South Korean President Park Geun-hye has delayed her planned trip to the United States 1) to deal with the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome, which is defying government predictions that the worst is over.
  2) Health authorities reported Wednesday that two more people had died from the virus — 3) taking the total to nine — and that there had been 13 more cases confirmed, pushing the number of infections to 108.
  Park 4) was due to depart Sunday on a trip to Washington, where she was set to hold meetings with President Obama on Tuesday, and to Houston. The presidential Blue House said Wednesday that Park would delay her trip, Yonhap New Agency reported. No further details were immediately available.
  Park’s decision 5) comes amid vociferous criticism of her government’s handling of the outbreak, which followed criticism of its actions during the Sewol ferry disaster last year. Park was 6) further chastised for embarking on a trip to South America on the first anniversary of the disaster, April 16, although she attended a memorial service for the 304 victims before she left.
Since becoming South Korea’s first female president at the beginning of 2013, 7) Park has lurched from crisis to crisis, some outside her control — such as the ferry sinking and the MERS outbreak — and some 8) of her own making. She has been through a succession of candidates for and appointed prime ministers, only to see one fall after the other as news of financial improprieties broke.
  Middle East respiratory syndrome, a 9) zoonotic virus that jumped from camels to humans and started in Saudi Arabia three years ago, arrived in South Korea with a 68-year-old man who had visited four countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia.
  10) Upon his return to South Korea, he sought treatment for his respiratory problems, and doctors tested him for pneumonia, but it was only at the fourth clinic, Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, that doctors 11) diagnosed him with MERS and put him in isolation on May 20. At least 35 of the people who have been infected with MERS caught it at that clinic, while a similar number were infected at St. Mary’s Hospital in Pyeongtaek, south of the capital, where he also sought treatment.
  A World Health Organization team is now in South Korea helping local authorities deal with the outbreak, and Park has 12) set up a special task force to oversee the government response.
The president has also warned South Koreans not to “overreact.”
  “We are in a situation to clearly bring MERS under control,” Park said at a 13) Cabinet meeting Tuesday. “The people may be concerned, but I hope that they will not overreact and cooperate to ensure that economic activities will not be weakened,” Park said, according to Yonhap.
Before the decision was announced, some foreign-relations experts said Park should still go ahead with the trip, which was due to include discussions on the North Korean nuclear threat.
14) “There’s no reason to keep her at home,” said Chun Yung-woo, who was national security adviser to Park’s predecessor, Lee Myung-bak. “The president can’t solve all the problems in this country. There are doctors here who will be much better at handling this crisis than the president.

1) to deal with the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome: 중동 호흡기 증후군 발생에 대처하기 위해
2) Health authorities: 보건 당국
3) taking the total to nine: (사망자의) 총 9명에 이르게 되었고
4) was due to depart: 떠나기로 되어 있었다
5) comes amid vociferous criticism of her government’s handling of the outbreak: (메르스) 발발에 대한 정부의 대처를 격렬하게 비판하는 와중에 이루어졌다
6) further chastised for …: …로 인해 더욱 비난을 받는
7) Park has lurched from crisis to crisis: 박대통령은 휘청거리며 잇따른 위기로 이어졌다
8) of her own making: (박태통령) 스스로 자아낸
9) zoonotic virus: 동물원성 바이러스
10) Upon his return to South Korea: 그는 한국으로 귀국하자 마자
11) diagnosed him with MERS and put him in isolation: 그를 메르스로 진단 내리고 격리시켰다
12) set up a special task force: 특수 대책 위원회를 마련하다
13) Cabinet meeting: 국무회의
14) There’s no reason to keep her at home: 그녀(박대통령)를 한국에 계속 머무르게 할 이유가 없다 (미국 방문계획을 지연시킬 필요가 없다)