Health
Virus resurgence
People stand in line to get COVID-19 tests at a makeshift testing center in front of Seoul Station, Wednesday, the day after Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose to 731, the largest number in 97 days. Yonhap
Apr 14, 2021
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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Health
Korea's vaccination plan faces major setbacks
Medical staffers examine citizens before COVID-19 inoculation at a vaccination center on Jeju Island, Wednesday. YonhapCountry reports 731 new COVID-19 cases, highest since Jan. 7By Bahk Eun-jiThe latest blow to Korea's COVID-19 vaccination program appears to be the potential danger of blood clots being caused by Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine.The program has already been revised multiple times whenever issues emerged regarding supply or safety concerns. The situation is posing a great threat to the country's plan for reaching herd immunity by November.On late Tuesday, the U.S. health authorities recommended temporary suspension of the use of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, citing the rare but severe instances of blood clotting.The government has made contract with Johnson & Johnson to introduce 6 million doses with a goal to begin to bring the vaccine in the second quarter, with no specific schedule being set yet.Unlike other vaccines that need two shots, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which had been expected to be a “game changer,” nee
Apr 14, 2021
Society
District offices seek cooperation with universities
A resident of Dongdaemun District in Seoul participates in a lifelong education program offered by the district office in cooperation with Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Courtesy of the Dongdaemun District Office Schools provide lifelong learning programs for residents, job support for young peopleBy Bahk Eun-jiMany people pursue knowledge throughout their lives, and lifelong learning has become more important in an aging society where people seek new jobs or hobbies for their post-retirement lives.To satisfy such needs, district offices in Seoul are cooperating with universities located in their districts to provide learning programs. The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has also become a chance to expand online course offerings.Dongdaemun District Office is providing humanities courses about India through a specialized program linked with the Institute of Indian Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS).The program deals with Indian philosophy and c
Apr 14, 2021
Health
New Seoul mayor's proposed COVID-19 'self-testing kit' stirs controversy
New Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks at a regular press briefing at Seoul City Hall, Monday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiNewly-elected Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has been pushing the implementation of COVID-19 self-testing kits, in an effort to roll out tailored antivirus measures. However, health experts are voicing their concern mainly due to problems with accuracy when the test is conducted by non-medical professionals. In an online briefing, Monday, Oh said that the fundamental solution to easing the economic difficulties suffered by small business owners who have been ordered to limit their operating hours or shut down temporarily, is to let them operate longer hours and return to business as usualTo do so, Oh urged the central government to actively consider introducing over-the-counter self-testing kits, which have been developed overseas and adopted in some countries.“If business owners are allowed to provide the kits to customers (to check if they are infected), the government can ease regulations by extending the operating hours of entertainment establishments ― which are currently
Apr 13, 2021
Society
Teachers' portrait rights, copyright infringed on under online education
A teacher gives a remote class at an elementary school in Seoul, in this Jan. 28 photo. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiOver a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers' portrait and intellectual property rights are reported to have been infringed upon since the commencement of online classes. The unexpected fallout from the coronavirus was raised during a virtual joint forum, Saturday, by the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) and the Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS).The forum took place following a series of incidents, in which students captured images of teachers, while taking online classes, and misused them by placing them on deep-fake photos and videos that became widespread on the internet. The organizers said the forum was arranged to show the magnitude of the portrait and personal information infringement that have occurred against teachers and to explore countermeasures. “It is difficult for teachers to clearly figure out whether their portrait rights or their copyright of educational content have been infringed upon. Besides, it is also d
Apr 12, 2021
Society
New Seoul mayor seeks overhaul in quarantine, real estate policies
