my timesThe Korea Times
ejb

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.

Go to Email

Read more

Society

Calls grow to delay school opening as virus fears persist

A playground of an elementary school in Incheon, west of Seoul, Thursday, remains empty after the Ministry of Education suspended classes at some of the city's schools following an infection cluster at a logistics center in the nearby city of Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiParents and teachers urged the government Thursday to postpone reopening of schools as more and more students are confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus inside and outside of schools.From the first day of the second phase of school reopenings, Wednesday, when kindergarteners, first and second graders of elementary school, middle school seniors and second-year high school students returned to their classrooms, 561 kindergartens and schools postponed reopening due to the high risk of community infection. According to data from the Ministry of Education, 838 schools among the total 20,902 nationwide that were supposed to resume their classes on the same day remained closed in cities including Seoul, Bucheon in Gyeonggi Province and Gumi in North Gyeongsang Province, as of 10 a.m., Thursday. In

May 28, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Calls grow to delay school opening as virus fears persist
Health

Emergency food packages for needy

Red Cross officials pack emergency food packages for people in need in Seongdong-gu, eastern Seoul, Thursday, to help them cope with the coronavirus crisis. Yonhap

May 28, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Emergency food packages for needy
Society

Parents doubtful of gov't guidelines on school reopening

Quarantine officials wearing protective gear sterilize a classroom at an elementary school in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, Tuesday, a day before preschools reopen following a monthslong closure due to COVID-19 outbreak. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe government's plan for a second phase resumption of the opening of schools today has raised fears among parents with young children amid the unabated coronavirus pandemic.They are not convinced about the message of schools being safe as the education authorities have not come up with detailed safety measures for classrooms related to the use of air conditioning and the wearing of masks. While the education ministry again instructed schools to keep one-third of windows open when air conditioners are turned on, during a regular press briefing, Monday, it said this will likely change after the Life Quarantine Committee has decided on the appropriate course of action. The guidelines for wearing masks during class will also be reviewed with details to will be updated today, the ministry added. Parents of younger students are expressing frustration

May 26, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Parents doubtful of gov't guidelines on school reopening
Health

Faster COVID-19 testing kit due next month

Medical staffers in protective gear conduct the COVID-19 virus test at a public health facility in Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiHealth authorities said Monday that a coronavirus testing kit that can produce results in about one hour. Pharmaceutical companies including Seasun Biometerials also announced that they plan to apply for emergency use authorization from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) early next month. The KCDC will accept applications for the COVID-19 test kit for emergency use from Jun 1 to 5 and review the plan to allow doctors to use them.Current test kits take nearly 6 hours to produce results. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already granted separate emergency use authorization for the test kit developed by Seasun at the end of April. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing kits will be used for patients requiring emergency operations or in cases of emergency childbirth, the KCDC said. While health authorities remain on alert over further community spread tied to entertainment facilities ahead of the expanded opening of

May 25, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Faster COVID-19 testing kit due next month
  • S. Korea reports 16 new cases of coronavirus infection
  • Kindergarten student, 5, contracts coronavirus in Seoul
Health

Top court rules against prescription without seeing patients

By Bahk Eun-jiThe Supreme Court has overturned an appeals court ruling in favor of a doctor who gave a prescription to a patient, who he had never met in person but had consulted with over the phone, Monday, which now sees the case returning to the appeals court for a rehearing and possible presentation of new evidence. The Supreme Court building in Seocho, southern Seoul. / Korea Times fileThe Supreme Court has overturned an appeals court ruling in favor of a doctor, Monday, who gave a prescription to a patient he had never met in person but had consulted with over the phone.The ruling was made as “distance medicine” is gaining traction amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients and medical professionals alike have been turning to phone consultations to reduce chances of contact with potential carriers of coronavirus at local clinics. Although the current law stipulates that prescriptions should not be given to patients unless they are directly monitored or examined by doctors, the government has temporarily allowed doctors to give consultations and prescriptions over the phon

May 25, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Top court rules against prescription without seeing patients
Politics

