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Lee Hyo-jin

Korea Times Finance Reporter

Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.

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Global Community

Better support needed for skilled foreigners in domestic job market

Foreigners attend a job fair for foreign residents at COEX, Seoul, in this September 2019 photo. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Carolina Bahamondes, 31, a foreign resident from Chile, has been searching for a job in Korea since she obtained her master's degree from a university in Seoul in February 2020. But so far, it's not going very well. “Last year, I submitted applications to at least 30 companies and received contact from three of them. But we couldn't proceed due to visa issues because I was then in Chile. Since I came back to Korea this January, I have applied to around 10 companies, but I haven't heard from them yet,” she told The Korea TimesWith an intermediate to advanced level of proficiency in the Korean language, it is not easy to find a job in a relevant field as her major, environmental energy engineering. “The companies I'm interested in are mostly small or medium-sized enterprises, and they demand fluency in Korean. It is hard to compete with native speakers,” she said. A Ph.D. student from Malaysia surnamed Ahmad Basri has similar concerns. Currently

Feb 18, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Better support needed for skilled foreigners in domestic job market
  • Foreigners with advanced degrees from Korea struggle to find jobs
Foreign Affairs

Meeting with new envoys

President Moon Jae-in walks to a meeting room in Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday, with newly appointed ambassadors to Korea from Mongolia, Finland, the European Union, Costa Rica, Israel, Kenya, Nicaragua and Australia after receiving their credentials. Yonhap

Feb 17, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Meeting with new envoys
Global Community

Gov't to crack down on 'greenhouse dorms' for migrant farm workers

This photo taken on Jan. 30 shows the inside of a vinyl greenhouse that was being used as the accommodations for migrant workers at a farm in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hunBy Lee Hyo-jin The government is beefing up efforts to crack down on substandard accommodation provided to migrant workers, in response to growing calls to improve their living conditions, following the death of a Cambodian worker last December. The deceased worker was found in a “sandwich” panel structure built inside a vinyl greenhouse Dec. 20, on a farm in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. The heating system was not working in the facility on that day when a cold spell hit the region.Although the initial autopsy results showed the cause of death to be liver disease, migrant workers' rights groups have demanded that the government implement fundamental measures to ensure basic living standards in order to prevent a similar tragedy. In response, the Ministry of Justice announced Tuesday that employers and provincial governments hiring seasonal migrant workers this year will be

Feb 16, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Gov't to crack down on 'greenhouse dorms' for migrant farm workers
Health

Korea to hold off inoculating elderly with AstraZeneca vaccines

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong speaks at a briefing on the vaccination plans held at its office in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Monday. YonhapVaccinations to begin with people under 65 at nursing homesBy Lee Hyo-jin Korea has decided to hold off on administering AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine to people over the age of 65, Monday, changing its initial plan to prioritize the elderly population in the first round of vaccinations set to begin later this month. The changed plan has come amid growing controversy worldwide over the efficacy of the pharmaceutical company's product for senior citizens.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced detailed plans for the country's first round of vaccinations which is scheduled to roll out Feb. 26, as the first batch of AstraZeneca's doses available for around 750,000 people is expected to arrive on Feb. 24. Patients and medical workers at nursing homes who are younger than 65 will be the first group to get the two-dose vaccines, while plans for inoculating older pe

Feb 15, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea to hold off inoculating elderly with AstraZeneca vaccines
  • New infections in 300s for 3rd day; distancing rules eased for small businesses
  • New virus cases bounce back to over 400; new vaccine deals signed
Law & Crime

Six foreign nationals apprehended for alleged assault

A screen capture from video footage showing six foreign nationals attacking two other foreigners in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Feb. 8, was widely shared on the internet. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jinSix foreign nationals have been apprehended for allegedly attacking two other foreigners in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, according to police, Sunday.Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency announced that the six suspects from Uzbekistan and Russia are currently being held for alleged assault against two foreign residents, one from Russia and the other from Ukraine. The crime took place at around 4:50 p.m., Feb. 8, in a two-lane road in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The suspects stopped the victim's car on the road and began to damage the vehicle with a blunt weapon, and pulled the driver and passenger out of the automobile. They beat and kicked the victims in the head and stomach multiple times before fleeing the scene. The victims were left with several injuries, including fractured bones and bruises. But none of them were critically injured, according to police. The brutal attack was filmed thr

Feb 15, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Six foreign nationals apprehended for alleged assault
Global Community