Newly elected Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, left, speaks with a quarantine official at a makeshift coronavirus testing clinic at Seoul Station, Saturday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiNew Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who took office right after Wednesday's by-elections, is seeking to change the central government's quarantine and real estate policies, which many of the public are unhappy with. After visiting a temporary screening center for COVID-19 at Seoul Station, Saturday, Oh said he would review the increased rate of government-assessed home valuations to prevent housing prices from soaring further.“The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has no authority to adjust the state assessment price, but I believe that it is possible to prevent the price from rising sharply anymore via cooperation with the central government,” he noted.The government usually taxes land and homes based on its annual assessment value instead of the actual market value.“As preparatory work ahead of consulting with the central government, I need to find grounds to freeze the government-set home prices,”
Apr 11, 2021
Politics
Oh vows to bring policy, organizational changes to Seoul City
Oh Se-hoon, winner of the Seoul mayoral by-election earlier this week, bows to citizens before he enters Seoul City Hall, Thursday, to begin his third term as mayor. YonhapNew mayor takes office after by-election victoryBy Bahk Eun-jiNew Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has been busy from the first day of his term, Thursday, the day after he won the mayoral by-election the previous day.The former two-term mayor between 2006 and 2011 returned to City Hall after 10 years, and spent the day meeting city officials, learning about pending issues and visiting the Seoul Metropolitan Council and a vaccination center.Oh began his first official schedule by visiting the Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak District at 8 a.m. to pay tribute to deceased patriots. He then went to work at Seoul City Hall around 9 a.m. and was welcomed by city government employees.“From today, Seoul City will move forward again,” Oh told the officials. “Although I have only about one year after winning the by-election, I'll do my best to complement what Seoul lacked, and the changes will be possible through y
Apr 8, 2021
Politics
Younger generations turn their backs on ruling party
Ballot boxes are placed at a counting station in Seoul, Wednesday, for vote counting in Seoul's mayoral by-election. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Bahk Eun-jiPeople in their 20s and 30s, who are usually thought of as favoring liberal parties, turned away from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) in Wednesday's Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, with a majority of them selecting candidates from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). In Seoul, the conservative PPP candidate Oh Se-hoon beat his DPK rival Park Young-sun in all 25 districts, contrary to the 2018 local elections where then DPK candidate Park Won-soon gained more support than his rival in 22 of them for his reelection.Oh obtained 57.5 percent of votes to Park Young-sun's 39.18 percent in the final results released by the National Election Commission, Thursday.According to an exit poll released by the three broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, Wednesday, Oh led Park in all age groups except for those in their 40s.Specifically over half of people in their 20s and 30s supported the conservative party: 55.3 perc
Apr 8, 2021
Politics
New Seoul mayor may seek to reverse predecessor's policies
Oh Se-hoon, third from right, the Seoul mayoral candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, bumps fists with a party member at party headquarters on Seoul's Yeouido, Wednesday, before an exit poll was announced. Oh gained 59 percent in the preliminary exit poll jointly released by three broadcasters. Yonhap By Bahk Eun-jiOh Se-hoon of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP), who again became Seoul mayor following Wednesday's by-election, is expected to revive some of the signature policies he pursued previously while serving as mayor of the capital between 2006 and 2011. But political watchers say it remains to be seen whether he can really carry them out as his term will last about 15 months until the next local elections are held in June 2022. Oh gained 57.5 percent of vote at the end of the final vote tally compared to ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate Park Young-sun's 39 percent.Oh is likely to revive his signature “Han
Apr 7, 2021
Politics
Park Heong-joon, a 'moderate conservative' politician
Park Heong-joon, the Busan mayoral candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, celebrates at his campaign office in Busan, Wednesday, after an exit poll showed his likely victory. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiPark Heong-joon of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP), who has become mayor of Busan, was one of the so-called “Lee Myung-bak kids” as he took various key posts under the former president. He was born in Busan's Dong District in 1960, but he spent most of his childhood in Seoul where his family moved when he was seven years old.He studied sociology at Korea University. During his college days, Park sustained injuries to his eyes while participating in pro-democracy demonstrations. Park briefly worked as a reporter for JoongAng Ilbo, a vernacular daily, after graduating from university, but returned to his alma mater to undertake his master's degree and doctorate in sociology. He was appointed professor of sociology at Dong-A University in Busan in 1991. Since then, his main residence ― and base for political activities ― has been in Busan.Park
Apr 7, 2021