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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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Companies

Consumer Reports pulls recommendation for Dyson stick vacuums

Survey results show that nearly half of Dyson models break within the first five years. Korea Times fileBy Jung Min-hoConsumer Reports, a U.S. magazine published since 1936 by the Consumers Union, has removed all Dyson models from its list of recommended stick vacuums over reliability concerns.According to its recent survey, which was revealed last week, the British company's vacuums break at a higher rate than those of any other brand in the magazine's tests.In September 2016, Consumer Reports called Dyson's V8 Absolute the “best stick vacuum” it had tested, which helped boost its sales. But now Dyson stick vacuums are positioned in the “bottom tier” when it comes to reliability ratings.“Close to half of Dyson stick vacuums will break or stop working as they should within five years, compared with around a quarter of the stick vacuums from Shark, the most reliable brand for this type,” Consumer Reports said.

Feb 10, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Consumer Reports pulls recommendation for Dyson stick vacuums
Health

Texas man dies after e-cigarette explodes in mouth

William Brown's death marks the second recent death from an exploding e-cigarette among thousands of injuries and burns. The person and the device in the photo are unrelated to the story. gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoA Texas man has died from serious injuries after the e-cigarette he was using exploded in his mouth.According to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner, William Brown, 24, died at a Fort Worth hospital on Jan. 29 (local time) after shards of metal from the exploding device dissected his left carotid artery.The explosion happened in the parking lot of a vape shop near Beach and Golden Triangle in Fort Worth.Brown reportedly did not buy anything, but wanted help using a Mechanical Mod style vape pen ― a model known to have issues.“When they X-rayed him, they found the stem, the metal embedded where the blood flows up to the brain,” Brown's grandmother, Alice Brown, told WFAA News.“I miss him already, and knowing he won't open that door and come through it ever again is the hardest part.”According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there were nearly 200 s

Feb 7, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Texas man dies after e-cigarette explodes in mouth
Foreign Affairs

Returned to sender: 1,200 tons of Korean garbage back from Philippines

Fifty-one trash-filled containers sent from the Philippines arrive at the port of Pyeongtaek-Dangjin on Feb. 3. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoMore than 1,000 tons of garbage shipped to the Philippines falsely as “recyclable materials” last year have been returned to Korea.According to the Ministry of Environment Wednesday, officials would soon look inside the 51 trash-filled containers that arrived at the port of Pyeongtaek-Dangjin Sunday morning.It is part of 6,300 tons of garbage a Korean company exported to a Philippines company in July and October. According to Korean media reports, the two companies made the deal to reduce the disposal cost, which would be less than a third of the Korean cost in the Philippines.At the Mindanao port, the Korean company declared the trash as recyclable plastic synthetic flakes, but Philippines officials and environmentalists later found that many of the materials were not recyclable.The ministry said it will continue looking into the case and talk to its Philippines counterpart to take care of the remaining trash.In this May 7, 2015, file photo,

Feb 7, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Returned to sender: 1,200 tons of Korean garbage back from Philippines
  • South Korea investigates tonnes of illegal trash sent back from Philippines
Foreign Affairs

'Comfort woman' statue installed on resort island Boracay

By Jung Min-hoThe memorial statue for victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery on the resort island of Boracay in the Philippines. Nelia Sancho's FacebookA memorial statue for “comfort women,” the victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, has been installed on the Philippines resort island of Boracay.Human rights activist Nelia Sancho, 64, reportedly set up the bronze statue of two women at her property in Barangay Caticlan.Sancho, a coordinator of the International Solidarity Council for Redress, said she decided to do so after similar statues in Manila and San Pedro were recently removed following protests from the Japanese government.“We plan to invite schools and universities in Panay to visit the statue,” Sancho was quoted as saying by the Inquirer.She said she also plans to set up a memorabilia center near the statue to help visitors learn more about the plight of comfort women.Sancho criticized the Philippines government for “kowtowing” to Tokyo.“The lolas (grandmothers) are dying and we didn't want the issue to die with them,”

Feb 7, 2019By Jung Min-ho
'Comfort woman' statue installed on resort island Boracay
K-pop

Yuri to begin Asian fan meeting tour this month

Yuri's fan meeting schedule. Courtesy of SM EntertainmentBy Jung Min-hoK-pop star Yuri, 29, will meet her fans across Asia in February and March.She will begin her first solo fan meeting tour on Feb. 9 in Macau before heading to Bangkok (Feb. 10), Taipei (March 10) and Tokyo (March 19).Yuri made the announcement on Girls' Generation's Twitter on Jan. 21, which created much excitement among the girl group's fans and her own.She began her solo career in October 2018, releasing the mini album “The First Scene.”

