From Yonhap News:
A Seoul appellate court on Tuesday upheld a lower court’s ruling that the 2003 sale of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) to U.S. equity firm Lone Star Fund was not conducted at a below-market price, a verdict that cleared government and banking officials involved in the sale of breach of trust charges.
The Chosun Ilbo and JoongAng Daily bring us news of the latest gadget in the struggle to stamp out “wonjo kyoje” (원조교제), so-called “compensated dating” in which men pay schoolgirls for sex. We found out this past July that solicitation for such will become a punishable offense, even if no sex takes place.
If teenagers are solicited online, they can make a report via a new computer program called “Youth Keeper.” Under new laws designed to protect minors, which are to come into effect in January, anyone found guilty faces punishments of up to one year in prison or fines of up to ten million won (a thousand won is a little less than an American dollar).
Payment can be defined in a number of ways, from cash to presents such as a place to live.
“We found that more than 90 percent of purchased sex [with minors] took place via Internet chatting or on cyber dating sites. We expect the number of related cases to be greatly reduced following the measure,” said a Health Ministry spokesman.
[ snip ]
It can be downloaded from the websites of various government agencies including the Health Ministry (www.mw.go.kr), the National Police Agency, the Education Ministry, and the Ministry of Gender Equality. Those reporting a case should keep in mind that they may be called in by the police if necessary and that false reports are punishable.
[ snip ]
Users launch the youth protection program and click the “report” icon to report potential crimes.
A screen shot is saved as an image file that can become evidence.
Final reporting is made to the National Police Agency after the user types his or her name and date of birth.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The police should do as is done in other countries, and pose as minors online in sting operations.
A couple of days ago, I wrote this post about the ongoing recovery of Na-young, the little girl whose violent rape shocked the entire nation.
Now Korea Beat has translated an article, which looks very similar to the one that I posted about, which isn’t surprising, considering that it’s from the Korean-language version of the Joongang Ilbo. Here are a couple of excerpts, though, that were not included in the article I originally posted about:
After her story was reported on October 31st, the nation reached out to her. A medical equipment business adapted an adult colostomy bag to her child’s body. Prof. Han Seok-ju of Severance Children’s Hospital offered to perform surgery to restore her anus. If it works she can discard the colostomy bag. Na-young’s father said, “the interest and kindness of strangers saved my daughter.”
[ snip ]
She said she like studying math. Her grades were nearly the same as before the incident. She scored over 90 on her latest test. She laughs and her depression has disappeared, and she has begun holding hands with people. The picture Na-young showed to this reporter was titled “change”.
Though she previously wanted to be a chef, her new dream is to be a doctor. I asked her the reason. “I was sick and the doctor helped me.” Prof. Shin said, “Na-young is now 70% recovered. The only thing left is to go through puberty.”
Na-young sent a picture and card to Prof. Shin and attorney Lee Myeong-suk, the human rights director of the Korean Bar Association (대한변호사협회). In neat handwriting she wrote, “Teachers! Thank you for taking care of me so well.” Next to her, her father smiled. “That’s what Na-young is going to write to everyone who helped her and supported her.”
Here’s some good news, and just in time for Christmas. Na-young, the little girl who suffered so horribly, is starting to smile again.
The girl had the sparkle of mischief in her eyes.
She would hide behind a pillar and would stick her head out laughing whenever the door opened.
She asked for a pen and a sheet of paper and started drawing. A baby bird was giving a present to its mother in one, and a child in a red dress – just like hers – was flashing a big smile in another.
[ snip ]
Na-young was assaulted in December 2008, but it was two months later that she started receiving psychiatric treatment by Dr. Shin Eui-jin at Yonsei University’s Severance Hospital in Seoul. Shin acknowledged that at first it was difficult to open Na-young’s mind. The first and foremost goal of the therapy was to remind the girl that the assault wasn’t her fault at all and to help her restore her self-esteem.
It took two months for her to receive psychiatric help? Why?
Soon, Na-young herself began to change. She said she wanted to go to school again. Though her parents wanted to transfer her to another school, the young girl said she’d be fine back at the old place. She started bringing her friends home. Since September, Na-young has been attending a hagwon (private academic institute) for arithmetic. Her father was hesitant at first because the hagwon was next to the scene of the crime, but his daughter was insistent.
Na-young recently sent Shin a Christmas card, thanking the doctor for helping with her recovery. The young girl is aspiring to become a medical doctor one day, too.
