Latest news with #ActontheAggravatedPunishmentofSpecificCrimes
Korea Herald
13-07-2025
- Korea Herald
Homeless man jailed for breaking into homes, eatery to eat noodles
A homeless man in his 60s has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for a series of break-ins to steal and eat noodles and other snacks from homes and restaurants. The Ulsan District Court announced Sunday that the man was found guilty of habitual theft under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. Although the financial damage was minor, the court imposed a heavy sentence due to his history of similar offenses and the fact that he was already on probation. His charges included breaking into a vacant house in Ulsan last December to steal a bag of instant ramen, which he cooked and ate in the kitchen. The following month, he broke into a restaurant in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, where he consumed ramyeon, chicken feet, and two bottles of soju. Authorities found that the man had been homeless since his release from prison in December and had resorted to stealing food from empty buildings when he was hungry.
Korea Herald
08-07-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
K-pop leaders face reckoning amid global window of opportunity
As K-pop stands on the brink of a global comeback, scandals and legal troubles shake its biggest agencies from within As K-pop braces for what could be a golden time of global resurgence — fueled by the highly anticipated return of BTS and Blackpink — its biggest threat may not be foreign competition, but the moguls within. All heads of the so-called 'big four' K-pop agencies, aside from JYP Entertainment's Park Jin-youn,g are currently embroiled in a legal case. Bang under IPO probe The most headline-grabbing figure is Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk. Despite his limited public appearances, Bang continues to attract outsized public attention. A video of him walking with a young female streamer in Beverly Hills last July went viral — but that was just the beginning. Bang is currently under investigation by South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service over allegations of pre-initial public offering misconduct. He is suspected of misleading early investors by claiming Hybe (then Big Hit Entertainment) had no plans to go public, while secretly arranging share sales to a private equity fund linked to an associate. The deal reportedly generated massive profits, a portion of which may have gone to Bang, raising concerns of securities fraud. The case was referred to prosecutors in June for potential criminal charges. Hybe has denied wrongdoing, stating that it never concealed its IPO plans and that both listing and investment options were openly discussed with investors. The company claimed that former shareholders sold their stakes based on their own judgment, fully aware of the company's strategic direction. Separately, Bang has been summoned as a witness in a stock manipulation trial involving Kakao's 2023 takeover battle for SM Entertainment. While not a suspect in the case, he is expected to testify about his role in behind-the-scenes negotiations during the high-stakes acquisition. However, Bang declined to appear in court Tuesday — a move that has raised questions about transparency and his actual involvement. Yang faces customs charges On June 4, YG Entertainment Executive Producer Yang Hyun-suk appeared in a Seoul court to face charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes related to customs evasion. He is accused of bringing two luxury Swiss watches, worth approximately 241 million won ($176,000), into Korea without declaring them after allegedly receiving the items as gifts in Singapore in 2014. Yang has argued that celebrity sponsorships are an industry norm. But this claim was challenged by a representative of the watch brand, who testified that all official endorsements must be approved by the brand's Swiss headquarters and that gifting to celebrities is not permitted. Yang's legal team countered that it remains unclear when and where the watches were received, citing inconsistent statements from the brand's regional executive. EXO members sue SM executives At SM Entertainment, co-CEO Tak Young-jun and Chief A&R Officer Lee Sung-soo have been sued for fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes by three members of EXO — Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin, also known as CBX. The trio accused the two leaders of withholding transparent payment records and enforcing excessively long-term contracts, prompting them to seek termination of their exclusive agreements in mid-2023. Although the dispute appeared to be resolved temporarily when the members agreed to continue EXO-related group activities under SM Entertainment, tensions resurfaced months later over the distribution of revenue from their solo promotions. The conflict escalated after Baekhyun's independent label INB100 — which also manages Chen and Xiumin — became affiliated with One Hundred Label. SM Entertainment responded by accusing the artists of tampering, alleging they had engaged in unauthorized outside negotiations. In retaliation, CBX filed a criminal complaint against Tak and Lee, accusing them of manipulating royalty payments. SM Entertainment then launched a civil lawsuit demanding that the artists honor their original contracts. Both cases remain ongoing in court.
