The suicide of Croatian war criminal Slobodan Praljak in open court last week was bizarre. Sure, Hermann Goering famously cheated the executioner at Nuremberg by swallowing cyanide. But Praljak wasn’t going to be executed, no matter how many innocent civilians he was found guilty of killing. In the highly civilized, highly bureaucratic world of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the worst thing that can happen is a long jail sentence -- like the 20 years awarded to Pr

Viewpoints Dec. 4, 2017

Forgotten(Korea)Opened Nov. 29Mystery, thriller. Directed by Jang Hang-jun　On the night two brothers move into a new home, the older sibling Yoo-seok (Kim Moo-yeol) is kidnapped by a group of unidentified criminals. Younger brother Jin-seok (Kang Ha-neul) is haunted by hallucinations, both visual and auditory, since that day on. Yoo-seok miraculously resurfaces 19 days later with no memory of his disappearance or capture, but seems different. While tailing his returned brother, who disappears wi

Film Dec. 2, 2017

South Korea's justice ministry said Thursday it will allow a special no-visa entry for Chinese who plan to visit the country around the time of next year's PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. Anyone from the neighboring country who fits the required criteria will be eligible for a 15-day stay in South Korea without a visa, starting Dec. 1 through the end of March next year, the ministry said in a statement. The no-visa applicant must be a Chinese citizen with records of arrival and departure in an

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2017

The Swindlers (Korea)Opened Nov. 22Action, crime. Directed by Jang Chang-won Ambitious, ruthless prosecutor Park Hee-soo (Yoo Ji-tae) decides to venture outside the law and employ the help of a gang of scammers to entrap another renowned scam artist. Skilled scammer Hwang Ji-sung (Hyun Bin) is central to the plan, hatching a grand scheme to both help Park and catch his father’s killer. Prosecutor Park goes on to form precarious ties with politicians and does not hesitate to delve into the illega

Film Nov. 24, 2017

A recent murder case of an unregistered worker from Thailand highlights South Korea’s failure to provide basic protections for workers staying here illegally, experts say. YonhapA woman identified by authorities as Chutima, 29, who had worked at a factory in Gyeonggi Province for nearly 10 years, was found dead on Nov. 5. She was killed by her Korean co-worker after a failed rape attempt, according to a police investigation. Police say the 50-year-old suspect, now under arrest, lured Chutima to

Social Affairs Nov. 15, 2017

A press screening of the upcoming crime thriller “The Swindlers,” starring Hyun Bin and Yoo Ji-tae, took place Friday in Seoul.　Yoo stars as ambitious and ruthless prosecutor Park Hee-soo, who teams up with a gang of scammers to catch another renowned scam artist. It is yet another character chasing justice at any price that Yoo has taken. He currently stars as a hotheaded policeman-turned-insurance investigator willing to go to any lengths to find justice in the drama series “Mad Dog.” 　Yoo Ji-

Film Nov. 10, 2017

US-Canadian couple Caitlan Coleman and Joshua Boyle landed in Canada late Friday, five years after they were kidnapped in Afghanistan. They arrived with their three young children, who were all born in captivity.Boyle provided a written statement to The Associated Press on the plane saying his family has “unparalleled resilience and determination.” Linda and Patrick Boyle, parents of Joshua Boyle, speak with the media outside their home in Smiths Falls, Ontario, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017. Canadian

World News Oct. 14, 2017

Nearly 7 in 10 criminal offenses committed by members of US forces stationed in South Korea end up with no one being charged by South Korean authorities, a lawmaker said Tuesday. According to government data released Tuesday by Rep. Park Byeong-seug of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, the nonprosecution rate for crimes committed by US military personnel here stands at a whopping 70.7 percent as of July this year, up from 58.2 percent in 2014.  Ministry of Justice (Yonhap)The figure for viol

Social Affairs Oct. 10, 2017

The number of juvenile sex offenders in South Korea rose above 3,000 for the first time in 2016, a ruling party lawmaker said Sunday, raising questions over the efficiency of current preventive and corrective systems. The country's reported underage sex offenders in 2016 stood at 3,195, up from 2,980 in 2015 and 2,875 in 2014, according to a report from Democratic Party Rep. Baek Hae-ryun, citing the latest statistics from the Justice Ministry. (Yonhap)The number is apparently increasing at an a

Social Affairs Oct. 8, 2017

Baby Driver(US)Opened Sept. 13Action, crime. Directed by Edgar Wright Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a skilled getaway driver, who chauffeurs robbers seeking to flee crime scenes quickly and lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He meets a waitress named Debora (Lily James) at a diner, and the two start dating. He begins to dream of ditching his lifestyle and pursuing a normal life. But Baby’s next robbery goes awry and he narrowly manages to evade the police. Baby’s boss Doc (Kevin Spacey), a heist mastermind, fo

Film Sept. 15, 2017

Top South Korean officials held an urgent meeting Tuesday to tackle increasing peer violence among teenagers after video footage of a cruel beating recently triggered public outrage.Education Minister Kim Sang-gon hosted the meeting that involved top officials from the fields of justice, culture, youth, police and broadcasting. Kim doubles as deputy prime minister for social affairs. Education Minister Kim Sang-gon (2nd from R, at table) holds a meeting with other ministers and officials from re

Social Affairs Sept. 12, 2017

Director Park Hoon-jung rose to acclaim in Korea for depicting the dark, jaded world of men in his 2013 crime flick “New World.” The film’s production company, called Sanai Pictures (“sanai” literally meaning “men” in Korean) has gone on to produce a number of movies tracing the lives of angst-ridden men in the Korean justice system and criminal underworld. One such film is director Kim Sung-soo’s “The City Of Madness,” a bloodstained feature about a corrupt cop, a corrupt mayor, and a corrupt p

Film Aug. 17, 2017

North Korea on Monday condemned the United Nations Security Council's fresh sanctions over its long-range missile tests, vowing to retaliate against the US with bigger actions.North Korea warned in a statement that it is ready to use any ultimate means if the US does not give up its moves to stifle Pyongyang, according to the Korean Central News Agency."We are ready to respond with far bigger actions to make the US pay a price for its violent crime against our country and people," it said, vowin

North Korea Aug. 7, 2017

The slogan “Men, stop killing women” blared from a speaker outside Gangnam Station on Sunday afternoon, surrounded by some 150 people. Women call for tougher measures against misogynic crimes in South Korea during a rally near exit 10 of Gangnam Station in southen Seoul, Sunday. (Yonhap)The location of the protest has become symbolic of the fight against misogyny since a young woman was murdered in a public toilet in May 2016. The murderer had no connection to the victim, and chose to kill her j

Social Affairs Aug. 6, 2017

President Donald Trump wants to put an end to the US Department of Justice’s Russia inquiry. He has questioned whether he can pardon himself and whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions should have recused himself from the investigation.The president is a fighter, but he’ll need to pick his fight. Expressing annoyance with his attorney general and daydreaming about pardoning himself won’t do. Sessions’ recusal merely reflects that no one can investigate himself, and the embarrassing idea that a pr

Viewpoints July 31, 2017

Crime-thriller series “Stranger” ended with much fanfare Sunday, achieving 7.3 percent viewership at one point during its last episode.　The tvN drama that aired Saturdays and Sundays was lauded for its gripping plot and strong performances.　Viewers have eagerly demanded a second season, to which tvN replied Monday that “no specific plans are in place as of yet.” 　“I believed that we could ... have a good-hearted influence on the world,” actor Jo Seung-woo said of the series.　Jo played seemingly

Television July 31, 2017