The Korea Times

AstraZeneca vaccination to go on as planned; Moon to get jab Tuesday

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong speaks during a briefing at the agency office in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, Monday. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Korea' s coronavirus vaccinations using AstraZeneca's doses will continue as planned, as the health authorities did not identify any causal links between reported cases of blood clotting after inoculation and the vaccine. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Monday that the AstraZeneca vaccine, which had been under scrutiny following two cases of blood clots found in individuals who received their first shots, has no correlation with such symptoms. The authorities confirmed that public vaccinations for the second quarter will roll out as planned without major adjustments to its initial scheme. According to the KDCA, a vaccination committee consisting of medical experts and infectious disease specialists has thoroughly reviewed the correlation between blood clots and the vaccine, and it found no links between the vaccine and the blood clots detected in two people who had

Mar 22, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

AstraZeneca vaccination to go on as planned; Moon to get jab Tuesday

Health

Controversy rising over limiting disabled person to take dog-groomer exam

Groomers take part in a dog grooming contest held in KINTEX, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 30, 2019. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Controversy is rising after a hearing-impaired person was not allowed to take an exam for a state-certified dog groomer license, as the test organizer stated that disabled people are not qualified to take the test.During a practical skills test for a groomer license held on Feb. 7, a 43-year-old woman with hearing disabilities was ordered to leave the testing site after the proctor found out about her condition. “I showed my disability registration card to the exam supervisor to ask for understanding in case I miss any audio announcements, but I was told to leave the testing site as 'disabled people cannot undergo the exam,'” she said.The woman, who acquired the hearing disability while giving birth, stated that it is unfair to bar her from taking the exam when she has no problem communicating and her disability does not affect her performance or capabilities as a groomer. She had passed the written test last November, and took several months of training cou

Mar 22, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Controversy rising over limiting disabled person to take dog-groomer exam

North Korea

North Korean defectors talk about escape, new life in South in English

Pak Yu-sung, center, grand prize winner of the 13th English speech contest organized by Freedom Speakers International (FSI), poses with judges and dignitaries including co-founders of the organization Lee Eun-koo, left, and Casey Lartigue Jr, third from right, during the contest at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of FSILee Hyo-jin North Korean defectors resettled in the South shared various experiences about their escapes and adaptation to life outside of North Korea at the 13th English speaking contest organized by Freedom Speakers International (FSI), Saturday. FSI is a Seoul-based non-governmental organization that provides free English lessons for North Korean refugees. Formerly known as Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR), the organization changed its name recently to reflect its new focus on public speaking over tutoring.Co-founded in 2013 by Casey Lartigue Jr. and Lee Eun-koo, it has supported over 460 North Koreans in English and public speaking education as well as career development, with the help of over 1,050 volunteers and coaches. The l

Mar 21, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

North Korean defectors talk about escape, new life in South in English

When I escaped to South Korea, I felt guilt

Society

Gov't to allow employment of foreign nationals at logistics companies

Delivery workers load parcels onto trucks at a logistics hub in Seoul in this March 17, 2020 photo. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin The government will allow the employment of foreign nationals at logistics companies for tasks limited to sorting parcels and loading them onto trucks, as part of its response to the chronic labor shortage in the industry. The Ministry of Justice made a prior announcement about a revision to the enforcement ordinance of the Immigration Control Act, Tuesday, on expanding the category of workplaces allowing foreign nationals with the H-2 working visit visa, which is issued to certain overseas Koreans aged 25 or older.Under the current measures, H-2 visa holders can be hired in 39 designated industry categories, such as manufacturing, livestock and fisheries in workplaces with less than 300 employees. The revision will expand the category of available workplaces for them to include logistics hubs, fruit and vegetable wholesale centers, meat transportation and mining.The ministry noted that the tasks for foreign workers in the logistics industry will be limited to load

Mar 17, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Gov't to allow employment of foreign nationals at logistics companies

Health

Gov't seeks to recognize animals as 'living beings,' not 'objects'

Pet owners attend a pet fair at SETEC in Gangnam District, Seoul, Friday. YonhapLaw revision expected to enhance awareness of animal rightsBy Lee Hyo-jin For a country with around 1.5 million pet owners, Korea's legal framework for animal protection has been considered relatively weak, leading to low public awareness on animal welfare, and lenient punishment for animal cruelty. A major reason for this, pointed out by many animal rights activists, is because the civil code defines animals as “objects,” not living beings. Under the current law, animals are regarded as the property of their human owners, something that can be owned, traded and controlled without any of the basic rights that are given to people.Therefore, animal abusers often face relatively weak punishment proportional to their level of cruelty, as their sentences are based on the Property Damage Law and Animal Protection Law. But this may change, as the Ministry of Justice announced plans recently to amend the civil code to legally recognize animals as living entities. In response to an increasing number of

