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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

2 Korean fighters set for UFC bouts in Macau

From left, mixed-martial arts fighter Lim Hyun-gyu, ring girl Kang Ye-bin and fighter Kim Dong-hyun pose at Saturday’s UFC Macau event before leaving Seoul, Friday.  /YonhapBy Jung Min-hoTwo Korean fighters are set to bring “hallyu” or the Korean wave, to the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) landscape. Kim Dong-hyun, 30, and Lim Hyun-gyu, 27, will participate in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Macau bout on Saturday.“The Stun Gun” Kim will fight Brazilian Paulo Thiago after an unfortunate loss to Demian Maia due to a “severe muscle spasm” three months ago, while Lim is ready to make his UFC debut against David Mitchell from the U.S. Both will compete in the welterweight class.“This will be my 10th UFC match, and I’m really proud of it,” Kim said at Wednesday’s press conference in Macau. “I have put every ounce of my energy to erase the frustration from the last bout and to fight well here. Without having to worry about jet lag, I’m confident of performing better this time.”Kim’s lates

Nov 8, 2012By Jung Min-ho
2 Korean fighters set for UFC bouts in Macau
Sports

Na has special attachment to Special Olympics

Na Kyung-won, chairwoman of the 2013 PyeongChang Special Olympics Organizing Committee, speaks during a recent interview with The Korea Times at her office in Seoul. / Courtesy of the committeeBy Jung Min-hoSport is known for producing remarkable efforts in pursuit of victory. But the 2013 PyeongChang Special Olympics World Winter Games will be about empowering people through inspirational competition, according to Na Kyung-won, chairwoman of the 2013 PyeongChang Special Olympics Organizing Committee.  Korea will host its first Special Olympics from Jan. 29 to Feb. 5. in the eastern Gangwon Province city.“What we are trying to achieve is to initiate awareness campaigns in a society where winning is everything,” Na said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. “Under the slogan Together We Can, I hope the event can bring harmony and a new vision to Korea that truly needs at this point.“Showing what they can do there is important to make people realize that people with intellectual disabilities can be used as valuable manpower, that they are not a social

Nov 7, 2012By Jung Min-ho
Sports

KBL tarnished by mass bribery

By Jung Min-hoThe Korean Basketball League (KBL) is under fire following the disclosure that a referee took bribes in return for making biased calls.The 44-year-old referee, only identified as Shin, took 2 million won ($1,838) in cash and a laptop computer from an unnamed official from a KBL team for “favorable calls” in October 2008, according to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency on Tuesday.The KBL discovered the illicit action a year later and cut his salary by 10 million won and suspended him from duty for three round of the regular season without reporting the matter to the police. Shin claimed that he returned the bribes to the official after a month, noting he couldn’t reach the official immediately afterwards.Police unearthed the case during an investigation into bribery cases in amateur basketball, which is represented by the Korea Basketball Association (KBA), where 151 people were implicated and 73 indicted.Rumors and speculation about bribes in the sport are swirling and dark clouds are gathering over Korean basketball, which started its new season on

Nov 7, 2012By Jung Min-ho
Sports

Who will be Asia's No. 1?

2012 Asia Series starts ThursdayBy Jung Min-hoThe curtain is set to rise on the 2012 Asia Series, bringing some of the continent’s best baseball clubs to Busan’s Sajik Stadium from Thursday to Sunday.The Samsung Lions and Lotte Giants of Korea, Yomiuri Giants from Japan, Australia’s Perth Heat, the Lamigo Monkeys of Taiwan and the Chinese All-Star squad the China Stars will compete to become Asia’s No. 1 team and 500 million won ($450,000) prize money.The Korean Series champions Lions will represent the home nation along with hosts the Giants. The Lions became the first Korean team to win this tournament after defeating the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in last year’s final, and if they defend the title, they will become the first back-to-back victors.The Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) champions Giants are expected to provide the stiffest challenge. Yomiuri cleanup hitter Shinnosuke Abe, who wrapped up the regular season with the No. 1 .340 batting average and 104 RBIs, is probably their most lethal weapon.Their former cleanup hitter, Lee Seung-yeop, left t

Nov 6, 2012By Jung Min-ho
Sports

Giants name Kim Si-jin as new manager

The Lotte Giants appointed Kim Si-jin, former Nexen Heroes manager, as their new boss.With a three-year contract, the 54-year-old will receive 300 million won ($274,000) per year with a 300 million won signing bonus. In a press release, the Giants said they highly value Kim’s managing experience and his ability to nurture talent.He succeeds Yang Seung-ho, who stepped down last week after the Busan-based team failed to reach the Korean Series as he promised during his two-year leadership.Kim’s leadership came under the spotlight when the Heroes, which finished seventh and eighth in 2010 and 2011 seasons respectively, became a sensation at the beginning of this year.Surging from the get-go, the Heroes hit the top of the group standings on May 23. After the first half, however, the Heroes started losing their initial momentum and finished sixth with 61 wins, 69 losses and three draws.On the back of the worse-than-expected results, the team fired Kim in the middle of the season. The decision, however, raised the hackles of many domestic fans, who recognized his managing abili

