Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Eight unregistered Koreans detained in Philippines
The Philippines government is cracking down on illegal foreigners. Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
Eight unregistered Koreans have been detained in the Philippines as the nation's immigration office cracks downs on foreigners living there illegally.
According to Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wednesday, four Koreans have recently been detained for illegally staying in the Philippines and four others for illegally working.
After the issue came to the fore when a Korean resident in the Philippines posted a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website earlier this week, the ministry said it has urged the immigration office to treat Koreans fairly.
The petitioner called on the Korean government to better protect its citizens, claiming many immigration officials use the crackdown to extort money from Koreans.
“They are law-abiding people, with all the legal documents and visas,” the petitioner claimed. “Immigration officials haul them in anyway. They just don't listen … Many Koreans are being detained and I can't go out because of fear.”