The Korea Times

Criticism grows against doctors' strike amid pandemic

Doctors hold pickets in a protest against the government's medical workforce reform plans on Tuesday at Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Public criticism is mounting over the ongoing doctors' strike, which has begun disrupting medical services at some hospitals amid the COVID-19 pandemic.As of Tuesday, thousands of trainee doctors have been staging an indefinite strike for five days since Friday, to protest the government's medical workforce reform plan. The strike was joined by hundreds of doctors Monday.The number is expected to increase as the Korean Medical Association (KMA), which represents more than 130,000 doctors, will begin a three-day nationwide walkout starting Wednesday. But it seems that their collective action amid the pandemic crisis is failing to gain public support. The hashtag #disqualifythem was trending on Twitter, Monday, as many users called for the disqualification of doctors who “are using public safety as a negotiating tool.” A twitter user with the ID @ddang*** wrote, “Nowhere in the world do phy

Aug 25, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Criticism grows against doctors' strike amid pandemic

Health

Crammed immigration detention centers raise concerns amid pandemic

By Lee Hyo-jinA lack of capacity in immigration detention centers here has raised concerns over possible mass COVID-19 infections, according to migrants' rights group Friends of Asia (FOA), Friday. Unregistered foreigners facing deportation are temporarily held in one of three detention centers ― Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province; Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province; and Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. The immigration detention center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. / Yonhap “Mass virus infections can occur anytime in the facility through new detainees or officials carrying the virus from outside,” FOA head Kim Dae-kwon told The Korea Times. The number of detainees keeps increasing as they cannot return to their home countries due to limited air travel amid the pandemic, Kim said. According to the Korea Immigration Service, as of Aug. 13, 760 foreigners were in the facilities. The number stood at 300 in March.About 406 detainees have been staying at the Hwaseong center, up

Aug 21, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Crammed immigration detention centers raise concerns amid pandemic

Health

Health authorities grapple with groundless rumors

By Lee Hyo-jin Health authorities are grappling with groundless rumors regarding the recent spike of coronavirus cases, with populist conservative pastor Jun Kwang-hoon claiming the government fabricated test results.Jun issued a statement in a full-page ad printed in local daily newspapers, Thursday, saying there is a huge religious-affiliation misrepresentation in the number of confirmed patients announced by the government. Sarang Jeil Church pastor Jun Gwang-hoon In a statement, he claimed the government is classifying random people who tested positive as Sarang Cheil church members. He also said the authorities are deliberately increasing the number of confirmed cases by forcing asymptomatic people to get tested. “The government should reveal the percentage of confirmed cases to the people, not just numbers. The government forced our church members to be tested who had not even participated in the demonstration on Aug. 15. Some members haven't even attended the

Aug 20, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Health authorities grapple with groundless rumors

Society

Min Byoung-chul's Business Creativity course prepares students for workforce

Hanyang University Business Creativity students meet with Korea Telecom (KT) specialists to discuss their business proposals. Seated in front are professor Min Byoung-chul, right, and KT Vice President Lee Sun-joo. / Courtesy of Min Byoung-chulBy Lee Hyo-jin English educator Min Byoung-chul, a distinguished professor at Hanyang University, is becoming popular with his Business Creativity course at the university.The university selected his course recently as an excellent one to promote the university's Industry Coupled-Problem Based Learning program (IC-PBL), through which students can learn to solve various problems in real life. Min has been teaching the course since 2011. In the course, students come up with their own business ideas and share them with professionals at global companies such as Google Korea, Korea Telecom (KT) and CJ Foodville. Through feedback from industry experts, students get an opportunity to develop their business plan and present final versions to senior members of the companies. Min developed the course with the aim of inspiring students to generate cr

Aug 19, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Health

Limited contact data on patients unnerves residents

Health officials carry out disinfection work at the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Yeongdeungpo district, Seoul, Tuesday./ YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jinMunicipal administrations are facing growing criticism for their disclosure of “limited” contact tracing information on coronavirus patients as the public is increasingly concerned about the spread of the virus amid a surge of infections in Seoul and its surrounding areas.Since the coronavirus outbreak here in February, local governments had been actively revealing the travel history of confirmed patients on their websites in order to raise transparency and prevent people from visiting areas where infections were thought to have occurred. However, following revised guidelines announced by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), July 1, local governments are now giving minimum information about infected people's whereabouts prior to testing positive, raising anxiety for many local residents. A Seongbuk resident surnamed Go posted a petition on the Seongbuk District Office website Aug. 15, urging for more detailed i

Aug 18, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Limited contact data on patients unnerves residents

Politics

Nat'l ceremony held to commemorate wartime sex slaves

Gender Equality and Family Minister Lee Jeong-ok delivers her opening remarks at the ceremony held to commemorate wartime sex slaves, on Friday at the National Cemetery for Overseas Koreans in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. / Yonhap By Lee Hyo-jin The government held a national ceremony Friday to commemorate a memorial day for wartime sex slaves, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.The state-organized ceremony took place at the National Cemetery for Overseas Koreans in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, with some 100 participants including surviving victim of sex slavery Lee Yong-soo, Gender Equality and Family Minister Lee Jeong-ok, civil activists and students. The slogan of the event was “In remembrance for the future,” implying the victims will always be remembered by future generations.It is the third annual ceremony since the government designated Aug. 14 as a memorial day in 2018 to commemorate all the women and girls who were trap

