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Bahk Eun-ji

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.

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Society

Chinese individual, company on top of delinquent taxpayer lists

By Bahk Eun-jiA Chinese man has topped the list of the delinquent individual taxpayers of Seoul City this year, with the person's overdue local income tax amounting to 1.27 billion won, according to the city government, Wednesday.Seoul Metropolitan Government made public the names and addresses of 13,854 people and companies that have repeatedly failed to pay the local income tax. It discloses the list of tax defaulters of 10 million won or more in arrears every year.Of those, 865 ― consisting of 635 individuals and 230 companies ― were newly listed this year. A citizen of China, Wen Yuehua, topped the list of the new individual defaulters for owing 12.7 billion won in back taxes. He has been involved in a legal battle with the government not to pay the tax but recently lost during a Supreme Court trial, so his name was disclosed this time.The Seoul City Hall building /Korea Times fileAmong the companies owing back taxes, Power Pine Limited, an investment consulting company represented by Chinese national named Cheung Ah Shuen, failed to pay the largest amount of 1.57 billion won in

Nov 17, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Chinese individual, company on top of delinquent taxpayer lists
Society

Farmers' market returns to Seoul in 3 locations

People buy locally grown products at a farmers' market set up in Digital Media City, Mapo-gu, in this Sept. 27, 2019 photo. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentBy Bahk Eun-jiPeople in Seoul will be able to buy fresh produce and other products from various parts of the country at a farmers' market which will be running this Friday and Saturday. The annual event was canceled last year due to COVID-19. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said that the farmers' market will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in three locations around the capital ― Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall, Mallidong Square west of Seoul Station and Digital Media City in Mapo District.A total of 111 farms from 74 cities and counties will participate, offering fresh agricultural products recommended by local governments for up to 30 percent below supermarket prices. A special sale section will also be held at Seoul Plaza for agricultural and marine products that haven't been selling well due to the cancellation of local festivals where they are traditionally sold. This will include hairtail from Jeju Island, ginseng

Nov 17, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Farmers' market returns to Seoul in 3 locations
Society

Urban diplomacy plays vital role for Seoul to become leading global city

Paik Ji-ah, ambassador for international relations of Seoul Metropolitan Government, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at her office in City Hall, Nov. 9. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Bahk Eun-jiSeoul is internationally known for having achieved exemplary urban development. After having been devastated by the 1950-53 Korean War, the country's capital is now being benchmarked by developing countries. And in the global era, cities can sustain themselves and continue to develop through inter-city exchanges, just as nations do.To facilitate the capital's relations with other foreign cities, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has been appointing an “ambassador for international relations” since 1992, who consults the city government on the capital's overall international exchanges, including helping it set up urban diplomacy policies, hold international conferences and expand international cooperation.On July 23, Paik Ji-ah, Korea's former ambassador to the United Nations, became the latest to take the position.“I provide support in meetings between c

Nov 17, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Urban diplomacy plays vital role for Seoul to become leading global city
Society

Criticism mounting over military promo video

A screenshot from a promotional video of the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) shows a man saying, “You can proudly call yourself a man only when you fulfill your military service.” Screenshot from the MMA YouTube channelBy Bahk Eun-jiThe Military Manpower Administration (MMA) has taken flak over a promotional video that critics say disparages those assigned to non-combat duties for their mandatory military service due to health or other reasons.On Nov. 5, the MMA posted video footage on its YouTube channel in which an active service member on leave talks over a meal with his friends, who haven't been enlisted yet, about life in the barracks.The problematic part was about the service member's physical grade. While all able-bodied men in Korea must serve in the military, only those who receive grades of 1 to 3 in their heath examination serve in the military, while those who receive a grade of 4 are assigned to less physically demanding duties, mostly public service positions at public organizations, and those who get a grade of 5 are exempt from duty.In the video, th

Nov 14, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Criticism mounting over military promo video
Environment & Animals

