Latest news with #l
West Australian
30-05-2025
- West Australian
Kwang Kyung Yoo: Sydney taekwondo instructor's shocking lies revealed after he pleads guilty to triple murder
WARNING: Confronting content A taekwondo instructor who confessed to a shocking triple murder in western Sydney had an obsession with luxury items and told grandiose lies in the lead-up to the killing of a couple and a seven-year-old boy, according to court documents. Kwang Kyung Yoo, 51, on Thursday pleaded guilty to murdering Min Cho, 41, and a seven-year-old child at his North Parramatta taekwondo studio as well as Ms Cho's husband, Steven Cho, 39, at his Baulkham Hills home on February 19 last year. A statement of agreed facts tendered to the Parramatta Local Court do not state Yoo's motivation for the horrific murders; however, they do reveal that in the lead-up, he lied to his wife that he was being given a BMW as a work car and instead took Ms Cho's BMW X5 after killing her. He was also obsessed with wealth and had told lies about his academic credentials and having competed at the Olympics. Yoo ran the Lion's Taekwondo and Martial Arts Academy at North Parramatta and was known to his students as 'Master Lion'. According to court documents, in January last year, he lied to his wife when he told her that a primary school, where he had a part-time job, was giving him a BMW as a work car. In the 11 days leading up to the horrific murders, Yoo was captured on CCTV driving into the complex where the Yoo family lived in his grey Toyota Camry on five occasions The court was told that about 6.22pm on February 19, after the other parents and students had left his taekwondo studio, Yoo strangled Ms Cho in a storeroom before dragging her body into the office. Later that evening, he was captured on CCTV taking Ms Cho's car keys before he later called his wife to say his new BMW had arrived. 'The car has arrived,' he told her during a brief phone call. He then killed the seven-year-old boy in the storeroom by strangling him. At 8.48pm, he drove Ms Cho's BMW X5 away from the scene to her Baulkham Hills townhouse, where he broke in. At 9.18pm, Mr Cho returned home, where he was stabbed to death by Yoo with blows to the head, neck and chest. Mr Cho stabbed Yoo in self-defence but was killed in the altercation. Yoo returned to his studio and called his wife, saying: 'I've been stabbed with a knife.' He drove to Westmead Hospita,l where he was treated for a collapsed lung and multiple stab wounds. He claimed to police that he had been stabbed by three people in the car park of a North Parramatta Woolworths; however, officers quickly established that it was a lie after viewing CCTV footage. Police searched Ms Cho's BMW, which Yoo had driven to the hospital, and found traces of blood inside. Mr Cho's body was discovered the next day when friends became concerned and went to the couple's home. Police then went to the Lion's Taekwondo and Martial Arts Academy, where they noticed blood on the front steps before the bodies of Ms Cho and the boy were found inside. 'During the investigation, police obtained evidence that suggested that the offender (Yoo) had interests in luxury items, social status and wealth,' the court documents state. Police found evidence of him inspecting properties and falsely telling agents that he was acting on behalf of his wealthy employer or his parents, who had a budget of up to $50m. He showed the mother of one of his students a picture that he falsely claimed was taken from his home with Harbour Bridge views. He had further lied about owning property in Sydney's eastern suburbs and luxury cars, and that he holidayed in New York and California. He also bizarrely told his wife that he was receiving emails from a wealthy woman in a high position, according to the court documents. Yoo also told people, including his wife and sister, that he had a master's degree and PHD from Macquarie University and Sydney University; however, both institutions had no record of him. He was also found to have lied about competing in taekwondo at the 2000 Olympics. Yoo will appear in the Supreme Court on April 1.
The Journal
10-05-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Why are pro-Palestine groups calling for Ireland to prevent the sale of Israeli 'war bonds'?
