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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.

Foreign passport holders use loophole to abuse duty free system

BAI research showed over 8,100 foreign passport holders abused the loophole in Korea’s duty free system. / YonhapBy Lee Han-sooSome foreign passport holders are abusing Korea’s duty free system, according to Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea (BAI) research published Tuesday.Foreigners can shop at any duty free stores in Korea if they have a valid passport and a plane ticket, or e-ticket.But the law has a loophole: The Korea Customs Service does not check on items going through airports after their purchase.This led to some foreign passport holders buying duty free items and then canceling their plane tickets, allowing them to buy at much cheaper prices.BAI research showed over 8,100 foreign passport holders abused the loophole more than three times from January 2014 to October 2016. The value of duty free goods purchased was over 53.5 billion won ($48 million).“The loophole can be abused by foreign passport holders who want to buy duty free products at a lower price and even sell them in Korea for a higher price afterwards,” a BAI official said.“We

Mar 29, 2017
Foreign passport holders use loophole to abuse duty free system

Park Geun-hye desperate to avoid arrest

Former President Park Geun-hyeBy Jung Min-hoFormer President Park Geun-hye will defend herself in a court hearing today in a desperate move to avoid arrest.During the session scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at the Seoul Central District Court, Park will explain why she should not be detained to Judge Kang Bu-young, who will review the validity of the arrest warrant requested by the prosecution.Park, who has been expelled from office through impeachment, faces 13 charges, including bribery and abuse of authority during her four years as the nation’s leader.The court is likely to decide whether to issue the warrant between late tonight and early Friday morning.The former president’s decision to attend the hearing came as a surprise to many because of her past record of stonewalling. She repeatedly rejected requests from the prosecution and the Constitutional Court to cooperate with their investigations into the corruption scandal involving her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil _ until she had no other choice.The decision shows how desperate she is, observers noted.“It must have

Mar 29, 2017
Park Geun-hye desperate to avoid arrest
  • Prosecution seeks arrest warrant for Park Geun-hye
  • Chronology of events leading to Park's arrest
  • Who is the judge that will decide Park's fate?
  • ED Arrest warrant for Park
  • Park ­to be arrested or not?
  • Why people want their former president jailed

Bereaved families call for safest, most effective measure to recover bodies

 By Lee Kyung-minBereaved families of nine victims of the Sewol sinking whose remains have yet to be recovered called for a special investigation committee, Wednesday, to devise the safest and most effective measures to recover the remains of their loved ones.The eight-member committee met with the nine victims’ families at Paengmok Port on the southwestern island of Jindo in South Jeolla Province at 1:40 p.m., in the first official meeting since the committee was formed a day earlier.“We asked the committee to notify us about the measures by the end of today. After the measures are set, an investigation into the cause of the ferry sinking will follow,” one of the family members said.The request came shortly after the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced the Sewol is loaded on a semisubmersible recovery ship and is almost ready to be transported to a port in Mokpo. “The key factor in arriving at the destination on time is weather,” said Lee Cheol-jo, an oceans ministry official.“We were not able to start sailing in the morning as wave he

Mar 29, 2017

As Sewol returns, new photography of late de facto owner emerges

For many South Koreans, the image of the damaged Sewol ferry raised from its watery grave last week was a potent reminder that the accident from three years ago is a still on-going disaster.And as the Sewol makes its last trip to shore, it's been learned that a publishing company that represented the late Yoo Byung-eun -- the mysterious billionaire who was the ferry's de facto owner -- has been selling Yoo's personal photography works to this day, nearly three years after his death in 2014.In the wake of the Sewol tragedy in April 2014, the 73-year-old Yoo, former chairman of Semo Group, the now-defunct predecessor of the Sewol ferry operator Chonghaejin Marine Co., was the target of an intensive prosecutors' investigation into alleged corruption and irregularities associated with the sinking of the 6,825-ton ferry. More than 300 people, mostly high school students, were killed.Yoo went into hiding for months. And amid a massive nationwide manhunt, he was found dead in July of 2014 in an apricot orchard in the southern city of Suncheon, about 415 kilometers south of Seoul, decomposin

Mar 29, 2017
As Sewol returns, new photography of late de facto owner emerges

Park ­to be arrested or not?