“I would say Na-young has improved to about 70 percent,” Shin said. “I hope this child never loses her dream.”
I’m glad to hear this. She sounds tough and resilient. I’m saddened, though, to think that she’ll be twenty years old when that animal, Cho Du-sun, gets out of prison.
The Korea Herald and Korea Times brings us the news that those who sexually abuse children face strict new punishments, including up to fifty years in prison.
The government and the ruling party are planning a bill that could put convicted sexual offenders targeting children behind bars for up to 50 years, force them to wear electronic monitors round-the-clock for 30 years after being released and, if necessary, undergo chemical castration.
Maybe this time they’re serious, because a man has been sentenced to twenty years in jail for raping an 8-year-old girl in a church bathroom.
Personally, I’ll take a wait-and-see attitude, given that, less than three weeks ago, a man was sentenced to a paltry, outrageous 8 months for raping a 7-year-old boy for 20 minutes.
The Korea Times brings us a story entitled Canadian Caught for Swindling $27.8 Million. But wait.
Police said they arrested the Korean-turned-Canadian suspect in Seoul. According to police, the suspect, identified by his surname Kim, established an investment agency in Vancouver and raised funds amounting to nearly $27.8 million from 200 Koreans living there.
So if a Korean immigrates to Canada, then becomes a criminal, he’s a “Canadian.” Oookaaay. I’m sure that if he discovered the cure for cancer, he’d be hailed as a great “Korean” hero.
Remember Super Junior’s Kang In? After being caught on tape participating in a bar brawl last month, he more recently drove under the influence of alcohol, during which he committed a hit-and-runs on two taxis. He turned himself in at the police station, where he confessed.
Some netizens have called for him to be kicked out of the group. Other netizens have come to his defense, though.
It’s interesting to contrast this with the incident regarding 2PM’s Jae-beom. Jae-beom was run out of Korea by a torches-and-pitchforks Internet mob for writing some rude comments four years ago. On the other hand, this guy has been caught red-handed committing three serious offenses: drunk driving, hit-and-run, and assault. And it looks like he’ll get off more lightly (by the public) than Jae-beom.
According to the Korea Herald and Times, a lawmaker, Representative Woo Yoon-keun has stated, “Along with the crime rate of foreigners, the number of sexual crimes committed by them is rapidly increasing,” said the lawmaker. This is despite the fact that he himself cited statistics that show that foreigners have a lower conviction rate than Koreans, 40% vs. 45%, respectively. According to him, that just means that foreigners need to be more targeted and more heavily punished.
“The government should come up with preventive measures to the increasing sex crimes committed by expatriates.”
“The police and prosecution should punish them strictly, while taking measures for prevention.”
Here’s a radical idea: How about punishment-that-fits-the-crime for all sexual offenders, regardless of whether they are Koreans or non-Koreans? Here are some articles to bring you up to speed.
–> Few teachers punished for sexual crimes
–> Today’s Joongang Ilbo column is about lenient sentences
And Gusts of Popular Feeling does an excellent job of dissecting and providing rebuttals to the misrepresented crime statistics on foreigners.
–> More on English teacher crime stats
–> [Untitled]
–> A closer look at the crime statistics for foreign English teachers
–> Foreign English teacher crime statistics released
–> How to make foreign English teachers an AIDS threat in 5 easy steps
–> An In-depth Look at Anti-English Spectrum
–> The achievements of Anti-English Spectrum
–> NHRCK update
Police officers have been ordered to pay 10 million won to the family of a man who perished after being in their custody.
According to court records, Lee passed out outside on a rainy day in December 2006 in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. He was taken to a nearby police sub-station but left uncared for despite his calls for medical attention. Five hours later, he was taken to a hospital but declared dead on arrival.
“The deceased showed signs of being seriously ill that were not common for a person who was drunk,” Senior Judge Lee Jun-ho said in the ruling. “Police officers on the scene didn’t even bother to do CPR or any other measures to help him.”
I had previously written about how a member of boy band Super Junior had been accused of being in a late-night brawl in the Seoul district of Gangnam. Now PopSeoul and the Korea Times tell us that he was caught in the act on tape. Apparently, he was goaded until he finally gave in, but nevertheless, the camera clearly shows him to be guilty. If this results in a long trial, what will the other 12 members of Super Junior do?
