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.
BMW Korea Chairman Kim Hyo-joon speaks to reporters before entering the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul, Friday, over allegations that he was involved in covering up car defects that had led to a series of engine fires last year. YonhapYonhapYonhapYonhap
![BMW Korea chairman summoned for questioning over engine fires [PHOTOS]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
The entrance to Insein Prison in Yangon / Korea Times fileBy Jung Min-hoTwo Korean men have arrived in Seoul after being released on bail from the notorious Insein Prison in Yangon over alleged theft ― an accusation their families claim was a “trap.”“After spending 76 days in the prison, he was released and reunited with his family in Korea on May 1,” Ha Hee-bong, a lawyer and a son-in-law of one of the two, told The Korea Times. “It was a moment of big relief, but our fight in court has just begun.”Ha's father-in-law, surnamed Choi, 59, a director-level official at a Korean builder (B), was a manager for a major construction project in Yangon, according to a contract between a Korean developer (A) and his company last year.“It all started with a conflict between A and its Myanmar-based subcontractor Z, which asked for money in advance. After Z's repeated requests, the developer terminated a contract with it on Nov. 23,” Ha claimed.Angered by the decision, Z deliberately did not take back its construction material from the site and, whe
World Taekwondo Executive Deputy Secretary General Kim Eil-chul gives a special lecture at the College of Human Ecology building at Seoul National University (SNU) in Seoul, Wednesday. Attendees included SNU Vice President for Research Affairs Noh Dong-young and College of Human Ecology Associate Dean Kwon Young-hye. Korea Times photo by Jung Min-hoBy Jung Min-hoUnification should not be a government goal, but rather a consequence the people of South and North Korea can expect and hope for from their exchanges and cooperation, an international sports organization executive said.During a special lecture at Seoul National University on Wednesday, World Taekwondo (WT) Executive Deputy Secretary General Kim Eil-chul said promoting unification as a lofty goal of the government is hindering ― not helping ― the process.“For unification, let's not talk about unification for now because it is not the time,” Kim said. “I believe the word (unification) has violent connotations … Imagine unifying vastly different countries when they are not ready. The peaceful kind of un
Screen grab of INQUIRER.net's websiteBy Jung Min-hoPhilippine authorities have launched an investigation into some business owners accused of exclusively catering to Chinese customers in the country.According to local media Monday, the country's presidential office ordered the Department of Labor and Employment to look into allegations that some Chinese-owned restaurants and other businesses refuse to serve Filipino customers.The move comes a day after Senator Panfilo Lacson urged the government to “shut down” such businesses.“We should prioritize Filipino entrepreneurs,” Lacson was quoted as saying in a radio interview. “If investors coming from China would do business even in SMEs, that will be alarming because many of our countrymen will be deprived of investment opportunities.”Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III also criticized them.“Business firms operating in the Philippines are not allowed to discriminate,” Pimentel said. “Limiting customers to Chinese people only is a form of discrimination … Close them
In this July 2010 file photo, Greenpeace members and other activists protest near the Cirebon 1 coal-fired power plant in West Java, Indonesia. Hyundai Engineering & Construction is building another coal-fired power plant in the area. Courtesy of GreenpeaceBy Jung Min-hoAdam McGibbonGlobal Witness (GW), a London-based activist group, wants Korean authorities to investigate Hyundai Engineering & Construction after the major Korean builder admitted bribing an Indonesian politician for a coal-fired power plant construction project.“This is just the latest corruption scandal involving the Indonesian coal industry,” senior GW campaigner Adam McGibbon said. “There is a full investigation happening in Indonesia around this incident. There must also be an investigation by the Korean authorities into Hyundai's payments, which raise serious legal questions.”The comments come in response to The Korea Times' report that Hyundai officials in Indonesia gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Cirebon Regent Sunjaya Purwadisastra through a broker to calm protesting r
