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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.

Korea seizes 33.9 kilograms of illegal drugs in joint crackdowns with US authorities

Korean customs authorities said Thursday they have seized nearly 34 kilograms of illegal drugs smuggled from the United States in joint operations with U.S. law enforcement. A total of 33.9 kilograms of narcotics, including liquid marijuana, methamphetamine and ketamine, have been confiscated in two separate joint crackdowns, an amount large enough to be used simultaneously by approximately 1.13 million people, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS). The operations were carried out with U.S. agencies, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, during two periods — from April to May in 2024 and from June 23 to July 18 this year. During the latest crackdown, the volume of marijuana-related drugs surged by 258 percent, the KCS said, noting that the smuggling of cannabis has continued to rise following its legalization in parts of the U.S. The agency also reported an increasing variety of smuggled drugs, with substances, such as methamphetamine and ketamine, being detected for the first time during this operation. "We will strengthen international cooperation with major drug-supply

Jul 24, 2025By Yonhap
Korea seizes 33.9 kilograms of illegal drugs in joint crackdowns with US authorities

Appeals court spares ruling party lawmaker from loss of parliamentary seat

An appellate court on Thursday sentenced Rep. Lee Sang-sik of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea to a fine of 900,000 won ($659), sparing him the loss of his parliamentary seat. The Suwon High Court fined Lee for making false statements ahead of the general elections in April last year in violation of the Public Official Election Act. By law, members of the National Assembly are stripped of their seats if a fine of at least 1 million won is finalized for violating the election law. A lower court had sentenced Lee to a fine of 3 million won.

Jul 24, 2025By Yonhap
Appeals court spares ruling party lawmaker from loss of parliamentary seat

Ex-President Yoon skips insurrection trial for 3rd straight week

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol did not attend his insurrection trial for the third consecutive week Thursday, again citing poor health. The 10th hearing of the trial opened at the Seoul Central District Court without the appearance of Yoon, who is currently under arrest at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of the capital. "Since he has not appeared consecutively, we will begin investigation proceedings in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code and criminal procedure rules," the court said. "We will verify with the detention center whether he is in fact in poor health and whether it is possible to bring him in." Yoon is standing trial on charges of leading an insurrection and abusing his power through his failed bid to impose martial law in December. The hearing proceeded as an extraordinary session to question witnesses for the case. Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team protested Yoon had attended all nine hearings prior to his second arrest earlier this month without complaining about his health and even attended a separate court hearing last week that reviewed the lega

Jul 24, 2025By Yonhap
Ex-President Yoon skips insurrection trial for 3rd straight week

A closer look at Incheon family shooting: Minutes after birthday song, father pulled trigger

On his own birthday Sunday evening, "B" arrived at his son’s 33rd-floor apartment around 7 p.m., sharing cake, conversation and family photos with his daughter-in-law, two young grandchildren, and a guest. For two hours, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But shortly after the birthday song ended, the 62-year-old father stepped out, saying he was headed to a convenience store, and returned with a homemade gun. When he returned, his son opened the door, only to be met with the barrel of a crude weapon fashioned from a steel pipe. The older man fired three shots, two of which struck his son in the chest and side. The third round hit the front door. He then aimed the gun at his son’s friend and pulled the trigger twice more, but both attempts misfired. According to the family, the gunman also tried to pursue his daughter-in-law, who had first hidden the children in a room before coming back out to help her injured husband. As she retreated and locked the door, B shouted for her to come out and attempted to force his way in. She managed to call police, while the shooter fled the scene in

Jul 24, 2025By Hankookilbo
A closer look at Incheon family shooting: Minutes after birthday song, father pulled trigger

Prosecution seeks 20-year prison term for battery maker CEO over deadly plant fire

Prosecutors on Wednesday sought a 20-year prison term for the chief executive of lithium battery maker Aricell over a deadly fire at the company's plant last year that claimed nearly two dozen lives. The prosecution demanded the term for Aricell CEO Park Soon-kwan during a hearing at the Suwon District Court on charges of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, among others. The deadly blaze at the battery maker's plant in Hwaseong, just south of Seoul, in June last year, killed 23 workers, including 18 foreigners, and injured eight others. The prosecution accused Park of failing to properly set up a safety management system despite his responsibilities as CEO. "This was the worst casualty accident since the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, and most of the victims were illegal migrant workers vulnerable to safety management," the prosecution said. "This accident left migrant workers in a safety blind spot." The prosecution also demanded a 15-year term for Park's son, a general manager of the company, on similar grounds

Jul 23, 2025By Yonhap
Prosecution seeks 20-year prison term for battery maker CEO over deadly plant fire

