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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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Law & Crime

Korea prepares for undercover investigation into online sex crimes

Cho Ju-bin is taken into a car at a police station in Seoul, March 25, before being sent to prosecutors on allegations that he blackmailed dozens of victims into performing humiliating sex acts and sold the content in a mobile group chat on the messaging service Telegram. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiKorea is gearing up to introduce undercover investigations into sex crimes taking place online in a bid to eradicate such felonies and protect minors from sexual assault, police said Sunday.According to the National Police Agency (NPA), a delegation of the National Assembly's Committee for Gender Equality and Family will discuss relevant bills, Wednesday. The developments came as the nation has been shocked recently by a string of sexual exploitation cases centered on group chats in the Telegram messenger service. Undercover investigation techniques, currently used for drug investigations, will be introduced to online sex crimes, with investigators posing as minors, for instance, the NPA said. Cho Ju-bin, a 24-year-old operator of pay-to-view chat rooms on Telegram messenger, has been arrested fo

Sep 13, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Korea prepares for undercover investigation into online sex crimes
Health

Where are we with COVID-19 vaccine development?

A staff member places a coronavirus vaccine candidate from Sinovac Biotech at its booth for display during the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services, following the COVID-19 outbreak, in Beijing, China Sept.5. Reuters-YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe global competition to develop a COVID-19 vaccine has been intensifying as it is considered to be the only fundamental solution to ending the pandemic. As some research institutes and multinational pharmaceutical and bio companies have recently entered Phase 3 clinical trials, expectations for the possibility of an early supply are also growing.According to the Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker of the New York Times, Modena, Pfizer in the United States; AstraZeneca and Oxford University in the United Kingdom; BioNTech in Germany; CanSino Biologics, Sinovac Biotech, Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, and Sinopharm Group in China; Gamaleya Research Institute in Russia; and Murdoch Children's Research Center in Australia are in the third phase of clinical trials.Among them, AstraZeneca said Sept. 9 that it had paused global trials, includ

Sep 13, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Where are we with COVID-19 vaccine development?
  • Korea to ease social distancing in greater Seoul area for 2 weeks
Law & Crime

Concerns grow over release of notorious child rapist in Dec.

Justice Minister Lee Kwi-nam speaks to pedophile rapist Cho Doo-soon at Cheongsong Prison, in this March 16, 2010 file photo. Cho was sentenced to 12 years in prison for raping a girl, 8, in December 2008 in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. Korea Times fileBy Bahk Eun-jiConcerns are growing over the upcoming release of convicted child rapist Cho Doo-soon in December, whose violent rape of an eight-year-old girl in 2008 shocked the nation.With 18 previous criminal convictions, Cho, 68, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2008 for kidnapping and violently raping the child in a public washroom in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. Cho left the victim unconscious, with her head under running water. The eight-year-old girl survived but the attack was so brutal that she suffered permanent internal damage.In a psychological counseling interview at Ansan Probation Center conducted in July, Cho said “I am fully aware of what I did and how my actions are viewed in this society. I'll put up with all the condemnation.” He is also reported to have apologized to the victim, according to the Ministr

Sep 11, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Concerns grow over release of notorious child rapist in Dec.
Society

Ethiopian minister earns KAIST doctorate

Mekuria Teklemariam, an advisor to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia /Courtesy of KAIST By Bahk Eun-jiMekuria Teklemariam, an advisor to the prime minister of Ethiopia, has earned a doctorate in business administration from the graduate school of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), according to the university, Tuesday.The 50-year-old urban and housing affairs advisor ― with the rank of minister ― was elected to the country's parliament a decade ago at the age of 40, the youngest in Ethiopian history. After completing his term, he decided to study abroad to devote himself to develop his country's economy. “The successful role model for me was Korea at that time, so I chose to come here,” Teklemariam said. “Korea has made remarkable economic and social progress over the last decades, so I wanted to study the driving force of growth academically for my country's development.”The Ethiopian government formed a nine-member committee to discuss the

Sep 10, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Ethiopian minister earns KAIST doctorate
Health

Gov't to curb spread of 'corona blues' amid prolonged pandemic

A baby cries while receiving a flu vaccination shot at a children's hospital in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, Tuesday. YonhapGov't to decide this weekend whether to extend level 2.5 distancing rulesBy Bahk Eun-jiThe government is urging people having trouble dealing with “coronavirus blues” amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic to use suicide and crisis hotlines, health officials said Tuesday.According to data collected by the Central Disease Control Headquarters, the daily number of calls for counseling through the hotlines temporarily run by the Ministry of Health and Welfare was 4,424, Sept. 4, nearly double the 2,457 received Aug. 14. The government provides in-depth counseling up to three times through private experts for high-risk groups with severe symptoms such as depression and anxiety.Experts include mental health specialists recommended by the Korean Neuropsychiatry Association, the Korean Psychological Association, and the Korean Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and those who have Level 1 qualifications for mental health specialists.The Korea Centers for

