News Briefs

January 10, 1996
Web posted at: 2:15 p.m. EST (1915 GMT)

U.S. soldier in South Korea accused of attempted rape

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- An American soldier was arrested Wednesday on charges he attempted to rape a South Korean woman, the U.S. military command said. Pvt. Terrence Hines was in U.S. military custody. His age and hometown were not mentioned in a news release that said Hines was accused of breaking into the Korean woman's apartment near the U.S. main military compound in central Seoul.

The news release said Hines injured his head while fleeing the scene after South Korean police arrived. Under an agreement between the two countries, South Korean police must hand over to U.S. authorities any U.S. soldier accused of crime. Suspect remain under U.S. custody until all court appeals are completed.

Navy seaman describes rape of Japanese girl

Report: Eight groups gave money to Chun

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- Heads of eight South Korean business groups gave $36 million to former president Chun Doo-hwan between 1980 and 1987 in return for favors, state television quoted prosecution officials as saying Wednesday. The eight are Miwon, Hanwha, Ssangyong, Dong Ah Construction, Daelim, Kumho, Dainong and Chinhung groups, KBS television said.

The companies reportedly were named in the arrest warrant for Chun's former chief bodyguard, who was arrested and detained Wednesday. Chun, already indicted for allegedly masterminding a 1979 coup, was alleged to have built up a huge slush fund during his 1980-88 term in office. State media quoted prosecution officials as saying Chun had amassed more illegal funds than his successor as president, Roh Tae-Woo.

Roh, who is on trial on charges of bribery, has confessed to amassing $654 million in slush funds during his 1988-93 term in office. Prosecution officials have never mentioned the exact amount of Chun's slush funds.

Blizzard paralyzes northern Japan

TOKYO (CNN) -- A blizzard dumped snow across northern Japan for a third day Wednesday (774K QuickTime movie), bringing most ground transportation to a near halt and forcing flights to be diverted. Military troops were mobilized to clear snow and direct traffic in Sapporo, the capital of Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido. More than two feet (0.6 meter) of snow had piled up there by morning.

A National Police Agency official said there were no reports of deaths or injuries from the blizzard. On Japan's main island of Honshu, heavy snowfall forced "bullet" trains to run at a reduced speeds, affecting about 60,000 passengers with delays of up to one hour, said railway spokesman Hiroshi Hayashi. In contrast, Tokyo and other cities on Japan's Pacific coastal region had clear skies Wednesday.

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Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.