Korea Herald
23-06-2025
- Korea Herald
Habitual thief jailed for 8th time just 1 month after latest release
A man who has been jailed seven times in the past three decades was sentenced to another prison term by the local court, this time committing theft just a month after being released from incarceration. The Jeonju District Court said Monday it has ruled against the 60-year-old suspect's appeal and upheld a lower court ruling to sentence him to two years in prison. He was indicted for stealing cash, a wallet, slippers and other items from offices and employee living quarters of various businesses in South Chungcheong Province and North Jeolla Province, from Aug. 7-12. He committed the crime just a month after being released from jail in July, after receiving seven separate prison terms for the same crime of larceny. This time, he was indicted for violating Article 5-4 of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, which punishes habitual larceny and robbery. He appealed the earlier ruling by saying the punishment was disproportionately severe compared to his crime, which the court rejected. "The defendant repeated larceny over 30 years and received seven different jail terms to serve close to 10 years, yet he repeated the same crime just a month after being released. ... Even considering various factors for sentencing, it cannot be regarded that the earlier ruling was unreasonably harsh," the court said in its ruling.
Korea Herald
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
'Red or blue?' Man assaults taxi driver over political stance
Passenger asks driver who he voted for in presidential election, attacks him after refusal to answer A man in his 20s is under investigation for a drunken assault on a taxi driver after harassing the victim over who he voted for in the June 3 presidential election. The suspect got in a cab driven by the victim on a road in Gangseo-gu, Busan, at around 5:40 a.m. on Sunday, severely intoxicated, according to the Gangseo Police Station. He asked the driver who he voted for in the election won by President Lee Jae-myung, to which the driver answered, "I don't know much about politics." Despite the victim's protests, the suspect harassed him by shaking the headrest and asking, "Was it the red party or the blue party? It was blue, wasn't it — the Democratic Party?" Red is the color of the conservative People Power Party and blue represents Lee's liberal Democratic Party of Korea. The driver got out of the car to report the case to the police, but the suspect followed and brutally assaulted him. The attack inflicted injuries on the victim and damage to the car. Police arrested the suspect at around 6:15 a.m. the same day. The suspect is charged with violence against a driver operating a motor vehicle, as stipulated in Article 5-10 of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. Assaulting the driver of a moving vehicle is punishable by up to five years in prison or a 20 million won ($14,717) fine, which is more severe than the maximum of two years in prison for ordinary assault due to the dangerous nature of the crime. Korea's conservatives and liberals have become extremely divided, particularly in light of the recent impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, which led to the early election. The exit polls in the election indicated a severe ideological divide between generations, with men under 30 appearing to vote predominantly for the conservative candidates while President Lee appeared to garner only 24 percent from that group. Lee received 49.42 percent of the vote overall.
Korea Herald
17-10-2024
- Korea Herald
Drunk driver rams truck into car accident scene, kills 2
Two women at the scene of a minor car accident were killed after being run over by a truck driven by a drunk driver in South Jeolla Province, officials said Thursday, shortly before another similar tragedy by a truck driver occurred in the same region. According to the Jeonnam Fire service, the victims had exited their vehicles on a road in the Yeongam-gun region of the province on Wednesday after their cars collided with each other. The two were discussing matters related to the accident when a truck driven by a man in his 50s ran over them and inflicted the fatal injuries at around 7 p.m. The victims died despite receiving emergency medical treatment at a nearby hospital. Police found that the driver of the truck was driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content higher than the 0.08 percent that warrants the revocation of one's license. The specific BAC was not revealed. The driver is currently under investigation for violating Article 5-11 of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, death and injury due to dangerous driving. Another fatal car accident occurred later that day in the city of Suncheon in South Jeolla, when a driver in his 60s ran over a pedestrian with his truck at around 7:06 p.m. The driver was not found to be intoxicated.
