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Detention extended for ex-president Park

By Kim Bo-eunFormer President Park Geun-hye’s detention was extended, Friday, after the court approved the prosecution’s request.Park was detained March 31 on multiple charges including bribery, abuse of power and extortion in the influence-peddling scandal which led to her impeachment.According to the code of criminal procedures, an arrest warrant can initially detain a suspect for 10 days, with a 10-day extension upon court approval.Park’s initial detention period ends Sunday, but since it is the weekend prosecutors requested the extension and received court approval on Friday.Park’s detention will last until April 19. Prosecutors must indict and put the suspect on trial before the detention period ends.Considering official campaigning for the presidential election begins April 17, prosecutors are expected to indict Park before then to minimize the case’s impact on the election.Prosecutors will question her today, her third interrogation since she was detained.She faces 13 charges, but continued denying all of them during prosecutors’ questioning

Apr 7, 2017

Samsung boss denies bribery charges at first hearing

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong appears handcuffed and flanked by correctional officers at the Seoul Central District Court on Friday. He denied all corruption charges against him at his first trial since his arrest. / Korea Times photo by Hong In-ki Samsung Group's de facto leader on Friday denied bribery allegations during his first court hearing held in relation to a massive corruption scandal that brought down former President Park Geun-hye.Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., appeared at the Seoul Central District Court in a gray suit, along with four other senior executives from the business group.He was arrested and indicted in February on charges of giving or promising 43.3 billion won ($38.3 million) to Park's close friend Choi Soon-sil as kickbacks in return for helping him secure group control through a merger of two key units. Park was named an accomplice in the bribery allegations. Of the total, 20.4 billion won went to two dubious foundations -- Mir and K Sports -- allegedly controlled by Choi.Park is suspected of colluding with he

Apr 7, 2017
Samsung boss denies bribery charges at first hearing

Lotte Group chairman under interrogation over corruption scandal

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin is surrounded by reporters before entering the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office to be questioned over a corruption scandal, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul The chief of South Korea's retail giant Lotte was grilled by prosecutors Friday as they widen the investigation into local conglomerates in relation to a corruption scandal that removed former President Park Geun-hye from office.Shin Dong-bin appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office at around 9:15 a.m. to bear witness to the influence-peddling scandal."I will fully cooperate with the interrogation today," Shin told reporters as he arrived at the office, declining to comment further.Prosecutors are trying to determine if donations Lotte gave to two dubious foundations allegedly controlled by Park's friend Choi Soon-sil were bribes in relation to the company's bid for a duty-free business.The retail giant was selected by the Korea Customs Service to operate the lucrative shop in Seoul, together with Hyundai and Shinsegae, in December.Prosecutors here have

Apr 7, 2017
Lotte Group chairman under interrogation over corruption scandal

Ex-presidential aide grilled again

Woo Byung-woo, one of the key aides of former President Park Geun-hye, lowers his head as he enters the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul for questioning, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Jung Min-hoWoo Byung-woo, the former civil affairs secretary for ousted President Park Geun-hye, has been grilled over his role in the corruption scandal that removed her from office.Woo, the last piece of the puzzle the prosecution has been missing in its investigation into the scandal, is accused of aiding and abetting Park’s friend Choi Soon-sil in meddling in state affairs by abusing his power.He appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning at around 10 a.m., Thursday.Woo was apparently conscious of the public outcry over his “arrogant” attitude, which has been on everyone’s lips after his previous public appearances.In a somewhat remorseful tone this time, he said, “I feel heartbroken about what has happened to former President Park. I will answer every question faithfully during the in

Apr 6, 2017
Ex-presidential aide grilled again

Sewol to be moved to dry dock next Monday

 1st test operation of modular transporters failed By Lee Kyung-min The ferry Sewol will be moved into a dry dock next Monday, as a test showed some of the 480 modular transporters, which will move the vessel, failed to support its weight, maritime authorities said Thursday.The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said the four-day delay of the schedule was inevitable to guarantee the safe moving of the ferry.“Our first test showed some individual transporters failed to lift 12 of the 33 large beams, secured under the Sewol when it was raised from the water,” said Lee Cheol-jo, the ministry official overseeing the salvage operation."The second such test is ongoing, and we will keep running it until we can say with a hundred percent certainty that the transporters, which can carry up to 40 tons each, are fully prepared to move the Sewol to a dry dock without any safety issues," he added.  The top priority is to find the exact point to secure the transporters to keep the ferry level while it is being moved, according to the ministry.“The surface of the ferr

