Reported sex crimes in Korea increased by 61.6 percent in five years to 22,034 cases in 2011, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said Monday. Seoul City recorded the highest rate of sex crimes per capita in the nation with 61.4 sex offenses per 100,000 people, followed by Bucheon with 60.9, and Suwon with 56.9.The number of sexual assault and abduction cases against children under the age of 13 years was 1,054 and 89, respectively.Among sex crimes against children, 23.8 percent and 32.6 percent wer

Social Affairs Dec. 17, 2012

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office indicted a trainee prosecutor involved in a sex scandal without detention on Monday.The prosecution’s internal inspection team charged prosecutor Jeon Jae-mong with bribery and abuse of power.“His inappropriate behavior caused anger and criticism among the public and tainted the reputation of prosecutors,” said an SPO official, adding that the prosecution would seek the dismissal of Jeon.The internal inspection committee at the SPO last week recommended seeking ch

Social Affairs Dec. 17, 2012

Police might summon incumbent prosecutors on suspicion that they leaked a photo of a woman who allegedly had sex with one of their fellow prosecutors in a high-profile sex scandal, sources at Seoul police said Friday. Seocho Police Station is currently analyzing files handed over by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s internal inspection team. “The inspection team has reported to the police four officials who created the image file and their two accomplices,” said a lead prosecutor of the prosecut

Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2012

The National Election Commission on Friday filed a complaint against a Saenuri Party official engaging in illegal election activities for presidential candidate Park Geun-hye. The person identified by his surname Yoon is known to be the director of a social networking service support team of the ruling party, which consulted him about SNS.The commission raided a unregistered election office run by Yoon in Yeouido, central Seoul, and confiscated evidence including eight computers, a laptop, certi

Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2012

Kim Bok-sun, 87, a surviving victim of Japan’s sex slavery, passed away Wednesday due to old age. She had been in hospital for a long time, according to the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, an organization to help the victims.The number of surviving victims of Japanese sex slavery during the colonial period stands at 59, said Yoon Mee-hyang, a representative of the organization.The 1,054th Wednesday protest demanding an official apology from the Japanese

Social Affairs Dec. 12, 2012

By Kim Young-wonThe temperature in the capital Seoul on Monday was minus 7.1 degrees Celsius, the sixth-lowest temperature in early December since the nation’s weather agency started meteorological observations in 1907 in Seoul.The lowest average temperature was recorded in 1944 with minus 10.4 degrees Celsius, followed by minus 8.8 in 1910, minus 8.5 in 1956, minus 8.3 in 1926, and minus 7.2 in 1937.The temperature in the city dipped to a low of minus 11.8 degrees Celsius. As a cold front swept

Social Affairs Dec. 10, 2012

The Ministry of Public Administration and Security unveiled the names of the worst tax delinquents Sunday with former Hansol Group vice chairman Cho Dong-man and GS Engineering and Construction topping the lists of individuals and corporations, respectively. The disclosure is part of the government’s efforts to tighten its reins on high-income tax dodgers and address growing concerns of the budget balance. The list includes 7,546 individuals and 3,983 corporations that owe at least 30 million wo

Social Affairs Dec. 9, 2012

All dogs three months or older in Seoul should carry registered labels on microchips, pendants or tags that can identify them when lost beginning next year, the city government said Sunday.Otherwise their owners will be fined 1 million won ($924) under a new regulation aimed to better protect pets.Dog owners can choose from three types for the registration: electronic microchips which are embedded under dogs’ skin, electronic pendants that have microchips in them, and tags on which the owners’ n

Social Affairs Dec. 9, 2012

The Korean police are permitted to conduct preliminary investigations into U.S. Army officers and soldiers who are caught red-handed in criminal cases before they hand them over to the U.S. military police, the National Police Agency said Sunday. The police will also have the right to investigate all types of crimes committed by the U.S. servicemen under detention.Previously the U.S. military was only required to give “sympathetic consideration” when Korea requested a transfer even before indict

Social Affairs Dec. 9, 2012

The Korean office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the National Assembly Human Rights Forum will hold a symposium next Wednesday to discuss ways to successfully implement the new Refugee Act.The legislation, which was passed by the National Assembly in December 2011, will come into force on July 1, 2013.Experts and officials, including UNHCR Korea Representative Anne Mary Campbell and NAHRF Chairman Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, will discuss refugee policies under the new law.This

Social Affairs Dec. 6, 2012

The prosecution picks up the pace in rebuilding its tarnished reputation and cutting the Gordian knot of corruption inside the prosecutorial body. The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said Tuesday that it will fire trainee prosecutor Jeon Jae-mong who was involved in a sex scandal.Jon was accused of having sex allegedly in return for favors with a female suspect whom he was interrogating.Choi Jaek-kyung, the head of the SPO’s Central Investigation Unit, on the same day was acquitted of accusations he

Social Affairs Dec. 4, 2012