’s legal representatives have been claiming she was not a

May 21, 2017

'Black budget' controversy resurfaces

Bribery allegations involving senior prosecutors have renewed controversy over "special activity budgets," also known as "black budgets." / YonhapGov’t urged to minimize secret expensesBy Jung Min-hoIt is the money that cannot be traced. Once given, no one asks about it, and no one needs to explain why and how it was spent.“Special activity budgets,” also known as “black budgets,” are given to ministries and other government agencies for classified operations. But there are plenty of examples where the money often turns into the root of corruption or simply a waste of taxpayers’ money.The latest case came into the spotlight this week when it was revealed that Ahn Tae-geun, a former deputy minister for criminal affairs, and Lee Young-ryeol, former head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, exchanged suspicious money envelopes over dinner last month.Four days after the end of the Choi Soon-sil scandal investigation, Lee, who led the probe for the prosecution, met Ahn, a friend of one of the key suspects in the scandal, at a restaur

May 19, 2017
'Black budget' controversy resurfaces

25 Koreans arrested in Philippines over alleged fraud, illegal gambling

Five South Korean men cover their faces as they are presented to reporters in Manila, Philippines, Friday. They are among twenty five South Koreans who have been arrested in Manila on suspicion of internet fraud or illegal online gambling. / AP-YonhapBy Park Si-sooTwenty-five South Koreans have been arrested in metropolitan Manila on suspicion of internet fraud or illegal online gambling, the Associated Press reported on Friday, citing Philippine authorities.Twelve of the suspects are wanted at home for allegedly duping their compatriots into investing money in bogus real estate projects in the Philippines, Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente was quoted as saying in the report.  Their arrests Wednesday in a posh condominium followed the bureau's apprehension on Monday of four other South Koreans for alleged fraud and voice phishing. They are accused of duping hundreds of their compatriots who lost money after revealing private information to callers impersonating legitimate companies.

May 19, 2017
25 Koreans arrested in Philippines over alleged fraud, illegal gambling

Park Geun-hye to stand trial on Tuesday

Hundreds of South Koreans flocked to a court in Seoul on Friday to take part in a drawing for the opportunity to watch former President Park Geun-hye's first hearing next week.Ahead of the hearing slated for Tuesday, the Seoul Central District Court held the drawing to randomly allocate spectator seats to prevent people from lining up for hours under the current first-come, first-served rule.A total of 521 people ranging from college students to Park's avid supporters applied for the 68 seats available, recording a competition rate of 7.6 to one.It will be Park's first public appearance since she was arrested at the end of March over a string of allegations, including bribery and abuse of power. She was removed from office on March 10."In terms of politics, we saw Park stepping down and a new president sworn in. I wanted to witness how this historical case is dealt with in the judiciary," said Lee Tae-gyeong, a freshman in college who came to the draw with two friends.A 69-year-old Park supporter said he came from Incheon, west of Seoul, to gain a chance to see the former leader."The

May 19, 2017
Park Geun-hye to stand trial on Tuesday

Prosecution reform starts at the top

Lee Young-ryeol, left, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and Ahn Tae-geun, a deputy minister for criminal affairs / YonhapBy Jung Min-hoA team of 22 inspectors will look into bribery allegations involving two of the most powerful figures that control the prosecution ― a sign that President Moon Jae-in has begun to reform the institution as he promised.The targets of the inspection, which the president ordered Wednesday, are Ahn Tae-geun, a deputy minister for criminal affairs, and Lee Young-ryeol, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.The two offered their resignation, Thursday, after allegations surfaced that they exchanged suspicious money envelopes over dinner on April 21, four days after the end of the Choi Soon-sil scandal investigation.But Cheong Wa Dae will not let them get away. A senior official at the presidential office told reporters that their resignations won’t be accepted until the inspectors finish their job.With Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam already gone, many experts see the inspection as the beginning

May 18, 2017
Prosecution reform starts at the top

Actor Lee Tae-gon has no plans to forgive assailants

Lee Tae-gon / Korea Times fileBy Lee Han-sooActor Lee Tae-gon will not forgive two men who have been charged with making false accusations and assaulting him, according to a hearing at the Suwon District Court on Wednesday.Lee, 40, who was at the hearing filed by prosecutors, said forgiving the men was pointless and he wanted them punished."I have suffered financially and psychologically after the defendants tried to drag out the case by making false statements that the incident harmed both sides," Lee said. "If they had apologized from the beginning, I would have forgiven them.”Lee last month filed a compensation lawsuit against the two for 390 million won ($346,000).On Jan. 7, the men allegedly assaulted Lee after they tried to shake his hand without permission outside a Yongin restaurant. The actor’s refusal triggered a scuffle that turned violent and abuse was exchanged. Lee suffered a nose fracture.The men claimed both parties provoked the fight, but police cleared Lee of all charges in March. 

May 18, 2017
Actor Lee Tae-gon has no plans to forgive assailants

Taxi driver jailed over 297 false accusations, failing to pay karaoke bill

A taxi driver was sentenced to jail on Tuesday for falsely accusing his customers of upsetting his business and fleeing a karaoke salon without paying his bill. / Korea Times fileBy Eom Da-solA taxi driver who made hundreds of false accusations against his customers over 20 years was jailed for 15 months on Tuesday.The Seoul Southern District Court was told that the false accusation charge against the driver, surnamed Kim, who pleaded guilty, arose after an incident on Sep. 21, 2016, involving customers surnamed Roh and Jang. They got into Kim’s taxi that day to go to Gimpo International Airport from Gangseo-gu, western Seoul.The court heard that Roh had an argument with Kim over not fastening the seatbelt. Roh, upset, tried to leave the car but Kim grabbed his arm, forcing him to stay. Kim then drove about 50 meters while the passenger door was open.Kim later sued Roh and Jang for disturbing his business.But this was not the first time Kim had sued customers. He had filed 297 lawsuits over the past 20 years, according to the court. Most cases were dismissed.The court also hear

May 17, 2017
Taxi driver jailed over 297 false accusations, failing to pay karaoke bill
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