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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

Father of child porn site operator ignites further outcry

Son Jong-woo ran the world's largest child sex abuse website with more than 220,000 videos of child pornography and sexually exploitive contents. Korea Times fileBy Kim Se-jeong The father of the 24-year-old man, who ran the world's largest child sex abuse website, has been drawing a public outcry for making an “emotional” appeal to the judiciary not to extradite his son to the United States.Son Jong-woo finished his 18-month-long jail term for making and trafficking in sexually exploitative content using children on his website. However, he's still in custody because of the extradition request from the U.S., which has indicted him on nine charges.In a letter to an appeals court that will hear the case, the father wrote: “I send my deepest apology to the victims. I am not asking the court to condone what he did, but as a father, sending him to the U.S. where he doesn't speak the language and isn't familiar with food, would be too much for him.”He continued: “If you have a child, you'd understand my desperateness. In the U.S., my son could be sentenced up

May 6, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Father of child porn site operator ignites further outcry
Health

Korea starts post-social distancing life with cautious hope

A quarantine worker in Mapo District, Seoul, disinfects a library, Wednesday. The library opened Wednesday as Korea ended “official” social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong Korea had its first day without “official” social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday, with many still wearing masks but cautiously hoping for a full return to normal. The country didn't experience a mandatory lockdown for its citizens, as seen in other nations, but had a social-distancing campaign in place that banned meetings and gatherings for more than a month. Starting Wednesday, the government replaced it with a set of hygiene guidelines for individuals and groups, all non-compulsory, in order to maintain COVID-19 precautions, and while some openly wonder whether these measures will work, the government insists that it will maintain them for the present. Many public facilities were back in business ― the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art opened, allowing in visitors who made reservations in advance.

May 6, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Korea starts post-social distancing life with cautious hope
Global Community

Kazakh brothers seeking better life in Korea killed in fire

Family members of the Icheon warehouse fire victims cry at the joint memorial hall installed in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. Sunday. YonhapBy Kim Se-jeongTwo Kazakh workers killed in the warehouse fire in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province were brothers who moved to Korea with their families in pursuit of a better life.The two were ethnic Koreans from former Soviet states. “One was a father of three children,” said Kim Young-sook who leads a group dedicated to helping ethnic Koreans from the former Soviet Union in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. “I met the guy with three children in February. He dropped by because he needed help visiting a medical clinic.” According to Kim, they were living in Ansan and traveled across the country for work. “Their relatives in Kazakhstan want to fly to Korea for their funerals, but can't because of financial difficulties. They are not in a good situation and need help. We're trying to help them with whatever we can.” Almost 18,000 ethnic Koreans from former Soviet states are currently living in Ansan. The brothers were among 38 who

May 5, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Kazakh brothers seeking better life in Korea killed in fire
Health

Gov't to set up 1,000 clinics for 2nd wave of outbreak

An official from Seongdong-gu Office in Seoul disinfects an outdoor football field Monday prior to its scheduled reopening May 6. Public outdoor facilities are to be opened Tuesday although officials are advising people to maintain social distancing./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong The government will set up 1,000 clinics to treat potential coronavirus patients in the coming months in preparation for a possible second wave of the pandemic this fall and winter, officials said Monday.“Clinics dedicated to treating COVID-19 patients will open so that we can detect and treat the patients early on,” Kim Gang-lip, the vice health minister in charge of the government response to the COVID-19 crisis, said during a daily press briefing. Infectious disease experts warn of a second wave of coronavirus infections later this year when the temperature drops again. No new treatments or vaccines are expected to be ready by then.According to the government's plan, there will be two types of clinics: 500 clinics using existing public healthcare facilities with appointed doctors from local communiti

May 4, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Gov't to set up 1,000 clinics for 2nd wave of outbreak
  • Gov't bracing for second wave of coronavirus outbreak in winter
Society

Warehouse fire shatters Korean dream

Investigators enter a burnt warehouse on the second day of their forensic investigation into the cause of a fire that left 38 workers dead, Friday. Yonhap By Kim Se-jeong Among the 38 people who lost their lives in a fire at a warehouse construction site in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday, were migrant workers including an ethnic Korean from China and two Kazakhstanis. “This was my brother's second day working here,” the older brother of the ethnic Korean said, while not revealing their names. “He came to Korea with his family and was working hard to make the Korean dream. I am torn apart,” the man told the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times.The two victims from Kazakhstan have yet to be identified. Police said of the 38 bodies recovered, 33 have been partially identified, while the National Forensic Service (NFS) is running DNA tests on the remaining five as they were too badly damaged by the fire. Ten other workers were injured in the blaze.A te

May 1, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Warehouse fire shatters Korean dream
Health

