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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.

Ex-President Yoon absent from insurrection trial for 12th consecutive session

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was absent from his insurrection trial for the 12th consecutive session Monday despite having appeared for a separate trial last week. In a notice to the press, Yoon's lawyers said the former president has been feeling dizzy and vomiting since attending last week's hearing, making it difficult for him to appear. The bench overseeing his case at the Seoul Central District Court said it will proceed with the trial in his absence in line with the Criminal Procedure Code. Under the code, a trial can proceed without the jailed defendant in the event they are absent without legitimate grounds and it is deemed impossible or significantly difficult for a prison officer to bring them in by force. Yoon has been standing trial on charges of leading an insurrection and abusing his power through his short-lived imposition of martial law in December, though he has refused to attend the proceedings since being placed under arrest in July. Yoon did appear at the first hearing of a separate trial on martial law-related charges last Friday as it was a legal prerequisite for t

Sep 29, 2025By Yonhap
Ex-President Yoon absent from insurrection trial for 12th consecutive session

Unsolved cases exceed 22,000 as prosecution reform looms

As reforms to the Government Organization Act move closer to dismantling the Prosecution Service, a surge in backlogged investigations, which now includes some 22,000 cases, is emerging as a pressing concern. The surge in unresolved, long-pending cases has created a backlog that is now the largest it’s been in a decade. This has the potential to turn into a dire public trust crisis and fuel concern that the nation’s justice system is grinding to a halt even before the structural dissolution of the Prosecution Service is finalized next year. It also stokes fears of an exodus of experienced prosecutors that could impact the service’s investigative capacity. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Friday pushed through the first major government reorganization bill under the Lee Jae Myung administration, dismantling the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office after 78 years and creating separate agencies to handle investigative and prosecutorial functions. Data from the Ministry of Justice, obtained by Rep. Park Eun-jung of the Rebuilding Korea Party on Sunday, showed that the number of cases

Sep 28, 2025By Jung Da-hyun
Unsolved cases exceed 22,000 as prosecution reform looms

Ex-President Yoon denies all charges at 1st hearing of new martial law trial

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol denied all charges at his second trial on martial law-related allegations Friday, his first public appearance since being placed under arrest in July. The jailed former president was brought from Seoul Detention Center, just south of the capital, to the Seoul Central District Court ahead of the first hearing, which began at 10:15 a.m. and will be broadcast online after personal information is anonymized. Dressed in a dark navy suit and appearing visibly thinner, he entered the courtroom wearing his inmate number, "3617," on his chest. Standing in the dock, he responded to the judge's identity check by stating his birthday and home address before declining a jury trial. Yoon, who is already standing trial on charges of leading an insurrection through his failed attempt to impose martial law in December, is being tried additionally on charges of violating the rights of Cabinet members, revising the martial law proclamation and obstructing his detention by investigators in January. He also faces charges of ordering the deletion of call records and distribution

Sep 26, 2025By Yonhap
Ex-President Yoon denies all charges at 1st hearing of new martial law trial

Renowned pianist fined $720 for paying for prostitution at massage parlor

A renowned pianist has been fined 1 million won ($720) in a trial for paying in prostitution at a massage parlor. The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday found the pianist guilty of violating the Act on the Punishment of the Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts. During the trial, the pianist argued that the recorded evidence of the incident had been obtained illegally, but the court rejected the claim. “The investigative agency obtained the data from the defendant’s mobile phone under a valid warrant," the bench ruled. "It appears that the defendant provided the phone’s password to the victim, who then acquired the data, and since the investigative agency later secured a lawful warrant to collect the audio recording file, the evidence cannot be deemed illegally obtained.” The pianist, who has won multiple prizes at prestigious international piano competitions, was accused of paying for sex with a massage parlor employee in Seoul’s Gangnam District in 2020. In November last year, prosecutors summarily indicted him on a fine of 2 million won, and the court issued a summary orde

Sep 26, 2025By Hankookilbo
Renowned pianist fined $720 for paying for prostitution at massage parlor

'Choco Pie theft' dispute heats up: ‘Like leaving fish with a cat’ vs. ‘decade-old custom’

The so-called “Choco Pie theft case” has turned into a heated legal and public debate, with a logistics company manager and a security guard clashing over whether a snack taken from an office refrigerator was theft or a long-standing workplace practice. The incident occurred at just after 4 a.m. on Jan. 18 last year in the office of a logistics company in Wanju, North Jeolla Province. A security guard took a Choco Pie priced at 450 won ($0.33) and another snack priced at 600 won from an office refrigerator, worth a total of 1,050 won. The logistics company manager saw the scene through a CCTV feed linked to his phone and reported the security guard to police for theft. Prosecutors deemed the act met the legal criteria for theft but was minor in scale, indicting the security guard in a summary trial. The court fined him 50,000 won, but he appealed, arguing he should be acquitted so as to avoid losing his job. The first trial court upheld the fine, and the case is now before an appellate court. 'Breach of trust, not a trivial matter' Online users quickly labeled the security guard “a

