The Korea Times

'Digital sex crimes' in Korea have devastating impacts on victims

gettyimagesbank By Lee Hyo-jin Victims of online sex crimes in Korea are left with long-lasting traumas, and they also face major barriers to seek justice in the legal system, according to a report released by the Human Rights Watch (HRW). The international non-governmental organization issued a report titled “My Life is Not Your Porn: Digital Sex Crimes in South Korea,” Wednesday. Releasing the report, the group held an online conference attended by Heather Barr, the interim co-director of HRW's Women's Rights Division, Lina Yoon, a senior researcher at the Asia Division, and Judy Kwon, HRW's Seoul City director. Based on 38 interviews with online sex crime survivors and experts, along with an online survey of hundreds of victims, the human rights watchdog highlighted the devastating impact of tech-enabled gender-based violence, the victims of which are almost always women and girls. It pointed out that Korea's rapid economic and technological development has not b

Jun 16, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

'Digital sex crimes' in Korea have devastating impacts on victims

Health

Concerns growing over COVID-19 vaccination errors

A woman receives a shot of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 at a vaccination center in Gwangju, Tuesday. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin As Korea's vaccination drive against COVID-19 gathers pace, a number of vaccine-related errors have been reported nationwide, prompting concern among people waiting their turn to be inoculated. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 105 vaccine administration errors have been reported out of the 14.79 million that had been given as of Sunday.Of these, 90 cases were vaccinating ineligible recipients ― the most common error ― such as giving the AstraZeneca dose to people under the age of 30. Its use for people under the age 30 has been banned by the government due to possible side effects related to blood clotting. Ten others involved incorrect intervals between administering the two doses, giving the second one earlier than the recommended time. In the remaining cases, five people were given overdoses of the vaccine. These five were reported at a hospital in Buan County in North Jeolla Province, where medical workers inadvertently admini

Jun 15, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Concerns growing over COVID-19 vaccination errors

Quarter of Korea's population vaccinated

Health

SPECIAL REPORT Single foreign parents face many citizenship hurdles to stay in Korea

Marhabo Jumaboeva, a citizen of Uzbekistan who lives with her two children after divorcing her Korean husband in 2016, stands behind a curtain in her home in Incheon during an interview with The Korea Times, June 7. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulThis article is the third in a four-part series to highlight and address issues surrounding marginalized residents of foreign nationality who are living in legal blind spots in Korean society. ― ED.By Lee Hyo-jin Marhabo Jumaboeva, 38, is a citizen of Uzbekistan who lives with her two children as a single mother in Incheon. She divorced her Korean husband in 2016, ending nine years of marriage. The main reason was that her mother-in-law was overly protective of her son and looked down on Jumaboeva because she was a foreigner. “I don't regret my choice. But the divorce, which was an unexpected event in my life, has brought many difficulties for me and my children,” Jumaboeva said during an interview with The Korea Times.Since her ex-husband refuses to provide child support, even though he was ordered to do so, Jumaboeva is on

Jun 15, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

[SPECIAL REPORT] Single foreign parents face many citizenship hurdles to stay in Korea

Health

Exempting vaccinated travelers from self-isolation leads to concerns over virus variants

Quarantine officials guide people at the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport, April 21. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin The government will exempt some fully vaccinated travelers to Korea from its mandatory 14-day self-isolation rule beginning next month, but medical experts are expressing concerns that this may lead to an influx of COVID-19 variants from countries where they are becoming predominant. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Sunday that from July, people who have been fully immunized with vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), regardless of their nationality, will not be subject to the mandatory self-isolation upon arrival to the country.Currently, the exemption rule only applies to those who have received the vaccine in Korea. The ministry said the relaxation is limited to people who enter Korea for important business, or academic, public interest and humanitarian purposes, as well as those visiting direct family members. Two weeks must have passed from their final shot. Individuals must submit relevant documents such as an application form, va

Jun 14, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Exempting vaccinated travelers from self-isolation leads to concerns over virus variants

Virus cases at over 2-month low

Health

Student of mixed Korean heritage falls victim to bullying

gettyimagesbank By Lee Hyo-jin Police are investigating a case in which a 15-year-old student at a middle school in South Jeolla Province is accused of repeatedly bullying a fellow student of mixed Korean heritage for several months. According to the South Jeolla Provincial Police Agency, Thursday, the victim, whose mother is from Vietnam, has been bullied by the other student since January of this year. Both are on the school rugby team.The victim accused his teammate of assaulting him with a vacuum cleaner in the rugby team dormitory multiple times, and mocking the victim's mother's accent by imitating her in front of other students. He also took 50,000 won ($45) from the victim by threatening to spread the fact that his mother was from Vietnam if he refused to pay up. The victim did not report the incidents out of concern that his parents would worry about him. He was especially worried that it would affect his father's health, as he is currently receiving hospi

Jun 12, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Student of mixed Korean heritage falls victim to bullying

Health

Gov't to allow restaurants, cafes, karaoke to operate until midnight starting July

