South Korea - The Korea Times

Park Geun-hye's sentence for taking NIS money commuted

By Bahk Eun-jiAn appeals court has commuted a six-year prison sentence to five years for former President Park Geun-hye on an embezzlement charge for accepting funds from the nation's spy agency on numerous occasions.Former President Park Geun-hye /Korea Times fileWith the reduction, the total jail term given to the former president ousted in a massive corruption scandal is now 32 years.The Seoul High Court also ordered her to forfeit 2.7 billion won ($2.3 million), also down from a lower court's 3.3 billion won, Thursday.Park was accused of receiving 3.5 billion won from three former National Intelligence Service (NIS) chiefs ― Nam Jae-joon, Lee Byung-kee and Lee Byeong-ho ― between May 2013 and September 2016. Three key presidential secretaries delivered the money from them to Park, and they were also indicted.The lower court recognized Park incurred losses to the state coffers by regularly receiving the money, but ruled it was not a bribe, citing a lack of sufficient evidence that the money was in return for Park exercising her influence in their favor.This time the high court did

Jul 25, 2019By Bahk Eun-ji

Park Geun-hye's sentence for taking NIS money commuted

North Korea detains two South Koreans on board Russian boat

Seen above is a Russian fishing boat, XIANG HAI LIN 8, which went adrift last week near the inter-Korean maritime border. The vessel is now being held by the North Korean authorities. Screen capture from MarineTrafficBy Lee Min-hyungTwo South Koreans and 15 Russian crew members on board a Russian fishing boat have been detained in North Korea after the vessel went adrift last week near the inter-Korean eastern maritime border, the unification ministry said Wednesday.They are staying at a hotel in the North Korean port city of Wonsan, and are in good health, according to the ministry.The 300-ton vessel, XIANG HAI LIN 8, set sail July 16 from the South's eastern port of Sokcho and was on its way to Russia's eastern port city of Zarubino. The ship, owned by Russia's Northeast Fishery Company, is also being held by North Korea.A mechanical problem left the ship adrift in waters off the North's eastern coast the day after it set sail. North Korean authorities then identified the ship and towed it to the nearby port of Wonsan, the ministry said.The two Koreans were in their 50s and 60s and

Jul 24, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

North Korea detains two South Koreans on board Russian boat

North Korea fires 2 unidentified projectiles into East Sea

US backs Korea's response to airspace intrusion by China, Russia

National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, right, meets with his U.S. counterpart John Bolton at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. YonhapBy Do Je-haeThe national security chiefs of South Korea and the U.S. discussed the latest intrusion into Korean airspace by Russian and Chinese planes over the East Sea and agreed to cooperate closely on such emergencies, according to Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday.In a statement, the presidential office said Chung Eui-yong, chief of the presidential National Security Office (NSO), explained Seoul's response to the violation of the Korea Air Defense Identification (KADIZ) and the country's airspace in a meeting with his counterpart U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton. “The NSO chief mentioned our stern response to the violation of the KADIZ, and Bolton said the two countries should closely cooperate in the future on similar cases,” presidential spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said.Chung and Bolton also exchanged views on key bilateral issues in the areas of defense and security. They held their meeting in the morningat Cheong Wa Dae and later also

Jul 24, 2019By Do Je-hae

US backs Korea's response to airspace intrusion by China, Russia

Russia expresses 'regret' over South Korea airspace invasion

Pyongyang refuses to accept Seoul's food aid

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, speaks while inspecting a newly built submarine to be deployed soon, at an unknown location in North Korea, in this undated photo provided July 23 by the North Korean government. AP-YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chul Citing joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises scheduled next month, North Korea notified a World Food Program (WFP) liaison office in Pyongyang that the North won't accept 50,000 tons of rice aid donated by Seoul through the United Nations organization, a unification ministry official said, Wednesday.“Last week, North Korea notified the WFP liaison office in Pyongyang that it would not accept food assistance from the South via the WFP. As it wasn't clear whether a high-ranking government official was involved, we are still checking the authentication of the notification,” the official told reporters.The refusal came after a senior presidential aide said Seoul was going ahead with a scheduled joint military drill with Washington despite growing threats by North Korea to boycott working-level talks with the United States aimed at

Jul 24, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul

Pyongyang refuses to accept Seoul's food aid

North Korea fires 2 unidentified projectiles into East Sea

'US customers will fall victim to Japan's export curbs'

