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Jung Min-ho

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

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.

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Law & Crime

Ex-spy chiefs implicated in cover-ups

In this Feb. 3, 2021, file photo, National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won, right, listens to National Security Office Director Suh Hoon during a meeting at the government complex in Seoul. NewsisProbe launched over killing of fisheries official, deportation of NK fishermenBy Jung Min-hoTwo former chiefs of South Korea's intelligence agency are being investigated for allegedly abusing their positions to obstruct fact-finding efforts in past cases involving North Korea. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said Thursday it is investigating the complaints against former National Intelligence Service (NIS) directors ― Park Jie-won and Suh Hoon ― a day after the spy agency filed the allegations based on the results of its internal probe.Park, who served as NIS chief from July 2020 to May 2022, allegedly abused his power to “remove intelligence-related reports” unlawfully. The information was about a South Korean official who was killed in North Korean waters on Sept. 22, 2020.Details about what information was discarded remain elusive. But the Chosun Ilbo

Jul 7, 2022By Jung Min-ho
Ex-spy chiefs implicated in cover-ups
Politics

First lady thrust back into spotlight over unofficial aide

President Yoon Suk-yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee walk toward Air Force One at Madrid―Barajas Airport in Madrid, June 30. NewsisAnyone close to first lady without formal title is easy target for political attacksBy Jung Min-hoIn the run-up to the presidential election, President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed to abolish the office that had supported the president's spouse amid controversy surrounding the luxury wardrobe of former first lady Kim Jung-sook.Two months after he stepped into office, Yoon is already struggling to keep that promise. His wife, Kim Keon-hee, has been thrust back into the spotlight following revelations that she received support from the wife of Lee Won-mo, a presidential aide, during their official trip to Madrid for the NATO Summit (June 28-30).The massive influence-peddling scandal that eventually brought down former President Park Geun-hye is still fresh in the public's memory and anyone close to the president and his wife without an official title is an easy target for political attacks in Korea.According to sources at the presidential office Wednesday, Lee's wife

Jul 6, 2022By Jung Min-ho
First lady thrust back into spotlight over unofficial aide
Defense

Top military officer interrogated in 2019 for seizing North Korean boat

Then Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Park Han-ki speaks during a hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul, in this Oct. 8, 2019, file photo. Park, who served as the top military officer during the previous administration, was interrogated in 2019 in an unprecedented case after seizing a suspicious North Korean boat despite an instruction to “drive out” non-military boats instead of capturing them. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulRuling party to launch team to investigate security breaches under MoonBy Jung Min-hoOne of the top military officials under the previous Moon Jae-in administration was quizzed for hours in an unprecedented case three years ago, after seizing a suspicious North Korean boat despite an instruction to “drive out” non-military boats instead of capturing them.According to military sources and media reports, Tuesday, Park Han-ki, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) from October 2018 to September 2020, was questioned by Moon's aides over the seizure of the boat on July 27, 2019. He made the decision after the boat had cross

Jul 5, 2022By Jung Min-ho
Top military officer interrogated in 2019 for seizing North Korean boat
North Korea

INTERVIEW 'Repatriation puts fear in eyes of all North Koreans,' rights expert says

In this June 4, 2020, file photo, Suzanne Scholte, left, the chairwoman of the North Korea Freedom Coalition and a Seoul Peace Prize winner, and other human rights activists prepare to send balloons carrying pro-democracy messages to North Korea from Paju, a city near the border with the North. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukScholte calls for reinvestigation into decision to send fishermen to 'their deaths'By Jung Min-hoSouth Korea's 2019 decision to repatriate two North Korean fishermen was a violation of its U.N. treaty obligations and investigators should find out who was behind sending them to a North Korean torture chamber, if not worse, according to a human rights expert.Suzanne Scholte, the chairwoman of the North Korea Freedom Coalition and a Seoul Peace Prize winner, told The Korea Times that checking whether the fishermen are alive could be a first step toward uncovering the truth.“Based on the testimonies of thousands of eyewitnesses, we know the fishermen (probably) faced execution ― the South Korean authorities knew that too ― because they were seeking resettleme

Jul 4, 2022By Jung Min-ho
[INTERVIEW] 'Repatriation puts fear in eyes of all North Koreans,' rights expert says
North Korea

North Korea blames balloons from South for COVID-19 outbreak

In this Oct. 10, 2014, file photo, activists promoting human rights for North Korea release balloons carrying leaflets condemning the North's regime in Paju, a South Korean city near the border with the North. North Korea on Friday blamed “alien things coming by wind” from South Korea for its outbreak of COVID-19. AP-YonhapPyongyang always finds something to blame for faults, expert saysBy Jung Min-hoNorth Korea has blamed balloons from South Korea for its COVID-19 outbreak, claiming that two people in the border area started showing symptoms after coming into contact with “alien things coming by wind” from the South. Citing health authorities, the Korean Central News Agency, Pyongyang's official mouthpiece, reported Friday that a soldier, 18, and a child, 5, at Ipho-ri in Kumgang County were its first official COVID-19 patients. The broadcaster did not specify what they touched but, in a warning, it added that people living in border areas should be cautious of balloons and “the things attached to the balloons.”The warning is in line with North Ko

