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Oh Young-jin

Korea Times Korea Time Reporter

Oh Young-jin is The Korea Times' publisher and president. He began to work at The Korea Times in 1988 as a sports writer. Then, he worked as a reporter and later as editor at the City Desk, Business Desk and Politics Desk. He worked as chief editorial writer before taking the current position. He has a keen interest in politics as well as defense affairs.

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Health

Coronavirus: China's secrecy and WHO's mission

World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Program Director Michael Ryan, left, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, second from left, and WHO Technical Lead Maria Van Kerkhove attend a daily press briefing. AP-Yonhap By Dr. Hakim DjaballahConspiracy theories and misinformation on this newly discovered coronavirus keep emerging and many stories have already been debunked. These are a few examples.Right-wing groups believe China intentionally made the virus to unleash it on the rest of the world, seeking economic dominance and supremacy; except it prematurely released it on its own soil and failed to contain it.Avid science-fiction followers believe the SARS-CoV2 virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which happens to be several kilometers from the now infamous Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, China. The virus must have felt that the wet market was a better place to hang out than a highly secure research laboratory, with all the comfor

Mar 5, 2020By Oh Young-jin
Coronavirus: China's secrecy and WHO's mission
Health

'Keep masks on, Koreans (and foreign residents)!'

Brand-new noncommissioned officers with masks on salute during a graduation ceremony on the grounds of the Navy Education Command in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, last week. Yonhap By Oh Young-jin As confirmed coronavirus cases rise by the hundreds daily, Koreans are faced with a Shakespearean kind of question that carries a sense of deadly seriousness: To wear a mask, or not to wear a mask? And there's the rub. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other American medical experts put out the public message that effectively says something like: “Don't wear a mask because it won't protect you, rather, it will sicken you; the mask is for medical staff and only if you are sick, then you should wear it for the sake of other people's health.”So I decided to take this “wear-it-or-not” question to an expert ― virologist Dr. Hakim Djaballah, now in New York, who held a position at the Institute Pasteur Korea when the MERS (Middle East Respiratory

Mar 4, 2020By Oh Young-jin
'Keep masks on, Koreans (and foreign residents)!'
  • Korea to sharply restrict face mask exports, rev up weekend production
  • Coronavirus: China sends 500,000 masks to Korea in humanitarian aid
Politics

The Korea Times opens 2nd newsroom to prepare for coronavirus emergency

Korea Times staff at work in a second newsroom in Yongsan, about 15 minutes by car from the main newspaper's main office near Seoul Station, Tuesday. The parallel newsroom was set up in response to the coronavirus epidemic that could cause the main office to be closed. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By Oh Young-jin The Korea Times has set up a second newsroom, separate from its main office in Wise Tower near Seoul Station. This is to ensure that The Korea Times can remain in operation and still be published should one of the offices be forced to close due to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic. The novel coronavirus is having a devastating effect with confirmed cases being reported throughout the country, particularly in Daegu, the epicenter of the outbreak here, and the neighboring North Gyeongsang Province. Lotte Department Store, Pacific Hotel and LS buildings in Seoul, among others, have been shut down for disinfection operations. Some of our staff ― including desk

Mar 3, 2020By Oh Young-jin
The Korea Times opens 2nd newsroom to prepare for coronavirus emergency
Health

“Next couple of weeks is critical to Korea's coronavirus fight"

Crowds gather to buy discounted masks at a Seoul department store, Monday. YonhapBy Oh Young-jin Hakim DjaballahThis is the first part of the interview with Dr. Hakim Djaballah, New York-based virology expert.―ED.Dr. Hakim Djaballah, a New York-based virology expert, told The Korea Times Monday that he is seeing the beginning of the tail end of the coronavirus epidemic in Korea. Talking from New York over the phone, the former head of Institut Pasteur Korea forecast that the situation in Daegu, the epicenter of the epidemic in Korea, and its surrounding North Gyeongsang Province would stabilize and be under control in the next couple of weeks. “Daegu is done,” he said, meaning the number of new cases will be tapering off in that period and Korea will be “90 percent contained.” But this does not mean the country is home free, considering that the remaining 10 percent depends on “hygiene.” He predicted Italy might surpass Korea in terms of damage from the epidemic because of Italians' cultural tendency to have physical contact with each other without

Mar 3, 2020By Oh Young-jin
“Next couple of weeks is critical to Korea's coronavirus fight"
  • Daegu grapples with shortage of sickbeds amid soaring infections
  • No. of coronavirus infections over 5,000
Health

Numbers show coronavirus not as virulent as it feels but …

ROK Army CBRN unit members in hazmat suits in a military vehicle spray disinfectant on a street in Daegu, the Korean epicenter of coronavirus, Friday. Yonhap By Oh Young-jinNumbers often seem to make things simple to understand, but sometimes you may believe them at your own peril. The ongoing coronavirus epidemic may well be one example. Here is what I think. After reading my argument, your conclusion is your own responsibility.In Korea, which as of Friday has registered the most confirmed cases outside China, one of whose big cities, Wuhan, is the epicenter of the disease, people wearing masks are a common sight. There have been reports that big buildings found to have been visited by a patient are shut down for three days for disinfection, with residents under mandatory self-administered quarantine. Ask one of those mask wearers about the coronavirus and their answers indicate a sense of fear, although the degree of it differs from one person to another. As well

Feb 29, 2020By Oh Young-jin
Numbers show coronavirus not as virulent as it feels but …
Opinion