Aug 14, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Nat'l ceremony held to commemorate wartime sex slaves

Health

Doctors to go on nationwide strike Friday

A woman enters a dermatology clinic in Seoul, Thursday, while an attached notice reads that the clinic will be closed for four days starting today. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, doctors at 21.3 percent of the country's hospitals, including local clinics, declared they would join a nationwide strike scheduled for today. / YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jinThousands of doctors are expected to hold a nationwide walkout Friday, in protest of the government's plan to increase medical student quotas, according to the Korean Medical Association (KMA), Thursday.The exact number of doctors planning to participate in the strike is unknown, but according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 7,039 out of 30,331 hospitals, accounting for 21.3 percent of the medical institutions in the country, have declared their intent to join the walkout as of Wednesday. The KMA, which has 130,000 members, said essential departments such as emergency rooms and intensive care units will not be closed. The government will notify the public regarding the hospitals that will be open during the strike through

Aug 13, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Doctors to go on nationwide strike Friday

Law & Crime

Stricter law needed to prevent dog attacks on people

Calls are mounting for stronger measures to prevent animal attacks on people. / GettyimagesbankBy Lee Hyo-jin Calls are mounting for the government to implement measures that will prevent dog attacks on people, such as introducing stronger punishments for dog owners in the event their pet attacks someone.Under the current law, when a dog attack results in a person's death, the dog owner can be sentenced to up to three years in prison and fined up to 30 million won ($25,271). If a dog attack causes injury its can lead to the owner facing up to two years in jail and 20 million won in fines. Cho Seong-ja, a professor at Kangwon National University of Law, states that stricter laws are needed to prevent animal attacks. “In Korea, criminal punishment for a dog bite accident is impossible if the victim declines to press charges. Dog owners must be punished regardless of the victim's consent like in other countries such as the United States,” she stated in her 2019 thesis “A Study on Current Developments and Suggestions of Animal Law in the US.” According to Yangju

Aug 12, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Stricter law needed to prevent dog attacks on people

Politics

Cambodian residents outraged after man found not guilty of killing Cambodian wife

Cambodians are outraged by Daejeon High Court's not-guilty ruling on a murder charge for a man who had been indicted for killing his Cambodian wife in a disguised car accident. / Korea Times FileBy Lee Hyo-jinCambodian residents here are furious over a recent court ruling that acquitted a Korean man of charges of killing his Cambodian wife in a “disguised” car accident in order to receive insurance benefits.A Cambodian woman in her 30s, married to a Korean living in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, said, “We are all talking about the news in our chat rooms. I cannot believe the husband was released to live on insurance benefits. Now I have grown a little suspicious that my husband asked me recently to buy life insurance.”Another Cambodian immigrant in her 30s said, “I was furious and disappointed when I heard the news. We (married immigrants) are already facing hardships due to social discrimination, and this ruling shows we are not even legally protected.”On Monday, the Daejeon High Court found the man in his 50s, surnamed Lee, not guilty of murderin

Aug 11, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Cambodian residents outraged after man found not guilty of killing Cambodian wife

Health

BK cosmetic clinic gains attention for disclosing surveillance videos

BK Plastic Surgery Hospital in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, has set up monitors in the lobby showing footage from its surveillance cameras installed in operating rooms, Monday. / YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jinA decision by BK Plastic Surgery Hospital in Seoul to voluntarily disclose its surveillance camera footage in operating rooms is drawing keen attention from industry watchers as to whether other medical institutions will follow suit.The hospital has launched a real-time monitoring system in which patients or guardians can view operating rooms and other wards through closed-circuit TV (CCTV). BK's move is considered very rare in the medical industry.“We have decided to open video surveillance of patients upon their consent to keep our surgery procedures transparent. It will ensure patient safety and raise the credibility of our medical services,” an official at BK hospital told The Korea Times. Although many hospitals have surveillance cameras installed in their wards, they strongly oppose CCTV footage being broadcast outside the operating theatre. Following a series of fatal ac

Aug 10, 2020By Lee Hyo-jin

Lee Hyo-jin

Read more

Criticism grows against doctors' strike amid pandemic

Crammed immigration detention centers raise concerns amid pandemic

Health authorities grapple with groundless rumors

Min Byoung-chul's Business Creativity course prepares students for workforce

Limited contact data on patients unnerves residents

Nat'l ceremony held to commemorate wartime sex slaves

Doctors to go on nationwide strike Friday

Stricter law needed to prevent dog attacks on people

Cambodian residents outraged after man found not guilty of killing Cambodian wife

BK cosmetic clinic gains attention for disclosing surveillance videos

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