House of Sharing allegedly fabricated document

By Bahk Eun-jiThe House of Sharing, a nongovernmental organization advocating for Korean victims of wartime sex slavery by the Japanese military, is facing allegations that it fabricated a late victim's deed of covenant, according to a media report Saturday. A shelter run by the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan in Mapo-gu, Seoul. /YonhapThe news came as another group, Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, is making headlines with allegations that it misused funds ― a scandal that could damage the new career of the group's former head Yoon Mee-hyung who became a member of the National Assembly as a proportional representative candidate for the party Civil Together. The Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, revealed an allegation that the deed of covenant filed by the late Bae Chun-hee was fabricated by the organization's secretary general. “We've confirmed from her medical report that on the day she signed the document, she was hospitalized. It's que

May 24, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
House of Sharing allegedly fabricated document
Society

More students go back to school this week

A student undergoes a temperature check before entering a classroom at Munsu High School in Ulsan, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Thursday. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiConcerns are growing ahead of the resumption of physical classes for younger students, scheduled this Wednesday, amid lingering woes over possible transmission of COVID-19 at schools in Korea.According to the Ministry of Education and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE), high school second graders, middle school seniors, elementary school first and second graders and kindergarteners are to return to classrooms Wednesday. Last week, high school seniors returned to classrooms as they face a hectic academic schedule ahead of the nation's college entrance exam, which has been pushed back to Dec. 3. Parents and educators showed their concerns when a high school student tested positive for the virus in Daegu, a southeastern city, just one day after the school's reopening. In Incheon, west of Seoul, all senior students at 66 high schools were sent home on the first day of school after two students were confirmed to

May 24, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
More students go back to school this week
  • S. Korea reports 25 new cases of coronavirus infection
Health

Coronavirus guidance for parents ahead of school opening

Students have their temperatures checked at an elementary school in Muan, South Jeolla Province, May 20. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiMany indications suggest that children are less likely to become ill if infected with COVID-19, but more data is needed to fully understand how the virus affects children's health.Epidemiologists said precautions still need to be taken for young children considering the number of confirmed cases in those under the age of 19 detected here. Since Korea reported its first case of the novel coronavirus Jan. 20, the number of cumulative cases of COVID-19 in persons under the age of 9 were 147 as of May 20, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Some 627 between the ages of 10 and 19 were also confirmed during the same period. While policymakers and health authorities have been agonizing over the reopening schools, high school seniors became the first group to physically attend classes May 20 amid signs of control of the virus spread here. Under the government's plan, the remaining students including kindergarteners will resume atte

May 24, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Coronavirus guidance for parents ahead of school opening
Society

Teachers stretched too thin with teaching, quarantine

High school seniors take a mock College Scholastic Ability Test at Honam Jeil High School in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, Thursday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiTeachers are struggling with unexpected responsibilities as they are being pushed to perform the role of quarantine official in schools, according to a teachers' union, Thursday.With high school seniors returning to school and juniors scheduled to follow in the coming days, teachers are complaining about an increased workload as they have to check the temperature of their students and ensure they practice social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their classrooms.The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) issued a statement claiming the government should make it clear to teachers that taking protective measures for students should not be left to them alone. “Schools cannot be the frontline of quarantine measures, and teachers can never be quarantine officers taking all the responsibility,” KTU spokesman Jung Hyun-jin said. Jung said the union agreed to the principle that teachers should do their b

May 21, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Teachers stretched too thin with teaching, quarantine
  • Virus-weary high school seniors return to school
  • S. Korea reports 12 new cases of coronavirus infection
Society

Civic group reports Orion chief to prosecution for workplace bullying

Members of a civic group rally in front of Orion Group's building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Tuesday, to condemn the company's ignorance of workplace bullying. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiA civic group filed a complaint with the prosecution against Orion Group Chairman Tam Chul-gon, Thursday, accusing him of violating the Labor Standards Act, in relation to a company employee in her 20s who committed suicide recently. The Public Welfare Committee (PWC), a civic group that mainly handles reports of workplace bullying, said it has filed a complaint with the Seoul Nambu District Prosecutors' Office against the chairman of the confectionary company on a charge of breaching the labor act by condoning the bullying and harassment which allegedly took place at work. “As president of such a big company, Tam has to make an official apology for the bereaved family who lost their daughter and pledge to take measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents,” said Kim Soon-hwan, secretary general of the PWC.Kim said the committee's accusation has nothing to do with the bereaved family, but the

May 21, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Civic group reports Orion chief to prosecution for workplace bullying
previous page
979899100101
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.