S. Korea reports zero domestic infections

Gimpo International Airport in Seoul is busy with passengers traveling during holidays that started Thursday./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong Korea reported four new cases of COVID-19, Wednesday, all of which were imported, marking the first day without any domestically reported cases since Feb. 18.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the total number of cases rose to 10,765, with 247 fatalities. Also, the quarantine authorities said they hadn't seen any people suspected of contracting the virus after visiting polling stations April 15. Wednesday was the last day of the 14-day incubation period for the virus.Almost 29 million citizens, including those who were under self-quarantine, participated in the election, and the authorities were highly concerned of a possible massive outbreak. “We thank the citizens, healthcare workers and volunteers for their efforts. This demonstrated that we were able to keep the crisis under control,” Yoon Tae-ho, a senior official handling the government's quarantine measures, said during a daily press conference.

Apr 30, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
S. Korea reports zero domestic infections
  • 98.8% of coronavirus fatalities had other diseases: KCDC
  • Moon gives credit to public after daily internal virus infection cases come to zero
Law & Crime

Female teachers fear their school photos used against them

By Kim Se-jeong Seven out of 10 school teachers fear that their pictures printed in graduation albums could be used for crimes against them.From elementary to high schools, photo albums are made every year as a gift for graduating students, including pictures of teachers and other school staff members, and it is a long school tradition.In a survey conducted by a teachers' union in Seoul on 8,122 teachers across the country, 70.6 percent of respondents said they held such a concern. Female teachers were much more concerned than male colleagues and younger teachers were more worried than older teachers. Among the respondents, 7.6 percent answered they witnessed their photos being circulated in Kakao group chats or on Naver forums for mothers. “Of course, I am worried. It's not that I am too concerned to walk alone at night. But I am aware that I can be a victim of a crime because some people know my face and want to do something against me,” said one female middle-school teacher in her 50s from Seoul.“I have a teacher friend in Gyeonggi Province. She has a school-age

Apr 29, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Female teachers fear their school photos used against them
Health

Gov't pushing to make drive-thru testing international standard

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun speaks during a daily COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong The government is seeking to have its drive-thru testing method, which safely sped up testing procedures for COVID-19 here, as an international standard for testing for the respiratory illness.The health and welfare, and food and drug safety ministries said Wednesday that they would apply to the International Organization for Standardization to get Korea's operational manual for drive-thru testing facilities accepted as a world standard. The drive-thru testing center allows a possible patient to be questioned, examined and have samples collected while remaining in their car. While the first was deployed at Kyungpook National Medical Center in Daegu, Feb. 23, the central government designated the facility developed by the Goyang City Government in Gyeonggi Province as a Korean standard, March 4.The drive-thru testing centers immediately drew the world's attention, and journalists, medical experts, diplomats and other countries sent inquiries to the Korean government

Apr 29, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Gov't pushing to make drive-thru testing international standard
Health

Goyang stands out for drive-thru testing center

Lee Jae-joon, mayor of Goyang in Gyeonggi Province, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times in his office, April 23. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By Kim Se-jeong/Kim Eil-chulOn Feb. 20, Mayor Lee Jae-joon of Goyang in Gyeonggi Province sat with his public health department colleagues, directors of local medical centers and infectious diseases experts to discuss how to respond to the fast spread of COVID-19. A couple of days earlier, the super spreader from the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu was confirmed, pushing up the number of new cases fast. In Goyang, people began packing the city's testing centers, with many waiting in long lines to get tested. “The rooms were too small to house all these people while they were waiting. They were vulnerable to infecting each other. We needed to do something,” Mayor Lee said. During that meeting, a medical expert whose identity is unknown proposed an option of testing people in their cars ― he said he had he

Apr 29, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Goyang stands out for drive-thru testing center
Health

Gov't warns of possible second wave of infections during upcoming holidays

Kwon Joon-wook, a senior official in charge of COVID-19 quarantine measures, speaks during a press conference in Sejong, Tuesday. / YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong Korea may face a second wave of the coronavirus infection during the upcoming holidays, which will begin Thursday, as more people are expected to travel and engage in outdoor activities, government officials warned Tuesday. The officials are urging the public to practice social-distancing and follow personal hygiene guidelines when they venture out.“These holidays will be a critical time for the development of the COVID-19 outbreak in Korea because many people are planning to travel and gather together,” said Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip, who is in charge of the government's coronavirus response, during a daily meeting. “As your physical distance shrinks, so does the possibility of the spread of COVID-19. Please don't forget this.”“For the last 100 days, we have faced big and small crises. And we've reached where we are thanks to many citizens who faithfully participated in social-distancing. Yet,

Apr 28, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Gov't warns of possible second wave of infections during upcoming holidays
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