Sex doll ruling arouses controversy in South Korea

SEOUL - A petition calling for a ban on importing life-size sex dolls into South Korea has gathered nearly a quarter million signatures as of Friday, passing a threshold that requires the president's office to respond to the matter.

While sex dolls are not illegal in South Korea, government customs agencies had blocked their import under a law that restricts materials that "corrupt public morals."

However, the Seoul High Court said in January that sex dolls were for personal use and should be treated differently than pornography, which is heavily restricted under South Korean law. That decision was upheld by the supreme court in June.

The ruling has sparked a backlash, with one petition filed with the presidential Blue House gathering more than 237,000 signatures. The unidentified author of the petition argued that an influx of imported sex dolls could lead to an increase in sex crimes.

A spokesman for Incheon Main Customs said they had allowed imports from Japan, but are still reviewing whether to release imported dolls from China.

The boss of the distributing company which challenged the earlier customs agency ruling said it could not provide total figures for the number of sex dolls imported into South Korea.

But Lee Sang-jin said there had been "a lot of individuals" travelling overseas to bring back dolls since the court ruling. Lee is CEO of MSHarmony Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of MSJL Co. Ltd.

Life-size dolls can cost from 1 million won ($840) to 20 million won ($16,750), depending on options and materials such as silicon skin, eye color and body heating systems to make them feel more like a human being.

The author of the petition argued that the customizable features of some dolls could be used to create copies of real people, a concern that Lee dismissed as unfounded. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com 

Samsung chief's brother loses inheritance appeal

SEOUL - The elder brother of South Korea's richest man, Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-Hee, lost his court appeal Thursday for an $850 million share of his sibling's inherited wealth.

The Seoul High Court upheld a lower court ruling allowing Lee to retain all his shareholdings in the giant conglomerate that members of his family had accused him of hiding from them following the death in 1987 of his father and Samsung founder Lee Byung-Chul.

The collective family claim had amounted to 4.1 trillion won, and Lee's elder brother Lee Maeng-Hee had appealed to the High Court over his 940 billion won ($850 million) share.

While the court found that some shares claimed by Lee Maeng-Hee had indeed been bequeathed to him, it noted that the 10-year statute of limitations on inheritance claims had expired.

Lee Maeng-Hee's lawyer said his client had yet to decide whether to appeal to the supreme court.

In their initial suit, Lee Maeng-Hee and other relatives had claimed that, after the death of their father, Lee Kun-Hee had hidden shares and assets that had been held in other people's names.

Only Lee Maeng-Hee appealed the lower court ruling handed down in February last year.

Lee Byung-Chul, who founded what is now the world's largest technology firm by revenue, had three sons and five daughters.

Under the stewardship of Lee Kun-Hee, the conglomerate has flourished, becoming the world's top chipmaker and mobile phone maker.

He is South Korea's richest man, with a net worth estimated by Forbes magazine at around $10.8 billion.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com