This alleged murdered was a one-time South Korean media darling who no one in the media did any background checking on:
Lee Young-hak
Lee, better known by the public as “Molar Daddy” for losing most of his teeth except one molar while undergoing surgery five times to remove tumors from his gums, appeared to pay tribute to his late wife in the eerie eulogy.
Viewers’ reactions to his YouTube video were cold.“A murderer,” one internet user wrote.
Lee is under investigation for slaying a 14-year-old girl identified only by her last name Kim and abandoning her body in the mountains in the eastern county of Yeongwol earlier this month.
Lee has led a double life.
He became a high-profile victim of rare disease after he and his family appeared in TV documentaries several times since 2006. In the public eye, he was portrayed as a poor but caring father who did everything to save his sick daughter A-yun, now 14, and raised money to finance her medical bills.
He is the author of the book, “A Happy Molar Daddy” (2007), in which he recounts the ordeals he and his family suffered after his daughter was diagnosed with gigantiform cementoma, a rare dental tumor.
But his public image didn’t reflect the monster inside.Lee is now a murder suspect who allegedly took the life of the 14-year-old girl.He has a criminal record of 18 incidents.He is an alleged sexual deviant who forced his wife to have sex with other men and record it on video.He was reportedly involved in the sex trade, too. [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link, but it is also claimed this guy was living a lavish lifestyle based off the money the media was helping him to raise to assist his daughter.
I think this may be a case of a cultural difference because I have seen kids left unattended in vehicles in Korea quite often where in the US this will land you in jail like this Korean couple visiting Guam have found out:
A South Korean judge-lawyer couple has been accused in Guam of child abuse.They reportedly went shopping on Monday with their two children locked in a car in sweltering weather.
U.S. law punishes parents who leave minors unattended inside a car as child abuse.
The children, aged six and one, were found “slumped forward” in the car parked near a shopping center Monday afternoon.The engine was off and the windows closed.
Two people noticed the children and called police after failing to find their parents.Police rescued the children who had “sweat streaming down their foreheads and the sides of their faces.” They are now recovering, according to local media. [Korea Times]
More corruption charges related to the Camp Humphreys relocation project:
Picture of construction during the Camp Humphreys expansion project.
A 58-year-old Pearl City man is in custody at the Federal Detention Center on charges that he accepted and hid more than $2.8 million in bribes that he solicited to steer more than $400 million worth of engineering and construction work to a particular South Korean-based multinational company when he worked as a contracting officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment Thursday charging Duane Nishiie and South Korean national Seung-Ju Lee, 50, with conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, money laundering and lying in connection with the awarding of two contracts that are part of a massive, ongoing U.S. Army relocation project in South Korea.
Nishiie pleaded not guilty Friday. Lee has yet to answer to the charges. (…….)
According to the indictment, Nishiie and Lee steered a December 2008 infrastructure and engineering contract worth more than $400 million to a particular company and a March 2010 construction contract worth more than $6 million to the same company in exchange for bribes. Lee was an officer in the procurement arm of the Korean Ministry of Defense, which is working with the U.S. government on the Army relocation project. [Honolulu Star Advertiser]
People best think twice before sharing any images or videos of ex-lovers while living in South Korea:
The government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea will push ahead with legislation to toughen penalties on revenge porn.
If the National Assembly passes the new law, which it is very likely to, those who attempt to humiliate ex-lovers by sharing images online or videos of their naked bodies, won’t just be slapped on the wrist with a fine as many of them are currently.Instead, they may face up to five years in prison without the option of a fine.
Under the current law, such criminals face up to five years in prison or a maximum fine of 10 million won ($8,800), and most end up with the fine.
Hong Nam-ki, head of the Office of Government Policy Coordination, announced a package of measures Tuesday to better protect people from the crime, which has become a social issue in recent years.
Those who commercially use such images or videos could face up to seven years in prison.
The new law will also require offenders to pay the costs of removing the contents online. [Korea Times]
I feel so bad for the victim’s parents that this murderer was only sentenced to 20 years for this horrible crime:
The Incheon District Court on Friday sentenced the suspect who murdered an 8-year-old girl and dismembered her body to 20 years in prison, and doled out a life sentence for the accomplice. The court also said the two must wear ankle monitors for 30 years.
