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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Gov't confirms Shincheonji founder as Korean War veteran

Lee Man-hee, founder and leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus. Korea Times fileThe leader of the Shincheonji religious group at the center of the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea has been recognized as a man of national merit for his participation in the 1950-53 Korean War, the veterans affairs ministry said Wednesday.Lee Man-hee, founder and leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, has come under intensive public fire after a number of his followers have been confirmed to have the COVID-19 virus, with critics blaming the mass infections on unique worship practices and the secretiveness of the religion.Nearly half of South Korea's total coronavirus patients are related to Shincheonji.As rumors have spread that Lee is a state-recognized war veteran, calls have grown for depriving him of his status as a man of merit. "Lee participated in the war between May 1952 and April 1953 and was registered in 2015 as a Person of National Merit for his service," the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said in a message to reporters. The ministry had refused to confirm the fact, say

Mar 4, 2020
Gov't confirms Shincheonji founder as Korean War veteran

'Keep masks on, Koreans (and foreign residents)!'

Brand-new noncommissioned officers with masks on salute during a graduation ceremony on the grounds of the Navy Education Command in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, last week. Yonhap By Oh Young-jin As confirmed coronavirus cases rise by the hundreds daily, Koreans are faced with a Shakespearean kind of question that carries a sense of deadly seriousness: To wear a mask, or not to wear a mask? And there's the rub. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other American medical experts put out the public message that effectively says something like: “Don't wear a mask because it won't protect you, rather, it will sicken you; the mask is for medical staff and only if you are sick, then you should wear it for the sake of other people's health.”So I decided to take this “wear-it-or-not” question to an expert ― virologist Dr. Hakim Djaballah, now in New York, who held a position at the Institute Pasteur Korea when the MERS (Middle East Respiratory

Mar 4, 2020By Oh Young-jin
'Keep masks on, Koreans (and foreign residents)!'
  • Korea to sharply restrict face mask exports, rev up weekend production
  • Coronavirus: China sends 500,000 masks to Korea in humanitarian aid

Daegu-based journalist contracts coronavirus; newsroom shut, colleagues quarantined

By Park Si-soo A Daegu-based reporter has tested positive for coronavirus, the first case in South Korea's news industry. It was confirmed on Monday.The newsroom of the Daegu Ilbo daily, the reporter's company, was temporarily shut for disinfection and five colleagues, who had worked with the affected man, are in self-quarantine after a virus test. The pressroom and PR office of the Buk-gu district office of Daegu City, one of the reporter's beats, were also closed for disinfection. Several reporters and district officers who had contact with him there are also in quarantine after a virus test. How the reporter contracted the virus is yet to be confirmed. The news organization said it had all employees tested for coronavirus to ensure early detection of extra infection, if any, and allay the concerns of other reporters and people whom its reporters and staff need to meet for reporting or business. Daegu is the center of South Korea's ballooning coronavirus outbreak ― the number of confirmed cases in Daegu and the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province account for nearly 90 percent of

Mar 4, 2020
Daegu-based journalist contracts coronavirus; newsroom shut, colleagues quarantined

Thousands wait for hospital beds in Korea as coronavirus cases surge

South Korea reported 516 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday as thousands of sick people waited for hospital beds in Daegu, the city at the centre of the worst outbreak outside mainland China. YonhapSouth Korea reported 516 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday as thousands of sick people waited for hospital beds in Daegu, the city at the centre of the worst outbreak outside mainland China. The new cases bring South Korea's total to 5,328, with at least 32 deaths, mostly in and around Daegu where the flu-like virus has spread rapidly through members of a fringe Christian group. “We need special measures in times of emergency," South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a special cabinet meeting. "In order to overcome COVID-19 as quickly as possible and minimise the impact on the economy, it is necessary to proactively inject all available resources." COVID-19 is the illness caused by the new coronavirus which emerged from central China late last year and has spread around the world. Hospitals in South Korea's hardest hit areas were scrambling to accommodate the surge in

Mar 4, 2020
Thousands wait for hospital beds in Korea as coronavirus cases surge

Korea reports 516 new virus cases, total now at 5,328

South Korea reported 516 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the nation's total number of infections to 5,328, with the outbreak in the southeastern city of Daegu, the hotspot here, showing little sign of a slowdown. YonhapSouth Korea reported 516 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the nation's total number of infections to 5,328, with the outbreak in the southeastern city of Daegu, the hotspot here, showing little sign of a slowdown.So far, 32 people, mostly elderly patients with underlying illnesses, have died in South Korea from the respiratory virus that emerged in China late last year, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.About 60 percent of confirmed cases have been linked to a branch of the Shincheonji religious sect in Daegu, the country's fourth-largest city, with a population of 2.5 million. However, health authorities have shifted their focus to testing ordinary citizens in Daegu, citing an alarming level of community spread. Of the 516 new cases, which were detected on Tuesday, 405 are in Daegu and 89 are in nei

Mar 4, 2020
Korea reports 516 new virus cases, total now at 5,328
  • Asian financial hubs shut doors on Korea