A 43-year-old judge to decide on whether to issue warrantBy Jung Min-ho and Lee Han-soo Kang Bu-youngFormer President Park Geun-hye will attend a court hearing Thursday to defend herself against the prosecution’s request for an arrest warrant.According to the prosecution, Park will attend the session scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at the Seoul Central District Court when Judge Kang Bu-young will review the validity of the warrant.The decision came after she had an emergency meeting with her lawyers for several hours after the prosecution asked the court Monday for the warrant, saying it had no other choice given the seriousness of her alleged crimes and the risk of her destroying evidence.Her fate is now in the hands of the 43-year-old judge, who will decide whether to detain her on 13 charges, including bribery and abuse of power.The decision will be given between late Thursday night and early Friday morning.Kang is the youngest judge of the three judges the court assigned to handle arrest warrant-related issues. He was born on Jeju Island, graduated from Korea University&rsquo

Mar 28, 2017
Park ­to be arrested or not?
  • Prosecution seeks arrest warrant for Park Geun-hye
  • Transfer of Park's presidential records to state archives to begin next month
  • Park Geun-hye desperate to avoid arrest

Salvaging site findings confirmed as animal bones

National Forensic Service officials head to a patrol boat, Tuesday, to investigate bones found on the deck of a semisubmersible recovery ship set to transport the salvaged ferry Sewol to Mokpo New Port. / Yonhap By Kim Bo-eunBones found by salvage workers on the semisubmersible recovery ship carrying the ferry Sewol off the southwestern island of Jindo were confirmed by forensic authorities to be animal bones, late Tuesday.“The National Forensic Service has verified the remains as seven animal bones,” the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said.Earlier in the day, the ministry held a briefing on the findings, stating bones as well as shoes were found at 11:25 a.m. on the deck of the semisubmersible set to transport the Sewol to Mokpo New Port.The possibility was raised that the bones could be the remains of missing victims of the ferry disaster which occurred on April 16, 2014.The ferry was being drained and secured to the semisubmersible for its move to Mokpo, Friday, but measures to tie the ship down were temporarily halted.Meanwhile, the National Assembly named

Mar 28, 2017
Salvaging site findings confirmed as animal bones
  • Bereaved families bittersweet about Sewol salvage
  • 1,000 reporters apply to cover Sewol's last voyage
  • Sewol to leave for Mokpo Port Thursday
  • Legacy of Sewol

Unidentified bones, shoes found in Sewol

By Park Si-sooSix human bones -- from four to eighteen centimeters in length -- were found in the salvaged Sewol ferry on Tuesday, in the first discovery related to nine passengers of the doomed vessel who still remain unaccounted for.Shoes and other personal belongings were found with the bones at 11:25 a.m., said Lee Cheol-jo, a maritime ministry official in an emergency press briefing. The site where the bones were found was condoned off for additional search. The bones will be airlifted to a hospital to be identified through DNA sample analysis. The work will be done by forensic specialists from the National Forensic Service and other organizations.“It will take two or three weeks to be identified,” Lee said. "The body was found in one of the nets installed in windows to keep anything inside the vessel from washing away.” Nine passengers on the ship remain unaccounted for. They are two Danwon High School teachers (Go Chang-suk and Yang Seung-jin), four Danwon students (Nam Hyun-chul, Park Young-in, Cho Eun-hwa and Hu Da-yun) and three passengers (Kwon Jae-geun,

Mar 28, 2017
Unidentified bones, shoes found in Sewol
  • Sewol tragedy Nine people still unaccounted for
  • Bereaved families bittersweet about Sewol salvage
  • 1,000 reporters apply to cover Sewol's last voyage
  • Sewol to leave for Mokpo Port Thursday

박근혜 영장심사 강부영 판사 "대세를 거스르는 판단하지 않을 것"

