The Korea Times

Drunk bicycling on rise amid nighttime cab shortage

Ttareungyi bicycles of Seoul's bike-sharing system are parked near City Hall Station in central Seoul in this September 2018 photo. Korea Times fileBy Lee Hyo-jin An increasing number of Seoul residents have been caught riding bicycles under the influence of alcohol, which is illegal under the Road Traffic Act, amid an ongoing shortage of taxis at night.Recent data from the police showed that the number of drunk cycling cases reported in Seoul between April 18 and May 16 stood at 72, a 41-percent increase from the 51 cases reported between March 20 to April 17. Since April 18, when the government eased the social distancing measures limiting private gathering sizes and the operating hours of restaurants and bars, many people have been struggling to grab cabs during nighttime peak hours, which has apparently led them to attempt to ride bikes instead.Under the Road Traffic Act, it is illegal to ride a bicycle under the influence of alcohol. Since September 2018, those found riding a bicycle or other vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.03 percent or higher may face a f

Jun 20, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Drunk bicycling on rise amid nighttime cab shortage

Health

Too early to consider lifting self-isolation rule: experts

People stand in line to be tested for COVID-19 at a screening center in Seocho District, Seoul, June 17. YonhapGov't decides to extend quarantine mandate for 4 more weeksBy Lee Hyo-jin The government has decided to extend the self-isolation mandate for COVID-19 patients for another four weeks, but medical experts pointed out that it is premature to remove the restriction next month. The Central Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters said Friday the seven-day self-quarantine mandate for COVID-19 virus carriers will be extended through July 20, due to concerns over a possible resurgence of infections if the rule is removed.The decision came as the government has been reviewing the possibility of scrapping the self-quarantine rule over the past two months. After downgrading the infectious disease classification of the coronavirus to Level 2 in late April, the health ministry said it will decide whether to ease the self-isolation rule on May 20, after a four-week interim period. But the plan was delayed for another four weeks due to the unstable virus situation.Announcing its latest decis

Jun 19, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Too early to consider lifting self-isolation rule: experts

Society

Minister reaffirms abolition of gender equality ministry

Gender Equality Minister Kim Hyun-sook speaks during a press conference held in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Gender Equality and FamilyBy Lee Hyo-jin Gender Equality Minister Kim Hyun-sook said a task force will be launched to seek ways on how to abolish the ministry, thus moving toward fulfilling President Yoon Suk-yeol's campaign pledge.“As I have said during the parliamentary hearing, considering the changes in the policy environment, it is clear that the ministry should be abolished,” she said during a press conference, Thursday, the first such event since she took office in May. She went on to say that an internal task force will be launched on Friday, led by a senior official in charge of promoting gender equality, in order to discuss specific ways on how to “transform” the ministry so that it can better fulfill its role and responsibilities.“The task force will hold meetings on a regular basis and gather opinions from various experts on youth, women, and family policies. We will also look into government agencies overseas that are simi

Jun 16, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Minister reaffirms abolition of gender equality ministry

Health

Paid sick leave scheme to kick off in July

A person receives a test at a COVID-19 screening center near Seoul Station, June 8. YonhapEmployees given right to rest with introduction of new measureBy Lee Hyo-jin The government will introduce a statutory sick pay trial scheme from next month in six areas, which would guarantee COVID-19 patients the “right to rest,” as the authorities are considering lifting the seven-day self-isolation rule. The Central Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters said Wednesday that the paid sick leave will be launched on a one-year trial basis beginning from July 4, under which employees will be eligible for sick pay of up to 60 percent of minimum wage if they fall ill with diseases that are not related to their work. Korea's minimum wage is currently 9,160 won ($7.09) per hour.During the one-year trial period, the measures will be adopted in one district in Seoul and five cities across the nation; Jongno District in Seoul, Bucheon in Gyeonggi Province, Cheonan in South Chungcheong Province, Suncheon in South Jeolla Province, Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province and Changwon in South Gyeon

Jun 15, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Paid sick leave scheme to kick off in July

Society

Korean tech companies struggle to hire highly-skilled foreigners

gettyimagesbank By Lee Hyo-jin Korean companies are struggling to recruit highly-skilled foreign workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, according to a recent survey released earlier this month. The survey, which was conducted among 300 local firms by the University of Science and Technology (UST) and the Korea Industrial Technology Association (KOITA), found that many companies were facing difficulties in recruiting foreigners for research positions despite a growing number of foreign nationals earning advanced degrees in Korea.The survey respondents included six large conglomerates, 198 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 96 venture startups. Of them, only 73 firms, or 24 percent, said they currently have hired foreigners in research positions, while the other 76 percent said they did not have employees of foreign nationality. As for the reasons why they chose to recruit foreigners when multiple answers were allowed, the firms replied, to tackle a shortage of local manpower (43 percent), to expand their business overseas (43 percent) and becaus

Jun 14, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Korean tech companies struggle to hire highly-skilled foreigners

