"오늘 술 한잔 하실래요?"20대 초반의 A씨는 지난 8월 19일 오후 평소 안면이 있던 B(18)양으로부터 사회관계망서비스(SNS)를 통해 술을 마시자는 제안을 받았다.A씨는 B양이 미성년자라는 사실을 알았지만, '혹시나 하는' 마음에 술자리를 함께했다.밤이 깊어지자 A씨와 B양은 함께 전북 전주 시내의 한 모텔에 투숙했다.문제는 이들이 모텔에 들어가는 순간 발생했다.B양의 애인과 사촌오빠라고 소개한 20대 청년 3명이 문을 걷어차고 방 안으로 들이닥친 것.이들은 "왜 어린애를 데리고 모텔에 왔느냐. 남의 여자친구를 데리고 뭐하냐. 산에 묻어버린다"며 소리를 지르며 A씨의 얼굴과 머리를 마구 때렸다.이들은 A씨의 상의를 벗게 하고 B양과 함께 침대에 눕게 한 뒤 '합의용' 사진을 찍고서 2만 원도 빼앗았다.모텔을 나온 이들은 A씨를 다른 모텔로 끌고 가 "집에 전화를 걸어 합의금 200만 원을 내놓으라"고 겁박했다.하지만 전화를 받은 A씨의 어머니가 경찰에 신고하는 바람에 범행은

The US State Department expressed support for the universal right to peaceful protests and reaffirmed its security commitment to South Korea as a corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye sparked weeks of nationwide rallies demanding her resignation."We have seen the press reporting of the political protests, and I would let the protesters and the government of Korea speak to that. You know where we stand on the right of peaceful protest and assembly and we continue to support that ar

Routine year-end corporate activities have been suspended this year as CEOs await a prosecutorial investigation over a presidential scandal, delaying reshuffles for next year's business planning and bonus payments, corporate sources said Tuesday.At Samsung, the reshuffle of executive-level officers, usually carried out on the first Tuesday of December, has been pushed back to after mid-month, according to inside sources. Dec. 6, the first Tuesday of December this year, happens to be the day that

South Korean President Park Geun-hye will not hesitate to appoint an independent counsel to probe a scandal involving her and her close associates once candidates are recommended by opposition parties, her spokesman said Tuesday.Opposition parties are set to propose two candidates on the day, and Park is supposed to name one within three days."We believe there's no reason to delay the appointment once the candidates are proposed," said Jung Youn-kuk, presidential spokesman. "Although we cannot s

President Park Geun-hye on Monday accepted the resignation of the justice minister while deciding to retain her senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, her spokesman said. Justice Minister Kim Hyun-woong and senior aide Choi Jai-kyeong, who assisted the president in law enforcement affairs, offered to resign last week after prosecutors cited Park as an accomplice in the alleged wrongdoings involving her friend Choi Soon-sil. (Yonhap)

The South Korean parliament's labor committee on Monday approved a bill which bans employers from requiring job seekers to provide a headshot and information such as their weight and height.It also seeks to prohibit the "discriminatory" practice of requiring information about an applicant's birthplace, religion, marital status, assets and family details on application forms. Violators will be slapped with fines of up to 5 million won ($4,275) under the bill proposed by Rep. Han Jeoung-ae of the

The amount of medicines and medical supplies purchased by the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae more than doubled during the Park Geun-hye administration compared to the previous one, data showed Monday.An average of 3.95 million won ($3,380) was spent per month on such purchases during Park's presidency between 2013 and August 2016, compared to 1.87 million won between 2011 and 2012, when Lee Myung-bak served as president, according to the data submitted by the state-run health insurance review

South Korea has confirmed another case of the Zika virus infection, raising the number of people infected with the virus here to 16, health authorities said Monday.A 46-year-old Korean man living in Vietnam who came here for vacation was confirmed to have been infected with the mosquito-borne virus, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).He is presumed to have been bitten by a mosquito during his stay in the Southeast Asian nation. He has been staying in Vietnam