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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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Seoul city offers coronavirus information in 12 languages

Seoul Global Center's branch in Yeoungdeungpo District offers coronavirus-related consultations in eight languages. /Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentBy Kim Se-jeongThe Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday it is providing information and consultations in 12 languages to foreign residents of the capital regarding the coronavirus outbreak.At the Seoul Global Center's branch in the Yeoungdeungpo district, the service is available in Chinese, English, Vietnamese, Mongolian, Filipino, Urdu (Pakistan), Nepalese and Uzbek. The phone number is (02) 2229-4900. Those who speak Japanese, Thai, Indonesian and Arabic, can call the Seoul Global Center headquarters at (02) 2075-4180 for help. Each office has staff who speak each language.Interpreters from the center are available to accompany clients to medical centers.“Seoul has almost 450,000 foreign residents. We would like to give (them) enough information to respond to the new coronavirus,” according to the city's statement. Local global village centers are also able to help source interpreters for residents whose lan

Feb 11, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Seoul city offers coronavirus information in 12 languages
  • Third evacuation flight sent to Wuhan
  • Gov't advises against traveling to Southeast Asia
  • South Korea's 3rd evacuation plane arrives from virus-hit Wuhan
Law & Crime

Justice minister defends decision to block indictment disclosure

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae answers a question from a journalist during a press conference in the ministry headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. The conference took place to mark her first 40 days in the office./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeongJustice Minister Choo Mi-ae defended herself Tuesday over her controversial decision to stop disclosing the full text of indictments involving President Moon-Jae-in's close allies, saying it was necessary step.During a press conference marking her first 40 days in office, the minister also explained her move to separate the investigation procedure from the indictment process. Choo is seeking to create a separate prosecution unit to decide on indictments after it reviews the results of investigations by subordinate prosecutors.“What I did was a first step to correct wrong practices by giving defendants the benefit of the doubt and the right to a fair trial,” she said during the press conference held at the ministry headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province.On Feb. 5, Choo ordered the ministry to stop disclosing information to

Feb 11, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Health

Coronavirus also found in bats in Korea

By Kim Se-jeong The spread of the new coronavirus here is shedding light on a study that detected a type of coronavirus in bats living on the Korean peninsula.Rhinolophus ferrumequinumExperts believe bats were the source of the new coronavirus that has killed more than 600 people, mostly in China. They also believe the virus was transmitted indirectly from bats to humans at Wuhan's wet market where wild animals are butchered and sold. According to “Monitoring coronavirus in wild bats in Korea,” published last year, a research team led by Kim Young-kwan, a researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Research, detected coronavirus in 16 samples taken from live bats' feces and saliva, as well as from dead bats' organs.Twenty-three species of bats have habitats in Korea and the virus was found the most frequently in Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, the study result said. Kim also wrote the bat samples from South Jeolla Province showed the most infections, but said the possibility of human transmission was quite low. He also emphasized that the type of coronavirus discover

Feb 7, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Coronavirus also found in bats in Korea
Health

'Korea should brace for more coronavirus infection cases'

An emergency 119 staff member sprays disinfectant on himself after driving the country's 22nd confirmed coronavirus patient to Chosun University Hospital in Gwangju, Thursday. / YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong Korea will continue to grapple with new cases of coronavirus infection in the coming weeks, if not months, as more people than previously estimated have come into contact with infected patients, according to medical experts, Thursday.“The third and sixth patients from last week traveled around the country without knowing they had been infected. The number of people they came into contact with surpassed 1,000 before they began showing symptoms and later were confirmed to be infected. That's why there were many confirmed patients earlier,” Kim Woo-joo from the Korea University Guro Hospital said Thursday. “From the viewpoint of infectious diseases, this is an anticipated event, so anticipate more to come.” Kim noted the coronavirus outbreak is now spreading to small communities, putting everyone in the country at risk. Four additional cases were confirmed here, Thur

Feb 6, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
'Korea should brace for more coronavirus infection cases'
  • S. Korea reports 4 more cases of novel coronavirus, total now at 23
  • PHOTOS Life or death: A glimpse into North Korea shivering with coronavirus fears
  • China can bring coronavirus under control 'in 10 days,' Chinese envoy says
  • Korea toughens monitoring against hoarding of protective masks
Health

Working pregnant women on edge over coronavirus outbreak

A pregnant woman filed a petition on the presidential office website asking for the government to force companies to allow pregnant employees to temporarily work from home.By Kim Se-jeong An increasing number of pregnant women who hold down jobs are expressing concerns over the rapidly-spreading coronavirus, with some calling on the government to force employers to allow them to work from home.“I am in my 31st week now. As a working mother, I can't stop myself from being exposed to other people at work. I am getting very worried about it. What should I do? I want to work until mid-March, but given what's going on now, I may have to reconsider my plan,” a woman in Mapo wrote on the Naver Cafe for Mothers webpage, Thursday.She is among the many pregnant women in the country concerned about potential exposure to the infection.Some mothers also expressed concerns over going to hospitals for check-ups during pregnancy and staying in post-natal care facilities after the delivery.No such case has been reported in Korea. In China, however, an infant tested positive for the virus

