Articles by Shin Ji-hye
Shin Ji-hye
shinjh@heraldcorp.com-
Social distancing rules to be extended for two weeks: PM
The current social distancing rules will be extended for another two weeks, with some easing of the restrictions, officials said Friday. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday, “We would like to take a step closer to daily recovery while reducing the risk of infection by easing quarantine rules centered on those who have been vaccinated.” Starting next week, up to eight people will be able to gather in the Greater Seoul area at any time, as long as four in the group are fully vac
Social Affairs Oct. 15, 2021
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Afghan teen evacuees share joys of new life in Korea
JINCHEON -- Clad in a taekwondo uniform, a 13-year-old Afghan girl says she is happy with her newfound freedom in South Korea. She can participate in all sorts of social activities, which were limited only to boys in her home country, and is glad she can do taekwondo without wearing a hijab. “I want to learn Korean and work here,” she told reporters at a press briefing organized by the Ministry of Justice. Another evacuee, a 15-year-old boy, hopes to make Korea his new home,
Social Affairs Oct. 14, 2021
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Assembly speaker visits Egypt to strengthen partnerships in economy, security
National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug asked for Egypt’s help in engaging with North Korea, and for the push to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War, in his meeting with Egypt’s President of the Senate Abdel-Wahab Abdel-Razeq and Speaker of the House of Representatives Hanafy Ali El Gebali. Park, who is current on an official visit to Egypt, is the first National Assembly speaker to visit Egypt since Speaker Lee Man-seop in 2002. The meeting with his Egyptian counterparts wa
Politics Oct. 12, 2021
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South Korea seeks to live with pandemic
South Korea is seeking to live with the pandemic by relaxing its social distancing rules and launching an expert committee for a return to normalcy. “If the situation in October is managed stably, the recovery that the people desire can be accelerated. And the pain of small-business owners and self-employed people can be relieved a little more,” said Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Tuesday. Kim said increasing the vaccination rate is the most important thing for a step-by-step r
Social Affairs Oct. 12, 2021
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Challenges lie ahead for Lee Jae-myung to win presidential election
Lee Jae-myung, who was selected as the ruling Democratic Party‘s presidential candidate, now faces several challenges in the race for the top job, from clarifying property speculations and bringing together scattered party supporters. Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee on Sunday won the majority of the Democratic Party’s primaries, crushing his rival Lee Nak-yon, a former prime minister. He won 50.29 percent of the votes and the narrow win was a surprise for Gov. Lee, who had won a solid
Politics Oct. 11, 2021
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Lee Jae-myung becomes final presidential candidate for ruling party
Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung was announced on Sunday as the ruling party nominee for the upcoming presidential election. Lee has gained a total of 719,905 votes (50.29 percent), defeating his chief rival Lee Nak-yon, former prime minister, who received 560,392 votes (39.14 percent), in the party’s primary elections. Former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Rep. Park Yong-jin received 129,035 votes (9.01 percent) and 22,261 votes (1.55 percent), respectively. The ruling party held
Politics Oct. 10, 2021
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Ruling party to decide presidential candidate at 6 p.m.
South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party will confirm its presidential candidate Sunday, with Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung maintaining the top spot in the cumulative votes. Starting at 3:30 p.m. on the day, the ruling party holds its last regional primary in Seoul and the third Super Week -- national electoral vote -- to choose a final candidate at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul. At 6 p.m., the results of about 140,000 votes from party members in the Seoul pr
Politics Oct. 10, 2021
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Assembly speaker appeals to British counterparts to support end-of-war declaration
Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug appealed for support for the declaration of the end of the war on the Korean Peninsula in a bilateral meeting with the speakers of the UK’s two houses of Parliament. Park made the request at a meeting with Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle and House of Lords Speaker John McFall at the 7th G20 National Assembly Speakers Meeting. According to a news release from the Korean speaker’s office, Park told Hoyle, “South Korea is pushi
Politics Oct. 10, 2021
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Subsidies needed to address poverty among older adults: lawmaker
More government support is required to address poverty among the nation’s older adults, a lawmaker said Thursday. According to the most recent data from Statistics Korea revealed by Rep. Ko Young-in of the Democratic Party, the poverty rate for people aged 66 and older was 45 percent in 2019 as compared with 10.72 percent for people under 66. When the nation’s population was divided into 10 income brackets, almost half of senior citizens were in the bottom two, with 29.42 percent
Social Affairs Oct. 7, 2021
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Intelligence chief booked for election meddling
South Korea’s anti-corruption agency has launched an investigation into allegations that South Korea’s spy chief Park Jie-won attempted to meddle in the upcoming presidential election. On Tuesday, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials booked Park on charges of violating the National Intelligence Service Act and the Public Official Election Act. The investigation kicked off around three weeks after Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl’s campaign aides
Politics Oct. 6, 2021
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Daily cases again exceed 2,000, with breakthrough infections 20% of total
The daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases again topped 2,000 after three days below that mark, officials said Wednesday, with breakthrough infections accounting for more than 20 percent of the total. Breakthrough infections refer to cases in fully vaccinated individuals. As of Tuesday at midnight, the number of new cases had increased by 2,028 in the previous 24 hours, for a cumulative total of 323,379 cases to date. Of the new cases, 2,002 were locally acquired. Of South Korea’s pop
Social Affairs Oct. 6, 2021
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Rotary International holds conference in Gyeongju
International Rotary, a nonprofit international volunteer organization, held its 2021 Rotary International President Conference and training session at the K Hotel in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday. Themes of the conference were disease prevention and treatment as well as the environment, and the event was attended in person by Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta. The speakers included former Environment Minister Kim Myung-ja, Ehwa Womans University professor Choe Ja
Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2021
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Lawmakers take aim at presidential frontrunners at audits
Two presidential front-runners embroiled in political controversies came under fire at Tuesday’s parliamentary audits from ruling and opposition lawmakers alike. Lawmakers denounced Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the leading People Power Party hopeful, over allegations of preferential development in the Daejang-dong neighborhood of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and abuse of authority in last year’s
Politics Oct. 5, 2021
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[Us and Them] Islamophobia emerges in Korea
Muneer Ahmad, 47, who has run Islamic Book Center in Yongsan, Seoul, has rarely experienced hatred or discrimination because of his religion or religious clothing in his 20 years in South Korea. Most of the time he encounters reasonable Koreans. Even when he walks in religious clothing with his wife, who wears a hijab headscarf, most people “just feel strange,” but do not “feel offended.” “When I talk about my culture or religion, first of all, Koreans are not to
Social Affairs Oct. 4, 2021
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South Korea to maintain current distancing rules for another 2 weeks: PM
South Korea has decided to maintain the current social distancing rules for two weeks from Monday. “Considering risk factors for quarantine, such as the stronger spread of coronavirus after the Chuseok holiday, and the two holidays starting this weekend, the government has decided to maintain the current distancing stage for the next two weeks,” Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday. “The limit on the number of people at private gatherings will be the same as now.”&n
Social Affairs Oct. 1, 2021
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