Category: crime & punishment

Here is something to keep in mind that freedom of speech in the U.S. does not apply in South Korea. If you say something in the U.S. it can be used to arrest you if you travel to South Korea:

Police plan to question Korean American professor Morse Tan this week over his alleged defamation of President Lee Jae Myung, sources said Tuesday.

The questioning will take place at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency at 10 a.m. Wednesday over allegations that the professor at U.S.-based Liberty University falsely accused Lee of involvement in murder as a teenager.

Tan allegedly made the claim at a press conference in the United States last year. He also claimed Lee had been sent to a juvenile detention center for the crime.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Considering that they made multiple trips to South Korea to film U.S. and Korean airbases it seems to me that Chinese intelligence was hoping to use high school student in an effort to avoid detection. It worked until a local resident finally noticed them and called police:

Two Chinese nationals were sentenced to prison Thursday for illegally filming fighter jets at several South Korean and U.S. military facilities and attempting to intercept traffic control communications.

The Suwon District Court sentenced an 18-year-old Chinese high school student to an indeterminate prison term of 1 1/2 to two years and a 20-year-old Chinese man to two years in prison, both for general treason. An indeterminate sentence is applied to minors under the juvenile law.

It is the first time in South Korea that a foreigner has been found guilty of general treason under the Criminal Act.

The court also ordered the confiscation of their cameras and other items used in the crime.

The two were arrested and indicted for taking hundreds of detailed photos of fighter jets taking off and landing at major air bases nationwide during multiple visits to South Korea between the second half of 2024 and March last year, when both were high school students.

They were found to have visited four South Korean and U.S. military facilities in Suwon, Osan, Pyeongtaek and Cheongju, as well as three major international airports — Incheon, Gimpo and Jeju. They were caught by police in March last year after a resident reported them for illegally filming fighter jets taking off and landing at Suwon Air Base.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

In Korea it can be illegal to operate a porn site as these people have just found out:

Korean police arrested 15 people linked to an online pornography site with more than 6,000 members, accusing its operators and users of distributing hundreds of sexually explicit photos and videos, police said Friday.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s cyber investigation unit said it booked eight operators of the site, called Honors Club, on charges of distributing obscene materials in violation of the Information and Communications Network Act. Seven site members were also arrested on the same charge. (……)

The operators are accused of running the site from January 2022 through April 2026 and uploading or allowing the distribution of about 700 explicit photos and videos, including footage of group sexual activity among members, according to police.

The site presented itself as a community for married couples and partners seeking open relationships. However, police said its operators used the platform to circulate sexually explicit content and recruit members through multiple online channels, including a Daum cafe, Telegram channels and chat rooms, and an account on X.

The site had 6,325 members, while related online groups drew 2,361 members on Daum cafe, 736 users on a Telegram channel, 944 participants in a Telegram chat room and 6,214 followers on X, police said.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

I will be surprised if the Japanese court believes this defense. If this holds up every rapist will be claiming they were sleepwalking to justify their crimes:

A U.S. Marine accused of sexually assaulting a Japanese woman and injuring another will rely on a defense of insanity due to a sleep disorder when his case comes to trial in June, his attorney said Wednesday. Pfc. Austin Wedington, 28, of California, should not be held responsible for an incident prosecutors allege occurred on March 18, 2025, according to a Feb. 12 filing by attorney Tetsu Amakata in Naha District Court.

Amakata’s pleading was partially read in court by Presiding Judge Tomohiko Shinomiya on Wednesday. The defendant was showing symptoms of parasomnia and was in a state of insanity during every act he is accused of in the indictment, according to Amakata’s filing. Parasomnia is an umbrella term for disruptive sleep disorders that include sleepwalking, sleep terrors, sleep talking and sleep paralysis, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Article 39 of Japan’s penal code states that “actions due to insanity are not subject to punishment.” Wedington pleaded not guilty Nov. 18 to forcible sexual intercourse and guilty to injuring the second woman before a three-judge panel presided over by Judge Kazuhiko Obata.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

What the Korea Times is reporting is basically the reaction I saw online as well, most Americans were happy he was convicted and wished he received a longer jail sentence:

Online reaction in the U.S. has largely backed a South Korean court’s decision to jail controversial streamer Johnny Somali, with many saying the six-month sentence was justified or even too lenient.

The American content creator, whose legal name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, 25, was sentenced Wednesday by a Seoul court to six months in prison on charges including obstruction of business and other offenses tied to disruptive public behavior. He was taken into custody immediately following the ruling.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

With the sentence reduce to 15 years Han Duck-soo may at least has more of a chance to get out of prison before he dies:

An appeals court on Thursday reduced former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s sentence from 23 years to 15 years in prison over his role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief imposition of martial law.

The Seoul High Court handed down the sentence after finding Han guilty of playing a key role in an insurrection by aiding and abetting Yoon’s declaration of martial law in December 2024.

The eight-year reduction, however, appeared largely due to differences with the lower court over whether the former prime minister neglected his duties when he failed to stop the former president from imposing the order.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Kim Keon-hee is going to be in jail for far longer than she served as First Lady. Was pursuing politics with her husband worth this?:

 An appeals court on Tuesday increased the sentence for former first lady Kim Keon Hee from 20 months to four years in prison on corruption charges.

The Seoul High Court handed down the sentence during a hearing that was televised live, after finding her partially guilty of involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme and guilty of accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church.

It acquitted her, however, of receiving free opinion poll results from a self-proclaimed power broker, upholding the lower court’s ruling.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.