Samsung heir Lee sentenced to W70m fine for illegal use of propofol

Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong was sentenced to a 70 million won ($60,055) fine Tuesday for illegally using propofol, an anesthetic medication, dozens of times over a period of years. The Seoul Central District Court also ordered an additional forfeiture of 17 million won as it convicted Lee of violations of the Narcotics Control Act. The fine and the forfeiture are the same as what prosecutors had demanded for Lee. In June, prosecutors indicted the Samsung Electronics Co. vice chairman on

Oct. 26, 2021

Police to prohibit late night questionings under rights panel recommendation

Police will ban late night questionings and minimize the use of handcuffs and ropes in an effort to improve human rights of detainees, officials said Tuesday. The measures are among the recommendations that a civic human rights panel made to police as part of a program that the National Police Agency (NPA) launched in 2018 to study ways to improve rights conditions throughout the police institution. In announcing the results of the program, police said they have decided to prohibit in princip

Oct. 26, 2021

Lee registers as preliminary presidential candidate

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), registered with the national election watchdog as a preliminary presidential candidate on Tuesday. Lee's aides, DP Reps. Park Hong-keun and Park Chan-dae, filed the registration on the candidate's behalf at the National Election Commission's office in Gwacheon, 18 kilometers south of Seoul. The move came the same day Lee stepped down as governor of Gyeonggi Province to focus on his presidential campaign. "I begi

Oct. 26, 2021

Court questions prosecutor linked to opposition's political meddling scandal

A Seoul court questioned a prosecutor Tuesday to determine whether to issue an arrest warrant for him over allegations he conspired with the main opposition party to investigate pro-government figures when opposition presidential contender Yoon Seok-youl was in office as prosecutor general. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) sought the warrant for Son Jun-sung on charges of asking a prosecutor-turned-lawmaker of the main opposition People Power Party to file co

Oct. 26, 2021

Arrest warrant sought for prosecutor linked to opposition's political meddling scandal

An arrest warrant has been sought for a sitting prosecutor accused of conspiring with the main opposition party to investigate key ruling camp officials last year when Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl, now a leading opposition presidential contender, was in office. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) said it sought the warrant over the weekend for Son Jun-sung, who served at the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office last year, as he has not cooperated with the inv

Oct. 25, 2021

Moon pledges last-ditch effort to bring normalcy back

President Moon Jae-in on Monday pledged a last-ditch effort to bring normalcy back and cement the economic recovery in his final address at the National Assembly before he leaves office in May. “With six months left for my presidency, I’m deeply impressed by this final speech,” the president said as he opened his seventh parliamentary speech earlier in the day. “I’ll make an all-out effort until the very end for a complete return to normalcy and an economic recove

Oct. 25, 2021

Arrest warrant sought for prosecutor linked to opposition's political meddling scandal

An arrest warrant has been sought for a sitting prosecutor accused of conspiring with the main opposition party to investigate key ruling camp officials last year when Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl, now a leading opposition presidential contender, was in office. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) said it sought the warrant over the weekend for Son Jun-sung, who served at the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office last year, as he has not cooperated with the inve

Oct. 25, 2021

Gyeonggi gov. begins presidential race in earnest as pressure grows

Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Monday announced his resignation as governor of Gyeonggi Province, starting his presidential bid in earnest as opposition parties ratcheted up their demands for an independent counsel investigation into the ongoing land development corruption scandal. Lee said he was stepping down effective Tuesday morning, with eight months left in his term. “I feel burdened with a heavy sense of responsibility, but I promise to fulfill

Oct. 25, 2021

Prosecutors expected to seek arrest warrants for 2 key figures in Seongnam development scandal

Prosecutors were expected to seek arrest warrants in the coming days for two key suspects in an urban development scandal on charges of promising to give massive bribes to a top official of the project's administrator in exchange for business favors. Prosecutors have been looking into suspicions over how a previously unheard-of asset management firm, Hwacheon Daeyu, and its seven affiliates reaped astronomical profits from a 2015 project to develop the Daejang-dong district in Seongnam, south o

Oct. 25, 2021

‘Lesser evil’? disapproval of presidential candidates rises

About four months before the upcoming presidential election, voters increasingly disapprove of three key candidates from both the ruling and opposition parties amid constant scandals, doubts and slip-ups. According to a survey of 1,000 adults nationwide conducted Oct. 19-21 by Gallup Korea, Lee Jae-myung, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s sole presidential candidate, marked a 32 percent approval rating. Two opposition party candidates, Hong Joon-pyo and Yoon Seok-youl, received 31 p

