South Korean Prosecutors Seek Arrest Warrant for Korean Air Chairman

Corruption is Everywhere

 - and it's completely trashed this once powerful South Korean family

By Wooyoung Lee 

Korean Air Lines Co. Chairman Cho Yang-ho appears at a prosecution office in Seoul on June 28, 2018, to undergo questioning over allegations of tax evasion, breach of trust and embezzlement. Photo by Yonhap

SEOUL, UPI -- South Korean prosecutors issued an arrest warrant Monday for Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho for charges of inheritance tax evasion and embezzlement, among others.

Cho was summoned for a 15-hour questioning last week over such allegations at the Seoul Prosecutors' Office.

He has been under probe over suspicion that he evaded taxes for more than $45 million (50 billion won) in his inheritance of overseas properties from his father Cho Joong-hoon, the founder of Korean Air Lines, according to Yonhap.

Cho is also accused of paying his lawyer's fee from the company budget when his daughter Cho Hyun-ah, then the Korean Air vice president, was under trial over the notorious "nut rage" incident in 2014.

He also allegedly paid another lawyer's fee with the company fund when he was being investigated over a scandal, in which he received an unfair request to hire a lawmaker's relative in 2015.

Cho also faces an allegation of raising illicit profits from running a pharmacy.

It is the third time that a key member of the Korean Air founding family was called for an investigation and sought with an arrest warrant. Earlier, prosecutors requested arrest warrants for Cho's wife Lee Myung-hee for charges of illegally hiring foreign housekeepers, assault and verbal abuse.

Cho's daughter Hyun-min, the former vice president of Korean Air Lines' budget Jin Air, was also accused of assault from throwing a cup of water to a business meeting attendee.

The court, however, declined to issue arrest warrants for both mother and daughter.

You would almost think this family had made some powerful political enemies considering some of the charges leveled at them. Regardless of whether or not they have enemies, they seem to keep giving them ammunition to shot them with. Both daughters resigned from the airlines in April, and the father resigned in May (2nd story on link). 

Black Friday: Spanish Public Broadcaster Employees Mourn the Death of Independent News

© mariola.cubells / Instagram

For the third week in a row, journalists at the Spanish public-service broadcaster RTVE wore black on Friday to protest PM Mariano Rajoy's party meddling in their news coverage, which they fear damages the channel's credibility.

The staff at Radio Television Espanola rebelled against the refusal of the Spanish ruling conservative Popular Party (PP) to support the opposition's bid for a public contest to appoint a new, independent chairman for the channel.

According to RTVE staff, this kind of management casts doubt on its credibility, following numerous cases of deliberate news manipulation in favor of the ruling party, whether by withholding information or inaccurate coverage.

Women at RTVE, who were supported by many male colleagues, said they dressed in black to show they want "a public broadcaster that includes all colours, one that is diverse, independent and professional."

One of the four major political parties in Spain, PP, does not have a majority in the government and normally needs external support to pass legislation. But, according to RTVE reporter Irene Montero, Prime Minister Rajoy's PP was still able to "abuse its power" and block the opposition from lobbying for the transparent appointment of a new chairman, rather than the direct government appointment.

RTVE's current chairman's judgment calls and his policies were put into question after the coverage of Catalonia's independence referendum in October 2017. According to the channel's staff, Jose Antonio Sanchez, who is known for his pro-government stance, steered RTVE to deliberately manipulate, censor and sometimes omit certain stories, which seriously damaged their credibility.

In an attempt to counteract the manipulation, the channel's staff published an ample 72-page report. 'The Consejo de Informativos de TVE' (The News Council of the TVE) report addresses a total of nearly 30 cases of unilateral news coverage that deliberately violated the notion of plurality and freedom of speech.

This journalist turned politician recounts a story of completely fake news. Video = 1:40

One of the revealed cases involved Catalonia's independence referendum, which, despite the fact that it was widely covered elsewhere, did not receive any special attention from the RTVE, while its significance was downplayed.

Outraged with the coverage policies, the channel staff questioned the reason for giving preference to the opinions of Spain's government over those of the referendum organisers.

"What is the professional reason for the lack of informative stories regarding what happened in Catalonia on Sunday, October 1st?" the channel staff asked in the report.

Among other violations, the report revealed numerous cases of intentional mistranslation of subtitles from Catalan into Spanish.

The RTVE's Black Friday protest was initially triggered by the acquittal of five rapists in Pamplona, and it was part of an ongoing national movement to denounce sexual discrimination and to defend women's rights through their empowerment.

After two weeks of Black Friday protests, one of the editors from RTVE Valencia office quit her job in disapproval of the channel's biased news coverage.

Journalists at RTVE have launched the hashtag #AsiSeManipula (that's how they manipulate) to share their experiences working on the pro-government channel.

The campaign, led by RTVE reporters, received support from journalists and actors such as Pepa Bueno, Rosa María Calaf, Javier Cámara and Marta Soros, who published a video to advocate for the promotion of freedom of speech on radio and television.

