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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.

Choo-Yoon conflict moving to Moon-Yoon strife

President Moon Jae-in and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl are seen in this combined photograph. Yoon filed a lawsuit to halt a two-month suspension from duty imposed by a justice ministry disciplinary committee and approved by the President. The long-running conflict between Yoon and Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae seems to be shifting into a conflict between Yoon and Moon. Joint press corps By Kim RahnProsecutor General Yoon Seok-youl's lawsuit to halt his two-month suspension from duty is widely interpreted as an act of “disobedience” against President Moon Jae-in after he approved the disciplinary measure imposed by a Ministry of Justice disciplinary committee.Along with the offer of resignation made by Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, who pushed for the punishment of Yoon amid their power struggle over prosecutorial reform, now the Choo-Yoon conflict is shifting to a Moon-Yoon conflict. The committee ― comprised of people selected by Choo ― decided to suspend Yoon fro

Dec 18, 2020By Kim Rahn
Choo-Yoon conflict moving to Moon-Yoon strife

Ex-President Park's aides acquitted of hindering Sewol ferry panel's activities

Former Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs Cho Yoon-sun, left, and former Presidential Chief of Staff Lee Byung-kee arrive at the Seoul High Court in southern Seoul, Dec. 17, to attend their appeals trials related to an investigative panel on the sinking of the ferry Sewol. YonhapThree former ranking officials of ousted President Park Geun-hye's government were acquitted by an appellate court Thursday after being convicted of obstructing an independent panel's investigation into the cause of the deadly sinking of the Sewol ferry.The panel was set up in 2015 under a special law enacted to determine why the 6,800-ton ship capsized in waters off the southwest coast in 2014, killing more than 300 people, mostly high school students. The panel, composed of maritime experts, lawyers and civilians, delved into government documents and prosecution reports and gathered evidence.Former Presidential Chief of Staff Lee Byung-kee, former Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs Cho Yoon-sun and former Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Kim Young-suk were given suspended prison sentence

Dec 17, 2020
Ex-President Park's aides acquitted of hindering Sewol ferry panel's activities

Moon's rush for breakthrough with Japan raises questions

President Moon Jae-in speaks by phone with new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Sept. 24 at Cheong Wa Dae. / Courtesy of Cheong Wa DaeBy Do Je-hae President Moon Jae-in's rush to resolute serious issues with Japan before the Tokyo Olympic Games is not going as well as Cheong Wa Dae had hoped. Moon named former four-term ruling party lawmaker Kang Chang-il as the next ambassador to Japan last month. It was the first time he had named a politician to the post, after first appointing Lee Su-hoon, an international relations professor, and then Nam Kwan-pyo, a career diplomat and one of the foremost experts on Japan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nam has served as the Korean ambassador to Japan since May 2019. It is considered rare for the envoy to Japan to be replaced less than two years after being appointed. Cheong Wa Dae said that sending a politician to the post has a particular meaning amid the deadlock in bilateral relations. “With the launch of the new Cabinet in Japan, it reflects the President's determination to find a resolution to the problems in bilateral

Dec 17, 2020By Do Je-hae
Moon's rush for breakthrough with Japan raises questions

Top prosecutor seeks court injunction against disciplinary measure

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. Korea Times fileSouth Korea's chief prosecutor will file for an injunction in a Seoul court Thursday to halt the two-month suspension of his duty, his lawyer said.Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is protesting against the justice ministry's disciplinary measure, sanctioned by President Moon Jae-in, in connection with multiple accounts of "ethical and legal misdeeds."Yoon plans to lodge a suit with the Seoul Administrative Court "within today," calling for the withdrawal of the punishment and an injunction, Yoon's lawyer, Lee Wan-kyu, said in a press statement.Yoon's duty was suspended as of the start of the day, as Moon approved the ministry's decision, 14 hours after it was announced early Wednesday morning. Yoon is accused of violating the "political neutrality" rule as leader of the state prosecution service. His lieutenants also carried out a secret inspection of judges handling high-profile cases, according to Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae.Yoon has flatly denied the allegations, saying he has faithfully done his duty, while Choo believes that he

Dec 17, 2020
Top prosecutor seeks court injunction against disciplinary measure
  • Moon approves ministry's suspension of duty of prosecutor-general

Putting theatrical pieces together to trace 'forgotten' part of early Korean film history

“Dansung Weekly No. 290” produced by Dansungsa / Courtesy of Korean Film Archive Korean Film Archive hosts academic conference examining cinematic ephemera from the era of Japanese colonizationBy Park Han-solIt is no surprise that the early days of the century-old Korean film industry movies were heavily influenced and defined by Japan until its brutal colonial rule eventually ended in 1945 with the Allies victory of World War II. Over 150 films were reportedly made during the colonial period, but unfortunately only 16 have been successfully recovered by the Korean Film Archive (KOFA). Ahn Jong-hwa's “Turning Point of the Youngsters,” known as the earliest surviving Korean motion picture, is one of them.Despite a lack of sufficient information, there are some clues that can help point to what the theatrical experiences of those days were like. Secondary sources, such as news articles, film magazines, bulletins and other promotional materials preserved by the KOFA, t