Oct. 24, 2021

DP presidential candidate to resign as Gyeonggi governor next week: official

  Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), is likely to announce his resignation from the governorship next week, officials here said Friday. "Lee has decided to step down from the governor position on Oct. 25 and will soon tender his resignation to the provincial council chairman," an official with the Gyeonggi provincial government told Yonhap News Agency. Lee will work as the governor of the populous province surrounding Seo

Oct. 22, 2021

Yoon accused of 'mocking' nation with pic of dog with apple

Yoon Seok-youl, a leading opposition presidential contender, drew fire Friday after a photo of his dog being fed an apple sparked speculation that he likened the people to a dog following a reluctant apology for making insensitive remarks about a former dictator. In Korean, "apology" and "apple" are homonyms and the fact that Yoon's dog Tory was given the fruit only hours after the candidate issued a public apology led to criticism that Yoon was insincere in his apology and

Oct. 22, 2021

Seoul city govt. to report all participants of Wednesday labor rally to police

The Seoul city government said Thursday it will file complaints with police against all participants in a labor rally called by a militant umbrella union a day earlier on charges of violating the infectious disease prevention act. On Wednesday afternoon, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) staged a massive rally in central Seoul for about two hours as part of a one-day general strike to bring labor issues to the fore in the runup to the 2022 presidential election. About 27,000 union

Oct. 21, 2021

Measures eyed to prevent 'unusually excessive' gains from land development: finance chief

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday that the government will come up with measures to prevent and redeem what are deemed to be "unusually excessive" gains from land development projects in the wake of the escalating scandal over a corruption-laden urban development project near Seoul. A prosecution probe is under way into how a little-known asset management firm, Hwacheon Daeyu, and its seven affiliates reaped profits worth 1,000 times its investment in an apartment development

Oct. 21, 2021

Yoon expresses regret over controversial remarks on ex-President Chun

Yoon Seok-youl, a leading presidential contender of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), expressed regret Thursday after coming under intense criticism for his remarks seeming to praise former authoritarian President Chun Doo-hwan. Yoon said Tuesday that many people think Chun did well in politics, except for his bloody suppression of a 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju and his seizing power through a coup. The comments sparked a backlash especially becau

Oct. 21, 2021

Govt. committed to increase support for police: PM

  The government is committed to expanding support for police to beef up public safety, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Thursday, as it vowed to increase the law enforcement agency's workforce and budget. Kim expressed his respect and gratitude to some 150,000 police officers in the country for their services at the 76th Police Day ceremony at the Korean Police Investigation Academy in Asan, 90 kilometers south of Seoul. He called on police to win people's trust with responsible and scie

Oct. 21, 2021

Prosecutors resummon key figures in land development scandal all on same day

Prosecutors on Wednesday continued their questionings into a corruption-laden urban development scandal engulfing South Korean politics, summoning the four key suspects of the high profile case again all on the same day for possible cross-examinations. Prosecutors are looking into suspicions over how a previously unheard-of asset management firm, Hwacheon Daeyu, and its seven affiliates reaped astronomical profits from a 2015 project to develop the Daejang-dong district in Seongnam, south of Se

Oct. 20, 2021

Yoon Seok-youl in hot water for defending ex-dictator

Yoon Seok-youl, a leading presidential contender for the main opposition People Power Party, on Wednesday hastened to provide an explanation for his remarks that seemed to defend former President Chun Doo-hwan, after rebukes from both within and outside his party. A day earlier, Yoon visited a party member council in Busan and said there were many people who say Chun “did well in politics” except for the “military coups” and what he did on May 18, referring to the Gwang

Oct. 20, 2021

Moon says S. Korea seeks strong defense capability to ensure peace

Ensuring peace is the reason for South Korea to build strong defense capabilities, President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday, as the country seeks to build a military based on cutting-edge science and technology amid North Korea's missile and nuclear development. Moon made the remarks at the opening ceremony of a biennial defense exhibition that offers an in-depth look at state-of-the-art military hardware like stealth jets, advanced missile interceptors and hydrogen-powered drones, hours after the

Oct. 20, 2021

Lee appears at 2nd parliamentary audit amid snowballing corruption scandal

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), appeared at a parliamentary audit Wednesday, the second time this week he will be asked about his possible involvement in a massive development corruption scandal. Lee said in his opening remarks that he will not address questions unrelated to provincial administration and that an audit is not the same as a confirmation hearing. "Today I plan to limit my answers, if possible, to questions related to

Oct. 20, 2021