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Kim Se-jeong

Korea Times K-Culture Reporter

I am covering trend, food and fashion. Previously, I covered diplomacy, city, environment and unification.

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Law & Crime

Rift between Justice Minister, chief prosecutor deepens

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae speaks during a meeting with lawmakers at the National Assembly, Monday. YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl were never on good terms, but the tension between the two has never been as deep as it is now, according to legal pundits, Tuesday.Choo lashed out at Yoon, Monday, for refusing to follow her recommendation regarding an investigation into the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a Christian sect, in Daegu amid the COVID-19 outbreak in February.“If the prosecution had conducted a search of the church, it could have obtained CCTV data which could have helped in getting a list of members visiting the church. Yet, the authorities missed a golden opportunity to obtain critical information and it slowed down their response to the outbreak,” Choo said during a meeting with a group of new lawmakers at the National Assembly.Earlier that day, Choo also wrote on Facebook: “When power is unchecked, it is like a runaway engine. And always, the result is damage to citizens. That's why this administratio

Jun 30, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Rift between Justice Minister, chief prosecutor deepens
  • Prosecutor general ranks 3rd as potential presidential candidate
Health

More cases reported in kindergarten food poisoning scandal

A food poisoning scandal involving a kindergarten in Ansan Gyeonggi Province is growing fast, with 15 children showing symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) which can be deadly./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong A food poisoning scandal involving a kindergarten in Ansan Gyeonggi Province is growing fast, with 15 children showing symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) which can be deadly.HUS can be caused by enterohemorrhagic e-coli, a subset of e-coli virus, often found in under-cooked food and especially meat products. In children the condition can result in acute kidney failure.As of Friday, according to the local health center, a total of 295 were tested for the bacteria, among whom 49 were positive while 99 are awaiting results. According to local news outlets, four were receiving dialysis treatment. “We're currently monitoring the condition of children undergoing treatment and looking into the transmission route,” said a local health center official. The kindergarten is currently closed.The scandal broke out on Thursday after almost 100 children and teachers at the k

Jun 26, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
More cases reported in kindergarten food poisoning scandal
  • Precautions needed to avoid food poisoning
Society

Sustainability activist promotes clothes recycling

Jung Ju-yeon with the campaign logoBy Kim Se-jeongJung Ju-yeon, 46, is a sustainability activist who recently launched the clothes recycling campaign, “Wear Again.” In addition to blogging and posting on Instagram, Jung is also planning a second-hand clothing fashion contest and a second-hand clothing swap party later in the year. “We don't think about wearing second-hand clothes so much in Korea. But my experiences overseas and worsening environmental problems gradually made me feel guilty about buying new clothes. And I wanted to do something to raise awareness about it,” she told The Korea Times.Jung spent almost eight years in France. “It was a big surprise for me to see people be so frugal. But gradually, I became attracted to that way of living.” She said only 30 percent of manufactured clothes around the world end up being worn, adding, “the remaining 70 percent is dumped and ends up being buried or incinerated. Also, on average, people wear clothes only seven times before dumping them.”Studies also found that the fashion industr

Jun 26, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Sustainability activist promotes clothes recycling
Society

Dankook Univ. looks to pandemic for growth

President of Dankook University Kim Soo-bok speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, June 15. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Kim Se-jeongIn 1974, Kim Soo-bok was a freshman at Dankook University's Korean language department. In his second year of study, he won an award for a poem he wrote and started his life as a poet. In 1985, he joined the school faculty and from 2004 he took a management position at the school. After serving as dean at the College of Liberal Arts and for Academic Affairs, he became vice president of the university's Cheonan campus in 2017.And on Aug. 26 last year, he was sworn in as Dankook's president, becoming the first alumni to take office in the school's 73-year history. Kim had a vision for his presidency of nurturing and empowering students by giving them the freedom to choose what they want to study regardless of their initial fields and integrating technologies to achieve this goal. He utilized the “Digital Creative Campus,” project as a means to achieve his ambitious goal. In October la

Jun 24, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Dankook Univ. looks to pandemic for growth
Society

Incheon Airport angers young jobseekers

President Moon Jae-in speaks during his visit to the Incheon International Airport Corp. in May 2017. Korea Times fileBy Kim Se-jeongIncheon International Airport Corp.'s (IIAC) recent decision to change the status of 1,902 “irregular” workers to “regular” is drawing backlash from young jobseekers who claim they would be “victims” of the move.One jobseeker expressed anger in an online petition on Cheong Wa Dae's website asking the company to stop the move. The petition drew more than 160,000 endorsements.The petitioner wrote, “The move is devastating to those who are preparing for a chance to work for the Incheon International Airport Corporation. What wrong have we done? Have a look at Korail. It doesn't hire so many people now after it changed the status of irregular workers (to regular). This is reverse discrimination against young jobseekers.” The petitioner's claim drew more support after a Kakao message written by one of the 1,902 new “regular” workers was made public.In the message, he talked of jumping to permanent s

