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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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Sports

Koreans strike gold on 1st day

By Jung Min-ho PUEBLA, Mexico  ― Korea got off to a flying start by sweeping two gold medals Tuesday at the 21st World Taekwondo Championships as Kim So-hui, 19, and Cha Tae-moon, 22, topped the podium.Kim defeated Anastasia Valueva of Russia 8-7 in the women’s under-46-kilogram category to defend her title she won in Gyeongju, Korea, two years ago.“It feels great,” Kim told reporters after the final match.“I want to eat chicken. I have lost about three to four kilograms since I came here.”Kim earned the first two points with a spinning back kick to Valueva’s body.Kim added one point with her pushing kick in the second round but lost one for warnings accumulated.When her spinning and back kicks widened the gap to 8-1 in the third round, her victory seemed near. But Valueva counterattacked, connecting her roundhouse kicks to Kim’s head and body in a flash, to make the score 9-8.After the video replay, the Russian’s three points were removed to give the lead back to Kim and she kept it until the final whistle.“Her las

Jul 16, 2013By Jung Min-ho
Sports

Taekwondo expressed with dance and drums

Dancers perform “TAL,” a taekwondo-inspired dance and percussion program, at the Auditorio Siglo XXI in Puebla, Mexico, Sunday. / Korea TimesBy Jung Min-hoPUEBLA, Mexico — Taekwondo is a martial art. For better or worse, it will always be compared to a performing art, thanks to its acrobatic moves and high-flying kicks.In a lavish show before the opening ceremony of the World Taekwondo Championships, the Korean performers of “TAL,” a taekwondo-inspired dance and percussion performance, drew a standing ovation from the 5,000 in attendance at the Auditorio Siglo XXI.“The show was breathtaking,” said Sandra Ximena Mata Zenteno, a director of the World Taekwondo Championships organizing committee. “On the stage, it was not just a martial art; it was art. I believe the show definitely changed people’s perception about taekwondo.”TAL was designed by the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) in 2010 to promote the sport through culture.Sponsored by the provincial government of North Jeolla, the KTA started to run a team of taekwondo pa

Jul 15, 2013By Jung Min-ho
Taekwondo expressed with dance and drums
Sports

Matter of bragging rights

Korea’s Kim So-hui, right, attacks China’s Li Zhaoyi during the women’s -46 kilogram final at the World Taekwondo Championships in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, in 2011. Kim, who won the match, will be looking to defend her title in Puebla. / Korea Times fileTough mission ahead for Korean taekwondo athletes in Puebla By Jung Min-hoPUEBLA, Mexico — The 21st World Taekwondo Championships kicked off with a grand opening ceremony at the Centro Expositor in downtown Puebla Monday.For Korea, the biennial event will be a test to prove whether the country still has the top athletes in a sport it used to dominate. For the Koreans, the previous championships in Gyeongju, Korea, served as a fresh blast of reality. There, Iranians took home more gold medals than the Koreans in the men’s competition and the Chinese did the same on the women’s side.The haul of two Olympic medals — one gold, the other silver — at the London Games was the lowest since taekwondo was introduced as an Olympic sport in the 2000 Sydney Games.It could be arg

Jul 15, 2013By Jung Min-ho
Matter of bragging rights
Films

Hilariously lost in translation

Michael Redgrave, left, Margaret Lockwood, center, and Paul Lukas in the 1938 Alfred Hitchcock film, “The Lady Vanishes.” / Korea Times fileVeteran translator highlights English-to-Korean mistakes in moviesBy Jung Min-ho“The Mistranslation Dictionary,” Ahn Jung-hyo, Open BooksWhen Hungarian actor Paul Lukas told British co-star Michael Redgrave, “If you coat it with sugar, she might fall for it,” in director Alfred Hitchcock’s 1938 film, “The Lady Vanishes,” one Korean translator changed the meaning to “If you cover yourself in sugar, she might lick you.”Decades later, the mistake was finally corrected in veteran translator Ahn Jung-hyo’s latest book, “The Mistranslation Dictionary.”“Many translators make errors because they overlook other sophisticated meanings of words, knowing only the first definition of them,” Ahn wrote. “Some might think they studied economically (because they did not spend time learning less common meanings). But that is a foolish judgment.”Many years ha

Jul 12, 2013By Jung Min-ho
People & Events

Girls' Generation to sing anthem at Dodger Stadium

TaeyeonSunnyTiffanyBy Jung Min-hoMembers of the popular K-pop act Girls Generation will sing Korea’s national anthem at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium on July 29 (KST) in a ceremony before a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds.The Dodgers are the team of Korean rookie pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, while the Reds employ star Korean outfielder Choo Shin-soo.According to S.M. Entertainment Tuesday, Girls Generation members Taeyeon, Tiffany and Sunny have been invited to attend “Korea Day,” organized by the Korea Tourism Organization, and one of them will throw the first ball of the game.After the game, the members will attend the ceremony where they will be appointed as Honorary Ambassadors for Korea tourism.Ryu also will attend the event.Since the game is expected to present two Korean Major League Baseball players’ first showdown, the event is anticipated to draw big attention from the locals with the Girls Generation’s special performance.For Tiffany, it is her second visit to the stadium after she threw the first ball of the game between

