The Korea Times

Better protection needed for students in high-risk groups: experts

Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae announces renewed quarantine guidelines for school attendance during a briefing at the government complex in Seoul, Thursday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiConcerns are growing over possible COVID-19 infections among students in high-risk groups, such as those with underlying disease and those who are unvaccinated ahead of the beginning of spring semester as the highly transmissible COVID-19 Omicron variant has continued to spread rapidly across the country. Although the Ministry of Education (MOE) recently issued revised quarantine guidelines for attendance in the new semester, aimed at flexibly responding to the virus situation, many point out they are not enough to prevent possible transmissions among students.Experts point out that high-risk students such as children with diabetes or severe asthma who are infected with the Omicron variant have an increased risk of fatality and the education ministry should prepare specific protection measures for them.The ministry's new guidelines, announced, Thursday, stipulate that there are six major categories: endocrine

Feb 14, 2022By Bahk Eun-ji

Better protection needed for students in high-risk groups: experts

Law & Crime

Calls grow for punishment of sadistic cat killer

A screenshot from a video of a stray cat being burned by a man who allegedly killed it and uploaded the video onto online community DC Inside. Screenshot from KARABy Bahk Eun-jiThe police said, Sunday, that they have launched a probe into a man who allegedly brutally burned and killed a stray cat. According to the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul, the man, who uploaded a video of the abuse and killing of a cat to online community DC Inside, is being investigated for having violated the Animal Protection Act. The man posted videos and photos showing a cat being burned alive on the online forum twice, on Jan. 28 and 30. In one video, a cat trapped in an iron cage was set alight and struggled in pain.As the video and photos went viral, animal rights group Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) reported the man to the Mapo Police Station on Feb. 9 for violating the Animal Protection Act. Another group, Care, offered a reward of 10 million won ($8,340) to anyone who could provide the man's identity. A petition was posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website on Feb. 3, calling for sufficient punishment of

Feb 13, 2022By Bahk Eun-ji

Calls grow for punishment of sadistic cat killer

Society

Ulsan parents protest Afghan evacuees' settlement in local schools

Parents of Seoboo Elementary School in Ulsan, stage a rally in the schoolyard, Wednesday. Newsis Presence of Afghan evacuees divides southern industrial city By Bahk Eun-jiLast year, 391 Afghans, who had been designated by the Korean government as “special contributors,” were airlifted to Korea after their country fell into the hands of the Taliban. Among them, 152 evacuees have now settled in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan to work for a subcontractor of Hyundai Heavy Industries. Their presence has caused a stir among some residents. While many welcome their new neighbors, others voice worries for various reasons. Among the families of special contributors settling in Ulsan, 64 are school-age children who are supposed to be assigned to nearby elementary, middle and high schools. Afghan evacuees arrive in Ulsan, Monday. Yonhap About 50 p

Feb 11, 2022By Bahk Eun-ji

Ulsan parents protest Afghan evacuees' settlement in local schools

Health

Teachers, parents disagree over gov't leaving quarantine management up to schools

Students head to schools in Seoul in this Dec. 20, 2021 photo. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiTeachers and parents are showing mixed responses to the education ministry's new guidelines. The new guidelines leave the decision of whether to hold in-person or online classes for the spring semester up to the school.Teachers' unions are criticizing the government for passing the responsibility for quarantine policy on to the schools, while parents are claiming that academic achievement differences should not widen further despite their concerns over the easing of measures to control the spread of COVID-19. Under the new guidelines, schools can change their attendance policy for the new semester depending on the number of infections among their students. To structure these decisions, the ministry suggested a new four-stage system for schools to respond to the virus situation individually, in order to minimize uncertainty among parents and teachers. At levels 1 and 2, schools will run in-person classes, though extracurricular activities will be restricted under level 2. Under level 3, classes will be

Feb 9, 2022By Bahk Eun-ji

Teachers, parents disagree over gov't leaving quarantine management up to schools

Society

Cashing in on 'fake news'

GettyimagesbankMalicious YouTubers make money by creating hatred, stoking fearBy Bahk Eun-jiIn a video uploaded on YouTube on Feb. 5, a young man in a black mask expressed his condolences at the death of a female YouTuber named Cho Jang-mi, who was found dead last week at her home. The masked YouTuber, known as “PPKKa” with 1.21 million subscribers, came under fire after Cho's death. He was singled out as the party who started spreading rumors about Cho, which allegedly drove her to take her own life. He denied the allegations in the video and claimed that he had no intention of attacking Cho.Police also stated that there is no evidence indicating Cho was murdered.“Many people are accusing me of having instigated internet communities and their members to drive her to kill herself, but this is not true…. I was and still am a YouTuber who follows issues and strikes at them when they pop up, nothing more than that,” he said.Captured image from YouTube channel “PPKKa”. Screen captured from YouTubeHe produces what he calls news about celebrities

Feb 9, 2022By Bahk Eun-ji

Deaths of athlete, streamer ignite calls for harsher punishments for internet trolling