Police to question family members of man shot to death by his father

Police on Wednesday were set to question family members of a man who was shot to death by his father earlier this week, officials said, as the bereaved family claims the suspect tried to kill everyone at the scene. On Sunday, a 62-year-old man allegedly fired a homemade gun at his 32-year-old son during the suspect's birthday party at an apartment in Incheon, just west of Seoul. Police apprehended the suspect Monday after he fled the scene, and discovered 15 explosive devices at the suspect's home in northern Seoul before safely dismantling and removing them. Police said they plan to question the family members to look into whether the suspect tried to commit additional murders, as insisted by the victim's family. In a statement submitted to the police, the family members claimed the suspect tried to kill everyone at the scene, including his daughter-in-law, his two grandchildren and an acquaintance of his daughter-in-law. The family members said in a separate statement sent to media outlets that the suspect failed to shoot others due to a problem with his gun. During police questioning, t

Jul 23, 2025By Yonhap
Police to question family members of man shot to death by his father

Acquittal sought in retrial of woman convicted 61 years ago for biting attacker’s tongue

Prosecutors have requested an acquittal for Choi Mal-ja, a woman convicted 61 years ago for injuring a man who attempted to rape her, acknowledging for the first time that her actions were a legitimate act of self-defense. The retrial opened and concluded on Wednesday at the Busan District Court, where prosecutors said Choi’s act of biting off part of her attacker’s tongue in 1964 was a reasonable and lawful response to sexual assault. “This was a justified defensive act. It was not excessive, nor was it unlawful,” prosecutors said. “Our duty is to protect victims of crime not only from the act itself, but also from social stigma and secondary harm. In this case, the prosecution failed to fulfill that role. We sincerely apologize to Ms. Choi.” Choi, now 78, was 18 at the time of the incident on May 6, 1964. She was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a two-year suspended sentence after being convicted of inflicting serious injury. Although she had asserted that she acted in self-defense, the court rejected her claim. The assailant, surnamed Noh, received a lighter sentence

Jul 23, 2025By Hankookilbo
Acquittal sought in retrial of woman convicted 61 years ago for biting attacker’s tongue

Special counsel grills wife of ex-first lady's associate over suspicious investments

Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki's team investigating various allegations involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee questioned the wife of her fugitive associate Wednesday about allegations of his misuse of private funds. The 48-year-old associate, named Kim Ye-seong, who is often dubbed the butler of the former first lady's family, has not returned home after leaving the country in April this year amid suspicions that he had received 18 billion won ($13.1 million) in dubious investments from several companies, including Kakao Mobility, Shinhan Bank and Kyeong Nam Steel, through his rental car company IMS in 2023. Kim is suspected of pocketing 4.6 billion won of the investments by selling IMS equities through a dubious venture company, where his wife, surnamed Jeong, is the only registered director. The special counsel team reportedly questioned Jeong about how she became the director of the venture company, why the transactions of IMS stocks occurred, and how the 4.6 billion won was used. The team also called in former and incumbent executives of Shinhan Bank and Kyeong Nam Steel to quest

Jul 23, 2025By Yonhap
Special counsel grills wife of ex-first lady's associate over suspicious investments

Incheon shooting victim's family opposes revealing suspect's identity, cites risk of secondary harm

The family of the man killed in a shocking shooting incident in Incheon’s Songdo neighborhood has expressed strong opposition to releasing the suspect’s identity, citing concerns over secondary harm to surviving relatives, including young children who witnessed the attack. The suspect, Cho, 62, shot and killed his son during a birthday celebration using a homemade firearm and allegedly attempted to target his daughter-in-law and grandchildren as well. His ex-wife, identifed as A, told the Hankook Ilbo on Tuesday that the killing was not spontaneous but a premeditated act carried out in front of family members. “This was a meticulously planned attack in which the suspect brutally murdered an innocent victim, our son, in front of his family,” she said. According to her account, Cho left the birthday gathering on July 20 under the pretense of going to a convenience store, then returned with the weapon and fired two shots at his son. He allegedly attempted to fire twice more at the son's friends, but the weapon misfired. As the daughter-in-law helped her injured husband after first hi

Jul 23, 2025By Hankookilbo
Incheon shooting victim's family opposes revealing suspect's identity, cites risk of secondary harm

Court rejects arrest warrant for ex-Marine chief

A Seoul court on Tuesday rejected an arrest warrant for former Marine Corps Commandant Kim Kye-hwan over allegations of giving false testimony in connection with a probe into the death of a young Marine in 2023. The Seoul Central District Court said it rejected the warrant requested by a special counsel team investigating Kim, citing the lack of risk of flight or evidence tampering. The retired three-star general is suspected of being involved in the alleged interference in the military probe of the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun, who died while searching for torrential rain victims in July 2023 without safety equipment, such as a life jacket. The special counsel team has focused on allegations that former President Yoon Suk Yeol burst into a rage during a meeting of senior presidential officials in July 2023, after being briefed on the results of the probe that found a senior Marine commander responsible for Chae's death. Kim had consistently denied telling the top Marine investigator in charge of the initial probe of the episode about Yoon. During a court hearing earlier in the day, howeve

Jul 22, 2025By Yonhap
Court rejects arrest warrant for ex-Marine chief
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