Korea Times Politics & City Reporter
Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Quarantine officials disinfect a cafeteria in a high school in the southwestern city of Gwangju, Tuesday, a day before high schools reopen for seniors after multiple delays due to safety concerns over the spread of COVID-19. Yonhap
Medical personnel wait to be tested for COVID-19 at a screening center in Samsung Medical Center, southern Seoul, Tuesday, as four nurses working at the hospital tested positive. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiKorea is possibly facing another COVID-19 infection cluster, this one related to a major hospital in Seoul after four nurses there tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Seoul mayor, Tuesday.Mayor Park Won-soon said four nurses working at Samsung Medical Center (SMC) in southern Seoul, one of the nation's biggest general hospitals, tested positive. The four nurses work at SMC's cardiothoracic and ob-gyn operating rooms. Park said the hospital reported the infection of the first nurse Monday, and three others who tested positive were reported the following day. Of 277 patients and hospital staff who had been in contact with them, 265 have been tested. Among these, 160 tested negative and 102 are awaiting the results. “It is a highly serious situation that infections have appeared in a large hospital with many severely ill patients as well as patients having underlying
Quarantine officials disinfect the classroom of a high school in the southwestern city of Gwangju, Tuesday, a day before schools reopen for high school seniors after a spate of delays due to safety concerns over the spread of COVID-19. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiMany high school seniors are voicing opposition to physically attending schools starting Wednesday, due to lingering safety concerns over the possible spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in classrooms, according to the association of high school student presidents Tuesday.A network of high school councils in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, conducted a survey on 30,585 high school students across the country for three days from Sunday, and 79.7 percent of respondents said they were opposed to the reopening of schools. Asked about the appropriate timing for the physical opening, 49.3 percent said it should be decided on after at least a month to check the status of the pandemic. More than 32 percent, or 7,823 respondents, said students should be allowed to physically attend their schools two weeks after the number of daily infection
Teachers check and clean an air conditioner at a classroom of Yangjin Elementary School in Seoul in this May 7 photo. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe arrival of summer is raising questions among the public about how to continue to follow preventive measures against the COVID-19 pandemic amid the rising heat. The health authorities have urged citizens to keep vigilance in the coming summer season, amid growing concerns about whether using air-conditioners is safe because of the coronavirus outbreak. As the weather warms up across the country, many are unclear about how to cope when indoors given the increasing temperature. Namely, is it safe to use air-conditioning? Can they open the windows for a cool breeze? Is it safe to use KF80 or a dental mask instead of KF94 masks that makes it harder for users to breathe?Here are guidelines from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and preventions (KCDC) to fight a possible second wave of the pandemic.Wearing mask Koreans don't argue with whether wearing masks are helpful in stemming the spread of the virus anymore. But more people have started to co
A teacher of a sixth-grade class, teaches an online class from an empty classroom in Borame Elementary School in Seoul, Friday. South Korea has introduced online classes for elementary, middle and high schools to ensure the safety of teachers and students during the coronavirus pandemic. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe education and health authorities will forge ahead with their plan to reopen schools for high school seniors next week, despite a recent spike in COVID-19 infections involving teachers and students, officials said Friday. High school seniors are expected to return to school May 20, while those in other grades will return to school gradually over the following weeks.“The Ministry of Education (MOE) is expected to proceed with its plan to reopen schools for high school seniors next week. The health authorities have been conducting strict disinfection of school facilities in preparation for their return,” said Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip in a regular briefing at the Government Complex in Sejong. For other students, the MOE said a further delay is “under co
By Bahk Eun-jiThe father of 24-year-old Son Jong-woo, who ran the world's largest Darknnet child porn site, filed a complaint with prosecution against his son over the concealment of criminal proceeds. The father claimed that his son opened a cryptocurrency account with his personal information without his consent, and concealed the proceeds earned from the website.GettyimagesbankHe also said Son defamed his grandmother by paying her hospital bills with the criminal proceeds. The father's move appears to be an attempt to prevent his son from being extradited to the United States, where he is likely to face heavier punishment. If Son is punished in Korea for concealing and trading criminal profits, his extradition to the U.S. could fall through due to Korea's double jeopardy rules, which prohibit individuals from being punished for the same crime twice.Son was scheduled to complete his prison term April 27, but a court effectively prevented his release by issuing a detention warrant.The extradition hearing will be May 19, and the court will make a decision within two months. Once a de
Children wear face mask to protect themselves from COVID-19 infection in this March 19 file photo. Doctors around the world have noticed a number of children falling sick with a mysterious illness that appears to be linked to the coronavirus over the past few weeks. /YonhapDoctors investigate possible link between COVID-19 and rare children's diseaseBy Bahk Eun-jiFears are mounting after a growing number of hospitals in the United States and Europe have reported features of a rare syndrome being spotted in children who have tested positive for COVID-19 over the past few weeks, although experts believe that coronavirus poses a lower threat to children.At the beginning of last month, the Paediatric Intensive Care Society (PICS), a health service in the United Kingdom, said cases of children admitted to intensive care with what is known as “multi-system inflammatory state” were rising. On Wednesday, Children's National Hospital in the United States also stated there have been several children with COVID-19 who are experiencing a constellation of symptoms that resemble &ldquo
Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae, center, speaks during an emergency meeting on strengthened quarantine and health safety measures in schools and private education institutions with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, left, and Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, at the government complex in Seoul, Thursday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe government is calling on parents not to send their children to cram schools and other facilities frequented by students, amid a recent spread of COVID-19 infections connected to a teacher who tested positive for the virus after going to clubs in Itaewon.The move came Thursday as the Ministry of Education has been pressured to come up with measures to create a safe learning environment amid a recent surge in infections among young people. Parents were especially concerned when a teenage student and his mother in Incheon were confirmed to have contracted the virus, after one of the student's teachers, who had attended clubs in Itaewon, tested positive for COVID-19.Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and Seoul Metrop
Kim Sun-min, president of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) /Courtesy of HIRABy Bahk Eun-jiThe Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) shared that Korea's effective and quick response to the COVID-19 outbreak was due to its robust healthcare system during an international meeting of global experts, Tuesday. Kim Sun-min, the newly appointed president of HIRA, hosted the Working Party on Healthcare Quality and Outcomes (HCQO) under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Given the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the OECD HCQO meeting was held in the virtual world and dealt with health system readiness and responses to the outbreak.During the meeting, Kim detailed the nation's utilization of real-time healthcare resources and data to detect high-risk groups to prevent community spread in response to COVID-19. The government collected patient information centrally, and monitored the status of resources including negative pressure isolation rooms, masks and drug supplies, Kim said
A drive-thru clinic for COVID-19 testing is busy again with cars at Ewha University Seoul Hospital, Seoul, as an infection cluster that was traced back to a nightclub area in Itaewon spreads across the country. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiConcerns are growing at schools as nearly 90 foreign English teachers were found to have recently visited Itaewon in Seoul, a new COVID-19 hot spot connected to more than 90 confirmed coronavirus cases, education officials said Tuesday.Foreigners wait to take COVID-19 tests at a clinic set up at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Seoul, Monday. YonhapThe South Jeolla Office of Education said 36 foreign teachers and 15 Korean teaching staff visited Itaewon and the Hongdae area sometime between April 24 and May 6. Among them two visited nightclubs. The office said 20 tested negative for the virus and 31 are currently undergoing testing.According to the South Jeolla provincial government, five residents including one foreign teacher were confirmed to have visited Itaewon during the period when a 29-year-old Korean “superspreader” visited a numbe