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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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Foreign Affairs

Korean man shot to death in Tokyo

Police search a karaoke bar in the Kabukicho entertainment district in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, following the shooting there on Monday evening. KyodoBy Jung Min-hoA Korean man has been shot to death at a karaoke bar in Tokyo.The man, 65, surnamed Lee, a long-time Tokyo resident, was reportedly shot three times in the city's famous Kabukicho entertainment district. He was immediately taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.Police are looking for the attacker, who fled on a motorcycle.Police said it was most likely a premeditated attack that resulted from a personal conflict.According to police, Lee was a member of the Sumiyoshikai crime syndicate when he was young, and the attacker is also believed to have gangster links.Police have found a motorcycle and helmet ― believed to have been used by the killer ― near the bar. Police are now checking footage from surveillance cameras.The karaoke outlet in the center of Kabukicho in Shinjuku Ward is about 500 meters northeast of JR Shinjuku Station. Several yakuza gangsters are based in the commercial area, which is also popular among t

Jan 22, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Korean man shot to death in Tokyo
Society

Korean teachers demand removal of native English speakers

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's plan to improve public English education has run into a brick wall. Korea Times fileBy Jung Min-hoA union of liberal teachers has called on education authorities to remove all ― if not reduce the number of ― native English teachers from elementary schools in Seoul.According to the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) Wednesday, its Seoul office representatives will soon meet their counterparts from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) to discuss the issue.“There have been opinions that the quality of some native English teachers' teaching skills is low, which increases Korean teachers' workload,” a KTU official reportedly said. “They can be replaced by Korean teachers, given that what they teach is elementary level English.”In April 2018, the SMOE announced measures to improve the quality of English education in public schools. As part of the reform, the office decided to provide native English teachers to all 557 elementary schools in the city.By the end of this year, the SMOE initially pl

Jan 17, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Korean teachers demand removal of native English speakers
Tech & Science

Huawei CEO: 'Trump a great president'

Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei, smiles during a roundtable meeting with journalists in Shenzhen, China, Tuesday. The founder of network gear and smartphone supplier Huawei Technologies said the tech giant would reject requests from the Chinese government to disclose confidential information about its customers. APChinese President Xi Jinping pauses as he is shown around the Huawei offices by Ren Zhengfei in London, Oct. 21, 2015. ReutersBy Jung Min-hoRen Zhengfei, the founder and CEO of Chinese tech giant Huawei, called U.S. President Donald Trump “a great president” as his company struggles with spying allegations by the United States and some of its allies.Speaking to journalists from Western media at Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen, Tuesday, Ren, 74, also said he would never allow China's government to access customer information, in a bid to assuage growing global security concerns about his company.“Trump is a great president,” Ren reportedly said. “He dares to massively cut taxes, which will benefit business. But you have to treat well t

Jan 17, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Huawei CEO: 'Trump a great president'
  • US in criminal probe of Huawei: report
  • US lawmakers introduce bipartisan bills targeting Huawei, ZTE
Trends

Record cracked: Picture of egg now most-liked Instagram post

The new champion / Screengrab of @world_record_egg's InstagramBy Jung Min-hoThe photo of an egg, just a regular egg, is now the most-liked post on Instagram. The unremarkable image, which was posted on Jan. 4 by @world_record_egg, has garnered more than 43 million “likes” to beat the previous record-holder Kylie Jenner, whose post had 18 million likes.“Let's set a world record together and get the most-liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this,” reads the egg post.The account owner, who identified herself only as “an individual living in London” and whose email display name is “Eugene Egg,” told NBC News that she had no idea how the egg went so viral.“I guess it's also a comment on celebrity culture and how fragile and easily cracked it is (pun intended),” Eugene Egg was quoted as saying. “But really I just thought it would be funny if something as simple as an egg could take the crown.”

Jan 16, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Record cracked: Picture of egg now most-liked Instagram post
World

China sentences Canadian man to death for drug smuggling

This photograph, taken and released by the Intermediate People's Court of Dalian on Jan. 14, shows Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg during his retrial on drug trafficking charges in the court in Dalian, in China's northeast Liaoning Province. AFPA Chinese security official stands guard in front of the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, Jan. 15. EPABy Jung Min-hoA Chinese court has sentenced a Canadian man to death for drug smuggling, a decision that will likely further inflame tensions between Beijing and Ottawa.The Dalian Intermediate People's Court in northeastern China said Monday it convicted Robert Lloyd Schellenberg of being involved in smuggling 222 kilograms of crystal meth after a one-day retrial.He was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison, but the penalty increased after his appeal.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized the ruling, which came after the arrest of Chinese tech giant Huawei's senior executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver a month ago.“It is of extreme concern to us as a government, as it should be to all our international friends and allies, that

Jan 15, 2019By Jung Min-ho
China sentences Canadian man to death for drug smuggling
  • China slams Trudeau remarks on death penalty case
Law & Crime

A stunning fall from grace for 'animal savior'