Foreigners with advanced degrees from Korea struggle to find jobs

Foreigners look at brochures at a job fair for foreign residents at COEX in Seoul, Sept. 18, 2019. / YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Foreigners who obtained an advanced degree in Korea are having difficulties finding work due to insufficient employment information and a lack of Korean language skills, according to the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training.The institute released a report, Sunday, on the career preferences of international graduates with a master's degree and above, and their perceptions on the domestic labor market. The study found that around 25 percent of the 8,427 foreign nationals who had completed a master's course in the country between 2016 and 2018 were currently working here, and 53 percent of the 2,647 of those who completed their doctoral degrees here between 2017 and 2019 were employed in the country. The vast majority of working foreign nationals with a master's degree were employed by private companies, while 70 percent of doctorate holders in employment were working in universities and research centers. The study also included a survey con

Feb 14, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Foreigners with advanced degrees from Korea struggle to find jobs
  • Better support needed for skilled foreigners in domestic job market
Health

COVID-19 drives down food poisoning cases to record low

Gettyimagesbank By Lee Hyo-jin The number of food poisoning cases in Korea dropped to a record low in 2020, due mainly to enhanced personal hygiene rules and the restricted operation of mass dining facilities spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.The ministry released a report on the country's food poisoning cases from last year. A total of 178 cases were reported nationwide, down 52 percent from the previous five-year average of 343. The number of food poisoned patients marked 53 per 1 million people, down 40 percent from a yearly average of 133 patients per million, seen during the previous five years. The numbers of both cases and patients marked the lowest the government has ever seen during the entire time that it has been collecting relevant data, since 2002, the Ministry noted. The Ministry viewed that the dramatic decline was attributable to COVID-19-induced measures, including strengthened personal hygiene rules

Feb 11, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
COVID-19 drives down food poisoning cases to record low
Health

China seeks to send self-developed COVID-19 vaccines to Chinese residents in Korea

A health worker prepares a dose of Chinese-made Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Belgrade Fair, Serbia, Feb. 4. AFP-YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin The Chinese Embassy in Korea said its government is seeking to provide its own developed coronavirus vaccines for Chinese nationals here. In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming stated, “We are consulting with the South Korean government over whether to provide vaccines developed in China for the 1 million Chinese citizens living here.”But the ambassador did not specify which firm's vaccines the country is planning to administer and how the distribution process would take place. The two frontrunner COVID-19 vaccines developed in China are CoronaVac developed by Sinovac Biotech, and Sinopharm created by the state-run China National Pharmaceutical Group. Both shots are two-dose inactivated vaccines.The Chinese health authorities gave approval for the general use of CoronaVac, Feb. 6, expanding its use to the public as it had been approved in July only for emergency use to high-risk groups such as m

Feb 8, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
China seeks to send self-developed COVID-19 vaccines to Chinese residents in Korea
  • INTERVIEW Chinese envoy says 'anti-China' grouping will cause confrontation
Society

Education authorities urged to recruit more French language teachers

Students sit in class at a high school in Gyeonggi Province, June. 3, 2020. Korea Times photo by Lee Han-hoBy Lee Hyo-jinEducation authorities are being urged to recruit more French language teachers through the middle and high school teacher recruitment exam set for the end of the year, as public schools in Seoul are facing a shortage of teachers, according to a coalition of French language educators.There will be only one high school French teacher left working in Seoul's public school system by the 2022 spring semester if no new teachers are appointed, said the group consisting of French professors and teachers nationwide. Currently, there are six full-time teachers in the capital area, among which, four will retire this August, and another one plans to quit in February next year. “At least seven new teachers should be recruited to fill in the soon-to-be empty positions,” Noh Yeon-sang, head of the Korean Association of French teachers, told The Korea Times, Friday. The latest recruitment of French teachers in Seoul was back in 2008. Due to a lack of regular teachers,

Feb 6, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Education authorities urged to recruit more French language teachers
Law & Crime

Ex-police officer sentenced to jail for raping Vietnamese woman

Gettyimagesbank By Lee Hyo-jin A restaurant owner, who had previously served 20 years as a police officer in Busan, has been sentenced to jail for raping a Vietnamese woman. Changwon District Court sentenced the 54-year-old man to four years in prison, Thursday, for raping the 20-year-old victim. The court also ordered him to undergo 40 hours of treatment for sex offenders and restricted him from getting jobs at child-related facilities for seven years. The man was convicted of raping the college student from Vietnam on her first day at work as a part-time worker at the restaurant in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. The crime took place at around 11:20 p.m., Aug. 17, 2020.He committed the crime while drinking with her in the restaurant after working hours. The victim's friends reported the rape to police on the same night it happened. During the police investigation and trials, the accused admitted to having sex with the victim, but insisted that it was consens

Feb 5, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Ex-police officer sentenced to jail for raping Vietnamese woman
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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.