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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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Society

Seoul mayor proposes 'Cities Alliance Against Pandemic'

Larry Hogen, right in the screen, governor of the U.S. state of Maryland, speaks during the Cities Against COVID-19 2020 summit session on Tuesday. Screen capture from YouTubeBy Kim Se-jeongSeoul Mayor Park Won-soon proposed the creation of a new international organization to facilitate inter-city cooperation in responding to future infectious diseases during an online meeting with 42 city mayors, Tuesday, which was part of the Cities Against COVID-19 2020 (CAC2020) Summit.“Taking this opportunity, Seoul proposes to build an inter-city network to brace for future disasters and infectious disease outbreaks with the joint efforts of our partner cities,” Mayor Park said.The participating mayors endorsed the proposal which was later put into the Seoul Statement that read: “Understanding a general agreement on the necessity of city-to-city solidarity, we wish to build an intercity network which enables prompt joint responses to emerging infectious diseases.” The new organization will focus on detecting new infectious diseases, sharing information, providing resourc

Jun 3, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Seoul mayor proposes 'Cities Alliance Against Pandemic'
  • Seoul City to implement 'Green New Deal' to mitigate pandemic fallout
Law & Crime

Korean drivers angry at new school zone traffic law

Two students walk on a road in a school zone in Seoul in this file photo. A new law delivers harsher punishment to drivers who either kill or injure children in school zones, but it has also drawn a backlash from drivers for possible discrimination against them. Korea Times fileBy Kim Se-jeongKorea is not a safe place to be a pedestrian. According to OCED statistics, Korea has the highest pedestrian casualty rate from car accidents, 3.3 per every 100,000 compared to the OECD average of one. The same goes for children in school zones.Although drivers are required to slow down to 30 kilometers an hour in designated school zones, not all children are protected ― last year six lost their lives and 577 were injured.Lax law has been to blame. In March, the law was finally toughened, triggered by another tragic accident, imposing graver punishments on drivers who either kill or injure children in school zones. Under the revised law, a driver who kills a child younger than 13 years old is now subject to a minimum three years in prison and up to life imprisonment. If a child is injured, the d

Jun 2, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Korean drivers angry at new school zone traffic law
Society

Foreign residents share stories at COVID-19 summit

Foreign residents participate in a talk show about the COVID-19 pandemic on the opening day of the Cities Against COVID-19 Global Summit, Monday. Screen capture from YouTubeBy Kim Se-jeongSeoul's Cities Against COVID-19 (CAC) 2020 online summit opened Monday with a promotional session in which foreign residents of the capital shared their opinions on the pandemic from their observations here and what they heard from their home countries.“In France, where a kiss and hug are essential to a greeting, they disappeared. My father told me about a new one-second greeting where they say hi and turn away quickly so as not to receive a kiss or hug,” Rose Kizgin from France said in Korean during the session, which was held in Korean. “In China, people now have a new style of greeting which is touching the other person's foot,” Ginger Jiang from China said. The first session of the CAC2020, being held by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, featured seven foreign residents of Korea from China, the U.K., Finland, Russia, France, South Africa and Nepal. Sujan Ratna Shakya, fr

Jun 1, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Health

Coronavirus detected on computers in Coupang office

Health officials run COVID-19 tests on Coupang logistics center employees in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Courtesy of Goyang City Government.By Kim Se-jeongAmid rising concerns over new COVID-19 cases linked to e-commerce giant Coupang's logistics centers, the virus was detected on a computer keyboard, mouse and laptop used by employees in the company's Bucheon logistics center, the health authorities said Friday.“We've collected samples from an office on the second floor of the Bucheon center and ran tests. We suspect those who used those devices might have carried the virus,” said Jung Eun-kyeong, the director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) during a press conference. On Thursday, the authorities said the virus was also found on employees' hats and shoes, triggering worries among customers. Since the first infection linked to Coupang's Bucheon logistics center was reported six days ago, the total number of cases involving two centers has reached 102, according to the KCDC, up 20 from a day earlier. The majority of cases were reported from Co

May 29, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Coronavirus detected on computers in Coupang office
Society

Dwight School Seoul celebrates graduation with socially distanced ceremony

Former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon delivers a commencement speech via video to 27 graduating students of Dwight School Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Dwight School SeoulBy Kim Se-jeong Dwight School Seoul, an international school in Seoul, had a face-to-face graduation ceremony for its high school senior class Friday, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.The extra measures employed to prevent any spread of the virus created an unusual scene. Guests and 27 graduating students passed through tight security involving thermal cameras and a sanitizing procedure. Inside the venue, all in attendance wore masks and there were spaces between seats to ensure social distancing. “This has been a difficult year for seniors all over the world as all of the celebrations that usually happen in the last year of high school have been cancelled because of COVID-19,” the school said. “With the Korean government advising all schools, including foreign schools, to close on Feb. 25, Dwight School Seoul students have been taking online classes for the last three months. Despite the m

May 29, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Dwight School Seoul celebrates graduation with socially distanced ceremony
Politics

