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Prosecutors raid Incheon Coast Guard over officer's death

Prosecutors on Thursday raided the Incheon Coast Guard and one of its substations as part of an investigation into the death of a young officer during rescue operations. The district prosecutors office in Incheon, just west of Seoul, sent investigators to the two locations to seize material related to the death of 34-year-old Coast Guard officer Lee Jae-suk last week, according to legal sources. Lee drowned while rescuing a Chinese man stranded on a mudflat during high tide in the early hours of Sept. 11. Questions have been raised about why he responded to the scene alone, and why no one was sent to his aid, after some of his colleagues claimed the head of their substation tried to silence them upon orders from the Incheon Coast Guard chief.

Sep 18, 2025By Yonhap
Prosecutors raid Incheon Coast Guard over officer's death

PPP lawmaker Kweon undergoes special counsel questioning for 1st time after arrest

Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the main opposition People Power Party appeared before a special counsel team Thursday to undergo questioning for the first time since his arrest earlier this week. Kweon arrived at special counsel Min Joong-ki's office after a court issued a warrant for his arrest Tuesday over allegations of receiving 100 million won ($72,200) from Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja in 2022. Min's team is expected to question Kweon about his relationship with the church and allegations of receiving additional illegal political funds. Kweon, once seen as a key confidant of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, is accused of receiving 100 million won from a former Unification Church official in January 2022 ahead of the presidential election in March. He was allegedly asked to provide support for the church in the event of Yoon's election as president, in exchange for church member votes and financial backing. Yoon went on to win the election.

Sep 18, 2025By Yonhap
PPP lawmaker Kweon undergoes special counsel questioning for 1st time after arrest

Special counsel seeks arrest warrant for Unification Church leader over alleged bribery

A special counsel team on Thursday sought a warrant to arrest Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja on charges of bribery linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team made the request a day after questioning Han over allegations she bribed a lawmaker and the former first lady in exchange for favors from the previous administration of Yoon Suk Yeol. In addition to Han, the special counsel team sought an arrest warrant for her former chief of staff, surnamed Jeong. The two women are accused of violating the Political Funds Act and the anti-graft law, suborning the destruction of evidence, and embezzlement, assistant special counsel Park Sang-jin said during a press briefing. The team suspects Han colluded with a former church official in 2022 to hand 100 million won ($72,400) to People Power Party Rep. Kweon Seong-dong in exchange for his help in gaining favors for the church in the event of Yoon's election as president later that year. Yoon went on to win the election. Han is also suspected of involvement in gifting a luxury necklace and Chanel bags to Yoon'

Sep 18, 2025By Yonhap
Special counsel seeks arrest warrant for Unification Church leader over alleged bribery

Court holds defendant liable for online defamation of virtual K-pop idols

A court has ruled that online insults directed at virtual idols constitute defamation, ordering an internet user to pay 500,000 won ($360) in damages to members of the virtual K-pop group PLAVE. The Goyang branch of the Uijeongbu District Court in Gyeonggi Province partly upheld a damages suit brought by the five performers behind the group’s avatars, ordering the defendant to pay 100,000 won to each member. According to the ruling, the defendant posted a series of derogatory comments on social media in July 2024, saying the people behind the avatars “could be ugly in real life,” claiming they gave off a “typical Korean man vibe” and using profanity. The performers said the remarks caused them emotional distress and sought 6.5 million won each, totaling 32.5 million won. The defendant claimed that, as the group is made up of fictional characters with no revealed personal identities, defamation could not be established. However, the court dismissed that claim. Avatars, the court said, are a form of self-expression and social interaction, not just digital images. If an avatar is

Sep 18, 2025By Bahk Eun-ji
Court holds defendant liable for online defamation of virtual K-pop idols

Appeals court slashes ex-Kumho Asiana chief's sentence after acquitting him of embezzlement

An appellate court on Thursday reduced the sentence of former Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo to 2 1/2 years in prison, suspended for four years, after convicting him of violating fair trade laws while acquitting him of the most serious charges of embezzlement and breach of trust. The Seoul High Court handed down the sentence to Park, slashing a lower court's ruling of 10 years in prison for embezzlement of company funds, breach of trust and fair trade law violations. Park, former chair of Kumho Asiana Group and its affiliate Asiana Airlines, had been accused of masterminding unfair interaffiliate transactions to rebuild the group and regain control of group companies. In 2021, he was indicted on charges of seeking to acquire shares in Kumho Industrial, the parent company of Asiana Airlines, by establishing a special purpose company (SPC) — Kumho Buslines — in which he owned 100 percent of shares. He was charged with withdrawing 330 billion won ($239 million) from four affiliates to pay for the return of Kumho Industrial shares from the state-funded Korea Development Bank an

Sep 18, 2025By Yonhap
Appeals court slashes ex-Kumho Asiana chief's sentence after acquitting him of embezzlement