Jul 1, 2022By Jung Min-ho
North Korea blames balloons from South for COVID-19 outbreak
Foreign Affairs

Negative views of China among Koreans hit all-time high: survey

People run with China and Hong Kong flags along Convention Avenue, on the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China, in Hong Kong, July 1. Negative views of China among Koreans are at a historic high of 80 percent, a recent survey shows. Reuters-YonhapBy Jung Min-hoNegative views of China among Koreans are at a historic high of 80 percent, a recent survey shows. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan American think tank, unfavorable views of the neighboring country among Korean nationals have increased substantially over the last several years after China's economic retaliation for Korea's decision to deploy the THAAD missile defense system and the emergence of COVID-19, a contagious disease Chinese authorities initially tried to hide following a report from Wuhan.Unfavorable views of China among Koreans stood at only 31 percent in a 2002 survey by the same organization. But the figure has increased steadily before staying at around 50 percent and then surging to 61 percent in 2017, the year after there were a series of economic retaliation a

Jul 1, 2022By Jung Min-ho
Negative views of China among Koreans hit all-time high: survey
Foreign Affairs

Korea to launch council to resolve forced labor issue with Japan

From left, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanse Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pose for a group photo ahead of a Indo-Pacific Partners meeting during the NATO summit in Madrid, June 29. AFP-YonhapGov't seeks diplomatic solutions before Supreme Court rulingBy Jung Min-hoKorea will launch a council on July 4 to resolve the issue of wartime forced labor ― one of the biggest obstacles blocking the improvement of its relations with Japan.According to government sources Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is reviewing ways to foster good relations, which soured over the past several years after Korean court rulings that found Japanese companies liable to pay compensation for the victims of forced labor during Japan's colonial rule (1910-45).With the Supreme Court expected to rule on the statute of limitations on forced labor cases in the coming months, the ministry is scrambling to resolve the issue diplomatically. If it rules in favor of the victims, co

Jun 30, 2022By Jung Min-ho
Korea to launch council to resolve forced labor issue with Japan
Foreign Affairs

Korea will stick to principles despite China's objection, PM says

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks during a press conference at his office in Sejong. Yonhap'Yoon administration won't be naive about peace with North Korea'By Jung Min-hoSouth Korea will continue to stick to its diplomatic principles despite China's complaints ― or threats such as expanded THAAD retaliation ― Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said regarding Beijing's open opposition to Seoul's participation at the NATO Summit in Madrid. “There have been concerns that China may retaliate with economic measures. But if the country does so, we should call out its inappropriate,” Han told reporters Tuesday. “We shouldn't break our principles, which are more important, just to prevent (such retaliatory action).”Asked whether South Korea should maintain these principles even if Beijing repeats its furious economic retaliation in 2016 to the installation of a U.S. THAAD anti-ballistic missile defense system in South Korea, Han said, “Of course.”He also believes that China's overreaction to Yoon's participation in the NATO Summit is very unlikely, given South K

Jun 29, 2022By Jung Min-ho
Korea will stick to principles despite China's objection, PM says
North Korea

Family has 'right to know': UN rights expert calls for transparency in official's death

Tomas Ojea Quintana, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, moves to the U.N. Human Rights Office in Seoul, Tuesday. NewsisBy Jung Min-hoA United Nations human rights expert on Tuesday called for the release of more information about the incident in which a government official was killed in North Korean waters. He was quoted by the victim's brother as saying that his family has “the right to know.” At a meeting in Seoul with Lee Rae-jin, the elder brother of the fisheries official shot dead by the North two years ago, Tomas Ojea Quintana, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, also said that Pyongyang should help the family uncover the whole truth, discipline those who were responsible and compensate the family for the loss.“He expressed support for our fact-finding efforts, including the attempt to get access to the information kept in the presidential archives,” Lee told The Korea Times. His support comes at a time when the family members are demanding that the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which holds a

Jun 28, 2022By Jung Min-ho
Family has 'right to know': UN rights expert calls for transparency in official's death
North Korea

Seoul offered to repatriate North Koreans against their will before Pyongyang demanded it, lawmaker says

In this Nov. 8, 2019, file photo, South Korea's Navy tows a boat used by two North Korean fishermen before handing it over to North Korean authorities. Courtesy of Unification MinistryBy Jung Min-hoThe previous Moon Jae-in administration offered to repatriate two North Korean fishermen in 2019 even before Pyongyang made such a request, because “their intention to defect (to the South) was not sincere,” according to intelligence documents.The information was revealed Monday by Rep. Tae Yong-ho of the ruling People Power Party (PPP).After the deportation decision ― the first such case since the end of the Korean War (1950-53) ― the fishermen were probably executed soon afterward, and the previous administration knew that would be the consequence, Tae claimed.On Nov. 2, 2019, South Korea's Navy captured the men in their 20s in waters off the nation's east coast. After just three days of investigation, the South Korean government proposed sending them and their boat back to the North. Pyongyang accepted the offer the next day (Nov. 6). It was all completed in the two days tha

Jun 27, 2022By Jung Min-ho
Seoul offered to repatriate North Koreans against their will before Pyongyang demanded it, lawmaker says
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