November 8, 2002
Translated by the PUFS newsteam from articles in Busan Ilbo

Cyber police bust pornography ring

The cyber police division of Kyeongnam Provincial Police Agency arrested public employees, staff of a public enterprise, and university students for posting pornographic pictures on the Internet.

According to the police department, the accused created an amateur pornographic site under the guise of amateur photography, so people were deceived by the appearance of the homepage and were shocked when sexually explicit pictures appeared on their screens. The accused have posted over 200 obscene pictures on the site, which include their wives, or lovers, posing naked and having intercourse.

Seventeen people have been charged with breaking privacy protection laws and disregarding network policies.

Translated by Hong Shin Ae

President Kim’s flawed legacy

Kang Sung Chul, a professor at Busan National University, believes that corruption has become more widespread and firmly entrenched within Korean society since President Kim has been in power, and cites the following examples:

1. A prosecutor is suspected of torturing Cho, a 32 year-old man, to death. Before this incident, most Koreans believed that torture no longer existed in Korea and that prosecutors respected human rights, so many people were shocked and angered by the news.

2. Citizens were angry when public service personnel went on strike.

3. A police officer accidentally shot and fatally wounded an innocent person while he was in pursuit of a criminal. After the incident, the officer claimed that he had no choice but to shoot the man because he had threatened the officer with a stick. The officer also stated that he had intended to shoot the man in the femur. He was lying in order to conceal the fact that he had killed an innocent man.

4. Mo, a sergeant major, robbed a bank located near his army base with a K-1 rifle. The army did not help prosecutors with the investigation.

Kang Sung Chul believes that these incidents indicate a need for policemen, citizens, and politicians to unite in order to stabilize Korean society.

Translated by Kim Dong Chan

Man dead, Lotte Hotel without power

An electrician named Park died as the result of an electrical shock while changing a transformer in the basement of the Lotte Hotel, resulting in a blackout on November 4th, at about 5:40pm.

People were trapped in the hotel elevators for 20 to 30 minutes.

Although the power was restored in the lower floors after 5 to 10 minutes, it was an hour before all 28 floors operated with full electricity.

Kim stated that it is unfortunate that a first class hotel had a blackout, and wondered what they would have done if it had occurred during an international event.

Translated by Park Joo Bin

Disabled schools deemed unsafe for students

After examining traffic safety issues around seven schools for the disabled, a Busan Ilbo investigator concluded that the schools are unsafe.

The schools investigated are located on hills and in remote areas, and they lack appropriate signs, speed bumps, and designated parking areas. These deficiencies pose safety hazards for the students at the school.

The president of the school for the blind, Park Young Chan, has recommended several times throughout the past year that the school construct an audio crosswalk.

A Busan police officer stated that the law prohibits the construction of an audio crosswalk because it is too close to other traffic lights.

Tranlsated by Park Joo Bin

Wintry weather

A cold front located five kilometers above Sahalin in Siberia is responsible for the weeklong cold spell in Busan.

On Oct. 29th, a Busan weather forecaster stated that the seven-day cold spell occurred 20 days earlier than usual, and is the result of a cold atmospheric current of 30 degrees below zero that is trapped above Sahalin because of turbulent weather conditions in the east. Because the cold front cannot follow regular weather patterns and continue east, it is creating wintry conditions in Busan. This weather phenomenon occurs once every several years.

The morning temperature was recorded as 6.4 degrees above zero on Oct. 28th, which is five degrees below the mean air temperature of 11.4 degrees. The lowest temperature recorded on Oct. 29th was 3.7 degrees, which is 7.5 degrees lower than the mean temperature of 11.2 degrees.

Tranlsated by Kim Dong Chan

Violence erupts at stockholders' meeting

A construction company representative caused a scandal when he became violent and used foul language at an impromptu general stockholders' meeting.

The Centum City Company called the meeting in order to nominate two directors from nine companies. Violence erupted as a result of the recommendation.

Nine companies that hold small shares in Centum City attended the meeting, and each company recommended two companies for directorship. Samrim Construction got 8 votes, Busan Bank got 5 votes, and K-Company only got three votes.

