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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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Travel & Food

Greece bans overweight tourists from riding donkeys

Screen grab of Help the Santorini Donkey's FacebookBy Jung Min-hoGreece has banned overweight tourists from riding donkeys on the island of Santorini after activists complained that the animals suffer spinal injuries.According to local media Wednesday, the country's Ministry of Rural Development and Food has published a new set of regulations to protect the donkeys.People who wish to ride the donkeys now have to weigh less than 100 kilograms ― or 20 percent of the donkey's body weight.The animals “should not be loaded with a weight excessive in size, age or physical condition,” the ministry said.Riding a donkey is a popular way of looking around the tourist island, which has pathways too narrow for cars.Videos and pictures of obese tourists riding donkeys prompted a backlash on social media in July, and an online petition calling for an end to the “unnecessary animal torture” garnered more than 100,000 signatures.

Oct 11, 2018By Jung Min-ho
Greece bans overweight tourists from riding donkeys
Travel & Food

South Korea has 3rd most powerful passport

South Korean passport holders can travel freely to 188 countries and territories. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoSouth Korea has the third most powerful passport in the world, according to the latest study by law firm Henley & Partners.The 2018 Henley Passport Index Ranking showed Tuesday that the country's passport allows holders to travel freely to 188 countries and territories.Only the Japanese passport (190) and the Singaporean passport (189) offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to more destinations.Myanmar this month became the 188th country to give South Korean visitors a visa waiver.German and French passports are tied for third.Iraq and Afghanistan ranked at the low end of the spectrum, providing visa-free access to 30 countries each, with Syria and Somalia only just ahead with 32 visa-free destinations.The Henley Passport Index ranks the travel documents based on data from the International Air Transport Association, the world's largest database of travel information.Top1. Japan (190)2. Singapore (189)3. South Korea, France, Germany (188)4. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Sweden, Spa

Oct 11, 2018By Jung Min-ho
South Korea has 3rd most powerful passport
Travel & Food

Korean tourist dies while snorkeling in Egypt

Dahab in Egypt / YonhapBy Jung Min-hoA Korean tourist, 33, died while snorkeling off Dahab beach in Egypt last month.According to Koreans living in the area Tuesday, the man went snorkeling “20 to 30 meters” off the coast with other tourists on Sept. 28.He was seen as unresponsive by others and was brought to shore. He was later pronounced dead.It is unclear what caused his death.Dahab, a small town on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula, is famous for golden sand beaches and fascinating diving spots.

Oct 10, 2018By Jung Min-ho
Korean tourist dies while snorkeling in Egypt
Society

Man jailed for assaulting police officer

YonhapBy Jung Min-hoA man has been sentenced to eight months in prison for attacking a police officer who asked him to take a sobriety test.The Busan District Court convicted the man, 38, Tuesday, of seriously injuring a police officer on duty in eastern Busan about 3:20 a.m. on July 13. He was also found guilty of driving while intoxicated.The man refused to comply with the police request for a breathalyzer test for 40 minutes, and then kneed the officer in the groin and hit him on the neck.The officer sustained injuries that required 15 weeks to recover.According to police, it was the third time the man was caught drunk driving.

Oct 10, 2018By Jung Min-ho
Man jailed for assaulting police officer
Travel & Food

New Zealand can impose $3,200 fine if you don't disclose phone password at border

From this month, New Zealand's customs officials have enforced a tough new rule at airports. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoNew Zealand can now fine you up to $NZ5,000 ($3,200) if you refuse to give your phone or laptop passwords to customs officials at the country's border.New Zealand's Customs and Excise Act 2018, which came into force early this month, allows customs officials to demand passwords for travelers' electronic devices.Those who refuse to cooperate could face fines as well as prosecution and their devices could be confiscated.But officials should have “reasonable cause” to suspect someone of breaching customs rules or of committing other crimes to demand a search.The new law has triggered resistance from rights groups, which have expressed privacy concerns.“Modern smartphones contain a large amount of highly sensitive private information including emails, letters, medical records, personal photos and very personal photos,” said Thomas Beagle, the chairman of the NZ Council for Civil Liberties.Local media reported that New Zealand border officials carried ou

Oct 9, 2018By Jung Min-ho
New Zealand can impose $3,200 fine if you don't disclose phone password at border
Law & Crime

Woman apprehended over theft from shaman

A shaman has been deceived. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoA woman, 39, is being investigated for allegedly stealing cash and jewelry from a shaman, 50, police said Monday.According to Busan Yeonje Police Station, the suspect, whose identity is being withheld, was apprehended recently on suspicion of stealing 14.1 million won ($12,400) of cash and jewelry from her “teacher.”The suspect approached the shaman in May, saying she wanted to be her student. But three months later, she stole the valuables and ran away while her teacher was asleep.Police apprehended the suspect on Geoje Island, South Gyeongsang Province.