“Kim very carefully planned the crime,” the court said. “And Park was in a close relationship with Kim and she was her accomplice through the act.”
The suspect is a 17-year-old female student surnamed Kim. Her accomplice is an 18-year-old female student surnamed Park.
The Juvenile Act prevents anyone under 18 from receiving a life sentence or death penalty for murder or other serious crimes. The act says a minor convicted of murder can receive a sentence of up to 15 years. But Kim was sentenced to 20 years after the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes was applied to her case. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
This is an example of why I never use a credit card in a bar or restaurant when traveling overseas. Scams like this I remember were common in the villes outside US military bases back in the day:
A promise of a fun night out at a bar in Itaewon left an American tourist with a booze tab totaling 17 million won ($15,000).
Seoul police said on Thursday owners and employees at three bars in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, have been indicted without detention for overcharging foreign tourists.
One of the indicted bar owners, surnamed Lee, allegedly charged an American tourist 17 million won for drinks he had during his one hour and 40 minutes stay at the bar.
The tourist found out about this overcharging only after returning to the US and receiving his credit card bill.
Two other indicted bar owners allegedly conspired to rip charge a German tourist about 7.9 million won.
The police are investigating whether the bar owners deliberately intoxicated the tourist, as traces of zolpidem and other narcotics were found in his hair. [Korea Herald]
Via a reader tip comes this absolutely horrible assault of a 14-year old girl in Busan:
A horrific attack in South Korea’s Province of Busan has caused outrage around the globe after pictures of the victim were revealed online.
A group of middle school students attacked and nearly killed a 14-year-old girl in Busan, South Korea. The four attackers were captured on CCTV attacking the girl with a metal pipe, a chair, several soju bottles, and lit cigarettes. The girls then took pictures of the bloodied victim after the attack and sent it to other students to ‘brag’ about what they did.
While the victim was 14 years old, three of her attackers were of the same age as she was too. One of the attackers was only 13 years old. They attacked her for 1 hour and 30 minutes before leaving her to die. [Viral 4 Real]
You can read the rest at the link, but this was actually the second time they assaulted her in response to the victim accepting a phone call from the boyfriend of one of the attackers.
What I learned from this article is that if you commit fraud under a religious pretext it is perfectly legal. By the way who knew being a shaman could be so lucrative?:
A shaman who was taken to court on charges of fraud was ruled not guilty by the Seoul Southern District Court on Wednesday.
“Shamanism is, for the most part, aimed at gaining consolation and inner peace. Even if shamanistic rituals do not yield the promised outcome, it is difficult to hold the shaman accountable for the failure,” the court said.
The shaman in the case had blamed the spirits of the victim’s aborted twin babies for her husband’s flagging business and suggested the victim appease the spirit babies through special rituals.
The prosecution accused the shaman of fraud for carrying out an excessive number of rituals and charging over 560 million won ($499,000). The shaman provided 133 rituals in the period between January 2011 and December 2015. During the time, she sent mobile text messages to the alleged victim using baby talk as if she was possessed with the twins’ spirits.
The text messages read, “I know how you feel mommy. Please don’t feel sad. We love you,” “We ate loads of the meat you sent us. We love it very much.” [Korea Herald]
Here is the latest example of a senior military officer having a mid-life crisis:
An Air Force officer who engaged in an unprofessional relationship with an airman 20 years his junior while commanding a small expeditionary base in Africa will be forced out of the service following a general court-martial last week.
A military judge ruled late Friday that Lt. Col. Denis Paquette should be dismissed from the service, the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge for enlisted personnel. The dismissal means that Paquette, a C-17 pilot and married father with more than 18 years in the Air Force, won’t be eligible for retirement benefits.
Paquette chose to have his case decided by a military judge. He pleaded guilty to fraternization; violating a lawful general order on one occasion by drinking more than two alcoholic drinks at a deployed location in less than 24 hours; and to impeding an investigation. [Stars & Stripes]
I recommend reading the whole thing at the link because this guy was running a base in Tunisa like a frat house while hitting on an 18-year old airman. I recommend to people having a midlife crisis to buy the sports car instead because ruining a military career over something like this is not worth it.