No. of coronavirus infections over 5,000

Figure Members of the Capital Defense Command spray disinfectant in Guryong Village, an urban slum in Seoul, Tuesday. Socially disadvantaged groups are more vulnerable to the new coronavirus because their access to masks and clean water is limited. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukPresident Moon declares 'belated' war on COVID-19By Kim Se-jeongThe government reported 851 additional cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, pushing the total number of patients here over 5,000, among which there have been 31 fatalities, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).A total of 5,186 cases were confirmed as of 4 p.m., of which 4,285 were from Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. The KCDC said 23 patients were in critical condition, indicating there could be more fatalities soon.President Moon Jae-in has “declared a war” on the coronavirus and placed all government agencies on 24-hour alert. “We're in a critical phase. The crisis in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province is at its peak,” Moon said during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. Regarding the provision

Mar 3, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
No. of coronavirus infections over 5,000
  • “Next couple of weeks is critical to Korea's coronavirus fight"

Daegu grapples with shortage of sickbeds amid soaring infections

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun checks the facilities at the Ministry of Education's National Education Training Institute in Daegu, Monday, as the institute has been designated as a facility to accommodate COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms amid a worsening shortage of sickbeds. / Courtesy of the Prime Minister's Office By Jun Ji-hyeThe continuous surge in the number of COVID-19 patients has resulted in a serious shortage of hospital beds in Daegu, the southeastern city hit hardest by the virus, with about 1,800 confirmed patients still waiting at home to get treatment in hospital, according to the health ministry and city officials, Tuesday.While Korea has reported thousands of infected patients, 70 percent of confirmed cases have occurred in Daegu, with a major cluster of infections linked to the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus.Following the deaths of several patients in the region who were waiting at home for hospital admission, the Korea Centers

Mar 3, 2020
Daegu grapples with shortage of sickbeds amid soaring infections
  • “Next couple of weeks is critical to Korea's coronavirus fight"

Shincheonji founder's appearance draws attention

Lee Man-hee, founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus listens to his secretary during a press conference held in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. / Yonhap By Kim Se-jeongThe press conference on the ongoing coronavirus epidemic held Monday by Lee Nam-hee, the founder of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, has been attracting a great deal of public attention. The majority of coronavirus patients here are members of Lee's controversial church, considered a heretical sect by mainstream Christian religions here.Dressed in a grey suit and wearing a yellow tie from luxury brand Hermes, the 88-year-old apologized for his sect's role in the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus. Pictures of a watch he was wearing showed the name of disgraced former President Park Geun-hye and the seal of the presidential office engraved on it, triggering speculations about a political connection to the former head of state. Pro-Park Geun-hye politicians reacted by saying the watch was a fake and

Mar 3, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Shincheonji founder's appearance draws attention
  • Who is woman next to beleaguered Shincheonji founder?

Who is woman next to beleaguered Shincheonji founder?

Kim Pyung-wha, right, speaks to Shincheonji founder Lee Man-hee during the press conference on Monday. YonhapWho is she? That question would have been in the minds of people who watched Monday's press conference by Shincheonji founder Lee Man-hee.The woman ― looking calm and modest with a mask covering the lower half of her face ― served as the “ears” of the self-proclaimed messiah, 89, relaying questions from reporters. When Lee rambled a reply to unexpected questions like “Do you believe you are really immortal?” or “Do you believe the coronavirus epidemic is the act of evil?” she quietly cut in and whispered how to respond.As sensitive questions continued, she stopped Lee speaking and suggested ending the conference ― and the church leader acted accordingly. On Tuesday, snippets of the woman's identity and presumed role ― in the mysterious sect at the center of public condemnation for its substantial contribution to the epidemic ― emerged. Her name is Kim Pyung-wha (“Pyungwha” means peace in Korean) although it is not certain if that

Mar 3, 2020
Who is woman next to beleaguered Shincheonji founder?
  • Shincheonji founder's appearance draws attention

“Next couple of weeks is critical to Korea's coronavirus fight"

Crowds gather to buy discounted masks at a Seoul department store, Monday. YonhapBy Oh Young-jin Hakim DjaballahThis is the first part of the interview with Dr. Hakim Djaballah, New York-based virology expert.―ED.Dr. Hakim Djaballah, a New York-based virology expert, told The Korea Times Monday that he is seeing the beginning of the tail end of the coronavirus epidemic in Korea. Talking from New York over the phone, the former head of Institut Pasteur Korea forecast that the situation in Daegu, the epicenter of the epidemic in Korea, and its surrounding North Gyeongsang Province would stabilize and be under control in the next couple of weeks. “Daegu is done,” he said, meaning the number of new cases will be tapering off in that period and Korea will be “90 percent contained.” But this does not mean the country is home free, considering that the remaining 10 percent depends on “hygiene.” He predicted Italy might surpass Korea in terms of damage from the epidemic because of Italians' cultural tendency to have physical contact with each other without

Mar 3, 2020By Oh Young-jin
“Next couple of weeks is critical to Korea's coronavirus fight"
  • Daegu grapples with shortage of sickbeds amid soaring infections
  • No. of coronavirus infections over 5,000
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