Author: Sean Hayes

The Marmot’s Hole has a post on how an office worker who posted on his website that he smoked pot in the Netherlands led to the police arresting the individual. What NOT to post on your blog in Korea A 38-year-old office worker got a rude introduction to the perils of blogging when he posted about his pot-smoking experience in the Netherlands on his blog [Segye Ilbo, Korean].You guessed it—the police busted him. The office worker, identified only as Mr.

Sidewalk motorcyclists to face stiffer penalties March 20, 2007 Joongangilbo The National Police Agency announced it will enforce a massive crackdown in May against motorcyclists who ride their bikes on sidewalks and crosswalks. The practice is the source of many complaints by foreign visitors to Korea. According to a recent agency survey of 154,000 motorcyclists at 50 major intersections nationwide, more than nine out of 10 crossed roads on pedestrian crosswalks. About 63 percent failed to halt at the stop

By Kim Rahn Korea Times The police Friday arrested a 38-year-old man on suspicion of orchestrating last month’s kidnapping of a golf course owner. The suspect, Chong Song-il, is the son of Chong In-suk, a woman who was believed to be the mistress of a high-ranking official in the 1960s and who died mysteriously. Incheon International Airport Police arrested Chong near his house in southern Seoul early yesterday morning, 18 days after the kidnapping. On Feb. 26, the owner of

Tiny clues shed light on brutal homicides March 13, 2007 Joongang Ilbo A breakthrough in a murder case can come from a tiny piece of evidence. It can be a miniscule blood stain or a fingerprint on a discarded bottle, but solid evidence is hard to come by. To find the vital piece may require the search of a thousand homes and several weeks of sleepless nights. But without decisive evidence a case can remain unsolved indefinitely, depriving the victim’s

This column appears in the Korea Times every Wednesday. Rape Sentences Egregiously Low Dear Professor Sean Hayes: I was very surprised when the American soldier convicted of raping a 67 year old woman only received 4 years in jail. I know in my home, Vancouver, anyone convicted of rape will receive a substantially higher sentence. Did the convicted receive a short sentence because of the influence of the United States military or because of low sentences for rapists in Korea?

By Park Chung-a Korea Times In a 1948 Italian movie “The Bicycle Thief,’’ Antonio, a middle-aged breadwinner ends up becoming a bicycle thief as a way to overcome his desperate situation arising from economic hardship. Now there is an increasing number of such “bicycle thieves’’ whose crimes are linked to trying to improving their desperate lot in the country. Last week, a 42-year-old man identified by his last name Kang, was caught by police while trying to steal three bicycles

By Na Jeong-juStaff Reporter Korea Times State auditors said Monday Lone Star Funds, a U.S. private equity fund, was not eligible to acquire Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) in 2003, but financial regulators approved the deal in violation of the law. Following its audit of Lone Star’s qualification to become the majority shareholder of KEB, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) concluded it was illegal for the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) to approve the sale of KEB’s controlling stake to

Pvt. Geronimo Ramirez, a 23 year old U.S. Soldier, was sentenced to four years in jail for the rape and beating of a 67 year old women. The largest question in this case is not the obvious, but the fact that the Court only sentenced the soldier to 4 years in jail. Rape is only second to Murder and maybe attempted murder in seriousness. Rape affects the victim in the most proud way. This women’s life will be forever changed