Nov 5, 2012By Jung Min-ho
Sports

Ryu Hyun-jin on MLB radar

Hanwha Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin has attracted interest from many clubs in Major League Baseball since the 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medalist was posted on Nov. 2. The bidding will close on Friday at 7 a.m. / YonhapBy Jung Min-hoSigns of Hanwha Eagles starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin’s entry to the Major League Baseball are palpable since the 25-year-old became available for a move via the posting system on Nov. 2. The bidding will end Friday at 7 a.m.Although specific names of bidders and numbers remain unknown, some major teams have requested Ryu’s pitch-tracking data from Sports2i, the Korea Baseball Organization’s (KBO) official data provider, in an obvious attempt to size up the southpaw, an organization official was quoted as saying by Sports Donga.According to the official, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers have requested the information, while the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians already paid for it.Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Bob Brookover said at philly.com that the Phillies need to beef up their bullpen, requi

Nov 5, 2012By Jung Min-ho
Ryu Hyun-jin on MLB radar
Sports

Lions defend Korean Series title against Wyverns

The Samsung Lions players celebrate after defeating the SK Wyverns 7-0 to take their back-to-back Korean Series title at the Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Seoul, Thursday.  / YonhapBy Jung Min-hoThe Samsung Lions concluded their marvelous year Thursday by winning the Korean Series after beating the SK Wyverns 7-0 at the Jamsil Baseball Stadium.A total of 26,000 fans at the arena exploded when the Daegu-based team claimed their second consecutive and their sixth overall Korean Series crown – the Lions won the title in 1985, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2011.“I feel so lucky. I really didn’t think that we could win a back-to-back Korean Series,” Lions manager Ryu Joong-il said. “After winning the first two games, many experts thought the series would end easily with our victory, but the fifth game was hard."The event’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) Lee Seung-yuop banged out a three-base hit to make the Wyverns’ improbable task look impossible by extending the gap to seven at the top of the fourth inning, following Park Sok-min’s two-run homer and Ba

Nov 1, 2012By Jung Min-ho
Lions defend Korean Series title against Wyverns
Sports

Cho Chung-yun to retire as KFA head

Korea Football Association (KFA) President Cho Chung-yun speaks at a press conference in Seoul, Thursday.  / YonhapBy Jung Min-hoKorea Football Association (KFA) President Cho Chung-yun said Thursday that he “will not run for a second term” in next January’s election.“Now is the time to leave ... I hope someone, who is truly sincere in football, will be elected as the next president,” Cho said. “Since joining the KFA as chief director 15 years ago, working at the organization has been really meaningful. The organization has grown from 20 employees and an annual budget of 7 billion won ($6.4 million) to one with about 100 employees and 110 billion won.”Under Cho’s leadership, Korea has attained such accomplishments as reaching the round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the first time Korea made it passed the group stage on foreign soil. The Olympic team also won the nation’s first football medal, winning bronze at the London Games this summer.However, Cho and the football body came under fire for the controver

Nov 1, 2012By Jung Min-ho
Cho Chung-yun to retire as KFA head
People & Events

IOC vice president supports youth sports

International Olympic Committee Vice-President Ser Miang Ng speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, Monday.By Jung Min-hoMore than 3,500 young athletes lingered, mingling in the stadium after the closing ceremony for the 2010 Youth Summer Games ended in Singapore and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice-President Ser Miang Ng saw himself in their faces. He recalled the touching moment when asked about his greatest achievements in a recent interview with The Korea Times. “When I saw them saying goodbye to one another on the last day knowing that they will be apart the next day, it was a moment that I felt what I have been doing is absolutely wonderful and worth the time, money and life,” Ng said.Sports can help young people profoundly by teaching them resilience, confidence and independence and that is where the country’s future lies, the 63-year-old Singaporean said.“The youths can learn not only a can-do spirit but also ethics because they have to play the games by the rules. Respect for their opponen

Oct 30, 2012By Jung Min-ho
IOC vice president supports youth sports
Sports

Wyverns defeat Lions to tie series

The SK Wyverns’ Park Jae-sang smiles after hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning in the best-of-seven Korean Series against the Samsung Lions at Munhak Stadium in Incheon, Monday. The Wyverns beat the Lions 4-1.By Jung Min-ho The Korean Series went back to square one Monday, after the SK Wyverns beat the defending champions the Samsung Lions 4-1 in Game 4 to sweep their home games following two losses in Daegu.At Munhak Stadium, Park Jae-sang and Choi Jeong blasted back-to-back homers in the bottom of the fourth inning and the bullpen kept the Lions’ hitters to only two hits in the last four innings to the delight of 27,600 fans. The score in the best-of-seven series crown is even 2-2. After being dominated in the first two games, the Incheon-based team came out stronger with more precise hits and nearly perfect pitching in the fourth match, following a come-from-behind victory in the third Sunday.“We are gaining momentum with the second victory. The players really wanted to win. I felt like I was at the edge of a cliff, but now I feel stab

Oct 29, 2012By Jung Min-ho
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