State-run agency opens protection facility for endangered animals

A sulcata tortoise at the CITES Animal Shelter within the compound of the National Institute of Ecology in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province / Courtesy of the National Institute of EcologyBy Bahk Eun-jiA state-run agency has opened a facility to protect endangered animals. The National Institute of Ecology (NIE) said Sunday that the CITES Animal Shelter, located in the NIE's compound in Seocheon County, South Chungcheong Province, recently started caring for endangered animals that were either abandoned by their owners or confiscated after being smuggled into Korea.A serval wild cat at the CITES Animal Shelter / Courtesy of the National Institute of EcologyThe CITES, or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is a multilateral treaty adopted in 1973 to prevent the illegal trading of endangered species and to protect them. Korea joined the convention in 1993. The shelter, which was built on a 2,162-square-meter site, contains quarantine, rearing and exhibition facilities, and can accommodate up to 580 animals from 140 species.In Septembe

Nov 14, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
State-run agency opens protection facility for endangered animals
Politics

DPK files complaint with prosecution for spreading false information about injury of candidate's wife

Lee Jae-myung, front left, the presidential candidate for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, walks with his wife, Kim Hye-gyeong, during a ceremony to launch his campaign office at a gym in Seoul, Nov. 2. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geunBy Bahk Eun-jiThe ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said, Thursday, it has filed a complaint with the prosecution against two people for spreading false information online about an injury suffered by the wife of its presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. The unidentified people uploaded postings that implied Lee had assaulted his wife, Kim Hye-gyeong."The accused raises indiscriminate suspicions that the health of Lee's spouse was affected by the candidate, causing public misunderstanding and controversy. They will have to take responsibility for the spread of false information unless there is evidence to back that up,” the DPK said in the complaint.According to the party, one of the postings uploaded Tuesday read: “I wonder why she got a CT scan and why she had it on the face. If she had been slapped with a palm and no bone fractur

Nov 11, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
DPK files complaint with prosecution for spreading false information about injury of candidate's wife
  • Lee's camp releases ambulance CCTV images showing wife under his care
Society

Does serving spicy food to young children violate human rights?

Students of an elementary school in Seoul are served lunch in this Oct. 13, 2019 photo. YonhapCivic group files petition with rights watchdog By Bahk Eun-jiA controversy has arisen over whether serving spicy foods as part of children's school lunches at kindergartens attached to elementary schools is in violation of their human rights. Parents are showing mixed responses over the issue, after a civic group, Political Mamas, filed a complaint on Tuesday with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) against the Ministry of Education.In Korea, some public kindergartens are attached to public elementary schools to share space and facilities of the schools. In most cases, children at such kindergartens also share the school cafeteria and are served the same food as elementary school students.The civic group said kindergarteners, aged five to seven, and elementary students aged eight to 13 are served the same foods, regardless of being at different stages of physical development with quite a lot of foods containing spicy seasoning, including kimchi.“As a result, many chi

Nov 11, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Does serving spicy food to young children violate human rights?
Health

Parents in quandary over vaccinating children

A student receives a COVID-19 vaccine shot at a clinic in Seoul, Oct. 18, when health authorities started inoculations of children aged between 16 and 17 and reservations for those between 12 and 15. Korea Times fileBy Bahk Eun-jiParents are at a loss over whether to have their children get COVID-19 vaccines ahead of the resumption of full-scale in-person classes later this month.While the health authorities are encouraging them to do so, citing an increasing number of infections among children recently, many parents are still hesitant due to concerns of possible side effects. The stance taken by education authorities to leave inoculation up to individuals is also making it challenging for parents to make a decision.According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), 22.9 percent of confirmed patients from Nov. 1 to 7 were under the age of 20, up from 17.6 percent a month ago, from Oct. 1 to 7. Not only the proportion, but also the number of infections under the age of 20, increased during the period, from 2,566 to 3,504.Infection clusters among students are also tak

Nov 9, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Parents in quandary over vaccinating children
  • Moon vows to complete return to normal life
Health

Booster shots for Janssen vaccine

A woman receives a COVID-19 booster shot at a clinic in Seoul, Monday, when they began to be offered to people who had received Johnson & Johnson's Janssen single-dose vaccine. The government also plans to introduce coronavirus treatment pills in February, after signing a pre-purchase contract with Merck for doses for 200,000 people in September and another with Pfizer for 70,000 last month. Yonhap

Nov 8, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Booster shots for Janssen vaccine
Politics

Election camp of PPP runner-up disbanded

Hong Joon-pyo, a lawmaker of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), waves at supporters at his presidential primary election campaign office on Yeouido, Seoul, Monday, as it is disbanded following his defeat by former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl in the final primary last Friday. Yonhap

Nov 8, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Election camp of PPP runner-up disbanded
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