Trump suffers no mental constipation

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a copy of The Washington Post at the White House. AP-YonhapBy Oh Young-jinWhat was U.S. President Donald Trump thinking when he heaped criticism on Korean director Bong Joon-ho's movie “The Parasite” that won big at the recent Academy Awards?It has little to do with Bong or the movie's plot ― a satire on class struggle with modern twists ― or even Bong's native nation, South Korea, which Trump openly took a jab at during his anti-“Parasite” tirade. Rather, what triggered his paroxysm of anger was the presenters of the four awards. One giveaway is that Trump's unexpected attack on the Korean film is part of ― what else ― his re-election campaign. Jane Fonda, who gave Bong the Best Picture Oscar, is a legend in actor activism, being huge in the anti-Vietnam War campaign and very influential in social issues. She is not exactly Trump's cup of tea. The populist and egocentric leader would not stand the sight of her and, more importantly, what she represents. Then, she is an intellectual type, the opposite of Trump's misogynistic v

Feb 28, 2020By Oh Young-jin
Trump suffers no mental constipation
Politics

Is Trump following Moon, Xi into coronavirus hot water?

President Moon Jae-in adjusts his mask during his meeting with small merchants in Taegu, Korea's epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic. YonhapBy Oh Young-jin The ongoing coronavirus epidemic has not just hobbled President Moon Jae-in but also may put U.S. President Donald Trump in as tight a spot. Chinese President Xi Jin-ping is also in hot water for not containing the virus at an early stage after the discovery that officials in Wuhan, in China's Hubei province, the epicenter of the disease, suppressed initial signs of the outbreak. “One day it is like a miracle. It will disappear,” Trump said at a White House meeting with the media Thursday. “The 15 will soon go down to three or four.” He was talking about the 15 confirmed cases in the U.S. As of Friday (Korean time), the number had risen to 59. A worker wearing a protective full-body suit stands near a framed picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a government-organized tour of Mengniu Dairy factory in Beijing. AP-YonhapBesides, Trump also boasted of the “incredible job” his administrat

Feb 28, 2020By Oh Young-jin
Is Trump following Moon, Xi into coronavirus hot water?
Health

Three missing things in Daegu, coronavirus ground zero

Crowds gather on Monday to buy masks at a big market in Daegu where most confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported. YonhapBy Oh Young-jin Dr. Hakim Djaballah, former head of the Institute Pasteur Korea, raised three questions about how Korea is handling the current coronavirus epidemic, especially in Daegu that he compares to Wuhan in China's Hubei Province, the epicenter of the virus outbreak.First, he pointed to photos of large crowds waiting for hours at big markets to buy masks in Daegu. “President Moon Jae-in's government tells people not to gather because of fear of contagion, yet long queues were formed meandering round big markets to buy masks, the very basic necessity for protection,” the American virologist told The Korea Times Thursday morning from New York where he is based. Long queues of people wait to buy masks. YonhapHe cited that as sign of incompetence that, if combined with a panicky situation, could get out of hand. “I would rather military there to calm people and distribute masks,” he said. Djaballah was among the first to point out

Feb 26, 2020By Oh Young-jin
Three missing things in Daegu, coronavirus ground zero
  • South Korea reports 334 new virus cases, total now at 1,595
Politics

'Stigmatizing would drive Shincheonji believers into ground'

The branch of Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Ulsan is closed after one confirmed case was found to have attended a service there, Sunday. YonhapBy Oh Young-jin 1) Are we correct about the two-week incubation period of the Wuhan pneumonia virus? 2) Are we making a mistake by stigmatizing members of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the origin of clusters of coronavirus cases in Taegu? 3) Are Jeju cases isolated? 4) Is self-imposed quarantine working? 5) What is the worst-case scenario? I went over these questions with Dr. Hakim Djaballah, an American virology expert based in New York, Monday morning. Djaballah said that our assumption of the two-week incubation period proved less tenable now because of reported cases that remained contagious past the due time. This means we may have to change our approach, especially with suspected cases. The scientist, who was head of Institut Pasteur Korea at the height of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in 2015, said the COVID-19 was more contagious than MERS. This was because the 19 thrived in the upper lungs, mouth and throat, whi

Feb 24, 2020By Oh Young-jin
'Stigmatizing would drive Shincheonji believers into ground'
  • Shincheonji stokes public anger for 'acting as victim'
Opinion

Perfect storm of coronavirus in Korea

A main street in Daegu is almost deserted after a group of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus was reported Friday. YonhapBy Oh Young-jin I spoke with American virology expert Dr. Hakim Djaballah Friday morning about the COVID-19 outbreak in Korea. In New York, where he is based after stint as head of the Institut Pasteur Korea, he repeated: “This is bad.” He was referring to a cluster of cases in Daegu and the first death in Korea from the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic. Djaballah described the Daegu outbreak as a case of “community transmission,” by which the disease can jump to pandemic proportions. It is because members of a community eat, drink and play together and live close, meaning a greater chance of contraction and contagion. He called on Korean authorities promptly to account for those who the “super spreader” churchwoman in Daegu had contact with or the situation might get out of control. He said it is a race against time.Djaballah, who proved prescient during Korea's 2015 MERS outbreak, said that with ground zero being a close-knit church,

Feb 21, 2020By Oh Young-jin
Perfect storm of coronavirus in Korea
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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.