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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

Lottery winner who went broke in just eight months under probe for theft

Winning the lottery sounds great, but be careful what you wish for. gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoThe winner of a 1.9 billion won ($1.6 million) lottery lost all the money in just eight months and is now under investigation for alleged theft.According to Busan Yeonje Police Station Monday, the man, 39, is being investigated for allegedly stealing 36 million won from 16 restaurants in Busan and Daegu over the past two years.Investigators found that the man boasted of having won the lottery to a taxi driver. Based on that information, they identified the suspect, who was already put behind bars for extortion and other offenses.According to police, he won the lottery (1.4 billion won after tax) in 2006. But after wasting the money on partying and gambling, he went broke in eight months.A year later, he was arrested for stealing from a jewelry store and was eventually sentenced to a year in prison.Police said he has since been in and out of prison for various crimes, mostly theft.“Winning the lottery could have been a turning point for him, but he blew it,” a police officer re

Jun 17, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Lottery winner who went broke in just eight months under probe for theft
Law & Crime

Taxi driver jailed for assaulting female passenger

Despite previous convictions, Bae was able to keep working as a taxi driver because assaulting passengers is not a “disqualifying offense. / gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoA taxi driver has been sentenced to six months in prison for attacking a female passenger.Seoul Western District Court said Monday that it convicted the driver, surnamed Bae, 65, of butting the woman in the face and twisting her arm in Seoul at around 10 p.m. on May 28, 2018, after she complained about “unusually high charges.”Bae, who had received a suspended prison term and fines for assaulting passengers seven times in the past, insisted that the woman hit him during the altercation, but the court did not accept the claim.Despite previous convictions, he was able to keep working as a taxi driver because assaulting passengers is not a “disqualifying offense.”Under the law, a person who receives a two-year sentence or higher for murder, drugs or sexual assault, among other serious crimes, cannot work as a taxi driver for at least two years after finishing the sentence, but use of violen

Jun 17, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Taxi driver jailed for assaulting female passenger
Films

'Aladdin' outperforms 'Parasite' to top 5 million admissions

Actor Will Smith arrives for the premiere of “Aladdin” at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on May 21. APBy Jung Min-hoDisney's live-action remake of “Aladdin” outperformed the Cannes-winning “Parasite” at the Korean box office over the weekend to reach an accumulated 5 million admissions.Walt Disney Company Korea said Sunday the musical fantasy film added 427,984 admissions on Saturday alone to surpass the 5-million mark the next day ― 25 days after its release.Meanwhile, Parasite reached the 8-million mark after adding 278,974 admissions Saturday.Aladdin's pace is faster than “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2018) and “Les Miserables” (2012), which reached that mark in 29 and 30 days, respectively.Aladdin, a live-action version of Disney's 1992 animated movie of the same name, is about a thief who encounters a wish-granting genie and falls in love with Princess Jasmine.

Jun 16, 2019By Jung Min-ho
'Aladdin' outperforms 'Parasite' to top 5 million admissions
Foreign Affairs

Korea's opposition party openly backs Hong Kong's 'democracy movement'

Protesters hold placards as they attend a demonstration demanding Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam step down and withdraw the extradition bill in Hong Kong, June 16. Reuters Protesters dressed in black take part in a rally against a controversial extradition law proposal in Hong Kong on June 16. AFP A man holds up a yellow umbrella as protesters dressed in blacktake part in a rally against a controversial extradition law proposal in Hong Kong on June 16. AFPBy Jung Min-hoBareunmirae Party spokesman Lee Jong-cheolThe minor opposition Bareunmirae Party has become Korea's first political party to officially support Hong Kong residents' anti-extradition protests.“We hear the strong echo of the cry of a Hong Kong headed toward freedom and democracy,” party spokesman Lee Jong-cheol said Friday. “Authorities in Hong Kong should not suppress their righteous demands.”As many as a million Hong Kong residents ― equivalent to one in seven of the population ― marched last Sunday against the proposed law, which would allow the extradition of criminal suspec

Jun 16, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Korea's opposition party openly backs Hong Kong's 'democracy movement'
  • Koreans back Hong Kong citizens' fight against extradition bill
Society

Minke whale fetches $28,000 at auction

The dead minke whale is lifted from a boat in waters off Namhae, South Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. Courtesy of Korea Coast GuardPolice check the carcass to discover whether the animal was hunted. Courtesy of Korea Coast GuardBy Jung Min-hoA 5.2-meter minke whale, which was found dead in waters off Namhae Wednesday, has been auctioned for 32.7 million won ($28,000).The Korea Coast Guard said the two-ton animal was found in a fixed shore net half a mile south of the county, South Gyeongsang Province.After inspecting the carcass, police said there were no signs it had been hunted.The fisherman who set up the net received a certificate that enabled him to sell the whale.Commercial whaling is banned in Korea, but retrieving dead whales is allowed.