South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee answers questions from reporters at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., Wednesday (KST). She visited the United States to draw consensus from officials there over the trade feud with Japan. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungSouth Korea plans to deliver the message that the deepening trade friction between Seoul and Tokyo will do “no good to U.S. customers,” as prices for consumer goods, such as the iPhone, may soar in the aftermath of the recent chip price hike, according to Seoul's Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee.Upon arriving in Washington, Wednesday morning (KST), the senior government official said she will explain to her U.S. counterparts how the deepening trade row will eventually have negative economic effects on U.S. firms and American consumers. Her Washington visit came about two weeks after National Security Office deputy head Kim Hyun-chong visited the U.S., as part of Seoul's efforts to seek Washington's support on what is widely seen as Tokyo's “unilateral economic retaliation.”“One key difference be

Jul 24, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

'US customers will fall victim to Japan's export curbs'

Assembly delegation heads for US on Japan's trade curbs

A delegation of Korean lawmakers departs for Washington at Incheon International Airport, Wednesday, to meet counterparts from the United States and Japanese in a bipartisan effort to resolve Japan's trade regulations against Korea. From left are Rep. Choi Gyo-il of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, Rep. Lee Sang-don of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party (BMP), Yu Eui-dong of the BMP and Lee Sooh-hyuk of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Yonhap By Park Ji-wonA delegation of South Korean lawmakers departed for the United States Wednesday afternoon to claim the unfairness of Japan's trade restrictions against South Korea at their upcoming planned meetings with counterparts from Washington and Tokyo.The seven-member delegation, led by former National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, a lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), embarked on a five-day trip to the U.S. They are aiming to win backing from U.S. lawmakers and senior State Departme

Jul 24, 2019By Park Ji-won

Assembly delegation heads for US on Japan's trade curbs

Protesting investigation

Rep. Kim Sung-tae of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party holds a one-man rally in front of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office building, Tuesday, to protest the prosecution's indictment of him the previous day on charges of bribery related to illegal hiring of his daughter at KT in 2012. Yonhap

Jul 23, 2019By Bahk Eun-ji

EXCLUSIVE Lawmakers of South Korea, Japan to meet next week to discuss trade conflict

A group of members from the National Association of Mayors holds a press conference at the National Assembly, Tuesday, calling for Japan to cancel its trade curbs against Korea. YonhapBy Park Ji-wonA delegation of Korean lawmakers will visit Japan next week to meet their Japanese counterparts calling for the withdrawal of Japan’s export curbs against Korea, in a bipartisan effort to settle the worsening trade row between the two countries, political sources said Tuesday.The nine-member delegation, led by Rep. Suh Chung-won, an independent lawmaker, is planning to visit Tokyo from July 31 to Aug. 1, to meet Japanese lawmakers to call for Tokyo to immediately withdraw its trade restrictions against Korea, according to an exclusive document acquired by The Korea Times. The delegation plans to take the resolution adopted Monday in the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee to Japan.On the same day, National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang delivered personal letters to Japan and the U.S. calling for Japan not to remove Korea from the whitelist of countries, according to National A

Jul 23, 2019By Park Ji-won

[EXCLUSIVE] Lawmakers of South Korea, Japan to meet next week to discuss trade conflict

'Tokyo's removal of Seoul from white list undermines fair trade'

Kim Seung-ho, deputy minister of South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, shares how the country will discuss the trade row with Japan at the World Trade Organization General Council, upon arriving at Geneva Airport on Tuesday (KST). YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungIf Japan decides to strip South Korea of its preferential treatment in its trade relations, it will further widen Tokyo’s international trade violations, a senior South Korean government official said, Tuesday (KST).Tokyo’s possible move, which is expected to happen later this week at the earliest according to a senior Cheong Wa Dae official, would involve removing South Korea from a “white list” of countries deemed trustworthy by Japan.If Japan goes ahead with its plan, Japanese exporters will need licenses to ship to South Korea some 850 items that could be used in weapons-related applications, market research firm IHS Markit said.“We expect the Japanese government to take careful actions, as the country will violate (WTO rules) on a wider scale if it extends the matter into the white lis

Jul 23, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

'Tokyo's removal of Seoul from white list undermines fair trade'

Urging Japan's withdrawal of trade restrictions

Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, chairman of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, bangs a gavel for the committee’s adoption of a resolution urging the withdrawal of Japan’s trade restrictions against South Korea, at a plenary session of the committee, held in the National Assembly, Monday. Yonhap

Jul 23, 2019

Politics