Jul 9, 2013By Jung Min-ho
Girls' Generation to sing anthem at Dodger Stadium
Sports

NK's female footballers to visit South Korea

By Jung Min-hoSouth Korea has approved the entry of the North Korean female football team to play in the East Asian Cup tournament to be held in Seoul from July 20 to 28, government officials said Friday.This came after North Korea’s football body told the Korea Football Association, June 27, that it would send the team to the event.The North Korean players will arrive in Seoul on July 18.This is its first participation in the competition since the one held in China five years ago; and will also mark its first trip to South Korea since the 2005 East Asian Cup.The last time any North Korean sports team played here was April 1 in 2009 when the two Koreas had an Asian qualifying match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.Organized by the East Asian Football Federation, the forthcoming competition will have men’s and women’s events. China, Japan as well as the two Koreas will participate in the female games.The game between South and North Korea will be held on July 12 at Seoul World Cup Stadium.The North Korean female team will leave on July 28, a day after the event’s fi

Jul 5, 2013By Jung Min-ho
Sports

Choue set to win 4th term as WTF leader

Choue Chung-won, President of World Taekwondo FederationBy Jung Min-hoWorld Taekwondo Federation (WTF) President Choue Chung-won is standing for a fourth term as a single candidate after his only rival Hong Moon-jong dropped his candidacy Friday ahead of the election in Puebla, Mexico, July 14.Hong told reporters that he withdrew his candidacy, promising to cooperate with the current president for further success of taekwondo at the Olympics.“After some contemplation, I concluded that it would not be appropriate to compete with Choue in front of world taekwondo members,” Hong said. “But as World Taekwondo Headquarters’ chairman of the board and a WTF member, I will continue to work for the sport.”The election would have been the first contested between Koreans since the WTF’s foundation on May 28, 1973, if Hong had run.Hong became World Taekwondo Headquarters’ chairman of the board on June 17 after he was appointed as the party’s secretary general on May 21. So, many were concerned that Hong would not have time for another importan

Jul 5, 2013By Jung Min-ho
Choue set to win 4th term as WTF leader
South Korea

Exclusive Ex-con allegedly pocketed $30 mil. from Kurdistan

By Jung Min-ho Jalal TalabaniIraqi PresidentChoi Kyu-sunUI Energy CEOProsecutors and financial regulators are investigating UI Energy CEO Choi Kyu-sun, a convicted high-stakes international broker, over suspicions that he conspired with the Kurdistan government to embezzle $30 million in corporate funds.A source at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s office said Choi apparently obtained the money from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the autonomous region in northern Iraq.Choi has claimed that the money came from the Nokan Group, a firm based in Kurdistan, which is owned by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by the current Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani.The prosecutor’s office contacted the Department of Foreign Relations at the Kurdistan Regional government over a seven month period beginning in November last year, but no response of any sort has been issued.The source also said that Choi’s close links with high-ranking KRG officials, including its Prime Minister Nechervan Barzani, are obstructing their efforts to gather evidence.The sou

Jul 4, 2013By Jung Min-ho
[Exclusive] Ex-con allegedly pocketed $30 mil. from Kurdistan
Sports

Park Ji-sung in love with TV announcer

Football star Park Ji-sung makes the shape of a heart with his hands during a press conference in Suwon, Thursday. The 32-year-old Queens Park Rangers midfielder admitted to dating SBS TV announcer Kim Min-ji, 27, since this May. / YonhapBy Jung Min-hoPark Ji-sung, in his own words, is “in love.”The 32-year-old football star admitted Thursday that the rumors of him dating SBS television announcer Kim Min-ji, 27, since this May were true, at a press conference in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.``She is my ideal type. No matter what people say, she is the most lovable person to me,” Park told reporters with a big smile. ``At first, we were just friends. But I started falling for Kim as I realized that she is a very understanding person.’’This was Park’s first public appearance after Sports Seoul revealed photos Wednesday showed him and Kim walking around the Han River in Seoul.Kim started working at the broadcasting company in 2010. She has hosted a weekly football program with fellow announcer Bae Sung-jae who introduced her to Park’s father wh

Jun 20, 2013By Jung Min-ho
Park Ji-sung in love with TV announcer
South Korea

Iraq slaps big fine on Korean firm

By Jung Min-hoA Seoul-based construction firm, UI enc, has been ordered to pay the Kurdish Ministry of Health $22 million after breaking a contract to build a hospital in Sulaymaniya, a city located in Kurdistan, northern Iraq.Multiple sources confirmed that the breach of contract also hurt the general level of trust in Korean firms in the autonomous region of Iraq.Beginning in 2004, the project was scheduled for completion in 2007. But UI enc pulled out in 2009 after finishing only 32 percent of the total construction, according to Korean consul Eom Ki-young who is working in the region.A regional court decision to impose the multimillion dollar fine was made on Feb. 12 this year. Representatives from UI enc failed to appear in court. No date was set stipulating when the fine should be paid.After UI enc’s unexplained withdrawal, it took four years for a Turkish firm, part of the Galala Group of Companies, to complete the remaining construction work for a total of $87 million according to a source researching the project. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) initiated the pr

Jun 20, 2013By Jung Min-ho
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