Apr 6, 2017

Search for Korean vessel in South Atlantic yields no results

The search for the Korean vessel Stellar Daisy in the South Atlantic has failed to find any traces of the ship or its missing crew, the maritime ministry said Wednesday.Twenty-two of the 24-member crew _ consisting of eight Koreans and 16 Filipinos _ are still missing. Two Filipino crewmen were rescued from a life raft Saturday, after the cargo vessel sank a day earlier.A Brazilian aircraft involved in the search spotted nothing but an oil spill, the ministry said, adding four merchant ships were continuing their search at the site of the sinking.The Brazilian Air Force C-130 and a P-3 maritime patrol aircraft were employed in the search, following a request from the Korean government.Three warships from Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay will arrive at the last reported site of the Stellar Daisy between Thursday and Sunday to join the effort, after being asked by the government and the Uruguay Marine Rescue Co-ordination Center.The search area has also been expanded.“The search is continuing after expanding the area to 41.8 kilometers by 35.4 kilometers, 43.4 kilometers north of th

Apr 5, 2017

Sewol to be moved to dry dock Thursday

The semisubmersible recovery ship, to which the Sewol is secured, pulls up near the dock at the Mokpo New Port, South Jeolla Province, Wednesday. / YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to test modular transporters that will move the ferry Sewol into a dry dock today.“We will run a test operation after maneuvering 480 transporters, which can carry up to 40 tons each, under Sewol,” said Lee Cheol-jo, the ministry official overseeing the salvage operation.The ministry had only 456 transporters but added 24 more following an assessment by the special committee investigating the ferry Tuesday that concluded the ferry weighed 14,592 tons, 1,100 tons more than the ministry’s earlier estimate of 13,460 tons.If moving the ferry proves difficult using the 480 transporters, 336 more will be added, which can support up to 60 tons each.The transporters will move the ferry from the semisubmersible recovery ship, to which the Sewol is secured, to the dry dock.The ministry said the work should be completed by next Monday, reversing an earlier state

Apr 5, 2017
Sewol to be moved to dry dock Thursday

Man jailed for hiring thugs to punish daughter's bullies

The Ulsan District Court sentenced a man who hired six gangsters to threaten teenage girls allegedly responsible for bullying his daughter to a year’s prison on Tuesday. / Courtesy of the Ulsan District CourtBy Eom Da-solThe Ulsan District Court has jailed a man who raided a middle school with six thugs to threaten teenage girls who bullied his daughter.The court Tuesday jailed the father for a year and sentenced the gangsters he hired to terms ranging from eight months to a year. They were accused of the crime in 2015.The convicted man’s daughter allegedly suffered serious distress two years ago because of school bullies.The man acted after the bullies shared a photo of his daughter’s body parts with classmates without her permission, asking the thugs to “take revenge.”Later, the father and one of his henchmen broke into the school principal’s office, threatening the principal to assemble the bullies. The five other thugs were waiting at the school’s main gate to intimidate students and staff.The principal refused to give in, so the men brok

Apr 5, 2017
Man jailed for hiring thugs to punish daughter's bullies

Ex-president questioned for 1st time after arrest

By Lee Kyung-minThe prosecution questioned former President Park Geun-hye at the Seoul Detention Center, Tuesday, the first such interrogation after she was taken into custody.Han Woong-jae, a senior prosecutor from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, who is investigating the corruption scandal involving Park, visited the center in Euiwang, Gyeonggi Province. At least one assistant prosecutor and a female investigator accompanied him. Park’s two defense lawyers Yoo Young-ha and Chae Myung-sung were also present.Most of the former president’s accomplices are also detained at the facility, including Choi Soon-sil, Park’s confidant and the central figure in the influence-peddling scandal that led to her impeachment and removal from office. It also led to the jailing of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, former chief of staff Kim Ki-choon and former Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun.The prosecutors’ visit came at the request of Park who asked that she be questioned at the center, wary of public exposure if she appeared at the prosecutors’

Apr 4, 2017

Park Geun-hye questioned again over corruption scandal in prison

Prosecutors on Tuesday grilled ex-President Park Geun-hye for the first time since she was arrested last week over corruption allegations that removed her from office.The questioning began at 10 a.m. at a detention center in Uiwang, south of Seoul, where Park is incarcerated, prosecutors said. Park's legal representative Yoo Yeong-ha accompanied her during the interrogation.Prosecutors originally planned to question her at their office, but her lawyer requested it take place at the detention house in consideration of Park's mental condition and security issues.The inquiry is expected to end before 6 p.m., they said, adding that it was not videotaped. Prosecutors declined to comment on further details.Park went through a marathon interrogation by prosecutors last month and was arrested Friday on charges of bribery, abuse of power, coercion and leaking government secrets.Park was named an accomplice in her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil's bribery allegations involving South Korea's largest business group Samsung. The first trial on Choi's bribery allegations began on the same day.The fo

Apr 4, 2017
Park Geun-hye questioned again over corruption scandal in prison
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