The Korea Times

Indoor mask rule to be lifted as early as mid-January

A sign attached at the entrance of a building in Seoul reads that visitors are required to wear face masks, Friday. YonhapDetails on lifting indoor mask mandate to be announced FridayBy Lee Hyo-jin Next month's Lunar New Year holidays could be the first mask-free holiday season for Koreans in three years, as the government is considering lifting the indoor mask mandate before the public holiday, which runs from Jan. 22.While the Ministry of Health and Welfare is set to announce on Friday detailed measures on when and how the mask requirement will be relaxed based on discussions with medical experts, some advisors taking part in the talks said it is highly likely that the mandate will be gradually lifted from mid-January at the earliest.The relaxation of the measures is likely to come in two phases. In the first phase, masks will no longer be a requirement ― but a recommendation ― in public places except for high-risk facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies and public transportation. The rule will then be fully lifted in all indoor facilities in the next phase.“W

Dec 18, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Indoor mask rule to be lifted as early as mid-January

Society

Gov't warns of hypothermia and frostbite as cold snap grips nation

A bird's eye view of Buan County in North Jeolla Province, Wednesday, shows the region covered with snow following snowfall the previous day. Courtesy of Buan CountyBy Lee Hyo-jin Korea witnessed the coldest weather of the season on Wednesday with morning lows plummeting to minus 10 degrees Celsius in the capital region, prompting the government to issue hypothermia and frostbite warnings. The mercury nosedived to minus 10.7 degrees in Seoul while neighboring Dongducheon and Suwon of Gyeonggi Province saw minus 12.7 and 11.2 degrees, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Cheorwon County in Gangwon Province recorded the lowest temperature nationwide at minus 13.3 degrees. The southeastern cities of Gwangju and Daegu recorded minus 4.3 and 6.1 degrees, respectively. The influx of cold air from the northwest accompanied by biting winds caused wind-chill temperatures to drop to minus 20 degrees in some central regions, the state weather agency said.The KMA issued cold wave advisories or warnings across the nation ― except for some southern regions ― from 9 p.m. Tues

Dec 14, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Gov't warns of hypothermia and frostbite as cold snap grips nation

Over 10 cm of snow forecast for central regions

Society

Unionized truckers end strike on day 16

Cargo trucks are seen at the Uiwang Inland Container Depot in Gyeonggi Province, Friday, after the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union, under the wing of the labor umbrella of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), called off its nationwide strike on the 16th day. Yonhap Presidential office says weeks-long strike inflicted astronomical losses on economyBy Lee Hyo-jin Unionized cargo truck drivers have voted to return to work, Friday, ending their 16-day-long strike, after their collective action was met with toughened measures by the government, which had been responding with unprecedented return-to-work orders.The Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union, under the umbrella of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), said 61.84 percent of the union workers voted in favor of ending the strike in a vote conducted across its 16 branches nationwide. Only 3,574 of the total 26,144 union members participated in the vote. The vote was held amid the weeks-long strike

Dec 9, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Health

Bio industry will continue to see export boom next year: think tank

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Hyo-jin Triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Korea's bio-health industry has been enjoying an export boom in vaccines and diagnostic kits. This trend is expected to continue throughout next year, according to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI).According to the institute's report published Wednesday, the exports in the bio-health industry ― such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices and cosmetics ― are expected to hit $25.4 billion this year, a 0.3-percent increase from the previous year. The institute projected next year's export to hit $26.9 billion, up 5.4 percent from 2022.In 2022, exports to the Asia-Pacific region accounted for about 50.3 percent of the entire export volume of biopharmaceuticals, with Europe and North America taking up 25 percent and 15.7 percent, respectively. There would be no major changes in these figures in 2023, the report said.By product category, in 2023, export of pharmaceuticals are projected to surge by 15.5 percent year-on-year to reach $10.1 billion, cosmetics to $8.8 billion, up 6.7 percent, while the export

Dec 9, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Bio industry will continue to see export boom next year: think tank

Health

Health ministry to review 'Mooncare,' adopt stricter measures for foreign dependents

Health minister Cho Kyu-hong delivers an opening speech at a public hearing held on measures to enhance health insurance sustainability and support essential medical care at a hotel in Seoul, Thursday. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin The Ministry of Health and Welfare will apply stricter standards on insurance coverage in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) checkups and ultrasound scans, undoing the healthcare insurance expansion policies adopted by the previous Moon Jae-in administration. The government will also adopt tougher measures to screen health insurance coverage of foreign residents' dependents by obligating them to reside continuously in Korea for at least six months in order to become eligible for the state healthcare program.The health authorities will also come up with ways to limit coverage for those who are suspected of reaping healthcare benefits by conducting unnecessary examinations or consultations.These measures intending to overhaul much of the health insurance policies introduced by the previous Moon administration ― dubbed “Mooncare,” which aimed to strengthen K

Dec 8, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Health ministry to review 'Mooncare,' adopt stricter measures for foreign dependents

Society

Korea to scrap local age counting system from next year

Lawmakers approve revision bills to the Civil Act and the General Act on Public Administration, during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Koreans are expected to get one or two years younger from June next year, as the country has decided to scrap the so-called “Korean age system” in favor of the internationally recognized age calculation standard.Revisions to the Civil Act and the General Act on Public Administration, which aim to unify the country's multiple age systems to the internationally recognized one, was passed at the plenary session of the National Assembly, Thursday. The revision bills will go into effect after six months. Under the new bills, an individual's age will be determined based on their birth date. A newborn baby will be counted as 0 year old and infants' age will be measured in months until they turn one year old. The legislation, which would abolish the centuries-old Korean way of counting one's age, comes amid growing calls to end social confusion from the mixed use of multiple age systems.