Sep 26, 2025By Hankookilbo
'Choco Pie theft' dispute heats up: ‘Like leaving fish with a cat’ vs. ‘decade-old custom’

Special counsel indicts key figure in stock manipulation case linked to ex-first lady

A special counsel team on Friday indicted a key figure in a stock price manipulation scheme possibly involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee. The team led by special counsel Min Joong-ki said it indicted Lee Ki-hoon, former vice chairman of Sambu Construction, with physical detention, on charges of violating the Capital Market Act by manipulating the construction company's stock prices in 2023. He is accused of reaping 36.9 billion won ($26 million) in illegal profits through the scheme, which the special counsel team suspects was aided by the former first lady. Sambu Construction's stock price rose sharply around the time she and her husband, then President Yoon Suk Yeol, visited Ukraine in July 2023, where the company had claimed to be eyeing its participation in reconstruction projects. Kim's close associate was also found to have messaged a group chat at the time to "check" Sambu Construction. Lee was detained in the southwestern city of Mokpo on Sept. 10, nearly two months after fleeing to avoid arrest.

Sep 26, 2025By Yonhap
Special counsel indicts key figure in stock manipulation case linked to ex-first lady

Man sentenced to 25 years for killing wife

A Seoul court has sentenced a man in his 30s to 25 years in prison for murdering his wife three months into their marriage after she refused to engage in sexual relations with him. The Seoul Southern District Court’s Criminal Division, presided over by Judge Jang Chan, sentenced the 35-year-old defendant, surnamed Seo, to prison on Thursday on charges of murder. The court rejected the prosecution’s request for probation. “The defendant brutally killed the spouse who had promised to be with him for life, in a home that should have been the most peaceful place,” the court said. “The fear and pain the victim must have felt are unimaginable, and the defendant’s attempts to minimize and conceal his crime only deepened the family’s suffering.” Seo strangled his wife while she was lying in bed at their home in Gangseo District, Seoul, on March 13. He later acted as chief mourner at her funeral (the main person responsible for organizing and representing the family) before being arrested by the police. Seo had repeatedly demanded sex from his wife even during the early stages of

Sep 26, 2025By Hankookilbo
Man sentenced to 25 years for killing wife

Shaman in her 70s sentenced to life for killing niece with charcoal fire

A 79-year-old female shaman has been sentenced to life in prison for killing her niece with burning charcoal under the pretext of exorcising an evil spirit. The Incheon District Court’s Criminal Division, presided over by Judge Yoon Yi-jin, sentenced the woman to life imprisonment on charges of murder on Thursday. Four accomplices, including her children and followers, received prison terms of 20 to 25 years, while two others convicted of aiding and abetting were each sentenced to 10 years. The woman and her accomplices were accused of killing a woman in her 30s, identified as B, at a restaurant in Bupyeong District, Incheon, on Sept. 18 last year. Prosecutors said she bound her niece to a steel frame and, with her accomplices, exposed her to the heat of burning charcoal for three hours, claiming she was “driving out an evil spirit.” Her niece collapsed in pain and was taken to a hospital, where she died the next day from multiple organ failure caused by severe burns. Investigators found that the woman had long exploited family members and followers by using shamanistic rituals and

Sep 26, 2025By Hankookilbo
Shaman in her 70s sentenced to life for killing niece with charcoal fire

Man arrested after attempting arson at labor ministry office in Sejong

A man in his 50s was arrested Thursday after allegedly spreading a flammable material and trying to set it on fire inside the Ministry of Employment and Labor office in the central city of Sejong, police said. The incident occurred around 6:25 p.m. on the sixth floor of a government building in Sejong, according to the Sejong Nambu Police Station. A security guard intervened before the fire could start. No injuries were reported. Police said the man, whose name was withheld, is under investigation on suspicion of obstructing official duties. Authorities are still working to determine his motive.

Sep 25, 2025By Yonhap
Man arrested after attempting arson at labor ministry office in Sejong

Top court upholds 5 1/2-year prison term for Army captain over recruit's death in disciplinary drills

The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed a 5 1/2-year prison sentence for an Army captain over the death of a trainee soldier during disciplinary training last year. The court upheld a lower court's ruling against the company commander, surnamed Kang, charged for subjecting six recruits to the session that violated regulations at a boot camp in the eastern county of Inje in May 2024, resulting in the death of one of them. Prosecutors earlier indicted the 28-year-old on charges of abuse of power and abuse resulting in death, arguing the late victim, surnamed Park, died due to illegal disciplinary training that could be seen as abuse. The top court also confirmed a three-year prison term for a 26-year-old first lieutenant surnamed Nam — the company's deputy commander — indicted on the same charges, saying it did not find fault with the lower court's ruling. An appeals court had sentenced Kang to 5 1/2 years in prison after a lower court handed out a five-year term. Nam received a three-year term in both previous trials. The appellate court had said the defendants not only betrayed societ

Sep 25, 2025By Yonhap
Top court upholds 5 1/2-year prison term for Army captain over recruit's death in disciplinary drills
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