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ENGLISH TEACHER EXTRADITED FROM ARMENIA OVER TEEN SEX TAPE
THE KOREA HERALD
January 22, 2014 Wednesday
A 29-year-old American accused of having sex with a teenage girl and
posting a video of it online was extradited from Armenia to South
Korea on Wednesday, the Ministry of Justice said.
The ministry has been tracking down the suspect's whereabouts since
2010, when he fled to China as the video stirred a firestorm of
criticism in the Korean online community.
"The urgency of each case decides how fast the extradition will take
place. In this case, it only took three months, whereas it could
take up to three years for other cases," a prosecutor in charge of
the case told The Korea Herald.
The ministry said the case will be the first to get legal cooperation
in arresting and extraditing a criminal under the terms of the European
convention of extradition. Korea joined the pact in 2011.
The suspect was a teacher at an English village in Daejeon, where he
taught elementary school kids for 20 hours a week.
The International Communication Center, better known as a "commutable
English village," said the American man had no criminal record when
he was hired.
The suspect allegedly met a high school girl online in August 2010.
According to local reports, the video was uploaded and sold to porn
websites outside of Korea.
He first fled to China after getting fired at the center, officials
said.
The incident sparked public anger as it involved an English teacher,
with critics calling for stricter rules and screening procedures for
hiring English teachers from abroad.
Witnesses of the suspect's postings said there are at least two
victims, whose personal information was leaked upon the outbreak of
the incident.
"We should've arrested and punished the guy who circulated the video,
but it's sad how the public is focused on criticizing and digging
up personal information of the victimized women," a blogger on Naver
portal said.
The sex video incident also dealt a blow to Woongjin Think Big,
an education company in charge of managing and supervising English
teachers at the facility. The company vowed to strengthen qualification
standards for new teachers after the incident.
"We offer weekly sessions on Korean laws and etiquette to prevent
similar crimes from happening," said an official at the International
Communication Center where eight English teachers are currently
working.
According to the Ministry of Education's report, only 10 percent
of some 7,900 foreign teachers at public schools possess teaching
licenses in their home countries.
Some 25 people among them were dismissed or legally punished over
drug abuse or the use of violence, the report said.
By Suk Gee-hyun ([email protected]
THE KOREA HERALD
January 22, 2014 Wednesday
A 29-year-old American accused of having sex with a teenage girl and
posting a video of it online was extradited from Armenia to South
Korea on Wednesday, the Ministry of Justice said.
The ministry has been tracking down the suspect's whereabouts since
2010, when he fled to China as the video stirred a firestorm of
criticism in the Korean online community.
"The urgency of each case decides how fast the extradition will take
place. In this case, it only took three months, whereas it could
take up to three years for other cases," a prosecutor in charge of
the case told The Korea Herald.
The ministry said the case will be the first to get legal cooperation
in arresting and extraditing a criminal under the terms of the European
convention of extradition. Korea joined the pact in 2011.
The suspect was a teacher at an English village in Daejeon, where he
taught elementary school kids for 20 hours a week.
The International Communication Center, better known as a "commutable
English village," said the American man had no criminal record when
he was hired.
The suspect allegedly met a high school girl online in August 2010.
According to local reports, the video was uploaded and sold to porn
websites outside of Korea.
He first fled to China after getting fired at the center, officials
said.
The incident sparked public anger as it involved an English teacher,
with critics calling for stricter rules and screening procedures for
hiring English teachers from abroad.
Witnesses of the suspect's postings said there are at least two
victims, whose personal information was leaked upon the outbreak of
the incident.
"We should've arrested and punished the guy who circulated the video,
but it's sad how the public is focused on criticizing and digging
up personal information of the victimized women," a blogger on Naver
portal said.
The sex video incident also dealt a blow to Woongjin Think Big,
an education company in charge of managing and supervising English
teachers at the facility. The company vowed to strengthen qualification
standards for new teachers after the incident.
"We offer weekly sessions on Korean laws and etiquette to prevent
similar crimes from happening," said an official at the International
Communication Center where eight English teachers are currently
working.
According to the Ministry of Education's report, only 10 percent
of some 7,900 foreign teachers at public schools possess teaching
licenses in their home countries.
Some 25 people among them were dismissed or legally punished over
drug abuse or the use of violence, the report said.
By Suk Gee-hyun ([email protected]