Jun 13, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Minke whale fetches $28,000 at auction
Society

Small business owners demand lower minimum wage for foreigners

Representatives of employers, workers and the government attend the public hearing on next year's minimum wage in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, Monday. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoSmall business owners want the government to introduce a lower minimum wage for foreign workers in Korea.At Monday's public hearing on next year's minimum wage in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, representatives of employers said “steep” minimum wage hikes over the past two years have pushed many small businesses to the edge and that the government should help them by adopting a “different” wage system for foreign workers.Song Young-soo, a small business owner in Gwangju, was among participants who reportedly voiced the need for a lower minimum wage for foreign employees, who they say show lower labor productivity than Korean workers mainly because of communication problems.According to a Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business survey early this year, the productivity of an average foreign worker (E-9 visa holder) was 87.5 percent of a Korean worker.Over the past two years, the Moon J

Jun 12, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Small business owners demand lower minimum wage for foreigners
  • LKP chairman faces challenges in showing leadership
  • Opposition leader vows to introduce lower minimum wage for foreigners
World

Pence confirms rainbow flag ban at US embassies

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks at JLS Automation in York, Pennsylvania, June 6. APBy Jung Min-hoU.S. Vice President Mike Pence has confirmed the Donald Trump administration's decision to ban U.S. embassies from flying rainbow flags during “LGBTQ Pride Month.”Pence told NBC News Tuesday that the U.S. State Department was “right” to reject embassy requests to fly the popular symbol of gay rights in other countries.“I'm aware that the State Department indicated that on the flagpole of our American embassies, one flag should fly, and that's the American flag. And I support that,” Pence said.His comment comes after the U.S. Embassy in Seoul took down a large rainbow flag from the mission building.Asked about Trump's Twitter message in support of LGBT people, Pence, who once described himself as “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order,” said both of them are “proud to be able to serve every American.”“But when it comes to the American flagpole at American embassies and American capitals around the

Jun 12, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Pence confirms rainbow flag ban at US embassies
  • US embassy in Seoul takes down rainbow flag
Foreign Affairs

US embassy in Seoul takes down rainbow flag

Members of Christian groups protest against the U.S. Embassy's practice of flying the rainbow flag. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Jung Min-hoU.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry HarrisThe U.S. Embassy in Seoul has taken down a large rainbow flag from the mission building, after displaying the flag for three weeks, apparently in support of “LGBTQ Pride Month.”The move comes amid media reports that the U.S. State Department disapproved all embassy requests to fly the popular symbol of gay rights outside their buildings this year ― a revelation suggests that displaying the flag was U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris' own decision.“This is a category one insurrection,” the Washington Post quoted a U.S. diplomat as saying.The practice by U.S. embassies, which started during the Barack Obama administration, now requires top-level approval from the State Department.In 2011, the Obama administration directed government agencies overseas to promote LGBT rights.But after Mike Pompeo, an evangelical Christian, became secretary of state, things started to c

Jun 10, 2019By Jung Min-ho
US embassy in Seoul takes down rainbow flag
  • Pence confirms rainbow flag ban at US embassies
World

Ex-Japanese top official says he killed son to prevent attack on children

Police escort former Japanese vice culture minister Hideaki Kumazawa as he leaves Nerima police station in Tokyo on June 3. Kyodo via ReutersBy Jung Min-hoA former Japanese vice agriculture minister says he had no choice but to kill his own son, 44, to prevent the son from attacking children.According to local media reports, Hideaki Kumazawa, also a former ambassador to the Czech Republic, told police he stabbed his son Eiichiro out of fear that he would harm children, who were making noise at an elementary school near their house in Tokyo on June 1.Before the incident, the two had an argument over noise from a sports festival at the school.Police quoted Kumazawa as saying he had to prevent his son from turning his anger on the children.He told police he was “terrified” his son was about to go on a rampage, so he grabbed a knife in the kitchen and stabbed his son in the chest, neck and other parts of the body many times. He then called police.“My son tended to confine himself at home,” Kumazawa told police. “He sometimes committed violent acts against my

Jun 10, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Ex-Japanese top official says he killed son to prevent attack on children
  • Japan's former vice farm minister arrested for killing 'hikikomori' son
Travel & Food

Korean woman missing after falling from cruise ship near Spain

The Norwegian Epic cruise ship. ReutersBy Jung Min-hoA Korean tourist is missing after falling from a cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea, Saturday.According to media reports, the woman, 63, went overboard from the Norwegian Epic, which was sailing from Cannes in France to the Spanish island of Mallorca, at around 1 a.m.Family members said she had last been seen wearing pink pajamas on her balcony. They said she could not swim.Cruise Norwegian, the ship operator, said the captain ordered a search operation as soon as the report was made. The search stopped after dark and the ship headed to its destination.Rescue workers from Mallorca continued the search the next day, but the woman was not found.“As soon as the report was made, the authorities were notified and a search and rescue operation ensued,” a company spokesman said in a statement.“The search has now ceased, and sadly, the guest has not been found. Our thoughts and prayers are with the individual's family during this difficult time.”

Jun 10, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Korean woman missing after falling from cruise ship near Spain
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