Responding to the accusations of news manipulation, Spain's Minister of the Treasury and Public Administrations and member of PP, Cristobal Montoro, said, "if you don't like TVE (news network), then you should change the channel (network). That's what freedom is about."

Freedom without truth is no freedom at all. I suggest you listen to Minister Montoro and turn RTVE News off.

Dagestan Government Dissolved Amid Major Corruption Investigation

Cleaning Up Russia - Corruption is Everywhere

Former Dagestani education minister Shakhabbas Shakhov being delivered to a Moscow court

© Grigory Sysoyev / Sputnik

The acting head of the southern Russian republic of Dagestan has ordered the dismissal of the whole regional cabinet, after its former chairman and his deputies were held on charges of embezzling millions of rubles of state funds.

As part of the move, acting head of Dagestan Vladimir Vasiliyev also appointed Anatoly Karibov as the republic’s new prime minister, and ordered ministers to continue to work as normal until the new cabinet is formed.

The changes came after agents of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) on Monday detained the former acting head of the Dagestani government, Abdusamad Gamidov, two of his former deputies – Shamil Isayev and Rajuddin Yusufov – and the former Dagestani education minister, Shakhabbas Shakhov. Investigators searched the residences of the detained and discovered several firearms, including a gold-plated pistol and two Kalashnikov assault rifles, although it has not been reported if the weapons were registered or possessed illegally.

All of the men were taken to the FSB’s Moscow headquarters for questioning. There, they were officially charged with large-scale embezzlement. The chief spokesperson for Russia’s Investigative Committee (the federal agency which probes specially important crimes) told reporters that the damages caused by the suspected criminal scheme perpetrated by the detained ex-officials could amount to 95 million rubles (US$1.7 million). The charges involve the purchase of a kindergarten building for 31 million rubles, while the estimated actual price of the real estate was about 12 million rubles. The men also face accusations of alleged embezzlement of funds allocated for repairs in a local detention center and a mountain resort.

RBC news reported that the arrests were made in connection with a major investigation that began in Dagestan in January. Earlier, law enforcement officers detained the mayor of the republic’s capital, Makhachkala, and the chief architect of the city on charges of abuse of power. 

The agency also quoted unnamed sources in the Russian Interior Ministry and the FSB as saying that the investigation was continuing into suspected wrongdoing by Dagestani officials, and that more detentions could take place in the nearest future. 

Former head of Dagestan Ramazan Abdulatipov, who was replaced by the current acting head of the republic in October last year, criticized the ongoing anti-corruption campaign as “sporadic” and added that the decision to detain so many officials at once was “politically wrong.”

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that it was wrong to describe the latest events in Dagestan as political turmoil. “This is not a political crisis but rather a continuation of work of the law enforcement bodies. President Putin has repeatedly noted that this is not a sporadic effort but a consistent, goal-oriented and system-based work,” Peskov told reporters.

Dagestan, Russia

Things Are Beginning to Change in North Korea

Activist: Ordinary North Koreans have little respect

for 'that kid' Kim Jong Un

Ordinary North Koreans are calling him a kid

as they become more aware of the outside world

By Elizabeth Shim UPI


North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was nominated chairman of the Korean Workers’ Party, but more North Koreans do not hold him in high regard, an activist says. File Photo by Rodong Sinmun

SEOUL, May 20 (UPI) -- Kim Jong Un has yet to earn the grudging respect of ordinary North Koreans.

Most North Koreans who do not curry favor with the regime do not refer to him as the "general" or the "supreme leader," according to defector and activist Jeong Kwang-il.

In the past, North Korean leaders were addressed with honorifics, Jeong said, according to South Korean newspaper Donga Ilbo.

"But nowadays when I speak to North Koreans on the phone, they just call him 'Jong Un,' the way one would refer to a friend," Jeong said.

The North Koreans Jeong referred to are most likely sources of information located in the country.

That trend could be frustrating the young Kim, who recently was declared "Chairman" during North Korea's Seventh Party Congress.

The new role was announced in order to consolidate his rule over the country and for Kim to follow in the footsteps of his biological grandfather Kim Il Sung.

But the lack of reforms and improvement to people's lives could be having a greater effect on perceptions of Kim in the country.

Jeong also said during a conference held Thursday in London that defector activism, including the delivery of South Korean videos, such as films of resettled defectors in the South, are making an impact on North Korean understanding of the outside world.

Jeong and his organization No Chain has delivered a total of 500-600 compact discs or flash drives since 2012. Memory cards that can be placed inside mobile phones have also been sent across the border.

North Koreans caught viewing banned material are being let go, that is, if they can bribe officers, which allows the media to circulate across the country.

Disillusioned with the regime after viewing the media, some North Koreans have started to call the leader "that guy Jong Un" or sometimes "that kid," according to Jeong.

There's evidence North Koreans are no longer afraid to breach rules of conduct, the activist said.

Let us hope and pray that this is a beginning to the opening up of North Korea. If Kim Jong Un continues to loosen his grip on the people, only good can come from it. The fear is that he could react very poorly when he becomes fully aware of it. We have seen what he is capable of doing in executing members of his own family, so there is much danger yet.