The Korea Times

Rising cases of COVID-19 variants unnerving health authorities

A government official surveying a coronavirus vaccine center in Sadang, Seoul, ahead of planned vaccine inoculations on April 1, Thursday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiHealth authorities remain vigilant against a possible uptick in cases of COVID-19 variants, as the nation's total virus caseload has topped 100,000, just three months since it exceeded 50,000. Although the increase in the number of new cases reported daily is mainly in the greater Seoul area, the tally is expected to rise further due to sporadic cluster infections across the country.The country added 494 more COVID-19 cases, including 471 local infections, for Thursday, raising the cumulative number of cases to 100,276, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Seven more deaths from COVID-19 were reported, increasing the total to 1,716. The fatality rate was 1.70 percent, the KDCA said.Concerns over a spike in new infections are looming, but in particular, a new “double mutant” variant found in India put health authorities here on alert over quarantine measures, following the launch of th

Mar 26, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

Rising cases of COVID-19 variants unnerving health authorities

Society

Women's groups call new anti-stalking law 'ineffective'

Lawmakers vote on the passage of a bill to strengthen punishment for stalkers during a plenary meeting held at the National Assembly in southern Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiAfter over two decades of efforts, a law against stalking has finally been enacted, but women's rights activists are calling the law ineffective due to its failure to understand the nature of the crime. The National Assembly plenary session passed a bill enacting the Stalking Crime Penalty Act, Wednesday, which stipulates perpetrators who willfully and repeatedly approach or follow a person, against that person's will, can be jailed for up to five years. The law defined stalking as the act of approaching or watching another party or family without reason, or the act of causing anxiety by allowing people to send objects, texts or videos through the mail, by telephone or online.Over the last 22 years, bills on punishment for the crime of stalking have been proposed a number of times, but they have never passed the Assembly. Under the current law, stalking is categorized as a misdemeanor and punished only w

Mar 25, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

Women's groups call new anti-stalking law 'ineffective'

Health

Many foreign residents still face mandatory COVID-19 tests

Foreign workers at Hanam Industrial Complex in in the southwestern city of Gwangju undergo COVID-19 tests at a temporary screening center in this March 15 photo. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiForeign residents in many regions across the country are still subject to mandatory COVID-19 testing despite the state human rights watchdog's recommendation that local governments rescind their orders due to their discriminatory nature. Earlier this month, some local governments, including Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, issued administrative orders mandating coronavirus testing among all foreign workers in their jurisdictions, amid spikes in infections in the areas and at workplaces with a large number of foreign nationals. However, it drew a huge backlash from the foreign community, and Seoul has revised its order down to an advisory.However, the recommendation by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) is not being accepted anywhere other than in Seoul.According to a foreign national, identified as Caleb, who teaches at a Gwangju-based university, his school still told him last week to take

Mar 24, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

Many foreign residents still face mandatory COVID-19 tests

Law & Crime

Ex-staffer at US Embassy in Seoul given jail term for selling fake brand bags

By Bahk Eun-jiA former employee of the United States' Embassy in Korea and his wife have received prison terms for selling counterfeit goods while they were working here. According to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on March 18, Gene Leroy Thompson, 54, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and three year's supervised release, while his wife, Guojiao Becky Zhang, 40, was sentenced to three years of supervised release, including eight months of home detention. The couple were also fined $229,302. Thompson, who was in charge of the information service at the U.S. Embassy in Korea, was found to have sold fake brand handbags through multiple e-commerce platforms from September 2017 to December 2019.The United States Embassy building in Seoul / YonhapAccording to the court documents, the couple conspired with another person in Nisa, Oregon, where Thompson once lived, and sold 5,000 fake purses with fabricated tags of the popular U.S. handbag brand, Vera Bradley.Thompson used his State Department computer at the embassy in Seoul to create a number of account

Mar 23, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

Health

'Orders for all foreign workers to take COVID-19 tests are discriminatory'

Foreigners and citizens wait to be tested for COVID-19 at a makeshift testing center in Guro District, Seoul, Sunday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe nation's human rights watchdog has concluded that some local governments' administrative orders for all foreign workers to undergo COVID-19 testing constitute discrimination against foreigners.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said, Monday, that it recommended the local governments and the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to establish and implement non-discriminatory quarantine policies.The recommendation comes after orders made by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Gyeonggi Provincial Government earlier this month received a strong backlash from foreign residents here.“The unprecedented COVID-19 situation has greatly changed perceptions of the value of equality in our society. We realized that anyone can be subject to hatred and discrimination, so it is best for our community that no one is excluded from the society's system to protect human rights,” the NHRCK said in a statement.

