A Seoul court ruled Wednesday that a patient suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was unfit to serve in the military, marking the first case in which it was a major disqualifier for the mandatory military service. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of a man surnamed Kim, an ADHD patient who filed a suit against the country’s military administration to cancel his enlistment. The case sets a new precedent in confirming ADHD patients to be exempt from serving in the ar

Social Affairs Feb. 12, 2014

A Seoul court on Monday upheld the inheritance rights of a man who disappeared during the Korean War, overruling the 10-year expiration term stipulated by civil law. The daughter of the man, surnamed Lee, filed a suit in 2011 to claim her share of the land owned by her deceased grandfather in South Korea. In 2009, the plaintiff escaped from North Korea, where her father lived after the Korean War. The court’s decision set a new precedent in confirming the inheritance rights of South Korean desce

Politics Feb. 10, 2014

A Seoul court on Friday meted out a two-year jail term to YoungNam Flour Mill Co. CEO Ryu Won-ki on charges of embezzlement and collusion in a high-profile contract killing case implicating his wife.The Seoul Western District Court also sentenced Park Byung-woo, a doctor at Severance Hospital in Seoul, to eight months in prison for concocting three medical statements to help Ryu’s wife Yun Gil-ja receive treatment in a posh hospital room away from her prison.Yun was convicted of hiring a hit man

Social Affairs Feb. 7, 2014

A man serving a prison term for a drug offense is to be prosecuted again for using an encrypted message to manipulate a witness in his trial, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said on Thursday.According to the prosecution, the man sent an encrypted message to a fellow inmate -- who is serving a sentence for an unrelated drug offense -- with directions for giving false testimony. The man who gave the false testimony was also indicted, the prosecution said. According to the officials, the man who se

Social Affairs Feb. 6, 2014

The alleged mistress of former Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook may have received a massive amount of money from a close friend of Chae, local media reported Thursday citing unnamed sources. According to reports, prosecutors have found that the mistress, surnamed Lim, took 120 million won ($111,000) through the account of her son, who is believed to be Chae’s love child. Lim allegedly sent back some of the money received. The prosecution said it is investigating why and how the money was transf

Politics Feb. 6, 2014

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday it had ordered local council members to return travel expenses that were used for non-business purposes.Several Seongbuk-gu Council members were found to have spent about 14 million won ($13,000) during five overseas trips in the past four years, the officials said. This marks the first time the city government has decided to restore inappropriately spent public money from assemblymen after the public audit system was adopted in 2000. Seongbuk-gu

Social Affairs Feb. 5, 2014

A 54-year-old woman received a suspended sentence of two years in jail for making more than 500 prank calls to a police station in Itaewon last year, the Seoul Western District Court said Wednesday. The suspect, identified by her last name, Son, called the police station 513 times between July and September from a pay phone to level abuse at them, according to the court officials. The investigators said Son blamed foreigners in Itaewon for her joblessness and called the Itaewon-based station to

Social Affairs Feb. 5, 2014

South Korea’s agriculture minister called for all-out efforts to prevent further outbreaks of avian influenza Tuesday, following a series of new suspected cases in areas close to the capital.“The government has so far put its utmost efforts into preventing the spread of AI and eradicating the animal disease at an early date,” Lee Dong-phil, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, said at a press briefing. Lee, however, noted that government efforts alone may not be enough. “We may be ab

National Jan. 28, 2014

A new bird flu-suspected case was reported Monday in North Chungcheong Province despite the South Korean government’s strengthened efforts to contain the further spread of the virus. A large number of ducks in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, showed common symptoms of the bird flu, with a sharp drop in the spawning rate and deaths of more than 100,000 ducks over the last two days. The quarantine officials immediately limited the access to surrounding areas and took disinfection measures. A

National Jan. 27, 2014