Former 'comfort woman' renews attack on activist-turned-lawmaker-elect

Lee Yong-soo speaks during a press conference on Monday in Daegu. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seokBy Kim Se-jeong Former sex slavery victim Lee Yong-soo on Thursday reconfirmed her condemnation of Yoon Mee-hyang, a former activist for so called “comfort women” and now a lawmaker-elect, saying she felt betrayed.“The feeling of betrayal was too big to overcome. Together with loneliness, I felt like committing suicide,” Lee said during an interview with a local radio station.Ending her three-decades of advocacy work at the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Korean Council), Yoon was elected as a lawmaker of the Together Citizens, the satellite party of the ruling Democratic Party, through the proportional representation vote in the April 15 general election. Thursday's comment came only three days after a press conference during which the victim made accusations and even expressed contempt for Yoon ― Lee even invited Yoon to the press conference to explain her stance.Lee dismissed an argument that Yoon

May 28, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Former 'comfort woman' renews attack on activist-turned-lawmaker-elect
Law & Crime

Prosecutors expedite investigation into activist-turned-lawmaker-elect

Yoon Mee-hyang /Korea Times fileBy Kim Se-jeongProsecutors are expected to expedite their investigation into corruption allegations against Yoon Mee-hyang, an activist-turned-lawmaker-elect, as top prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl has instructed them to get to the bottom of the case as a matter of urgency.“Investigators should be thorough because the group received government donations,” Yoon reportedly said Tuesday. Among the allegations facing the prominent activist is a misuse of funds raised through campaigns and donations for the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Korea Council), where she “volunteered” for more than two decades.Time is ticking for the law enforcement body as Yoon is expected to be sworn in as a lawmaker May 30 ― she can be neither arrested nor questioned once the Assembly session begins. She was selected as a proportional lawmaker of the Civil Together, a satellite party of the ruling Democratic Party, in the April 15 general election. Yet, summoning her within two days may not be physi

May 27, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Prosecutors expedite investigation into activist-turned-lawmaker-elect
  • Activist-turned-lawmaker denies misuse of donation
Society

Seoul mayor to host online global summit on pandemic

By Kim Se-jeong Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon will host an online summit on responses by world cities to the COVID-19 pandemic from June 1 to 5, inviting city representatives from 40 countries.“The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that the world is connected. I believe global cooperation and solidarity is the way forward,” Mayor Park said. “Also, I will explain S-quarantine at the summit.” S-quarantine ― the S stands for Seoul ― is derived from K-quarantine, a slogan used lately among politicians here Korea to describe Korea's experience in fighting the pandemic.The Cities Against COVID-19 Global Summit 2020 will have almost 120 speakers, including Jared Diamond, an American historian and anthropologist and the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Gun, Germs and Steel” (1997). He will talk about Seoul's response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the post-COVID-19 world between 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. June 4. Samuel Bowles, an economist and the author of “The Moral Economy: Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens” (2016), is another

May 27, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Seoul mayor to host online global summit on pandemic
Society

Seoul sees future in city's manufacturing sector

Kim Dasol with his book stand in his Seoul studio Korea Times photo by Kim Se-jeongCity government supports young entrepreneurs like Cho to keep its manufacturing industry aliveBy Kim Se-jeongCho Dasol makes book stands from recycled plastic bottle caps. His tiny studio in Seoul is where he melts and presses the caps into panels which are later connected to an aluminum panel to become the finished product. The black pattern on the panel surface is what makes the product unique and is made from caps that come from Coca Cola bottles. “I use black Coca Cola bottle caps to create this pattern, but the pattern isn't identical for each product because it depends on how they melt and mix in the heat,” Cho said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.It takes about 150 caps to make one panel and he has no problem getting enough supplies. “When I started out last year, I went to apartment complexes in the neighborhood and asked for donations.” Later, however, a local environmental group that was collecting plastic bottles started giving him the caps. After the c

May 27, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Seoul sees future in city's manufacturing sector
Politics

Preventive medicine expert stresses importance of home care

Professor Hong Yun-chul from Seoul National University speaks during the Korea Forum 2020 in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Hong In-kiBy Kim Se-jeong Professor Hong Yun-chul from Seoul National University's medical school said a new infectious disease will attack humanity again soon and Korea should fight that epidemic by developing a system in which individuals can monitor their health at home.Speaking at the Korea Forum organized by The Korea Times and the Hankook Ilbo, Hong Yun-chul said, “Technologies are already available as shown in a smart watch or smart glasses. Also, you can make your toilet much smarter. Human waste holds critical health information but we discard it all. If we can install a system in our toilet that can analyze the waste, we can detect illness early on and take action. This is very possible.” Specialized in preventive medicine, Hong is the author of two books, “The Origin of Disease” (2014) and “The Changing Era of Disease” (2019). The expert said the current medical system where patients shop for hospitals and doc

May 26, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Preventive medicine expert stresses importance of home care
  • Korea urged to prepare post-pandemic paradigm
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