The Korea Times

Investigation under way to find cause of Icheon warehouse fire

Firefighters remove debris from a fire-hit warehouse in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. The fire engulfed the four-story building under construction a day earlier, claiming 38 lives. Yonhap By Bahk Eun-jiThe Central Fire Service (CFS) launched a joint investigation with the National Forensic Service (NFS) and the police, Thursday, to determine the exact cause of a fire that broke out at a warehouse construction site in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, the previous day that killed at least 38 people and injured 10 others.The investigation followed an overnight search-and-rescue operation at the four-story building for more victims, most of whom were construction workers, in one of the country's deadliest blazes in years. Eight of the injured people are reportedly in serious condition.According to the National Fire Agency, the fire engulfed the four-story construction site in Moga Town, Icheon ― where 78 people were working ― at 1:32 p.m. The fire was completely exting

Apr 30, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji

Investigation under way to find cause of Icheon warehouse fire

Law & Crime

Elementary school teacher under fire for inappropriate homework assignment

A captured screen shot of an elementary school teacher who made inappropriate comments to first grade students in his classroom in Ulsan /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiA male teacher at an elementary school in Ulsan is under fire for using inappropriate language and behavior toward first graders, according to the regional education office Tuesday. According to the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education (UMOE), the teacher, in his 40s, ordered his students recently to wash their underwear and asked their parents to upload pictures of them doing so on an online community where he communicates with them.The teacher's absurd behavior surfaced when a parent captured screen shots of comments he made on another online community. The screen shots show a number of his inappropriate comments about his students, such as “I fall in love with little princesses with charming smiles, oh yeah,” “I thought there were only beautiful girls in my classroom, but there are handsome boys, too. Tell them I don't like boys that are better-looking than me,” and “There are so many beautiful

Apr 28, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji

Elementary school teacher under fire for inappropriate homework assignment

Society

Gov't in dilemma over resuming on-site classes

Soldiers disinfect a middle school in Daegu as part of efforts to help the city cope with the COVID-19 crisis, in this March 17 photo. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe government appears to be in a dilemma over whether to resume normal classes at schools, according to education officials Tuesday, as the number of new coronavirus infections has been on a downward trend.Officials want to open schools as quickly as possible and return teachers and students to classrooms. But at the same time, they are equally concerned that if they open the schools too soon, they could become a hotbed for the highly contagious virus as students come into contact with one another.As the number of newly confirmed daily cases of COVID-19 has stayed around 15 or less for 10 consecutive days, many educators, teachers and students expect to see schools resuming normal classes. Schools have been closed since March 2, when the new school semester was originally scheduled to commence.The Ministry of Education said Tuesday that it had held a videoconference with local education superintendents to come up with a detailed

Apr 28, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji

Gov't in dilemma over resuming on-site classes

Health

Self-quarantine violators fitted with location-tracking bracelet

Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip, left, holds an electronic bracelet equipped with a location-tracking system before a regular meeting on the coronavirus at the government complex in Sejong, April 24. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiPeople who broke self-quarantine rules began wearing electronic bracelets, Monday, as the government steps up measures against those who could possibly spread the coronavirus, according to Korea's top infectious disease official. The number of violators reached 286.The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters introduced the controversial plan on April 11 because the number of cases of people breaching self-quarantine has raised public concerns.An electronic bracelet to be worn by violators of self-quarantine rules to prevent further spread of COVID-19, starting Monday /Yonhap“Violators will be given two options ― either wearing the bracelets or being sent to state-designated quarantine facilities ― in order to avoid the controversies over human rights,” said Park Jong-hyun, an official of the Ministry of Health and Welfare during a regul

Apr 27, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji

Self-quarantine violators fitted with location-tracking bracelet

Society

Jobseekers hit hard by coronavirus

A jobseeker consults with an official at a regional job center in Seoul, April 17. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiFour in 10 jobseekers who had found a job recently have either seen companies cancel their employment or postpone their start dates amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey, Monday.The online survey conducted by Saramin, a recruiting platform, revealed that 40.7 percent of 2,052 jobseekers said they had experienced being notified of a cancellation or postponement of employment due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Of those, 58.7 percent said they were notified of a delay in their starting dates, while 18.9 percent said their position had been canceled, while 22.4 percent said they had experienced both. Companies usually notify jobseekers about whether they passed an interview or not through text messages. When multiple answers were allowed, 51.7 percent of respondents said they were informed of the delayed start date by text message, 28.3 percent received a phone call from the companies they applied to, 6.9 percent received notifications in person and 6.3 percent said they got