Citizens wait in line for coronavirus testing at a temporary testing site in front of Seoul Station, Wednesday. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Restaurants, cafes, karaoke rooms and other entertainment facilities in Seoul and its surrounding area will be allowed to operate until midnight starting from July, extended by two hours from the current 10 p.m. closing time, if the number of daily COVID-19 cases remains at the current level, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Restrictions on operating hours of other facilities such as gyms will also be lifted. The current gathering ban on five or more people may also be eased, allowing private gatherings of up to eight people. The eased regulations are included in the revised version of the social distancing scheme, which the health ministry plans to announce soon, and will be put into effect starting in July. Although the ministry has not yet provided additional information on the new scheme, according to a draft version released earlier in March, the current five-tier social distancing scheme will be simplified to four levels.The minist

Jun 11, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Gov't to allow restaurants, cafes, karaoke to operate until midnight starting July

Health

Health ministry seeks to mandate surveillance cameras in operating rooms

Vice Health Minister Kang Do-tae speaks during a press conference held at Government Complex Sejong, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Health and WelfareBy Lee Hyo-jin The Ministry of Health and Welfare is seeking to obligate hospitals to install surveillance cameras in operating rooms in an effort to prevent medical malpractice, according to Vice Health Minister Kang Do-tae, Thursday. “We feel sorry for the victims (of medical malpractice) and thus view that relevant measures should be improved. Bills mandating cameras in operating rooms are currently being discussed at the National Assembly,” Kang said during a press conference held at Government Complex Sejong. Kang noted that the ministry has been gathering opinions on the issue, but views among patients' groups and the doctors' association remain sharply divided. While the patients' groups have been calling for surveillance cameras in a bid to prevent physicians' ethical misconduct such as “ghost surgeries” conducted by unqualified hospital staff, doctors have been strongly opposing it, arguing that the c

Jun 10, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Health

Peaceful one-person protest in front of US ambassador's residence should be allowed: rights watchdog

By Lee Hyo-jinThe nation's human rights watchdog said Wednesday that peaceful one-person protests in front of the U.S. ambassador's residence should be allowed, and recommended law enforcement authorities to guarantee such demonstrations.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) delivered the opinion in response to a petition filed by a man who organized a solo demonstration in front of the ambassadorial residence in downtown Seoul's Jeong-dong from Oct. 25 to 27, 2019. National Human Rights Commission of Korea headquarters / Korea Times fileHe planned the event in protest of the then-U.S. administration's demand for Korea to increase its share of costs to maintain 28,500 U.S troops stationed in the country.One-person protests are not subject to the law on demonstrations and assemblies, so a solo protester is not required to report the protest plan to police in advance.According to the petitioner, police officers guarding the residence blocked him when he arrived at the site along with three other people. They were told by police that the demonstration had not been report

Jun 9, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Peaceful one-person protest in front of US ambassador's residence should be allowed: rights watchdog

Politics

Lawmaker pays fine for elderly cardboard collector

Rep. Kang Sun-woo of the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea speaks during a session at the National Assembly, Seoul, in this Nov. 6, 2020 photo. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Rep. Kang Sun-woo of the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea has paid a fine on behalf of an elderly man collecting cardboard to make ends meet, after he was penalized for causing damage to an Audi sedan. The 67-year-old man accidentally scratched the Audi vehicle, which was parked on a sidewalk, while dragging his handcart loaded with waste paper and folded boxes in Dong District, Daejeon, June 17, 2020. He was charged with inflicting 1 million won ($900) in property damages and put on trial.In May of this year, the Daejeon District Court ordered the man to pay a 300,000-won fine. The court took into consideration his circumstances of suffering from financial difficulties and having a mental disability, but concluded that the fine was inevitable as the car owner wanted punishment.Rep. Kang, who represents the constituency of Gangseo District, Seoul, offered to pay the fine for the man, according to her office

Jun 9, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Lawmaker pays fine for elderly cardboard collector

Health

SPECIAL REPORT 'Invisible,' undocumented children excluded from Korea's welfare system

This article is the second in a four-part series to highlight and address issues surrounding marginalized residents of foreign nationality who are living in legal blind spots in Korean society. ― ED.By Lee Hyo-jin Na-young, as she prefers to identify herself, is a 12-year-old girl living in Gyeonggi Province who faces the threat of deportation when she turns 19. She is an undocumented child living with her parents from the Philippines, who entered Korea as migrant workers in the late 1990s, but later lost their legal status.Undocumented children can only stay in the country until they graduate high school, after which they face deportation. “She will probably have to go to the Philippines, which is a completely foreign country for her,” her mother said. Na-young doesn't know Tagalog, the main language of the Philippines, nor the country's culture.Meanwhile, as a fifth grader at elementary school, Na-young is already paying the price of being undocumented. Last year, when most classes went online following the COVID-19 outbreak, without an ID number, Na-young couldn't sign

Jun 8, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Lee Hyo-jin

Read more

'Digital sex crimes' in Korea have devastating impacts on victims

Concerns growing over COVID-19 vaccination errors

SPECIAL REPORT Single foreign parents face many citizenship hurdles to stay in Korea

Exempting vaccinated travelers from self-isolation leads to concerns over virus variants

Student of mixed Korean heritage falls victim to bullying

Gov't to allow restaurants, cafes, karaoke to operate until midnight starting July

Health ministry seeks to mandate surveillance cameras in operating rooms

Peaceful one-person protest in front of US ambassador's residence should be allowed: rights watchdog

Lawmaker pays fine for elderly cardboard collector

SPECIAL REPORT 'Invisible,' undocumented children excluded from Korea's welfare system

Top 5 stories