Health

Korea needs to be better prepared for animal-to-human disease outbreaks

Zoo veterinarian Thierry Petit takes a sample for research on the coronavirus from a bat at the Palmyre Zoo, in Les Mathes, near Royan, France, April 21, 2020. REUTERS-YonhapMore zoonotic diseases likely to emergeBy Lee Hyo-jin Even as the COVID-19 pandemic has somewhat subsided in parts of the world, a fresh outbreak of the monkeypox virus has been reported, raising concern about the increasing threat of zoonoses ― diseases transmitted from animals to humans. The coronavirus, as most scientists believe, originated in bats from southwestern China and has caused one of the worst zoonotic disease cases in history, but it is definitely not the first.H1N1 influenza came from pigs. The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), carried by camels, is believed to be originally from bats. In fact, 60 percent of known infectious diseases and 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, according to the World Organization for Animal Health.Although the monkeypox virus ― a reemerging zoonotic infection that is believed to have originated from monkeys ― has not reached Korea yet, exper

Jun 11, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Korea needs to be better prepared for animal-to-human disease outbreaks

Health

Foreigner entry ban possible if more deadly variants emerge: new KDCA chief

Peck Kyong-ran, the commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) speaks during a press conference at the agency's office in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, Thursday. Courtesy of KDCABy Lee Hyo-jin Imposing an entry ban on travelers of foreign nationality could be reviewed in the event of the emergence of more fatal COVID-19 variants or new infectious diseases, according to the newly-appointed commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Peck Kyong-ran, Thursday. “The transmission characteristics of a new variant, if it emerges, will be highly uncertain. And if a new strain is found to be more fatal than the Delta variant, an entry ban on foreign arrivals could be fundamentally necessary,” she said during a press briefing held at the KDCA office in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, the first such event since Peck took office in May. In the early stages of the pandemic, Peck, who was then serving as the director of the Korea Society of Infectious Diseases and a professor at Samsung Medical Center, had called on the go

Jun 9, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Foreigner entry ban possible if more deadly variants emerge: new KDCA chief

Global Community

Korea needs higher-level gov't agency for immigration policies: experts

Participants of a forum on migrant policy pose during the event held at Seoul National University Asia Center in Seoul, Wednesday. Co-hosted by the Ministry of Justice and the Migration Research and Training Center, the forum gathered immigration experts to discuss migrant policy recommendations for the government. Korea Times photo by Lee Hyo-jinGovernment urged to focus on social integration of migrantsBy Lee Hyo-jin Upgrading the Korea Immigration Service (KIS) to a higher-level government agency split off from the Ministry of Justice could be a viable option for the government to launch a new entity encompassing migrant-related policies, experts said, Wednesday. Discussions on the possible launch of a new immigration agency have gained momentum in Korea after newly appointed Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon said in his appointment speech in May that he will review installing an agency dedicated to migrant-related issues to better deal with the rising number of immigrants. Various immigration experts discussed specific ways for the government to realize its plan at a forum on migran

Jun 8, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Korea needs higher-level gov't agency for immigration policies: experts

Society

Korean journalists call for freedom to report in war zones

Ukrainian servicemen on patrol in a recently retaken village north of Kharkiv, east Ukraine. May 15, 2022. AP-YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Some local journalists are calling on the government to guarantee freedom of the press in conflict zones such as Ukraine, pointing out that current laws banning journalists from traveling to war zones seriously undermine media freedom.Under the Passport Act, Korean nationals are banned from traveling to any part of the world with a Level 4 travel warning issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Those who travel to such regions without approval can face up to a year in prison or a maximum fine of 10 million won, as well as having their passports confiscated.Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in mid-February, the Korean government issued a travel ban on the country.And journalists were not exempt from this rule. Kish Kim, a freelance photographer and war correspondent with more than a decade of experience, viewed that the rigid rule has been a major setback for local journalists from conducting accurate and reliable reporting about war-ravaged regions

Jun 7, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Korean journalists call for freedom to report in war zones

Society

Civic groups denounce revised restraint rules at immigration detention centers

Members of civic groups hold a rally in front of Cheongwaedae, Seoul, Dec. 13, 2021, denouncing the excessive use of force against a detainee at an immigration center in Hwaseong, Gyeoggini Province. NewsisBy Lee Hyo-jin Local civic groups have denounced a decision by the government to revise existing rules on the use of restraints at immigration detention centers, saying that the new regulations could serve as legal grounds to torture detainees.The Ministry of Justice announced on May 25 revised regulations on restraints that are used on detainees at immigration detention centers, removing rope, and adding ankle guards, protective headgear and restraint chairs instead.An immigration detention center is a facility operated by the justice ministry, where undocumented people of foreign nationality facing deportation are held.“The revised rules are shocking,” a coalition of migrant's rights groups said in a statement. “If implemented, they will allow the use of problematic equipment that have so far been used without legal grounds.”In particular, the civic groups

Jun 6, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin

Lee Hyo-jin

Read more

Drunk bicycling on rise amid nighttime cab shortage

Too early to consider lifting self-isolation rule: experts

Minister reaffirms abolition of gender equality ministry

Paid sick leave scheme to kick off in July

Korean tech companies struggle to hire highly-skilled foreigners

Korea needs to be better prepared for animal-to-human disease outbreaks

Foreigner entry ban possible if more deadly variants emerge: new KDCA chief

Korea needs higher-level gov't agency for immigration policies: experts

Korean journalists call for freedom to report in war zones

Civic groups denounce revised restraint rules at immigration detention centers

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