Former first lady Kim Keon Hee had her seven-year prison sentence reduced to five years Tuesday, after an appeals court cleared her of accepting a 39.9 million won ($29,000) Vacheron Constantin watch in return for business favors. The Seoul High Court upheld most of Kim’s conviction for accepting luxury goods from people seeking public appointments and other favors through her influence as the spouse of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. It ordered her to pay 24.4 million won in forfeiture and the

An appellate court was set to rule Tuesday on former first lady Kim Keon Hee's charges of taking expensive gifts in return for job appointments and other favors. The Seoul High Court was scheduled to hand down its ruling at 2 p.m. after a lower court sentenced Kim, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, to seven years in prison in June after finding her guilty of accepting bribes for mediation. A special counsel team indicted Kim on charges of receiving jewelry worth a total of over 100 mil

South Korea’s top court has ruled that a first grader who injured a classmate by pushing him off a podium did not commit school violence, stressing that not every act causing physical or psychological harm between students should automatically be classified as such. The Supreme Court on Sept. 3 upheld an appellate court ruling that sided with a local education office’s Administrative Appeals Commission, which had canceled a corrective measure imposed on the student, according to legal circles Su

A South Korean Army sergeant has had a four-year prison term upheld for selling classified materials, including documents on South Korea-US combined military exercises, to a Chinese intelligence organization. Legal sources said Friday that the Supreme Court’s Second Division upheld an August ruling by the Seoul High Court, which also included a 20 million won ($14,500) fine and a 19.07 million won forfeiture. The soldier, who was an active-duty sergeant at the time of the offenses, had been in c

A Seoul court was set to hold hearings Friday to decide whether to issue arrest warrants for eight current and former executives of domestic petrochemical companies suspected of fixing prices of products for several years, resulting in massive illicit profits for their companies. The Seoul Central District Court was scheduled to hold the arrest warrant hearings for the eight individuals, including Kim Yoo-shin, chief executive officer of OCI, and Jang Young-soo, former CEO of PKC, accused of vio

A Michelin two-star restaurant owner has been fined after prosecution for using unauthorized ants as a dish ingredient. The Seoul Western District Court on Wednesday fined the restaurant owner, surnamed Kim, 15 million won ($10,900), and fined the restaurant’s operating company 10 million won. Kim was charged with importing dried ants from the United States and Thailand and using them as a garnish on a sherbet dessert at the restaurant from April 2021 to January of this year. Under the country’s

The Seoul High Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling acquitting former President Yoon Suk Yeol of perjury over testimony he gave at the insurrection trial of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. The appeals court said the special counsel failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Yoon had lied when he testified that he planned to convene a Cabinet meeting before Han suggested doing so on the night martial law was declared. Yoon was charged over testimony he gave during Han’s trial in

A Seoul court ruled Wednesday that North Korea must pay the South Korean government more than 44.6 billion won ($32.5 million) for demolishing the inter-Korean joint liaison office in Kaesong in June 2020. The ruling marked the South Korean government’s first victory in a damages suit filed directly against North Korea. How Seoul could enforce the judgment remains unclear, as there are currently no practical means of compelling Pyongyang to pay. The Seoul Central District Court ordered North Kor

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act Proposed by Rep. Park Sung-hoon (People Power Party) Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Restriction on Special Cases Concerning Taxation Proposed by Rep. Yoon Han-hong (People Power Party) Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Fair Transactions in Large Retail Business Proposed by Rep. Kim Seung-won (Democratic Party of Korea) Administrative Announcement: Partial Amendment to the Enf

The nominee to lead the planned Serious Crimes Investigation Agency said Monday he supports the ongoing reform to the criminal justice system, refuting criticism that he previously opposed such efforts. Kim Ji-yong, a former prosecutor tapped as the new agency's inaugural head, made the remarks as some lawmakers have raised questions about his past remarks in opposition of efforts to reform the prosecution. "I am deeply reflecting on the fact that the prosecution service that I was a part of has

A Seoul court has struck down the Justice Ministry's refusal to disclose who sits on a panel that reviews the continued detention of foreign nationals, finding no sufficient legal basis for keeping the membership secret. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of four lawyers specializing in migrant rights who challenged the Immigration Detention Review Committee's decision to withhold the names of all its members, according to local daily Kyunghyang Shinmun. The committee was established

A South Korean court has overturned the denial of refugee status for an Iranian Christian after a six-year legal battle, finding that people who convert from Islam to Christianity could face persecution in Iran. According to local media reports Saturday, Seoul Administrative Court Judge Cho Dae-hyeon upheld the plaintiff’s claim seeking to overturn the Seoul Immigration Office’s decision to deny refugee status. The plaintiff was born into a devout Muslim family and attended an Islamic school. Th

A Seoul court granted the wife of Smilegate founder Kwon Hyuk-bin a divorce Wednesday and awarded her 35 percent of his shares in the gaming company plus 65 billion won in cash. If upheld, the 2.55 trillion won ($1.9 billion) property division would be the largest ever reported in South Korea. The Seoul Family Court valued Kwon’s Smilegate shares at about 7.1 trillion won. It ordered him to transfer 35 percent of the stock to his wife, surnamed Lee, in kind rather than pay its value in cash. The

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act Proposed by Rep. Park Hong-bae (Democratic Party of Korea) Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act Proposed by Rep. Park Hong-bae (Democratic Party of Korea) Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Distribution Industry Development Act Proposed by Rep. Kim Sung-won (People Power Party) Promulgated Bill: Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Informat

An American exchange student acquitted of minor offenses committed during an acute psychiatric episode remains unable to leave South Korea while prosecutors appeal the verdict, delaying his return home for treatment, according to his lawyer. The case involved an attempted entry into a dental office, the theft of delivered goods and damage to a pair of glasses, with losses totaling 232,400 won ($174). The student, a US national in his 20s, had been studying at Jeonbuk National University on a D-2