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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

3 separate COVID-19 tests required for international students coming to Korea

Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae speaks during a meeting with other ministers at Government Complex Sejong, Wednesday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiForeign students coming to Korea for the new semester will be required to undergo three COVID-19 tests before and after entry, the Ministry of Education said, Wednesday. Only one test was required previously. According to the new regulations, all foreign students need to undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test within 72 hours prior to their departure from their homelands, and submit a negative test result during the screening procedure at the airport in Korea. Those without a negative PCR test result will not be able to enter the country. They must then undergo a second coronavirus test within one day after their arrival in Korea.The final test will be conducted before the students are released from 14 days of self-quarantine.“Based on last year's experience protecting and managing international students from the highly contagious virus, we will secure the safety of students and local communities where the university campuses are l

Jan 28, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
3 separate COVID-19 tests required for international students coming to Korea
Law & Crime

Gyeonggi cancels hiring of would-be civil servant over harassment allegations

A screen capture of posts on the online community Ilbe Storage, in which a man shows he has passed the Gyeonggi Province civil service exam. Korea Times fileBy Bahk Eun-jiGyeonggi Provincial Government said Wednesday that it has decided not to hire a person who passed the civil service exam for the local administration after discovering his online posts suggesting sex crimes and abusive language directed at women and the disabled.The provincial government conducted an investigation after an online petition was filed on the Cheong Wa Dae website, Dec. 30, calling for the man's qualification to work as a public servant for Gyeonggi Province to be cancelled.The petitioner said the man posted photos showing he had passed the province's civil service exam on Ilbe Storage, an online community infamous for misogynic and abusive posts by its users, and found he had previously posted photos of women and the disabled, taken secretly, mocking them with abusive words.“He also wrote he bought sex from underage girls, and posted photos of him having sex on at least five occasions with differ

Jan 27, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Gyeonggi cancels hiring of would-be civil servant over harassment allegations
Law & Crime

Chinese man gets jail term for helping foreign nationals enter Korea illegally

Korea Coast Guard officials inspect an unregistered six-seater boat at a pier in the western coastal city of Taean, South Chungcheong Province, in this May 25, 2020 photo. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiAn appellate court has upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced a 42-year-old man, an undocumented immigrant from China, to two years and six months in jail as well as 3 million won ($2,710) in fines for helping other foreign nationals enter Korea illegally.The high court division of the Daejeon District Court also ordered him to forfeit 12.1 million won for violating acts on immigration and quarantine. According to the court, the man entered Korea on Sept. 4, 2007 but was deported on Nov. 23, 2013 after overstaying his visa. But he secretly entered Korea again, taking a rubber dinghy with two others on Sept. 24, 2019 through the West Sea from Weihai, Shandong Province, to a beach in Taean, South Chungcheong Province.While illegally working on farms, construction sites and factories, he had also been engaged in activities smuggling Chinese people into Korea since last year. Together with an ac

Jan 27, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Chinese man gets jail term for helping foreign nationals enter Korea illegally
Society

Seoul Solution promotes successful urban development policies

Seoul City's COVID-19 response information on the Seoul Solution website / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentBy Bahk Eun-jiAs the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, many events are being held virtually rather than offline.To keep up with the changing trends, Seoul Solution, a platform to share the city government's urban development policies and experiences, has undergone renovation to improve some of its function, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.Seoul Solution was established to share the city's experience and know-how on urban development, offer information on various cities across the world, and encourage cooperation between the public and private sectors on urban development.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, a new function that lets users experience virtual meetings through the website has been added. In addition, the design of the main page has also been improved by utilizing icons and the search function was enhanced by adding shortcuts.Users can see Seoul's relevant policies in major areas including transportation, water supply, urban ra

Jan 27, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Seoul Solution promotes successful urban development policies
Society

Diplomats' group in hot seat over unfair treatment of school at its building

The building of the Korea Council on Foreign Relations in Seocho District, Seoul. Korea Times fileBy Bahk Eun-jiThe Korea Council on Foreign Relations, an organization of former and incumbent diplomats, is facing criticism for abusing its power against an alternative school that leased the third and fourth floors of the council's building in southern Seoul.A student attending the Soopna School there, filed a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website Friday, calling for help to stop the council's unfair treatment of the school including banning students and staff from using facilities in the building such as elevators.The school with about 80 students and 20 teachers with a dormitory, moved into the building in 2019, and has been in conflict with the council since its current head was inaugurated in early 2020. According to the petition and media reports, the council has banned students and teachers from using the front door, the lobby, elevators and the schoolyard since March last year. In order to get to their classrooms, students have to use a side door in the building's lower ground f

