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.
Ex-vice FM named as ambassador to US
Rep. Cho Tae-yong of the People Power Party speaks during an interview with The Korea Times, Jan. 19, 2019, at the National Assembly in Seoul. The career diplomat who openly criticized the previous government's “one-sided” North Korea policy has been named as South Korea's new ambassador to the United States. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
By Jung Min-ho
Yoon appoints new KDCA chief, FSC vice chairman
By Jung Min-ho
A career diplomat-turned-lawmaker who openly criticized the previous Moon Jae-in government's “one-sided” North Korea policy has been named as South Korea's new ambassador to the United States.
Rep. Cho Tae-yong, 65, who served as vice foreign minister and chief nuclear envoy during the Park Geun-hye administration, will replace Lee Soo-hyuck, who took the post in October 2019, President Yoon Suk-yeol's office announced Tuesday.
After joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1980, Cho, considered as a balanced strategist who served in key positions during both liberal and conservative governments, was a vocal critic of the Moon administration that “downplayed” North Korea's nuclear threat.
On April 27, Cho said on Facebook that North Korea advanced its nuclear arsenal during the Moon administration, which repeatedly assured the world that the North's leader Kim Jong-un was willing to give it all up under the right conditions.
“Kim opened the possibility of using nuclear weapons on April 25, saying it would do so when its 'fundamental interest was interfered with'… Among all nuclear powers, North Korea's nuclear doctrine is the most aggressive and dangerous,” he wrote.
“The incoming Yoon administration will face that unpredictable nuclear doctrine. To restore a nuclear umbrella, the government should resume the meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) and strengthen South Korea's triaxis defense system ― Kill Chain, Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR).”
When Cho joined the Liberty Korea Party, a predecessor of the ruling People Power Party, in 2020, he also said he would put forward the issue of human rights violations in the North.
The father of Cho's wife was Lee Bum-suk, a former foreign minister who was killed in the 1983 Rangoon bombing, North Korea's assassination attempt against former President Chun Doo-hwan.
Peck Kyong-ran, left, and Kim So-young
The presidential office also said Peck Kyong-ran, 60, an infectious disease expert and a professor at Sungkyunkwan University, will replace Jeong Eun-kyeong as head of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
Peck was recommended by Ahn Cheol-soo, a physician and former presidential candidate who dropped his bid to help Yoon win the election. She is known to be close to Ahn and his wife, who also attended Seoul National University College of Medicine with her.
Kim So-young, 55, an economics professor at Seoul National University, was named as vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, the country's top financial regulator. He was a critic of the Moon administration's income-driven growth policy.