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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.

Police raid office of civic group supporting Park over violent rally

Police on Thursday raided a conservative civic group over a violent street rally against the Constitutional Court's decision to unseat former President Park Geun-hye last month, they said.The Jongno Police Station in Seoul said they confiscated materials related to the March 10 demonstration from the office of the pro-Park group in southern Seoul. The group was formed to campaign against Park's impeachment over a massive corruption scandal involving her close friend and aides.Some participants in the rally used makeshift weapons against police who barred them from approaching the court. Three people died after they were injured or collapsed in the process.Police on Wednesday questioned Chung Kwang-yong, the group's spokesman, for some 14 hours over allegations of organizing the violent demonstration.Chung said police are responsible for the casualties, claiming they used excessive force against the enraged crowd. (Yonhap)

Apr 13, 2017

Civic group claims Army chief ordered hunt for homosexual soldiers

A civic group accused the Army chief Thursday of ordering the military to hunt out homosexual soldiers in violation of their human rights.The Center for Military Human Rights Korea said they started receiving multiple reports from victims early this year that Army Chief of Staff Gen. Jang Jun-gyu ordered them punished for violating the Military Criminal Act.Under the law a soldier who commits "sodomy" or "other disgraceful conduct" can face up to two years in prison.According to the center, the Army carried out an investigation and put some 40 to 50 soldiers on the list of homosexuals."Launching an investigation solely based on one's sexual orientation is discrimination and an act against humanity," the group said in a press release. "The Army made the list without material evidence of them having sexual intercourse."The center also claimed that the probe team asked the victims when they had their first sexual intercourse or whether they use condoms, which are far from constituting a violation of the law they cited, in an act of sexual humiliation."This case shows the Army's vulgar p

Apr 13, 2017
Civic group claims Army chief ordered hunt for homosexual soldiers

Top court confirms 30-year jail term for 'Gangnam murder' suspect

South Korea's top court on Thursday confirmed a 30-year prison term for a man convicted of stabbing to death a 22-year-old woman near one of the country's busiest subway stations in Seoul which sparked nationwide shock and protests.Upholding a lower court's decision, the Supreme Court convicted the man, identified only by his last name Kim, of stabbing the victim multiple times in a bathroom in a building near Gangnam Station in May last year. The victim, whose identity was withheld, was a complete stranger to Kim.Prosecutors said the 35-year-old waited for about 50 minutes for a woman to show up in the bathroom. When the victim came into the unisex restroom, Kim attacked her with a knife, they said.The lower court earlier said it took into consideration the seriousness of the crime, the fact that it was done against a stranger, and the social anxiety caused by the incident.Prosecutors originally requested a life sentence, but the court handed down a 30-year term, acknowledging that Kim has schizophrenia. Kim has a record of being hospitalized for the mental illness more than six tim

Apr 13, 2017

Prosecution probe into Koreana Hotel CEO

By Kim Se-jeong Prosecutors have resumed investigation into Koreana Hotel CEO Bang Yong-hoon who allegedly attempted to break into his sister-in-law’s Itaewon home in Seoul in November.The CEO was initially investigated for the attempt immediately after the break-in happened. But as allegations were dropped his sister-in-law appealed the decision to drop the charges.According to the CCTV footage, Bang arrived with his 29-year-old son outside the house in November. The two held stones and an ice axe and began banging them hard on the front gates several times before taking off in a car.Little is known about their motive, but it’s believed that he did so amid the dispute involving his children after the death of his wife surnamed Lee.Bang’s family is one of the wealthiest in Korea _ His brother owns the Chosun Ilbo. His 55-year-old wife killed herself in September last year. Bang has four children.The police collected her body from the Han River. Given a suicide note found in her parked car along the river, the police concluded she had killed herself. Her four ch

Apr 12, 2017

Chuncheon city wrestles with illegal trash dumping

Trash is piled high under a signboard that shows the city's intention to crack down on illegal dumping.  / YonhapBy Lee Han-sooChuncheon city is suffering from massive amounts of illegally dumped trash in residential areas near colleges.Although the city has stepped up inspections and issued fines to college students, it has seen little improvement.Cleaners say trash not in standard disposable plastic bags is the least of their worries.Illegally dumped trash includes used toilet paper, leftover food, plastic containers and sanitary items, sometimes all in the one bag.“Those who illegally dump trash can be fined up to 100,000 won ($87),” a city official said. “However, considering that college students have limited budgets, we fine them 50,000 won if they come out and properly sort out the trash in standard bags.”But city cleaners say students rarely clean up their mess.City cleaners sort through the contents of garbage bags to separate recyclables from trash. / Yonhap“Most of the time it’s hard to locate the offenders, but even if we do they r