Mar 22, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

'Orders for all foreign workers to take COVID-19 tests are discriminatory'

Society

Local governments, merchants suffer as spring festivals canceled

Tourists enjoy tulips at a festival in Imja Island, South Jeolla Province, in this March 31, 2014, photo. The nationally famous festival has been canceled for the second consecutive year due to fears of COVID-19. Korea Times file.By Bahk Eun-jiDozens of flower festivals and other springtime cultural events have been called off across the country for the second consecutive year due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic which is showing no signs of abating.Local governments, residents and merchants of the affected regions are suffering as tourists' spending at these events had been their main source of finance.Starting from the end of February, Sinan County of South Jeolla Province removed about 1 million tulips from Imja Island after deciding to cancel the nationally famous Shinan Tulip Festival there. Imja Island is the venue of the annual spring flower festival, but the county office decided to call off the event to prevent an influx of tourists.“The local residents are very sorry for the cancellation of the festival, which was slated for mid-April,” said Kim Jung-won, chai

Mar 22, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

Local governments, merchants suffer as spring festivals canceled

Society

Gwangju shows solidarity with Myanmar

Local civic activists and Myanmar nationals in Korea hold a rally at the May 18 Democracy Square in Gwangju, in support of the ongoing pro-democracy movement in Myanmar against the military coup, March 13. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiTo the people of Gwangju, where a pro-democracy movement in 1980 was suppressed by a military junta and hundreds of citizens were killed or went missing, the current demonstrations in Myanmar against its coup and the military's violent crackdowns are not something they can ignore.Noting the similarities between the May 18 Gwangju uprising 41 years ago and the ongoing protest in Myanmar, citizens in Gwangju are showing solidarity and carrying out activities to support the Southeast Asian country's pro-democracy move.According to the May 18 Memorial Foundation, Sunday, more than 100 civic organizations in the southwestern city formed a solidarity group recently to show their support for the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar.The solidarity group has been carrying out activities near Gwangju Bus Terminal every Sunday to raise citizens' awareness of the pro-democracy

Mar 21, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

Health

EXCLUSIVE Seoul, Gyeonggi may change mandatory COVID test plans

Foreign workers line up to take coronavirus tests in Guro, Seoul, Tuesday, as the city government ordered all foreign workers there to undergo testing by March 31. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM Korea) has said that the Seoul City and Gyeonggi Province Government's administrative orders mandating all foreign workers to undergo COVID-19 testing will be revised following protests from foreign residents who called the orders “discrimination” against them. James Kim, chairman and CEO of AMCHAM Korea, told The Korea Times, Thursday, that he conveyed the foreign business community's concerns to the central government, which said the directives would be changed. The notice came two days after Seoul City, following consultation with the central government, issued the order for all foreign workers and their employers to have a COVID-19 test by March 31. The city's plan was similar to a measure adopted the previous week by Gyeonggi Province after sporadic infection clusters began emerging at companies employing foreigners in many parts of the

Mar 18, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

[EXCLUSIVE] Seoul, Gyeonggi may change mandatory COVID test plans

Health

Gov't considering introducing 'vaccination leave'

Medical workers demonstrate how to treat patients experiencing reactions after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination training session at a temporary vaccine center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, Wednesday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe government is considering allowing workers to take leave for a couple of days after getting COVID-19 vaccines following reports that many undergo more severe-than-expected immune responses, such as fever, after vaccination. The idea was first officially floated by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Tuesday.“We have received reports that a number of people experience fever and muscle pains after getting coronavirus vaccines, although these are normal immune reactions,” Chung said during a regular COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul. “If we want to carry out the vaccination program as scheduled, it is the most important that the people participate in it without anxiety.”In response, health authorities began discussions with related ministries on the introduction of vaccination leave.“Related governments including

Mar 18, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

Gov't considering introducing 'vaccination leave'

Health

Foreign residents call mandatory COVID-19 testing 'discrimination'

Foreign workers line up to take coronavirus tests in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, as local authorities ordered all foreign workers there to undergo testing by March 22. Yonhap By Bahk Eun-jiLocal governments' administrative orders for all foreign workers in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to undergo COVID-19 testing have elicited protests among foreign residents, who criticize the program as discriminatory and unnecessary. On Tuesday, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said it would issue an order for all foreign workers and their employers to undergo coronavirus testing by March 31, following a similar measure taken by the surrounding Gyeonggi Province last week.Many foreign residents said the labeling of all of them as a “high-risk group” for contracting and spreading the virus was racist and discriminatory, and also complained about unclear guidelines of who needs testing as well as the insufficient preparation for carrying out tests on everyone. There are 242,6

Mar 17, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

Bahk Eun-ji

Read more

Rising cases of COVID-19 variants unnerving health authorities

Women's groups call new anti-stalking law 'ineffective'

Many foreign residents still face mandatory COVID-19 tests

Ex-staffer at US Embassy in Seoul given jail term for selling fake brand bags

'Orders for all foreign workers to take COVID-19 tests are discriminatory'

Local governments, merchants suffer as spring festivals canceled

Gwangju shows solidarity with Myanmar

EXCLUSIVE Seoul, Gyeonggi may change mandatory COVID test plans

Gov't considering introducing 'vaccination leave'

Foreign residents call mandatory COVID-19 testing 'discrimination'

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