Dec 17, 2020By Park Han-sol
Putting theatrical pieces together to trace 'forgotten' part of early Korean film history

Korea to toughen punishment for defense tech leaks overseas

GettyimageThe government will push to toughen the punishment for leaking defense technologies overseas, the arms procurement agency said Wednesday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said it plans to propose a law revision to make such leaks a crime publishable with at least one year in prison and a fine of up to 2 billion won (US$1.8 million) simultaneously.The current law calls for up to 20 years in prison or a fine of up to 2 billion won.The decision was made during an annual Defense Technology Security Committee session presided over by Defense Minister Suh Wook to discuss plans to protect the country's defense technology. The meeting, which was held via videoconference due to the coronavirus situation, also looked into the state-run Agency for Defense Development's push to improve its technology protection system.The research agency has been embroiled in an information leak scandal where some of its former researchers were suspected to have leaked massive data using portable media storage devices.After the allegations surfaced, the arms procurement agency conducted a

Dec 16, 2020
Korea to toughen punishment for defense tech leaks overseas

Moon approves ministry's suspension of duty of prosecutor-general

President Moon Jae-in, center, approved a recommendation by Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae to suspend Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, left, for two months, Wednesday. In this photo, they are seen together during a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae to discuss anti-corruption policies on June 12. YonhapJustice Minister Choo offers to resign By Do Je-hae, Jung Da-min President Moon Jae-in put his stamp of approval on a controversial decision reached by a disciplinary hearing committee under the Ministry of Justice to suspend Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl from duty for two months, Cheong Wa Dae announced Wednesday.Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae briefed the President on the outcome of the hearing during a meeting at the presidential office starting at 5:00 p.m. and also tendered her resignation, according to a presidential aide. The suspension took immediate effect after Moon approved it at 6:30 p.m. “Under the Prosecutors Disciplinary Act, the President approves the outcome of the disciplinary committee without discretion after a recommendation for approval from the justice minister,&rdquo

Dec 16, 2020By Do Je-hae
Moon approves ministry's suspension of duty of prosecutor-general
  • Top prosecutor seeks court injunction against disciplinary measure

Won makes 'green' case for presidency

Governor Won Hee-ryong of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province holds a press conference near Mount Songak in Seogwipo in this Oct. 25 file photo, vowing to keep Jeju Island clean and green for the next generation. Courtesy of Jeju Special Self-Governing ProvinceTwo-term governor ‘s agenda centers around ‘reasonableness,’ defying Korea’s politics as usual By Kim Ji-sooJEJU ISLAND ― The seas off this southern island were tranquil Monday, as Seoul and the larger metropolitan area were dealing with a chilling rise in the number of coronavirus infections. It is exactly for that tranquility and the clean green environment that many pandemic-fatigued people still travel to the southern island to seek solace. If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the island's natural environment. Rising on that platform is its governor Won Hee-ryong, the governor who has declared his intent to run in the 2022 presidential election. As is the tradition in Korean politics, presidential hopefuls come to the fore around the fourth year of the incumbent administration's s

Dec 16, 2020By Kim Ji-soo
  • INTERVIEW Jeju Governor has 2023 world climate conference in crosshairs

Disciplinary panel decides to suspend top prosecutor for 2 months

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl / Korea Times fileA justice ministry panel voted Wednesday to suspend Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl from duty for two months in an unprecedented move blamed on his alleged legal lapses.The decision was reached at the end of a second hearing attended by members of the disciplinary committee, five witnesses and Yoon's lawyers at the government complex in Gwacheon, south of Seoul.Suspension is the third-heaviest of five forms of punishment for a prosecutor, after two types of dismissals and followed by a salary reduction and reprimand. It can be executed by President Moon Jae-in upon the recommendation of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae.Yoon has been accused by Choo of six counts of ethical and legal misdeeds, including surveillance of the judiciary.Citing the charges, Choo suspended Yoon last month, but he returned to work after winning a court injunction against the order.The disciplinary panel said Yoon was found responsible for four of the six allegations, including surveillance of the judiciary, interference in the investigation into a controversia

Dec 16, 2020
Disciplinary panel decides to suspend top prosecutor for 2 months

2nd disciplinary committee for chief prosecutor

Chung Han-joong, the acting chairman for the disciplinary committee of the Ministry of Justice, answers reporters' questions at the Government Complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, before attending the second committee meeting to discuss disciplinary measures over the alleged misconduct of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. Yoon, who has fiercely denied all the allegations raised against him by Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, has declined to attend the meetings, including the first one on Dec. 10. The committee did not reach an agreement as of 4:30 p.m. / Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho

Dec 15, 2020
2nd disciplinary committee for chief prosecutor
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