Sep 8, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Gov't to curb spread of 'corona blues' amid prolonged pandemic
Health

Trainee doctors return to work

Doctors greet each other at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, Tuesday, as hundreds of trainee doctors resumed work, ending their 18-day strike over a government medical reform plan. Medical trainees nationwide went on strike Aug. 7, calling for the government to scrap its plan to expand the medical student quota, establish a new public medical school and to give medical insurance coverage to Oriental medicine treatment. Yonhap

Sep 8, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Trainee doctors return to work
Health

Trainee doctors return to work Tuesday

A man walks past the building of the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap By Bahk Eun-jiTrainee doctors decided to return to work today, ending their two-week-long strike, the Korean Interns and Residents Association (KIRA) said Monday.The decision to strike came as the KIRA and a taskforce representing medical students opposed an agreement made between the Korean Medical Association (KMA) and the government over controversial medical reform plans.The KIRA, representing interns and residents at general hospitals, said its members will return to hospitals starting 7 a.m. Tuesday.The members of the junior doctors' group, however, said they will launch an escalated collective action if the government does not come up with further measures within two weeks to support the medical students who decided not to apply for the state medical licensing exam which will also be held today.The conflict between medical students

Sep 7, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Trainee doctors return to work Tuesday
Health

Controversial pastor blamed for virus resurgence imprisoned again

Jun Kwang-hoon, center, a pastor of Sarang Jeil Church, is escorted by the police as the Seoul Central District Court canceled his bail, Monday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiPopulist conservative pastor Jun Kwang-hoon, who is at the center of recent resurgence of COVID-19 infections, was jailed again Monday after the Seoul Central District Court revoked his bail.The court accepted the revocation request from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and also confiscated a 30 million won ($25,284) bail bond.The pastor of the Sarang Jeil Church in northern Seoul, a hotbed of the recent new resurgence of the coronavirus, was accused by prosecutors last month of violating his bail conditions by participating in a mass anti-government demonstration in Seoul, Aug. 15.The decision comes 140 days after Jun was released on bail during an investigation into charges he violated the Election Law ahead of the April 15 general election. He was also charged with libel against President Moon Jae-in. Jun's conditions for bail included a ban on attending all illegal rallies or protests, or those related

Sep 7, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Controversial pastor blamed for virus resurgence imprisoned again
Health

Concerns grow over conservative groups' massive rallies on Foundation Day

A main road in Gwanghwamun, downtown Seoul is almost empty of people and cars as the country maintains tightened social distancing rules to stem the spread of COVID-19, Saturday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe health authorities warned Sunday of the potential for more mass COVID-19 outbreaks due to massive rallies planned by conservative civic groups in downtown Seoul marking National Foundation Day, Oct. 3.South Korea has been struggling to cope with a resurgence of the coronavirus sparked by a large Liberation Day demonstration, Aug. 15. Many people who took part in the demonstration were infected at the event and are blamed for undoing the government's earlier efforts to contain the virus.According to Jongno Police Station, several conservative groups including the Freedom Union, and one calling for the pardon of former President Park Geun-hye, have applied for permission to hold rallies with the participation of at least an aggregated 30,000 people.The Freedom Union said that about 2,000 people would each gather in front of the Kyobo and KT buildings in Gwanghwamun' while the group advo

Sep 6, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Concerns grow over conservative groups' massive rallies on Foundation Day
Health

Trainee doctors suspend strike, but not return to work

The doors of the Korean Medical Association office in Seoul are closed, Sunday. Yonhap By Bahk Eun-jiTrainee doctors decided to suspend their two-week-long strike Monday, but refused to return to work immediately, according to the Korean Interns and Residents Association (KIRA), Sunday.They plan to hold an online meeting of all KIRA members at 1 p.m. today to decide on any future course of action.“Many people think that our collective action is over, but we are at the beginning of our fight. We will not return to work Monday,” KIRA President Park Ji-hyun said in an internal notice. “Instead, we will hold a meeting and decide when and how to return to work after a thorough discussion.” Initially, trainee doctors were expected to return to hospitals at 7 a.m. Monday, but it appears that they decided not to do so and instead organize briefing sessions as a growing number of KIRA members oppose ending the strike.She also explained the reason behind her decision to tempo

Sep 6, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Trainee doctors suspend strike, but not return to work
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