Feb 6, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Health

Seoul city inspects restaurants for bat meat consumption

A quarantine team disinfects the street of Daerim Central Market in Yeungdeungpo in Seoul, Tuesday. The market is a place for Chinese immigrants and tourists to shop and eat. / Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-hanBy Kim Se-jeongThe Seoul Metropolitan Government conducted a rare inspection of restaurants in the city's three major traditional markets, Wednesday, for the possible illegal consumption of bat meat, as part of its efforts to prevent the spread of a coronavirus, according to city officials.On Wednesday, three additional cases of infection were confirmed here, putting the total number at 19. The inspection team consisting of city officials overseeing hygiene matters, police and consumer rights activists looked into restaurants in Daerim Central Market in Yeungdeungpo, Gyeongdong Market in Dongdaemun and Joyang Market in Gwangjin; areas that are frequented by Chinese immigrants and tourists.The selling of bat meat is illegal here, but the inspection was carried out on suspicions that small quantities could potentially be brought to those venues from China. The officials

Feb 5, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
  • Gov't under mounting pressure to extend entry ban
Health

Gov't under mounting pressure to extend entry ban

The 18th coronavirus patient, the daughter of the 16th patient, arrives at Chonnam National University Hospital in Gwangju, Wednesday./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeongMedical experts renewed their criticism of the government Wednesday, urging it to extend an entry ban for foreigners beyond China, as four out of the total of 19 coronavirus cases here have been confirmed to involve people who traveled to Thailand, Singapore and Japan, not China. “The new developments are certainly worrisome. The government must consider blocking entry from countries beyond China,” said Korean Medical Association spokesman Park Jong-hyuk. “However, as the government is not doing enough to ban people from China, I don't know what to expect from it.”On Wednesday, the government reported three more cases of the novel coronavirus, raising the total to 19.The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said a 36-year-old Korean man who returned from Singapore after attending a conference there last month tested positive for the contagious virus, confirming him as the 19th case.

Feb 5, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Gov't under mounting pressure to extend entry ban
  • 2nd coronavirus patient fully recovered; to leave hospital this week
  • Prank calls related to virus infection increase
  • Seoul city inspects restaurants for bat meat consumption
  • S. Korea reports 4 more cases of novel coronavirus, total now at 23
Health

Myeongdong feels fallout from coronavirus outbreak

One of the main streets in Myeongdong which is empty. Myeongdong is hit by a decreasing number of tourists from China./ Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Kim Se-jeong In Myeongdong, one of the most famed tourist spots in Seoul, people are feeling the fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak heavily.A new case was confirmed in Korea, Tuesday, pushing the total number of infections to 16; while in China, the epicenter of the outbreak, 425 people have died, and Hong Kong confirmed its first fatality from the virus the same day.“I only sold three today,” said a vendor of street-food running a stall selling the Korean version of “egg in the basket” (egg cooked in bread) on a street close to a shop run by Nature Republic, a leading Korean cosmetic company. “Normally, by this hour (right before noon), I would have a long queue of people buying my snacks. Today there is nobody. I used to start my day at 8:30 but now I come at 10.”She is one of hundreds of street businesses that rely on Chinese tourists, whom Myeongdong's economy is dependent on ― they

Feb 4, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Myeongdong feels fallout from coronavirus outbreak
  • Moon calls for all-out efforts to minimize economic fallout from coronavirus outbreak
  • Colleges delay spring semester on coronavirus fears
Health

Calls grow for outright entry ban of Chinese

Choi Dae-zip, center, president of Korean Medical Association reads a statement in response to the government's recent measure on coronavirus epidemic at the association's headquarters in Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of Korean Medical AssociationBy Kim Se-jeongThe government's plan to ban the entry of foreigners who've been to Hubei Province, China, the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak, will be ineffective, according to medical experts, Monday. They called for an outright entry ban on all people coming from China“The government's measure is ineffective because the Chinese government has already banned people in Hubei from traveling outside. Rule No.1 in quarantine is to stop physical contact with those infected,” Park Jong-hyuk, the spokesman for the Korean Medical Association (KMA), told The Korea Times, Monday. Later that day, the KMA released a statement with the same message.The ban is going into effect today at all airports and ports. Foreign nationals who visited Hubei Province after Jan. 20 will be denied entry; while Koreans will be allowed to go home after

Feb 3, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Calls grow for outright entry ban of Chinese
  • China announces 361 deaths, 2,829 new cases for a total of 17,205
  • S. Korea to test all people with symptoms of novel coronavirus
  • S. Korea has 15 coronavirus patients
  • China virus death toll rises to 425, total cases now 20,438
Health

Wuhan evacuees spend calm weekend

A truck carrying meals for the Wuhan evacuees enters the Police Human Resources Development Institute in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, Sunday./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeongThe government said Sunday that 701 Koreans who were evacuated from Wuhan, China, due to the outbreak of a new deadly corona virus, spent a calm weekend. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the National Human Resources Development Institute in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province was housing 173 people, while the Police Human Resources Development Institute in Asan, South Chungcheong Province was sheltering 528. The evacuees returned to Korea via chartered planes Friday and Saturday, and the majority were driven directly to the facilities. However, 25 were taken to hospitals for testing before being taken to the quarantine facilities after their results came back negative for the virus.One among the 701 was sent to the National Medical Center in Seoul, Sunday, after he was confirmed to have been infected. He had passed the initial screening at Gimpo International Airport where he arrived Friday, but began

Feb 2, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Wuhan evacuees spend calm weekend
  • Korea to ban entry from visitors from Hubei Province
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