Ex-national skating coach stabbed by former student over alleged sexual assault

A former national speed skating coach in his 40s was attacked with a knife by a former student who claimed she was taking revenge for a sexual assault that happened more than a decade ago. Seoul’s Nowon Police said on Sept. 17 that a woman in her 30s, identified only as A, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault after stabbing her former coach, identified as B, the previous evening at Taereung International Skating Rink in northern Seoul. Police said A attacked B at around 7:25 p.m. on Sept. 16, inflicting injuries to his face and other areas. B was taken to the hospital, but his life was not in danger. According to investigators, A told police she had been sexually assaulted by B when she was a high school student more than 10 years ago. At the time, prosecutors dropped the sexual assault charges due to insufficient evidence, and B was instead fined 3 million won ($2,200) for assault. The Korea Skating Union initially handed B a lifetime expulsion but reduced it to a three-year suspension after reflecting the court’s decision. After serving the suspension, B returned to coachi

Sep 18, 2025By Hankookilbo
Ex-national skating coach stabbed by former student over alleged sexual assault

Amount of confiscated narcotics surges this year: customs data

The amount of illegal narcotics confiscated in Korea from January to August this year has more than tripled the total for last year, a lawmaker said Thursday, citing customs data. According to data from the Korea Customs Service (KCS) submitted to Rep. Chung Il-young of the National Assembly's strategy and finance committee, drug seizures in the first eight months of this year reached 2,810 kilograms, equivalent to nearly 76 million doses. By August, the figure was already 3.5 times higher than the 787 kilograms seized last year. Cocaine accounted for the largest share of this year's seizure, with around 2,302 kilograms confiscated, nearly 203 times the amount seized in 2023. The KCS said 99 percent of the cocaine confiscated this year entered Korea by ship, with about 73 percent, or 1,690 kilograms, intercepted from vessels departing from Peru alone. Rep. Chung warned that Korean ports are at risk of becoming a new transit hub for international drug cartels.

Sep 18, 2025By Yonhap
Amount of confiscated narcotics surges this year: customs data

Ex-Defense Minister Lee appears before special counsel for 1st time in Marine death probe

Former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup appeared before a special counsel team Wednesday in a widening investigation over alleged government interference in a military probe into the death of a young Marine in 2023. Lee arrived at special counsel Lee Myeong-hyeon's office in southern Seoul, marking his first appearance before the team since its launch in July to investigate the allegations surrounding high-ranking officials of the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration. The team is expected to question Lee, who served as defense minister at the time, about his departure to Australia in March last year despite being investigated by anti-corruption officials over the allegations. Lee left for Australia just days after being appointed as Seoul's ambassador to Canberra, but returned later that month amid growing controversy over his departure. Special prosecutors suspect that government officials helped Lee leave the country to avoid being investigated by lifting his exit ban. As he arrived for questioning, Lee told reporters that he would cooperate in the investigation, while dismissing the allega

Sep 17, 2025By Yonhap
Ex-Defense Minister Lee appears before special counsel for 1st time in Marine death probe

Unification Church leader questioned for several hours on bribery allegations

Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja was grilled for several hours by a special counsel team Wednesday over allegations of bribery linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee. Han arrived at special counsel Min Joong-ki's office in central Seoul, propped up by an assistant, at about a quarter to 10 a.m., after snubbing three earlier summonses over what she said were health issues following a heart procedure. Her questioning went on from 10 a.m. to about 4:45 p.m., and Han left the building at around 7:30 p.m. after reviewing her testimonies. According to sources, the special counsel team had a questionnaire that ran some 50 pages long, and Han fully cooperated without exercising her right to remain silent. She is suspected of colluding with a former church official in 2022 to hand 100 million won ($72,400) to People Power Party Rep. Kweon Seong-dong in exchange for his help in gaining favors for the church in the event of Yoon Suk Yeol's election as president later that year. Yoon went on to win the election. Han is also suspected of involvement in gifting a luxury necklace and Chanel bags

Sep 17, 2025By Yonhap
Unification Church leader questioned for several hours on bribery allegations

About $6.5 bil. worth of synthetic drugs seized in Interpol operation joined by Korea

About $6.5 billion worth of synthetic drugs have been seized in an Interpol narcotics operation joined by Korean police, officials said Tuesday. A total of 76 tons of drugs, including methamphetamine and fentanyl, were confiscated during the operation, named Lionfish-Mayag III, from June 30 to July 13 across 18 countries in Asia and North America, according to Interpol. During the operation, 386 people were arrested, including an individual suspected of running a large-scale methamphetamine smuggling operation into Incheon International Airport. The suspect is currently awaiting extradition from Cambodia to Korea. In India, authorities dismantled a major drug syndicate named "Ketamelon," while officials in Myanmar seized two vehicles that carried 22 kilograms of heroin hidden behind pineapples and 5.25 million "yaba" pills — a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine. Korea's National Police Agency, which funded the operation, said it will discuss its results during a two-day international conference on narcotics in Seoul through Wednesday.

Sep 16, 2025By Yonhap
About $6.5 bil. worth of synthetic drugs seized in Interpol operation joined by Korea
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