An independent counsel looking into the corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye said Wednesday that Park and her confidante Choi Soon-sil made hundreds of phone calls while Choi was on the run in Germany amid the spiraling corruption scandal. The independent counsel said that President Park and Choi had some 570 calls using phones registered under borrowed names from April to late October in 2016, with the last phone conversation made on Oct. 26 a few days before Choi’s return to Ko

Social Affairs Feb. 15, 2017

The assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother reflects the young dictator’s “monomaniacal” character, a lawmaker from the parliament’s national intelligence committee said Wednesday.“It seems like the timing of the assassination has no meaning. It is rather a reflection of Kim Jong-un’s monomaniacal side than a calculated move to remove a threat to his regime,” Rep. Kim Byung-kee of the Democratic Party of Korea told reporters after a closed-door session with the nation’s s

North Korea Feb. 15, 2017

At the presidential impeachment trial Tuesday, the Constitutional Court accepted a set of transcripts of controversial audio files as evidence, which the parliament sees as possible proof of President Park Geun-hye’s overreliance on her confidante Choi Soon-sil in state affairs.  　During the 13th hearing, the court accepted the request by the parliament’s defense team to recognize the 29 transcripts of audio files as valid evidence. 　The transcripts could indicate President Park’s involvement in

Social Affairs Feb. 14, 2017

The government said Friday that it will strengthen punishments for people causing violence or a disturbance during a flight, following a recent in-flight incident.Under revised airline safety regulations, a passenger resorting to violence during the flight will be sentenced to up to three years in prison, officials said.   The revision was discussed during a government meeting presided over by Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (Y

Social Affairs Feb. 3, 2017

A team of surgeons reported Friday that they have completed a hand transplant on a man in his 30s, marking the first time that a surgery replacing a hand has taken place in South Korea.The 25-strong team, led by W Hospital chief Woo Sang-hyun, transplanted the hand of a man in his 40s who had been pronounced brain dead. The procedure took 10 hours starting at 4:00 p.m. the previous day at the Yeungnam University Medical Center in the southeastern city of Daegu.The body part being transplanted wa

Technology Feb. 3, 2017

Impeached President Park Geun-hye added another lawyer to her legal team Friday in what appears to be a bid to strengthen her defense at the Constitutional Court.Wie Jae-min, a former prosecutor, was appointed to join the team, a court official said, bringing the total number of attorneys to 14. His appointment came just three days after the addition of another former prosecutor to the team. Parliament has 16 lawyers on its impeachment panel to serve as the prosecution. (Yonhap)Park was impeache

Social Affairs Feb. 3, 2017

The independent counsel probing the nation’s corruption scandal on Friday raided the offices of an antitrust body and financial regulator as part of an investigation into the bribery allegations involving President Park Geun-hye, her confidante Choi Soon-sil and Samsung Group.The team led by Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo searched the offices of the Fair Trade Commission in Sejong and the Financial Services Commission in central Seoul, seeking to secure personal data and financial records of

Social Affairs Feb. 3, 2017

Halfway through a high-profile probe into the corruption scandal that led to President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment, the independent counsel’s remaining task is the hardest and most important -- questioning the president herself. 　 With key suspects increasingly implicating President Park in wrongdoings, special counsel Park Young-soo and his team of investigators are considering raiding the presidential office this week at the earliest and questioning Park face-to-face by early February.  Indepe

Social Affairs Jan. 22, 2017

A South Korean court Thursday rejected an arrest warrant for Samsung Group’s heir apparent Lee Jae-yong over a corruption scandal that led to President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment. 　 "It is hard to acknowledge the reason, necessity and appropriateness for the arrest at the current stage (of the investigation)" the Seoul Central District Court said, citing lack of evidence and key issues that are still debated as the reasons for the rejection. 　Following the court's decision, the 48-year-old tyco

National Jan. 19, 2017

Samsung Group’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong is possibly at the lowest point of his life as he nervously waits for a court’s decision on his arrest warrant. 　The heir apparent of the nation’s largest conglomerate has been placed behind bars until the court decides on his and his company’s fate, most likely by early Thursday morning. 　Lee Jae-yong (Yonhap)But his brief stay at a detention facility in south of Seoul might be a taste of what is yet to come, as he faces charges --- bribery, embezzle

Social Affairs Jan. 18, 2017