Dec 8, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Korea to scrap local age counting system from next year

Society

American father's battle to find missing children in Korea

John Sichi, a U.S. citizen whose children have gone missing in Korea involving an international abduction case of his children by his Korean spouse, stages a treadmill protest in front of Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Nov. 30. Sichi is demanding the Korean authorities to enforce court orders that the children should be returned to the U.S. under the Hague Convention. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulInternational parental child abduction case involving Korea-US couple remains unresolved for over two yearsBy Lee Hyo-jin On a cold Nov. 30 afternoon, when temperatures nosedived to minus seven degrees Celsius in Seoul, bringing with it the nation's first cold wave alert of the season, John Sichi was walking on a treadmill in front of Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul. Undeterred by the biting winds, the U.S. citizen walked for nearly four hours.Near the treadmill stood a placard reading, “Please let me see my children,” and a life-size cardboard cutout of his two kids ― a 5-year-old boy and 3-year-old girl.People walking by approached him ― some with curiosity an

Dec 7, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

American father's battle to find missing children in Korea

Global Community

11 students from multicultural backgrounds and teacher awarded for accomplishments

Dignitaries and winners of the 11th Korea Multicultural Youth Awards pose after the prize ceremony at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, Monday. Among the dignitaries were, fourth from left in the back row Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hyun-sook, fourth from right in the back row Ambassador of the Philippines to Korea Maria Theresa B. Dizon-De Vega and third from right in the back row Charge d'Affaires of Colombia to Korea Francisco Alberto Gonzalez. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Lee Hyo-jin Eleven talented students from diverse backgrounds and one teacher were recognized for their achievements and exemplary deeds at the 11th Korea Multicultural Youth Awards ceremony, Monday.The awards, given by The Korea Times, are aimed at encouraging students from multicultural backgrounds, who at times experience hardships due to cultural or language barriers.The ceremony, held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, was attended by awardees and their family members, as well as Gender Equality and Family Minister Kim Hyun-sook, the judges and representatives of the sponsors includi

Dec 5, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

11 students from multicultural backgrounds and teacher awarded for accomplishments

All-rounder Jennifer Lee takes pride in her multicultural background

Society

Interior minister further cornered over responsibility in Itaewon tragedy

Members of the Korean Government Employees' Union hold a press conference in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Monday, demanding the dismissal of Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min for his ministry's poor response to the Oct. 29 Halloween crowd crush disaster. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min is finding himself in deeper trouble as unionized civil servants and opposition lawmakers are strongly demanding his dismissal over the government's bungled response to the deadly Halloween crowd crush disaster on Oct. 29. The Korean Government Employees' Union (KGEU) on Monday filed a police complaint against Lee, on charges of dereliction of duty and professional negligence resulting in deaths and injuries, as well as the abuse of power. In a press conference held in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the civil servants demanded that President Yoon Suk-yeol sack Lee.Since the crowd surge, which occurred in Itaewon, Seoul on the night of Oct. 29, killed at least 159 people, the minister has come under growing criticism over his minis

Dec 5, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Interior minister further cornered over responsibility in Itaewon tragedy

Society

Korea again ranks top in gender wage gap among OECD countries

The graph shows Korea's gender wage gap at 31.1 percent, the largest among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries. Screenshot from the OECD websiteBy Lee Hyo-jin Korea again ranked top in the gender wage gap among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in 2021, an undesirable position it has been maintaining for over two decades since joining the group of high-income countries in 1996. Recent data released by the OECD found that Korea's gender wage gap stood at 31.1 percent as of last year, the highest among the 38 member states, meaning that female workers earned 31.1 percent less than their male counterparts on average.The OECD defines the gender pay gap as the difference between the median earnings of men and women relative to the median earnings of men. Korea's figure is about 20 percentage points higher than the OECD average of 12 percent, and it is the only nation with a figure exceeding 30 percent. Korea has outpaced Israel and Japan, which came in at second and third places, respectively, with 24.3

Dec 4, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Lee Hyo-jin

Read more

Indoor mask rule to be lifted as early as mid-January

Gov't warns of hypothermia and frostbite as cold snap grips nation

Unionized truckers end strike on day 16

Bio industry will continue to see export boom next year: think tank

Health ministry to review 'Mooncare,' adopt stricter measures for foreign dependents

Korea to scrap local age counting system from next year

American father's battle to find missing children in Korea

11 students from multicultural backgrounds and teacher awarded for accomplishments

Interior minister further cornered over responsibility in Itaewon tragedy

Korea again ranks top in gender wage gap among OECD countries

Top 5 stories