Jun 24, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Incheon Airport angers young jobseekers
  • Division taking hold in Korean society
Politics

Teenagers drive fossil fuel divestment movement

Members of Youth4ClimateAction Korea stage a rally outside the Seoul Metropolitan Education Office asking the office to join the fossil fuel divestment movement in May 2019. / Courtesy of Youth4ClimateActionBy Kim Se-jeongYouth4ClimateAction Korea is a group inspired by the Swedish teen environmental activist Greta Thunberg, famous for school climate strikes. The group's 60 members are currently engaged in a fossil fuel divestment movement asking 17 education offices across the nation to select partner banks that don't invest in coal-fired power plant projects.“Education offices are responsible for nurturing the young to become responsible members of society. The current climate crisis can deprive us of the right to live in a sound environment,” Kim Bo-rim, a member of the group, told The Korea Times during a recent interview. “Currently, all banks that education offices in Korea work with invest money inside and outside Korea in coal-fired power plant projects, one of the main culprits of global warming. We want the education offices to change for the better and jo

Jun 23, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Teenagers drive fossil fuel divestment movement
Politics

'Comfort women' scandal deepens

A worker at a shelter run by the Korea Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan was found dead earlier this month. Korea Times fileBy Kim Se-jeong Recently, much of the news on wartime sex slavery issues, related to atrocities committed against young women from Korea and other countries by the Japanese military in the 1930s and 40s, is coming from the prosecutors' office.Stories on survivors' testimonies at the United Nations and new statues have been replaced with stories about the prosecution investigation into an organization at the heart of the advocacy work, the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Korean Council). Founded in 1990, the Korean Council has been at the forefront of advocacy work for the sex slavery survivors, involved with the famous Wednesday vigil in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul and others. Yet, now the council finds itself in trouble. The trouble began in early May when Lee Yong-soo, one of the sex slavery survivors, publicly accused former director Yo

Jun 21, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
'Comfort women' scandal deepens
Society

Seoul city officials in dilemma over public swimming pools, water parks

Seoul's outdoor swimming pool in Ttukseom / Korea Times file By Kim Se-jeong The Seoul Metropolitan Government is in a dilemma over the opening of five swimming pools and water parks along the Han River amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, the city government tentatively postponed the opening of five outdoor facilities ― swimming pools in Ttukseom, Gwangnaru and Yeouido and water parks in Nanji and Yangwha ― which was scheduled for June 26. When they will open has yet to be announced. The city said the matter is still under discussion and all options are on the table, including not opening them at all.Despite being outdoors, the facilities are usually packed with visitors each year, which could increase the risk of infection, the main concern for the city government.“Keeping everything under control will be quite difficult. It's not just the visitors who are coming to the water facilities that we have to keep under observation,” a city official said.The swimming

Jun 18, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Seoul city officials in dilemma over public swimming pools, water parks
  • Going to beach? you will need reservations this summer
Health

Going to beach? you will need reservations this summer

Haeundae Beach is crowded with visitors in this 2015 file photo. Beachgoers will need reservations this summer amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Korea Times fileBy Kim Se-jeongThose who plan to spend time at a beach this summer will have one more thing to check: whether reservations are necessary.The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Thursday it is introducing a reservation system for the nation's beaches in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Sixteen popular beaches will now require a reservation. They are Haeundae, Gwangalli, Songdo, Dadaepo and Songjeong in Busan; Gyeongpo, Naksan, Sokcho, Samcheok, Mangsang, Maengbang, Chuam and Hajodae in Gangwon Province; Ilsan and Jinha in Ulsan; and Goraebul in North Gyeongsang Province. However, visitors to Jeju Island or South Chungcheong Province don't have to worry about making a reservation, as the system is being run on a voluntary basis and the governments of those two areas decided to take other measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. If the destination is not one of the 16 and not located in Jeju or South Chungcheong Pr

Jun 18, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Going to beach? you will need reservations this summer
  • Seoul city officials in dilemma over public swimming pools, water parks
  • Seoul to postpone opening of public swimming pools amid pandemic
Law & Crime

Pandemic brings changes to Korea's courts

Seoul District Court judge Kim Young-ki, right, listens to a plaintiff's lawyer, visible on the screen, during a video hearing on Wednesday in Seoul. YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong At 11:20 a.m. on Wednesday, courtroom 477 of the Seoul Central District Court was unusually empty.Judge Kim Young-ki entered the room, sat down, took off his mask and started to talk to the computer screen in front of him.“Legal representative for the plaintiff, can you hear me okay?” he asked. “Yes, I can,” the lawyer on the computer screen answered. Her face was projected on a big white screen on the wall to the judge's right. The judge also asked the same question to the defendant's side before hearing their claims. The hearing was to decide whether a hot dog outlet located at a tourist spot on Geoje Island violated the unfair competition prevention law by selling the same food that was being sold in another outlet close by. The owner of the original restaurant who brought up the case claimed the second restaurant also stole its trademark. The plaintiff's lawyer took part in the hearing f

Jun 17, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Pandemic brings changes to Korea's courts
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