강부영 영장전담판사(43, 사법연수원 32기)(서울=코리아타임스) 박시수 기자, 우지원 인턴기자 = 박근혜 전 대통령에 대한 구속영장 실질심사가 이틀 앞으로 다가온 가운데 이를 담당한 서울중앙지방법원의 강부영 영장전담 판사(43, 사법연수원 32기)에 대한 관심이 증가하고 있다.강 판사는 지난달 20일 법관 정기인사를 통해 서울중앙지법 영장전담 판사에 임용됐다. 강 판사는 컴퓨터 프로그램을 통한 무작위 사건배당을 통해 이번 사건을 맡게 되었다고 법원 관계자들은 전했다. 서울지법의 영장 전담 판사 가운데 가장 나이가 어린 강 판사는 제주 서귀포 출신으로, 고려대 법대를 졸업하고 공익법무관으로 일하다 42회 사법고시에 합격했다. 지난 2006년 부산지법 판사로 첫 소임을 마친 뒤 창원과 부산, 인천지법을 차례로 거쳤다. 법조계는 그를 법리적으로 뛰어난데다 기록 검토도 소홀히 하지 않는, 젊지만 균형감각을 갖춘 판사로 평가한다.강 판사의 한 오랜 지인은 코리아타임스와의 전화 통화에서 "강 판사는 보수적이지만 대세를 거스르는 판단은 잘 하지 않는 성향"이라며 "논란이 될만한 결정을 내리지는 않을 것"이라고 했다. 다른 지인은 “판사라면 당연히 그래야 하지만 (강 판사가) 법과 원칙에 따라 오해 없이 공정한 판결을 내릴 것을 믿어 의심치 않는다"고 했다.한편 강 판사는 국정농단 관련자 영장심사는 처음이지만 형사나 행정재판을 비롯한 실무 경험은 풍부한 편이다. 앞서 강 판사는 가수 박유천 씨를 성폭행 혐의로 고소해 무고 혐의를 받은 일반인 여성의 구속영장은 기각했고, 미성년자인 제자를 성추행한 혐의를 받고 있는 시인 배용제 씨에 대해서는 구속영장을 발부한 바 있다.

Mar 28, 2017
박근혜 영장심사 강부영 판사 "대세를 거스르는 판단하지 않을 것"

Sewol to leave for Mokpo Port Thursday

Underwater search operations to followBy Jung Min-hoThe semisubmersible recovery ship carrying the ferry Sewol will set sail for Mokpo Port, Thursday, according to the government.Speaking to reporters Monday, Lee Cheol-jo, an official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, who is in charge of the ferry recovery operation, said the semisubmersible will head to Mokpo after salvage crews complete drainage and repair work over the next three days.“It will take eight hours to sail the 105 kilometers to the port,” he added.Lee said underwater search operations will follow early next month to look for the remains of the nine missing people. Searching inside the wreck is also expected to begin soon after.The sunken ferry was raised from the depths last week, nearly three years after it sank on April 16, 2014, leaving 304 people dead in Korea’s worst maritime disaster.Divers will search carefully for any remains on the sea floor near the site where it sank. Underwater fences have already been set up surrounding the area.They will use shovels first and sound propagation t

Mar 27, 2017
  • Unidentified bones, shoes found in Sewol
  • Salvaging site findings confirmed as animal bones

목포 세월호 취재 위해 1000여명 몰려

(코리아타임스=서울) 우지원 인턴기자 = 30일 전후 목포신항에 도착할 세월호의 취재를 위해 국내외 취재진 1000여명이 목포신항 출입신청을 한 것으로 알려졌다. 26일 해양수산부(장관 김영석)에 따르면 전날인 25일부터 이틀간 국내외 언론사를 대상으로 목포신항에 대한 임시출입증 신청을 받은 결과 1000여명의 취재진이 신청서를 제출했다. 항만보안구역인 목포신항은 국제항해선박 및 항만시설의 보안에 관한 법률에 따라 시설 내에 출입하거나 사진촬영을 위해서는 정당한 출입 절차를 거쳐야 한다. 이마저도 발급받은 임시 출입증은 당일에만 사용 가능하고 이튿날 갱신해야 한다. 신청한다고 해서 출입증을 모두 받을 수 있는 것도 아니다. 해수부는 시설 수용 능력을 고려해 매체당 방송은 4~5명, 신문이나 통신은 3명으로 발급 인원을 제한할 방침인 것으로 알려졌다.또한 목포신항이 보안시설인 점을 감안, 드론이나 유인비행기를 이용한 촬영 역시 금지된다. 해수부는 촬영이 가능한 범위를 추후에 공지할 예정이다. 다만 보안 울타리 밖에서 목포신앙 쪽으로 촬영하는 것은 문제삼지 않을 전망이다.한편 취재진 가운데에는 중앙 일간지나 방송사, 인터넷이 대부분을 차지하고 나머지는 지역 언론사인 것으로 알려졌다. 여기에는 취재·사진기자뿐 아니라 방송사에서 시사·교양 프로그램을 담당하는 PD들도 참여한다. CNN, BBC, AFP, NHK, 로이터, 알자지라 등 다수 해외 언론사들도 취재 신청을 한 것으로 전해졌다.해수부는 오늘(27일) 세월호가 선체 안의 바닷물 배출 등 준비작업을 마친 뒤 30일 전후 목포신항으로 이동할 예정이라고 밝혔다. 현재 세월호는 배수와 잔존유 처리 작업을 거치는 중이다.

Mar 27, 2017
목포 세월호 취재 위해 1000여명 몰려
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