The headquarters of Hyundai Engineering & Construction in Seoul. YonhapChildren play in a field near the Cirebon 1 coal-fired power plant in West Java, Indonesia. Hyundai Engineering & Construction is building another coal-fired power plant in the area. Courtesy of GreenpeaceBy Jung Min-hoHyundai Engineering & Construction CEO Park Dong-wookMajor Korean builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction has admitted bribing an Indonesian politician for a coal-fired power plant construction project in West Java.Following repeated Korea Times inquiries, a spokesman at Hyundai's headquarters in Seoul said it gave a large sum of money to Cirebon Regent Sunjaya Purwadisastra through a broker to calm protesting residents in the area over the construction.“The regent approached us through the broker and offered to resolve the issue,” the official said. “For us, it is critical to finish the construction on time; otherwise, we could face a heavy fine. So we gave him money.” According to local media, Sunjaya demanded bribes from Hyundai, which gave him 6.5 billi
American Chamber of Commerce Chairman and CEO in Korea James Kim (center) speaks at a press conference on Yeouido, Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoThe American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Korea has urged the U.S. government not to impose new tariffs on cars from Korea.Jeffrey Jones, chairman of the board of directors of AMCHAM Korea, said its representatives recently visited Washington, D.C. to ask the U.S. government not to apply Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act to Korea.“I hoped to hear that the U.S. government would not do that … But (I) only heard that it was considering the matter. In conclusion, President Donald Trump will decide on the matter,” Jones said at a press conference on Yeouido in Seoul, Monday.Jones noted that although it was difficult to predict how the government would respond, he felt it would not disappoint.Every year, AMCHAM Korea sends a delegation to the U.S. to share its experience and knowledge. This year the delegation visited Washington, D.C. from April 8-11 and had meetings with Congress members and think tank researc
Demonstrators hold placards and an image of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a protest at the Canadian Embassy in Makati, south of Manila, April 29. The protest led by the Ecowaste Coalition group demanded the return of Canada's overstaying waste in the country one week after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte issued an ultimatum to the Canadian government. EPAPhilippines President Rodrigo Duterte. / APBy Jung Min-hoBarely a week after vowing to “declare war” against Canada over its garbage illegally shipped to the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to dump it all on Canada's beaches.According to a local media report Monday, Duterte during a speech in Davao City on Sunday that Canada should not treat his country “like a dumpsite” and take all the trash back immediately.“There are about 200 (garbage) containers there sent by Canada. We are being treated like a dumpsite,” Duterte said at the opening of the Palarong Pambansa, an annual sports event.Recalling his previous threat to ship the trash back to Canada himself, he
Jung Bun-sun, a survivor from the Hiroshima bombing, wipes her face during an interview with The Korea Times last year at a special nursing facility for Korean atomic bomb survivors in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukInside the museum dedicated to the Korean victims of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Jung Min-hoMore than 2,200 Korean victims of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan are still alive today and many of them ― and their children ― have suffered from health issues and discrimination, according to a government report.The Ministry of Health and Welfare revealed the information on April 25 after completing its first nationwide survey of victims, more than seven decades after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.The bombings and radiation afterward killed 40,000 out of the 70,000 Koreans who suffered from the attacks, the report says. About 23,000 survivors returned to their homeland and 2,283 are still alive, most of whom (roughly 70 percent) live in t
An Ausbildung trainee learns from an instructor at BMW Korea's service center in southern Seoul. Courtesy of Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and IndustryBy Jung Min-hoKim Hyo-joonThe biggest problem with Korea's high youth unemployment is not a lack of jobs. Rather, it is a lack of jobs that can make young people dream about a better future.Stable, high-paying positions for university-educated people are limited, but many (about seven out of 10) choose to go to university and fiercely compete for the same goal because they feel that there's no future in the precarious, low-paying jobs available for those without bachelor's degrees.According to Kim Hyo-joon, the chairman of BMW Korea and the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI), a solution to the mismatch is to offer high school students another option ― a chance to work at a global company as a full-time employee without the degree.“Ausbildung will help young people find their dreams, not just jobs,” Kim said during a recent interview. “It will help them build their careers and strive for a bette