Apr 12, 2017
Chuncheon city wrestles with illegal trash dumping

Ex-presidential secretary Woo avoids arrest 2nd time

 Cheong Wa Dae Civil affairs division criticized for unrestricted powerBy Lee Kyung-min The Seoul Central District Court rejected a request by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office for an arrest warrant for former presidential secretary Woo Byung-woo.Woo is facing charges including abuse of power, dereliction of duty and perjury. The court’s rejection of the warrant is the second such failed attempt  following the independentcounsel team’s move in February.Judge Kwon Soon-ho rejected the request at 12:15 a.m., Wednesday, saying it was debatable whether Woo’s actions constitute criminal acts and therefore the prosecution’s charges have failed to show the need to hold him in custody. Woo does not pose a flight risk and is unlikely to destroy evidence, Kwon added.While the prosecution claimed that Woo exercised unlimited authority and power beyond what is permissible for the civil affairs secretary, the court dismissed this, saying he was well within his duty as one of the top aides to the former president.This decision triggered str

Apr 12, 2017

Crime Scene Foreigners arrested over traffic offences, rape

By Lee Han-sooFood delivery workers’ reckless driving leads to arrestsThree Koreans and 10 foreign students, including one Uzbek, have been arrested for reckless driving, according to Yongsan Police Station on Wednesday.The suspects allegedly disobeyed traffic lights, drove over the center line and frequently drove on the wrong side of the road. The offences occurred from January.Most of the suspects had an average of three traffic violations before being arrested.Police said major food delivery companies had hired the offenders. They had confessed to driving recklessly to make extra deliveries to earn more money.Police have suspended their licenses from 40 to 70 days and sent the cases to prosecutors.Cambodian arrested for alleged date rapeA Cambodian national, 26, was arrested for repeated date rape, according to Chilgok Police Station on Tuesday.His former girlfriend, a Cambodian who is a naturalized Korean, was allegedly assaulted four times since last June.The assaults escalated when the two broke up earlier this year.The man confessed that he assaulted the victim after su

Apr 12, 2017
[Crime Scene] Foreigners arrested over traffic offences, rape

Prosecution arrests Ko Young-tae

By Kim Bo-eun The prosecution arrested Ko Young-tae, a former close friend of former President Park Geun-hye’s confidant Choi Soon-sil, on influence-peddling charges, Tuesday, and raided his residence.Prosecutors are looking into allegations Ko received 20 million won from an official surnamed Lee at Incheon Main Customs for having a personal contact surnamed Kim promoted as chief of the customs office.Ko is suspected of having used his ties with Choi, who had considerable influence in the Park administration, to push for the promotion.Kim became chief of the customs office in January 2016 and retired last January.He told Yonhap he had not requested the position.There is evidence of Ko’s alleged involvement in personnel affairs at the customs office in recordings of conversations between Ko and Lee.As a director of Choi’s paper company The Blue K, Ko was a close friend of Choi, but turned his back on her after their relationship turned sour. He revealed the influence-peddling scandal surrounding former President Park and Choi.He is suspected of having promoted

Apr 12, 2017

Woman caught stealing gold bracelets, hiding them in buttocks

Police have booked a 20-year-old woman for allegedly stealing two gold bracelets and hiding them in her buttocks at a jeweler's shop in central South Korea earlier this month, they said Wednesday.The Heungdeok Police Station in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, said the woman, along with her 21-year-old friend, visited the shop on April 1 and browsed the bracelets on display. She repeatedly put her hand into her pants while the other woman was talking to an employee over the purchase of a ring.According to the police, the shopowner found that two bracelets, worth 980,000 won (about $856), were gone. The woman was later spotted picking them up in CCTV footage.She denied the allegations and demanded that the shop call the police to determine whether she stole them, saying that she wore a pair of leggings and had nowhere to hide them.Two female police officers arrived at the shop and conducted a strip search in a bathroom near the shop after getting the suspect's consent, eventually obtaining her confession that she had hidden them in her buttocks.The other woman said she was not aw

Apr 12, 2017
Woman caught stealing gold bracelets, hiding them in buttocks

N. Korean defector accused of siphoning off state subsidies

Prosecutors said Wednesday they have indicted the leader of a local North Korean defectors' association on charges of siphoning off government subsidies.Kim Yong-hwa, chief of the NK Refugees Human Rights Association of Korea, is accused of swindling some 135 million won ($118,000) provided by the Korea Hana Foundation, the state-run agency in charge of supporting defectors, from May 2012 to June 2014.The money was originally provided for emergency relief activities and the establishment of a center for female defectors, according to the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office.The 64-year-old is known to be partially denying the allegations, saying that the group did use some of the funds for emergency relief.Kim Mi-hwa, a former executive of the association, was also indicted for allegedly collaborating with the group chief in the process, prosecutors said.The number of North Korean defectors surpassed the 30,000 mark in November last year, according to government data. A total of 278 North Koreans came to South Korea in the January-March period. (Yonhap)

Apr 12, 2017
N. Korean defector accused of siphoning off state subsidies
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