Park So-youn has long been the most famous face of the animal rights movement in Korea. YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in adopted Tori, a dog rescued by CARE, soon after being sworn into office in 2017. Courtesy of CAREBy Jung Min-hoThe leader of one of South Korea's largest animal rights groups is facing a police investigation and lawsuits from donors and her own staff after allegedly secretly exterminating more than 200 dogs and cats she “rescued” in front of cameras.Park So-youn, the founder and director of Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE), was once hailed as an animal savior who devoted her life to saving their lives, especially those abandoned.The group's no-kill policy, which she announced on Facebook in 2011, touched the hearts of many who share the same philosophy about how animals should be treated. Thanks to that bond of sympathy, CARE collected nearly 2 billion won ($1.8 million) from generous donors last year.Now everyone who thought they knew her is feeling betrayed because of what she allegedly did when the cameras were off. After media reports of her

Jan 15, 2019By Jung Min-ho
A stunning fall from grace for 'animal savior'
  • Prominent animal rights activist faces fraud accusation
  • Embattled animal rights activist apologizes
World

Korean 'Dreamer' fears he will not be allowed back in US

“I'm reminded daily that I don't belong here,” Jin Park writes. APBy Jung Min-hoA Korean “Dreamer,” who won a prestigious Rhodes scholarship, fears he will not be allowed back into the United States ― a country he calls “home” ― after completing the program.Jin Park, 22, is a recent Harvard University graduate who came to the United States illegally as a seven-year-old child with his parents, after the Asian financial crisis hit Korea in 1997.The scholarship allows him to study at the University of Oxford in England, but he worries that he will not be able to return to the U.S. following the Donald Trump administration's decision to rescind the option for overseas travel for those with DACA status.In a column in the New York Times on Jan. 11, Park talked about his fears and what the U.S. meant to him.“This is a perpetual reality of being undocumented: I never know if I have a place in America ― my home ― even after receiving one of the most esteemed scholarships in the world,” Park wrote.“I plan to use my time at Oxford to think a

Jan 14, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Korean 'Dreamer' fears he will not be allowed back in US
Foreign Affairs

Autopsies set for two Koreans who died in Cambodia

People pay their respects at a memorial altar for the two Konyang University students at the campus in Daejeon, Saturday. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoKorea will perform autopsies on two Korean students who died in Cambodia last week after doctors there failed to determine the cause of their deaths.According to the Konyang University Monday, the National Forensic Service will carry out autopsies on the bodies when they are brought home from Phnom Penh.The two women, who went to Cambodia to do voluntary work, were taken to a local hospital on Jan. 8 after suffering from acute stomach pains. After receiving treatment, they returned to their hotel the next day, only for the symptoms to return. One student died that night and the other died on Jan. 10.Dr. Hwang Won-min at Konyang University Hospital told reporters Saturday that it was still unclear what caused their stomach pains.“Based on the symptoms they showed, we believe it was an infectious disease,” Hwang said. “We carried out a blood culture test with samples to check if it was a typhoid epidemic, but the result came out

Jan 14, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Autopsies set for two Koreans who died in Cambodia
Tech & Science

Huawei fires executive charged with espionage in Poland

A security guard stands near the Huawei company logo during a product launch in Beijing this month. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Jan. 11 that it was closely following the detention of Wang Weijing for allegedly spying for China. APBy Jung Min-hoHuawei has sacked the Chinese executive arrested on espionage charges in Poland last week, as the Chinese tech giant tries hard to distance itself from the incident.The move came after Polish authorities arrested Huawei sales director Wang Weijing, also known as Stanislaw Wang, in Warsaw on charges of spying on Poland for Beijing along with a former Polish security official.The news has deepened international concerns about Huawei, the world's largest telecom equipment manufacturer, which is facing problems amid growing suspicion over its ties to the Chinese government.Huawei claimed Wang acted alone, saying his actions had no relation to the company.“Huawei has decided to terminate the employment of Mr. Wang Weijing, who was arrested on suspicion of breaking Polish law,” Huawei said in a statement on Saturday. “In ac

Jan 13, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Huawei fires executive charged with espionage in Poland
World

Researchers claim 122-year-old Jeanne Calment was actually 99

Jeanne Calment holds the record for being the world's oldest person. ReutersBy Jung Min-hoJeanne Calment, the woman who holds the title as the world's longest-living person, may have been a fraud, according to Russian researchers.The French woman died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days ― a record confirmed by Guinness World Records. But Nikolai Zak, a mathematician and a member of the Society of Naturalists of Moscow University, said in his study, “Jeanne Calment: The secret of longevity,” that he believes she was 99 when she died.Zak claimed that his research, based on various documents and photos, led him to the conclusion that the daughter of Jeanne Calment, Yvonne, took the identity of her mother to avoid “paying the inheritance tax.”Official documents show that the daughter died of pleurisy in 1934. But the scholar believes it was actually the mother who died. If his claims are true, the woman who died in 1997 was Yvonne and she was aged just 99.As evidence, Zak said the woman had lost less than an inch of her height by the time she was well int

Jan 10, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Researchers claim 122-year-old Jeanne Calment was actually 99
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