Mar 16, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Gov't seeks to recognize animals as 'living beings,' not 'objects'

Health

COVID-19 testing order on foreigners creates 'chaos' at testing centers

A makeshift COVID-19 testing site in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, is crowded with people waiting to receive a test, Sunday. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jinGyeonggi Province's mandatory COVID-19 testing order for foreign workers in the region created “chaos” at overcrowded and understaffed testing centers over the weekend, with the number of visitors exceeding testing capacity. Amid sporadic infection clusters at companies employing foreign workers in the area, the local government issued an administrative order, March 8, enforcing all foreign workers in the region to get tested for the coronavirus by March 22.Those who fail to undergo a test during the period could be fined up to 3 million won ($2,600), according to the order, and if an infection occurs among those who have not been tested, the authorities will demand indemnity (payment) for the cost of their treatment and quarantine.But criticism has mounted among the foreign community on the local government's imposition of a “bureaucratic” measure without considering its lack of testing capacity, as around 85,000 foreign

Mar 15, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

COVID-19 testing order on foreigners creates 'chaos' at testing centers

Society

Fine dust to continue throughout weekend

Fine dust blurs the skies in central Seoul, Friday. The high fine dust concentration levels are expected to continue throughout the weekend. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin A thick layer of fine dust has blanketed the sky over the greater Seoul area and western parts of the country since Thursday, while high concentration levels are expected to continue throughout the weekend.According to the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), under the Ministry of Environment, fine-dust density levels were “bad,” and temporarily reached “very bad” across Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi and South Chungcheong provinces, Friday.The institute, which forecasts air quality, categorizes concentrations of fine dust, or PM10 particles, between 81 and 150 micrograms per cubic meter as “bad,” and more than 151 as “very bad.” Ultrafine dust ― also known as PM 2.5 ― above 35 micrograms per cubic meter is categorized as “bad,” and above 75 micrograms per cubic meter is categorized as “very bad.”Spring is typically the peak season for fine dus

Mar 12, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Fine dust to continue throughout weekend

Health

Korea speeding up vaccination by expanding AZ inoculation

A medical worker at Asan Medical Center in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, receives a coronavirus vaccine from AstraZeneca, March. 5. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Korea's nationwide COVID-19 vaccine rollout is expected pick up speed following a government decision to allow the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged over 65. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced Thursday the amended approval for the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which it had initially limited due to a lack of clinical data on efficacy in the elderly when the vaccination program started Feb. 26The decision follows the release of recent studies conducted in Britain and Scotland, proving the vaccine's efficacy on preventing infection and lowering the risk of hospitalization among elderly people.With the age limit lifted, some 376,000 patients and medical workers at nursing homes and long-term care facilities ― over 65 years of age ― will be vaccinated within this month. As another part of efforts to boost its inoculation drive, the government is considering releasing vaccine stocks reserved for

Mar 11, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Korea speeding up vaccination by expanding AZ inoculation

Society

Fine dust hits nation

A man walks along the Han River near Yeouido in Seoul, Thursday, when instances of ultrafine dust concentration reached “bad” and “very bad” levels across the country. The interior of the nation is also likely to have high levels of fine dust Friday. Yonhap

Mar 11, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Health

How to protect yourself from fine dust, spring's unwelcome guest

Fine dust covers Seoul, Thursday, when the fine dust and ultrafine dust concentration levels were "very bad" across the capital area. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Spring has arrived in Korea, bringing an unwelcome guest ― fine dust. A thick toxic haze is likely to blanket the skies throughout early spring, the usual peak season for fine dust here.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) advised the public to take extra care of their health during March, as it has recorded the highest monthly fine dust density levels over the past three years. What is fine dust?Fine dust is incredibly small airborne particulate matter (PM), and it is further named by the size of the particle. Pollutant particles with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less are called PM10, and those with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, PM2.5. The particles are not visible to the naked eye, and can only be seen under an electron microscope.While the international standard refers to fine particles specifically as PM2.5, in Korea, PM10 is defined as fine dust and PM2.5 is defined as ultrafine dust. These tiny p

Mar 11, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Lee Hyo-jin

Read more

AstraZeneca vaccination to go on as planned; Moon to get jab Tuesday

Controversy rising over limiting disabled person to take dog-groomer exam

North Korean defectors talk about escape, new life in South in English

Gov't to allow employment of foreign nationals at logistics companies

Gov't seeks to recognize animals as 'living beings,' not 'objects'

COVID-19 testing order on foreigners creates 'chaos' at testing centers

Fine dust to continue throughout weekend

Korea speeding up vaccination by expanding AZ inoculation

Fine dust hits nation

How to protect yourself from fine dust, spring's unwelcome guest

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