Oct 9, 2018By Jung Min-ho
Woman apprehended over theft from shaman
Law & Crime

Two Koreans questioned for allegedly assaulting Yemenis

YonhapBy Jung Min-hoTwo Korean men are being investigated on suspicion of assaulting two Yemeni men on Jeju Island last week, police said Sunday.According to Jeju Dongbu Police Station, police are investigating the Koreans, aged in their 20s, for allegedly kicking and punching the Yemenis after the foreigners refused to pay their share of the drinks bill at a bar on Oct. 2.Photos released by a Jeju newspaper show one Yemeni with a severely injured left eye while the other had a scratched forehead. They reportedly received medical treatment.“They surrounded us and started kicking and punching,” one of the Yemenis was quoted as saying. “They tried to extort something from us, perhaps passports or money.”

Oct 8, 2018By Jung Min-ho
Two Koreans questioned for allegedly assaulting Yemenis
  • Koreans attack two Yemenis on Jeju Island
Society

Dog saves dementia patient lost on mountain

"Wang Geon" with the woman whose life he saved. Courtesy of National Fire AgencyBy Jung Min-hoA service dog has saved the life of a dementia patient, 93, lost on a mountain in Chungju.According to the National 119 Rescue Headquarters Sunday, the dog, a malinois named “Wang Geon,” 4, found the woman on a mountain on Oct. 2 after a seven-hour search.The woman was suffering hypothermia and breathing difficulties. After receiving urgent treatment, she has recovered fully, rescue officials said.There are 29 service dogs for various missions across Korea. Over the past three years, they have participated in 1,626 operations and saved 40 people.

Oct 8, 2018By Jung Min-ho
Dog saves dementia patient lost on mountain
Foreign Affairs

Japan to skip naval event after rival Koreas' united opposition

In this Feb. 22, 2013, file photo, a Japanese protester holds the rising sun flag and Japanese flag during a rally against South Korea in Tokyo.By Jung Min-hoJapan will skip an international naval event in South Korea next week after South and North Korea raised a united voice against Japan's plan to fly the Rising Sun flag.According to the South Korean Navy Saturday, Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force told the host of its decision not to send a warship to the International Fleet Review, which is scheduled to open at a military port on Jeju Island.The decision came after two Koreas ― in one voice ― expressed opposition to Japan's plan to fly what they see as a symbol of Japan's wartime atrocities.Last week, the South Korean Navy asked the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force not to fly the flag during the five-day event. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon also said publicly that Japan needed to consider how the flags would affect Koreans.North Korea was more straightforward.“The Rising Sun flag is a war-crime flag that the 20th-century Japanese imperialists used when executing t

Oct 7, 2018By Jung Min-ho
Japan to skip naval event after rival Koreas' united opposition
  • Diplomatic consensus needed to end dispute over “Rising Sun Flag”
Trends

Over 250 people worldwide have died taking selfies: study

A selfie with a background of killer waves / ReutersBy Jung Min-hoTaking a perfect selfie for Instagram can be fun, but is it worth your life?According to a new study, more than 250 people worldwide have died while taking selfies in the past six years.Scholars from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a group of public medical colleges in New Delhi, found that 259 people died while taking selfies from October 2011 to November 2017.The study, which was published in the July-August edition of the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, shows that drowning is the leading cause of “selfie deaths,” followed by incidents involving transportation ― for example, trying to take a picture in front of a moving train.Researchers found that the most selfie deaths occur in India, followed by Russia, the United States and Pakistan. One reason might be that India has the world's largest young population (30 years or younger), the age group that has the highest number of selfie deaths.Women generally take more selfies than men, but men are more likely to take risks ― and die

Oct 4, 2018By Jung Min-ho
Over 250 people worldwide have died taking selfies: study
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