Jan 26, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Diplomats' group in hot seat over unfair treatment of school at its building
Society

Seoul City reviewing effectiveness of suicide prevention warnings on bridge handrails

A message on Mapo Bridge reads, “You are a good person,” in this 2018 photo. Seoul City put phrases on the handrails of the bridge in an effort to discourage potential suicide attempts but removed them in 2019. Korea Times fileBy Bahk Eun-jiThe Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) will review whether to keep messages on the handrails of the Hangang Bridge aimed at discouraging people from attempting to kill themselves, amid questions over the effectiveness of the messages in suicide prevention.According to the city government, Sunday, metropolitan authorities initially planned to remove all of the messages on the bridge when it removed one written by former Mayor Park Won-soon, who killed himself last July amid sexual harassment allegations raised against him. But the Seoul Metropolitan Council requested a review of the effectiveness of the entire campaign.The suicide prevention message campaign on bridges over the Han River began in 2012 after many people began taking their own lives by jumping from them.As a part of the campaign, the SMG collected messages of hope and ot

Jan 24, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Seoul City reviewing effectiveness of suicide prevention warnings on bridge handrails
Society

Ice fishing

Pandemic-weary people seek relief through ice fishing on a frozen river in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, Sunday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country reported 392 new infections for Saturday, including 369 local ones, as concerns over a new variant from the United Kingdom continue to alarm the health authorities here. Yonhap

Jan 24, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Ice fishing
Law & Crime

Online petitions call for tougher regulations on reckless city bus drivers

A petition filed on the Cheong Wa Dae website urges tougher regulations on reckless bus driving. / Captured from Cheong Wa Dae websiteBy Bahk Eun-jiCalls are growing for tougher regulations on reckless city bus drivers and better education on driving safely, following several accidents that have left passengers dead or severely injured, including being paralyzed.The reaction follows several incidents in which passengers died or were paralyzed due to either reckless driving or a failure to observe safety rules by city bus drivers. A petition was filed on the Cheong Wa Dae website, Thursday, calling for a revision to related laws on bus driving safety, and as of Sunday has attracted more than 11,000 signatures.The petitioner, who identified himself as being in his 20s, said a city bus accelerated as soon as he boarded, throwing off balance and leaving him severely bruised as he was unable to grab an overhead strap.“Most bus drivers seem to drive without considering the safety of their passengers. They accelerate suddenly, stop abruptly and press the close button to shut doors eve

Jan 24, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Online petitions call for tougher regulations on reckless city bus drivers
Society

KDCA head's study supports resuming offline classes at school

A teacher gives a class online from an empty classroom at Yongsan Elementary School, Seoul, in this April 16, 2020 photo. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoonBy Bahk Eun-jiA study by the head of the nation's disease control authority has shown that school closures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 here were ineffective and had a negative impact in other areas.Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong published a paper in the Journal of Pediatric Infection and Vaccine, Dec. 27, following research which she jointly conducted with a team from the Department of Social Medicine at Hallym University Medical School.In the paper, the team surveyed 127 children aged three to 18 who were infected between May 1 and July 12 last year when in-person classes resumed at schools. Of them, only three, or 2.4 percent, contracted the virus from classmates or teachers.Another 59 children (46.5 percent) were infected via family members or relatives; 18, (14.2 percent) were infected at private cram schools or from private tutors; and eight (6.3 percent) contracted the v

Jan 21, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
KDCA head's study supports resuming offline classes at school
Law & Crime

Man gets life sentence for killing girlfriend and her sister

A petition filed on the Cheong Wa Dae website urging harsh punishment for a man who killed his girlfriend and her sister has garnered more than 250,000 signatures. / Screen captured from Cheong Wa Dae official websiteBy Bahk Eun-jiA 33-year-old man was given a life sentence, Wednesday, for murdering his girlfriend and her sister in their apartments.The Daejeon District Court said it was only proper for the man, surnamed Kim, who it had found guilty of robbery and murder, to be isolated from society forever.According to court records, Kim strangled his girlfriend in her apartment in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, at around 10:30 p.m., June 25 last year. He then broke into the apartment of her older sister in the same building and killed her too after she returned from work the next morning.Kim then stole the sister's car and drove to Ulsan, where he abandoned the vehicle and fled after being involved in a traffic accident. He also withdrew money using the victims' credit cards and tried to conceal the crime by sending a message to his girlfriend's family and acquaintances throug

Jan 21, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Man gets life sentence for killing girlfriend and her sister
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