PRESSURE HAS BEEN mounting on the Government to introduce legislation that would effectively stop Ireland facilitating the sale of Israeli bonds across the EU. In recent weeks, there have been protests at the Central Bank of Ireland calling for action , while in Leinster House, Sinn Féin TD and chair of the Oireachtas Finance Committee, Maireád Farrel,l has said it is a priority for her to get the Central Bank in before the committee to discuss the issue. Here's a rundown of where things stand. What is an Israeli bond and why are some people calling it a 'war bond'? Governments issue bonds as a way to raise money to fund things like new projects and infrastructure. Government bonds are considered to be some of the safest types of investments globally because there is relatively low risk involved. Following October 7, 2023, Israel has considered itself at war with Hamas. The CEO of Israel Bonds (the organisation that sells the bonds), Dani Naveh has spoken in the media about how money generated from the sale of Israeli bonds has been used to fund these military operations. In recent times, websites promoting the bonds emphasise their role in supporting Israel during the war – leading some to dub them 'Israeli war bonds'. What does Ireland have to do with this? Government bonds – like those sold by Israel – are generally sold to investors on international stock exchanges. Their sale is facilitated by central banks. As Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said in the Dáil recently, Israeli bonds are not listed for sale on the Irish Stock Exchange. However, the Irish Central Bank has a special role in facilitating their sale in the EU. To be sold in the EU, bonds from non-EU countries must have their bond prospectus (a legal document setting out details of the bond) approved by the Central Bank of a country that is in the EU. Before Brexit, the UK carried out this work for Israel. After they left the EU, Israel chose Ireland to be its 'home country' for this purpose, meaning the Irish Central Bank is responsible for approving its bond prospectus. Why is this an issue? Pro-Palestinian campaigners and most Opposition political parties in Ireland argue that by carrying out this work, Ireland is facilitating Israel's actions in Gaza. Their argument is that our Central Bank is allowing Israel to raise money for its war effort by enabling the sale of bonds through approving the country's bond prospectus. Advertisement Over the last year, there has been a growing campaign calling on the Central Bank to stop approving the sale of the bonds in the EU. However, the Central Bank has said it can only do this where it has the legal basis to do so i.e. in a situation where sanctions are introduced against Israel at an EU level or where there are 'National restrictive measures to the same effect'. This is disputed by many, including Sinn Féin. Helen Mahony, co-ordinator of Stop Funding Genocide, a campaign that is being run by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), told The Journal that she believes the Central Bank is wrong in its interpretation of its obligations. 'The thing about this EU Prospectus Regulation is that it's designed to set out technical standards that a prospectus has to reach. But implicit in that is that the prospectus is for at least lawful reasons. I mean, no EU regulation is designed to legitimise genocide or to legitimise criminal intent,' O'Mahony said. 'It makes no sense to say that an EU regulation is forcing somebody to become complicit in genocide. No organisation, neither a business nor a bank nor an educational institution, for that matter, or any institution is not bound by the Genocide Convention and not bound by international humanitarian law,' she added. Is there an appetite to change the law nationally? Within the Irish Government, currently, there is not. But pressure has been mounting from the Opposition, with Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, Social Democrats and People Before Profit all in favour of introducing legislation that would enable the Central Bank to stop facilitating the sale of the bonds. Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty is due to introduce a bill on the issue in the coming weeks, although it is unlikely to get the support of the Government. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe was asked why the Government has not introduced its own legislation on the matter in recent weeks, and he said he did not intend to introduce legislation that would forbid the Central Bank from fulfilling its regulatory duties at EU level. A cross-party motion is expected to be brought before the Dáil in the coming weeks, which will call on the Government to take action. The motion has been campaigned for by the IPSC, which has said they have had positive interactions with political parties on it to date. While the IPSC and O'Mahony support Sinn Féin's proposed bill on the matter, O'Mahony still believes the Irish Government and the Central Bank could act now to stop the sale of the bonds without any legislation being necessary. O'Mahony made the point that Israel's blockade of Gaza is 'in part funded by Israeli bonds'. 'They wouldn't be going to Israel from Europe, but for the Central Bank of Ireland. So there's a direct line. 'The [Irish] Government could tell the Central Bank of Ireland that they must honour their obligations under the Genocide Convention, but instead they're both playing this game of smoke and mirrors and just kind of hiding behind what they claim are technicalities, but it's a complete misreading of the EU Prospectus Regulation as far as I can see,' she said. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... Our Explainer articles bring context and explanations in plain language to help make sense of complex issues. We're asking readers like you to support us so we can continue to provide helpful context to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. Learn More Support The Journal
