Prosecutor-General Moon Moo-il on Friday ordered a reinvestigation into a high profile case involving former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-eui, over allegations of rape, sexual bribery and abuse of power. Prosecutor-General Moon Moo-il (Yonhap)The prosecution launched a special investigation team of 13 prosecutors led by Yeo Hwan-seop, who heads Cheongju District Prosecutors’ Office, to guarantee “fairness” of the probe, it said. 　Kim, who retired from public service in March 2013, faces allegat

Social Affairs March 29, 2019

Police on Friday referred the case of singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young to the prosecution, recommending he be indicted on charges of secretly filming sex videos and sharing them in online chat groups.  (Yonhap)Jung, 30, who was arrested on suspicion of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes, was moved from the detention room of the Jongno Police Station in downtown Seoul to the custody of prosecutors shortly before 8 a.m. Handcuffed and wearing a bla

Social Affairs March 29, 2019

Surveillance footage retrieved by the Navy and Coast Guard from the ferry Sewol, which sank in 2014 claiming more than 300 lives, may have been doctored, an independent panel looking into the Sewol ferry disaster said Thursday.  (Yonhap)Announcing the interim results of its findings, the Special Commission on Social Disaster Investigation said that footage of Sewol that prosecutors had secured and that which the Navy claimed it had retrieved may be different. 　According to allegations raised by

Social Affairs March 28, 2019

Lights in South Korea will be turned off for an hour on Saturday as part of the World Wide Fund for Nature’s annual Earth Hour campaign to raise awareness about climate change, WWF said Thursday. 2019 Earth Hour poster (World Wide Fund for Nature)Held in major cities around the globe, Earth Hour is a worldwide event during which lights are turned off for an hour starting at 8:30 p.m. to show support for global efforts to save the planet.　In Seoul, the National Assembly, Seoul City Hall, Namsan S

Social Affairs March 28, 2019

The prosecution is set to call in Lee Suk-chae, former chairman of telecom firm KT Corp., for questioning over allegations that job favors were given to a high-profile opposition lawmaker’s daughter.(Yonhap)Lee is at the center of allegations that preferential treatment was given to job applicants with ties to powerful figures -- including the daughter of Rep. Kim Sung-tae of the Liberty Party Korea -- in hiring at KT. 　The Southern District Prosecutors’ Office said Wednesday that nine cases of

Social Affairs March 27, 2019

A total of 30 million trees will be planted in Seoul by 2022 and two large forests will be formed as part of efforts to mitigate worsening air pollution and urban heat, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday.  (Seoul Metropolitan Government)The city government plans to plant an additional 15 million trees, having already planted 15 million trees between 2014 and last year. Thirty million trees would have the effect of reducing particulate pollution generated by 64,000 aged diesel ca

Social Affairs March 26, 2019

An owner of a nightclub linked to the sex-drug scandal involving a member of K-pop boy band Big Bang has been arrested on charges of tax evasion, a Seoul court said Tuesday.  (Yonhap)The Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant for the arrest of a man surnamed Kang over suspicions he underreported sales at the nightclub, Arena, in southern Seoul and inflated the salaries of employees from 2014 to 2017, dodging a tax bill that totaled 16.2 billion won ($14.3 million).Police say Kang named a

Social Affairs March 26, 2019

As countries become ever more interconnected and globalized, English proficiency becomes a necessity if a nation and its people are to succeed on the global stage. Therefore early English education is a must, according to the chief of the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education.“The merit of our country, which has a small territory and is short of resources, is Koreans’ diligence and education fervor. Early English education will be a means to solidify Koreans’ standing in the global market,” D

Social Affairs March 24, 2019

The police on Thursday opened a preliminary investigation into a plastic surgery clinic where Lee Boo-jin, the Hotel Shilla CEO and daughter of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, allegedly received injections of propofol, a short-acting sedative and anesthetic drug.Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin (Yonhap)The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the Seoul Gangnam Police Station and public health officials conducted an on-site inspection to check the clinic’s drug management procedures amid alleg

Social Affairs March 21, 2019

Lee Boo-jin, the Hotel Shilla CEO and daughter of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, may have habitually received injections of propofol, a fast-acting sedative and anaesthetic drug, a local news outlet reported late Wednesday. Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin (Yonhap)Investigative news outlet Newstapa cited a former nuse's assistant as saying that Lee took the drug at least twice a month at a plastic surgery clinic in the affluent Cheongdam neighborhood in southern Seoul.  The assistannt cla

Social Affairs March 21, 2019

The EU's powerful anti-trust regulator slapped tech giant Google with a new fine on Wednesday over unfair competition, in Europe's latest salvo against Silicon Valley. (Yonhap)"Today the commission has fined Google 1.49 billion euros ($1.69 billion) for illegal misuse of its dominant position in the market for the brokering of online search adverts," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.In its third major decision against the search engine behemoth, Brussels sanctioned Google's Ad

Technology March 20, 2019

It has become a habit for many South Koreans to point to China as a thick haze of ultrafine dust descends and chokes the country, as well as to lash out at the Korean government for failing to settle the issue with its giant neighbor. Blaming China for worsening air pollution does not help the country’s fight against ultrafine dust, however, as a large amount of toxic particles are produced at home, according to Frank Rijsberman, director-general of the Global Green Growth Institute.“Blaming Chi

Social Affairs March 20, 2019

Police on Tuesday accelerated a probe into nightclub Burning Sun, which has been marred by allegations of sexual assault, the illicit filming of sex videos, drug use and corrupt ties with police, as ministers vowed a thorough investigation and due punishment.Seungri (left) Jung Joon-young (Yonhap)The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office asked a Seoul court to issue an arrest warrant for Jung Joon-young, a singer-songwriter suspected of secretly filming sex videos and sharing them in mobile messenge

Social Affairs March 19, 2019

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday distributed guidelines on how to respond to spycam crimes for victims and law enforcement officers, amid a growing epidemic of spycam porn in the country. (Yonhap)Divided into two parts -- for civilians and police officers -- the handbook was designed to raise awareness of what constitutes secondary damage to victims of spycam porn and how police officers and victims can handle such cases, according to the Seoul city government.For example, the guideli

Social Affairs March 19, 2019

The prosecution on Tuesday asked a Seoul court to issue an arrest warrant for Jung Joon-young, a singer-songwriter suspected of secretly filming sex videos and sharing them in online group chats, amid a widening probe into the scandal. (Yonhap)The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office also sought arrest warrants for two men, a staff member at the scandal-ridden nightclub Burning Sun surnamed Kim and an executive director at the club surnamed Jang.Kim is accused of illicit filming and Jang is accused

Social Affairs March 19, 2019