The president of K-Company, identified only as Kim, became violent after the results were announced. He accused the other companies of conspiring against him, which angered the other people at the meeting and prompted a fight. The Busan Bank representative suffered injuries as a result of Kim’s violent behavior, which included grabbing him by the throat. The Centum City Company decided to nullify the results of this vote and hold a new vote on December 5th.

Tranlsated by Lee Lee Hwa

Municipal office discontinues weddings

Complaints are rising as a result of the announcement that weddings will no longer be allowed at the Geum Jeong-gu municipal government office.

Since 1992, the office has provided the poor with a large hall and wedding materials for a cheap price. This practice is being discontinued next year because of complaints that luxury weddings are taking place there more often than simple weddings for the poor. The complainants allege that government officials have been accepting bribes from well-off people who wish to have their weddings in the large hall, thus making the hall unavailable for the poor people for whom the service was intended.

Some people who live in the area are protesting the office’s discontinuance of wedding ceremonies because they claim that there is a shortage of wedding halls in Geum Jeong-gu and will be forced to hold wedding ceremonies far away from home. It does not appear that that the decision to discontinue weddings at the government office will be reversed.

Tranlsated by Lee Lee Hwa

Mentally challenged man fined 3 million won for theft

A mentally challenged man was fined 3,000,000 won after he was found guilty of stealing 600 won, prompting an appeal of the court’s decision from his family.

Jung Hyun Up is an unmarried 39-year-old man who is poverty stricken a a result of the fact that he is incapable of getting a job due to his handicap.

On March 20th, at approximately 9am, Jung Hyun Up took 600 won from an unlocked car in order to buy cigarettes. A resident, who was unaware that Jung is mentally challenged, saw the theft and reported it to the police. The police booked Jung on suspicion of theft.

Jung’s family did not find out about the crime until the police report was handed over to the prosecution because Jung hadn’t given his phone number to the police out of fear that his family would be angry with him.

Busan district court found Jung guilty of theft and fined him 3,000,000 won, which is 5000 times the amount of money he stole.

Jung’s family has demanded a formal trial with a court-appointed lawyer because they believe that the fine is exorbitant and his mental abilities should be taken into consideration. Byun, the owner of the car, asked the police to drop the charges when she discovered that Jung is her mentally challenged neighbor. She said that she regrets accusing Jung of theft, and presented a petition to the court requesting them to reconsider their decision.

As a result of the petition, the court decreased the fine to 1,000,000 won. Jung’s family has appealed the decision. A priest stated that this fine is evidence that Korean society is becoming heartless in its dealings with challenged people.

Tranlsated by Kim Dong Chan

Tougher laws for traffic offenders

Laws regarding the harassment of traffic officers, and illegal parking and stopping have become stricter. In accordance with the new laws, police officers issued three warrants for arrest. Two men are now in custody.

One offender was arrested for a prolonged traffic disturbance after the container on his truck fell off because it was improperly secured.

Another man is in custody after assaulting a parking officer with a weapon. He had previously been ticketed for illegal parking, and when he later saw another parking officer, his anger prompted him to violence. The third man assaulted a parking officer after he was requested to move his car. There is still a warrant out for his arrest.

Public prosecutor Kim Sung Il, from the district public prosecutor’s office, stated that they intend to create a list of habitual traffic offenders so that if they break the law again, police officers can keep them in custody while investigating the offence.

Garbage reduction efforts prove successful

The amount of garbage in Busan has decreased almost in half since 1995.

According to Busan City, after Sang-gok Sanitary Landfill opened in April 1996, the average amount of garbage brought there has decreased almost in half.

The annual amounts are as follows: 1996 (84,418 tons), 1997 (68,946 tons), 1998 (52,826 tons), 1999 (47,867 tons), 2000 (47513 tons), and 2001 (45,117 tons).

This success has come about because Busan City has enforced its policy for decreasing garbage and has expanded garbage-recycling facilities. urthermore, Busan citizens have taken part in this policy voluntarily.

Song Ji-mi

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