Feb 4, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Yuri to begin Asian fan meeting tour this month
Economy

'Cryptocurrency fantasy is over'

Will bitcoin ever bounce back? gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoAtulya SarinThe price of bitcoin, the world's most popular cryptocurrency, was next to zero in 2009 but soared to near $20,000 at the end of 2017, only to crash back to the mid-$3,000 level this year. What's next?Three experts contacted by The Korea Times said they believe the future of cryptocurrencies is bleak and the value of most “coins” will most likely go back to where they started ― zero.“Bitcoin is no longer a new technology ― it has been around for a decade ― and still there is no use case for it,” Atulya Sarin, a finance professor at Santa Clara University in the United States, said. “Primarily all we do with bitcoin is that we trade it. That is awfully similar to tulips and Beanie Babies in their heydays ― and we all know what happened to them. So it is a not a question of if, but more a question of when bitcoin will go to zero.”Kevin DowdKevin Dowd, a finance and economics professor in the Business School at Durham University in the United Kingdom, also reckons most cryptocurre

Feb 4, 2019By Jung Min-ho
'Cryptocurrency fantasy is over'
  • Warren Buffett: Bitcoin is a 'delusion'
Entertainment

Beyonce, Jay-Z offer fans lifetime concert tickets in return for going vegan

Beyonce arrives with husband Jay-Z at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala. ReutersBy Jung Min-hoPop stars Beyonce and Jay-Z are offering fans a chance to win free concert tickets for life ― in exchange for going vegan.Beyonce asked her Instagram followers on Thursday (KST) to support the Greenprint Project, which encourages people to eat plant-based meals.“Click the link in my bio for a chance to win tickets to any JAY and/or my shows for life,” she wrote.The post had so far received nearly 600,000 “likes.”Some studies indicate avoiding meat and dairy products can help in the fight against climate change because it would reduce animal emissions, food processing and transport.

Feb 1, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Beyonce, Jay-Z offer fans lifetime concert tickets in return for going vegan
K-pop

Latest BTS album on Billboard chart for 22 weeks

BTS members on the red carpet at the 2018 Melon Music Awards in Seoul on Dec. 1. YonhapBy Jung Min-ho“Love Yourself: Answer,” the latest album of K-pop sensation BTS, has been on the Billboard 200 album list for 22 weeks in a row.The album, which was released on August 24, 2018, came in at 87 on the chart for the week of Feb. 2, down from 80th a week earlier.The album has also topped the Billboard World Albums chart and the Billboard Social 50 chart.

Jan 30, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Latest BTS album on Billboard chart for 22 weeks
Foreign Affairs

Korean man who died in Mexico returned with missing organs

The body of a Korean man has been returned to his family with some of his organs missing. gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoThe body of a Korean man who died in Mexico has been returned to his family ― without his brain, stomach and heart.Mexican authorities claim that the man, 35, surnamed Kim, died of natural causes despite a scuffle with other people just before his death. His widow fears that someone is trying to cover up the truth.After her online petition came into the spotlight, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday it asked Mexican authorities to return the missing organs, which are believed to be at the Servicio Medico Forense (Forensic Medical Service). This came after the National Forensic Service (NFS) here failed to determine the cause of his death because of the missing body parts. Through an autopsy performed on Jan. 21, the NFS was only able to find that much of his body was bruised.According to the widow, Kim and other men were engaged in a fight at a Monterrey karaoke on Jan. 3, which was filmed by surveillance cameras there. In a few minutes, Kim passed out and w

Jan 30, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Korean man who died in Mexico returned with missing organs
Foreign Affairs

Korean woman fined in Bangkok for slapping airport official's face

The Grand Palace complex in Bangkok / gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoA Korean woman has been fined 1,000 baht ($32) in Bangkok for slapping a security official's face at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Saturday night.According to local media, the tourist, whose identity is being withheld, hit the female official who was scanning her with a handheld metal detector in the departure zone about 11 p.m.It is unclear what provoked her. It was reported that officers scanned the woman repeatedly after a security scanner beeped as she passed through.The airport management said it filed a complaint with police but did not take further legal action, to protect the national image of Thailand.

Jan 29, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Korean woman fined in Bangkok for slapping airport official's face
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