Society

Seoul mayor stands firm on cutting budget for 'questionable' civic groups

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks during a press briefing at city hall, Monday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiSeoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon vowed that he would continue his thorough review of the city government's financial support for civic groups and make cuts where necessary, as he has maintained the city has misspent its budget for the last decade when his predecessor, Park Won-soon, was in power.Oh also promised to reduce the subsidies for civic group-related projects for at least three years.Regarding this project, called “Set up right Seoul City,” Oh said, “The Seoul Metropolitan Government will review the financial support that has been extended to civic groups mostly with a 'questionable' history despite not making tangible progress over the past decade directly and indirectly, and will tighten morale among public servants in the city government.”“Although Seoul Metropolitan Council opposed it and overrode a significant portion of the budget cuts that we suggested, we only achieved half of our original goal, but once we started, we have already taken a big step,&rdq

Feb 7, 2022By Bahk Eun-ji

Seoul mayor stands firm on cutting budget for 'questionable' civic groups

Law & Crime

Criticism mounts of Nth room leader's blog

Cho Ju-bin / YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiCriticism is mounting of Cho Ju-bin, the mastermind of a notorious online sex blackmail ring, who was sentenced to 42 years in prison. Cho is now running a blog in an effort to plead not guilty and denounce the judiciary system while still in prison. Cho, who is currently serving his jail term at the Seoul Detention Center, started a blog on portal site Naver last August, while his court appeal was in progress.Introduced as “Cho Ju-bin's blog,” a total of six articles were published, including his reasons for the appeal and his apology.Cho was sentenced to 42 years in prison by the Supreme Court last October for organizing a criminal ring together with 38 accomplices, blackmailing 74 victims, including minors, into filming pornographic content, and distributing the materials to members of a pay-to-view Telegram chat room, called Baksabang.While admitting to the charges of producing and distributing sex abuse material, he claimed that the chatroom was not a criminal ring and that some evidence had been illegally collected, and thus, he was

Feb 5, 2022By Bahk Eun-ji

Criticism mounts of Nth room leader's blog

Health

Soaring use of self-test kit sparks concerns over underreporting of COVID-19 cases

Medical workers carry out rapid antigen tests at a COVID-19 testing station in Seoul, Friday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiConcerns are growing over whether rapid antigen tests will deal with the Omicron-fueled COVID-19 pandemic effectively, as they are feared to yield false-negative or false-positive results. Since Thursday, the country has allowed only hospitals and medical clinics to conduct rapid antigen testing. Under the new system, only those who only test positive in a rapid test are able to receive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Prioritized for PCR tests are the elderly aged over 60, people who have come in close contact with a COVID-19 patient and those with a doctor's recommendation citing the need for the laboratory-processed test. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, Friday, a total of 84,000 rapid antigen tests were conducted using at-home test kits at testing centers in four local jurisdictions ― South Jeolla Province, Gwangju and the Gyeonggi Province cities of Pyeongtaek and Anseong.Of them, in 687 rapid tests that came out posit

Feb 4, 2022By Bahk Eun-ji

Soaring use of self-test kit sparks concerns over underreporting of COVID-19 cases

Korea's daily COVID-19 cases keep reaching new highs

Society

Late bloomer finds her passion in nursing

Park Kyung-yiBy Bahk Eun-jiDriven by her life-time longing for study, Park Kyung-yi, 55, a social worker, chose to start a new life in her 50s. She is now a prospective nurse who finished the national examination in December.When she was in her 20s, Park aspired to become a social worker. But she didn't go to college because her parents couldn't afford to pay for her tuition.She gave up plans to go to college and got married. While raising children, she realized her passion for study stilled burned within her.At the age of 35, she enrolled to study social welfare at a community college. After graduating with top honors, she worked as a social worker in Busan.“While I was working as a social worker, I still wanted to study more to develop my career, so I enrolled at Silla University in Busan, and then graduated with a master's degree in social welfare. I studied so hard that I even made the dean's list and was awarded scholarships several times,” Park said. But after pursuing a career as a social worker for more than a decade, Park decided that she wanted a new challenge,

Feb 4, 2022By Bahk Eun-ji

Late bloomer finds her passion in nursing

Health

Shortage of COVID-19 self-test kits looms as Omicron infections spread

Health worker organizes boxes containing COVID-19 self-test kits at a public health center in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap Korea reports all-time high of 16,096 COVID-19 infections, triggering panic buying of self-test kitsBy Bahk Eun-jiDemand for at-home test kits has been soaring following the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Korea, spawning fears that the country may face an acute shortage of the diagnostic kits.Fears are mounting as the government has shifted to a new medical response focusing on the early diagnosis and treatment of high-risk groups, with the country reporting an all-time high of 16,096 new COVID-19 infections for Thursday, including 15,894 local cases. Health authorities expect the daily infection tally to rise up to 100,000 in the weeks to come.In order to deal with a spike in the number of daily infections, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said that from Feb. 3, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests wil

Jan 28, 2022By Bahk Eun-ji

Bahk Eun-ji

Read more

Better protection needed for students in high-risk groups: experts

Calls grow for punishment of sadistic cat killer

Ulsan parents protest Afghan evacuees' settlement in local schools

Teachers, parents disagree over gov't leaving quarantine management up to schools

Cashing in on 'fake news'

Seoul mayor stands firm on cutting budget for 'questionable' civic groups

Criticism mounts of Nth room leader's blog

Soaring use of self-test kit sparks concerns over underreporting of COVID-19 cases

Late bloomer finds her passion in nursing

Shortage of COVID-19 self-test kits looms as Omicron infections spread

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