A top court Thursday confirmed a 27-year jail term for a woman convicted of abusing her stepson to death and burying his body to cover up the crime.Upholding a lower court’s decision, the Supreme Court also confirmed a 17-year prison term for the father of 7-year-old Shin Won-young for neglecting the crime and helping abandon the boy’s body.A photo of 7-year-old Shin Won-young (Yonhap)Prosecutors said that the 39-year-old stepmother, surnamed Kim, had locked up the boy in a bathroom and abused h

Social Affairs April 13, 2017

South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday arrested Ko Young-tae, a whistleblower in the corruption scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye and her friend Choi Soon-sil. Ko, who was once a close associate of Choi, is accused of receiving kickbacks in return for wielding influence on personnel appointment at the nation’s customs agency. He was taken into custody at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday evening after the court issued a warrant Monday. Prosecutors can hold h

Social Affairs April 12, 2017

When Maria first came to Korea 17 years ago, the Filipina had no one to rely on, except for her Korean husband. Despite his support, it took more than a decade to finally be able to call South Korea her home.From the language barrier and spicy food to the country’s patriarchal values, the 47-year-old, who did not want to use her real name, faced challenges every step of the way to adjust to life here, some 2,600 kilometers away from her family and friends in the Philippines.(Ministry of Gender E

Social Affairs April 11, 2017

Woo Byung-woo, a former aide of ousted President Park Geun-hye, appeared at a local court Tuesday to fight against the prosecution’s request for his arrest warrant over charges tied to the scandal that led to Park’s removal from power and arrest.Woo, who was a senior presidential secretary for civil affairs from 2015 to 2016, is suspected of abetting or condoning Park’s friend Choi Soon-sil’s meddling in state affairs, and exerting undue influence over the prosecution to help Choi. Woo Byung-woo

Social Affairs April 11, 2017

A Seoul court on Friday began the trial of the country’s most prominent businessman -- Samsung Group’s de facto chief Lee Jae-yong -- on bribery charges in connection with the scandal that removed President Park Geun-hye from power. On the same day, prosecutors sought to extend the arrest of the ousted president and questioned Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin on a related allegation -- providing donations to foundations allegedly controlled by Park’s confidante Choi Soon-sil. Lee is brought to

Social Affairs April 7, 2017

Woo Byung-woo, ousted President Park Geun-hye’s former aide, appeared at the prosecution’s office Thursday for questioning over a corruption scandal that led to Park’s removal from power and arrest.Woo, who served Park as a presidential secretary for civil affairs from 2015 to 2016, is suspected of abetting or condoning Choi’s meddling in state affairs and exerting undue influence over the prosecution to disrupt a probe into the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014. Woo, a prosecutor-turned-presid

Social Affairs April 6, 2017

When Leo Mendoza decided to go shopping with his wife on March 30, he did not imagine that it would lead to one of the most hurtful experiences in his 16-year stay in Korea, all because he wanted to save a child’s life. As they spotted a Korean boy about to be hit by a car in the parking lot, his Korean wife Shin Jin-young instinctively screamed to stop the vehicle, which prevented an accident. The child’s grandparents, who were not paying attention when this happened, started to yell at Mendoza

Social Affairs April 6, 2017

South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday grilled former President Park Geun-hye at a detention facility, where she is in custody, as part of a continuing investigation into a scandal that led to her removal from office and arrest. Prosecutor Han Woong-jae led the interrogation from 10 a.m. to 8:40 p.m. at a makeshift investigation room at Seoul Detention Center south of Seoul, where she has been jailed since Friday. The session took place inside the facility at Park’s request. It was the first questi

Social Affairs April 4, 2017

South Korea's Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn on Saturday called for a painstaking search for the remains of those killed in the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking."The top priority is to recover the remains," he said during a visit to a Mokpo port in the southwestern province of Jeolla. Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn meets with the families of the victims of the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, on April 1, 2017. (Yonhap)It has become the new home of the 6,825-ton ship, which sank

Social Affairs April 1, 2017

The number of closed-circuit television cameras more than doubled in the country in 2015 compared with five years earlier, data showed Saturday, casting concerns over privacy protection.According to the data compiled by the National Assembly Budget Office and the Ministry of the Interior, the number of CCTV cameras installed in public locations came to a whopping 740,000 as of end-2015, hiking from around 300,000 units posted in 2010. (Yonhap)Of the cameras installed, 49 percent of them were to

Social Affairs April 1, 2017