Apr 27, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji

Society

Universities refuse to refund tuition

Students of Sungshin Women's University hold a news conference on the school campus in Seoul, to demand a tuition refund for the spring semester. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiColleges have decided to not refund tuition despite facing growing calls from students as classes are being disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the association of university presidents Sunday.A network of 27 university student councils, who have demanded tuition refunds, had a meeting with the leadership of the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) to discuss compensation through a reduction in tuition fees for the first time on Friday. During the meeting, however, the KCUE clearly stated that it would be difficult to refund the tuition fees as they could not afford to do so. They said their financial difficulties stemmed from a tuition freeze over the past 10 years, and recent spending to quarantine international students, disinfect facilities and prepare for remote classes. The Ministry of Education also had a discussion on the issue with the KCUE on April 10, but Vice Education Minister Park

Apr 26, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji

Health

Young people urged to keep social distancing

Members of Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, the biggest Protestant church in the country, attend a Sunday service, as the church reopened after the government eased the social distancing measures amid a slowdown in new COVID-19 cases. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe government is urging people in their 20s and 30s to continue to practice social distancing, as young people are more likely to become coronavirus “super spreaders” because of their active social life, according to Korea's top infectious disease official Sunday. Those in their 20s and 30s account for 27 percent of coronavirus patients.Korea reported a number of confirmed cases below 15 for the eighth consecutive day, but health authorities kept calling for people, especially those in their 20s, to comply with the social distancing measures. “Those in their 20s have a high possibility of being super spreaders as they often have a wide range of activities. They can come into contact with many people and unwittingly spread the virus especially in confined spaces such as a nightclub. The government urged them to p

Apr 26, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji

Young people urged to keep social distancing

Health

INTERVIEW KU Medicine aims to offer top-notch healthcare service

Kim Young-hoon, president and CEO of Korea University (KU) Medicine and executive vice president of medical affairs, speaks during an interview with the Korea Times at his office, Seoul. /Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Bahk Eun-ji, Kim Eil-chulKim Young-hoon, the 15th president and CEO of Korea University (KU) Medicine and executive vice president of medical affairs at the university, has vowed to start a new chapter for the next decade and beyond with the values the institution has been pursuing over the last century.“When I took office in December, I told my colleagues that I dreamt of making the KU Medicine first class. I believe it is my role to lay the foundation for the university so that it can leap to the position of the top medical institution; not only in the country, but also in the world,” Kim said. Based on his experience of being recognized for involvement with the developers of Asia's leading arrhythmia technology and his academic management skills, Kim plans to raise it to the level of the Mayo Clinic, the renowned U.S. hospital. He set three goals fo

Apr 26, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji

[INTERVIEW] KU Medicine aims to offer top-notch healthcare service

Society

Bakery owner sends bread to virus-hit Daegu

Kim Kyoung-mi, owner of Grit918 /Courtesy of Grit918By Bahk Eun-jiKim Kyoung-mi who runs a bakery cafe in Seoul has been donating bread to medical professionals and government officials fighting COVID-19 in Daegu, the nation's worst virus-hit region.Since March 1, Kim, owner of Grit918, has been sending 300 sweet red bean buns every day to complete strangers in Daegu. “I saw Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin who was crying desperately during a press briefing on TV when the virus hit the city in mid-February at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak. I wanted to do something for the people of Daegu who devoted themselves to overcoming the crisis, but it was not easy to decide to send 300 buns every day because my bakery was also struggling in the economic downturn due to the virus outbreak,” Kim said.She said it was not initially confident of a positive response from her staff to the idea but her staff gladly accepted.Sales have been off since last month as the number of customers coming to her store has dropped drastically due to the virus outbreak. But she thought that's why this

Apr 24, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji

Bakery owner sends bread to virus-hit Daegu

Health

Number of COVID-19 hospitals to be reduced amid signs of slowdown

Officials disinfect an artificial croquet lawn in Seoul, Thursday, in preparation for its reopening after the government eased its social distancing measures for some facilities imposed due to the spread of COVID-19. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe government has decided to reduce the number of hospitals specially designated to treat COVID-19 patients nationwide in response to the falling number of confirmed cases here, the health authorities said Thursday.The administration had designated 67 hospitals with 7,500 beds to treat the virus patients. Of those, 12 hospitals reporting no new cases were removed from the list. The second batch of cuts will be carried out by the end of the month for long-stay hospitals or rehabilitation centers that are not suitable for treating patients with such an infectious disease over the long term. Eleven hospitals with a utilization rate of under 5 percent will also be removed from the list. The government said it is aiming to reduce the number of beds for COVID-19 patients to less than 2,300 by next month in four phases, noting that those beds will be utili

Apr 23, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji

Bahk Eun-ji

Read more

Investigation under way to find cause of Icheon warehouse fire

Elementary school teacher under fire for inappropriate homework assignment

Gov't in dilemma over resuming on-site classes

Self-quarantine violators fitted with location-tracking bracelet

Jobseekers hit hard by coronavirus

Universities refuse to refund tuition

Young people urged to keep social distancing

INTERVIEW KU Medicine aims to offer top-notch healthcare service

Bakery owner sends bread to virus-hit Daegu

Number of COVID-19 hospitals to be reduced amid signs of slowdown

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