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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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Law & Crime

Ex-president, wife no longer permitted to use private visiting room

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee will no longer be allowed to use private attorney-client meeting rooms at their respective detention centers as the Ministry of Justice moves to eliminate preferential treatment surrounding their custody. On Friday, the ministry announced a major personnel reshuffle, appointing Kim Do-hyung, the current warden of Suwon Detention Center, as the new head of Seoul Detention Center — where Yoon is being held. Kim Hyun-woo, the outgoing Seoul warden, will assume leadership of Anyang Prison. The changes will take effect on Monday. The ministry cited “various issues raised regarding Yoon’s detention and treatment” as the reason for the overhaul. “The Ministry of Justice will continue to make every effort to ensure strict law enforcement and fair detention management, free from any suspicion of preferential treatment,” it said. The same day, the ministry stopped allowing Yoon and his wife to meet their lawyers inside private rooms; instead, they must meet their legal counsel in standard visitation rooms, like all other inmates.

Aug 15, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Ex-president, wife no longer permitted to use private visiting room
Society

Adoptees voice deep concerns regarding state takeover of adoption system

Korea’s move to bring its adoption process entirely under government control was promoted as a safeguard against the abuses that have long marred the country’s adoption system. Yet for many adoptees searching for their birth roots here, the change has sparked frustration, anxiety and skepticism over whether it will truly address decades of injustice. Adoptees contend that the transition has been mishandled in ways that violate constitutional rights, restrict access to essential personal records and jeopardize the preservation of decades of adoption files. Reflecting this concern, Emergency Action for Record Storage (EARS), an adoptee advocacy group, recently filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. The group alleges that the process involved unlawful rights restrictions and mishandling of sensitive adoption materials, and calls for an investigation and corrective recommendations. This comes as the government-run National Center for the Rights of the Child (NCRC) ― now responsible for all adoption administration ― has begun transferring records to a te

Aug 15, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Adoptees voice deep concerns regarding state takeover of adoption system
People & Events

Deceased organ donor saves four lives

For the family of Lee Hoon, June was marked by sorrow, but also by extraordinary empathy and compassion. According to the Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Agency (KODA) on Monday, Lee died at a hospital in Seoul on June 27 after his organs were donated following brain death, saving the lives of four people. He was 61. On June 15, Lee was suddenly struck by a brain hemorrhage while sleeping. He was taken to Gangnam Severance Hospital immediately. However, despite the medical staff’s best efforts, he never regained consciousness and was declared brain-dead. Days later, on June 27, his family made a decision that would embody his lifelong spirit of generosity: They decided to donate his lungs, liver and both kidneys, giving new life to four patients. During his lifetime, Lee often said, “When I leave this world, I want to do something that will help others,” according to his family. They said they wanted to honor his wish. Born in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, as the youngest of four children, Lee worked as a manager at an accounting firm before his passing. His family said Lee had a wa

Aug 12, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Deceased organ donor saves four lives
Society

Will AI replace human translators?

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in translation has raised concerns among professionals in the industry, with some wondering whether they will soon become as obsolete as typists or video store clerks. But professional translators and scholars in the field recently told The Korea Times that they don’t believe AI-powered tools are rendering human experts obsolete just yet. Instead, they said the powerful technology is prompting a redefinition of their roles as it changes the nature of the profession. “Many professionals, including myself, view AI translation tools with concern, because it will continue to develop. But if you ask me whether I think it has reached a level where I feel my job security is under threat, my answer is no,” said Lee Jun-ho, professor of advanced translation at Chung-Ang University. “AI, at least so far, has had limited impact on the translation market for high-level human experts. In some way, it is even helping and empowering them by creating more opportunities.” AI-powered translation tools, built on neural machine translation and large langua

Aug 11, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Will AI replace human translators?
Global Community

Brick factory worker in Naju fined for forklift abuse of foreign colleague

The abuse of a foreign worker at a brick factory in Naju, South Jeolla Province, earlier this year has led to criminal charges and a fine against a Korean perpetrator. The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Sunday announced the results of its investigation into serious abuses of migrant workers at the brickworks. This came after a video went viral, showing a Sri Lankan worker, 31, bound to a load of bricks with plastic wrap and hoisted into the air by the forklift operator on Feb. 26, while other Korean colleagues watched and mocked the victim. Inspectors from the ministry’s regional office in Gwangju said the video-documented abuse constitutes assault and workplace bullying under the Labor Standards Act. So the forklift operator was immediately slapped with a fine of 3 million won ($2,100) by the ministry. The suspect also faces prosecution in connection with this case for criminal offenses including special confinement and special assault — both of which involve group actions. The investigators confirmed additional labor violations at the factory. A total of 21 current and former

Aug 10, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Brick factory worker in Naju fined for forklift abuse of foreign colleague
Global Community

Labor minister vows ‘zero tolerance’ for discrimination against foreign workers

As Korea celebrates the 21st anniversary of the Employment Permit System (EPS) ― its labor migration framework with partner nations in Asia ― Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon pledged on Wednesday a “zero-tolerance” stance against discrimination targeting foreign workers. At an EPS conference in Seoul attended by representatives from 17 labor-sending countries, Kim underscored a firm stance against discrimination and called for respect for diversity. He outlined the ministry’s commitments to creating a fairer, safer and more inclusive environment for all workers, envisioning shared prosperity through international partnership. “We breathe, work and grow together with workers from 17 different countries. Their sweat, dedication, patience and commitment will never be forgotten,” Kim said during his speech at the event. “Ensuring that foreign workers are guaranteed their rights and can work in an equitable environment free from discrimination ― this is the most important principle we must uphold. Harassment, violence and other types of human rights violations against them mu

Aug 6, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Labor minister vows ‘zero tolerance’ for discrimination against foreign workers
  • Gov’t plans to discontinue Seoul’s foreign nanny program early next year
Society

POSCO E&C CEO resigns over repeated workplace injuries

The chief executive of POSCO E&C, one of Korea’s largest construction firms, tendered his resignation Tuesday, amid intensifying public outrage and official scrutiny over a spate of deadly industrial accidents at the company’s worksites. The resignation comes as the presidential office had already placed the developer under heightened review, following deadly accidents that drew national attention. President Lee Jae Myung, speaking at a Cabinet meeting last month, condemned the company’s safety record in unusually blunt terms, calling the repeated fatalities “unacceptable” and suggesting they could constitute “murder by willful negligence” under Korean law. Jeong Hee-min’s decision to resign followed the company’s latest industrial accident, in which a 31-year-old migrant worker from Myanmar was hospitalized in an unconscious state after suffering an apparent electric shock at a highway construction site in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, around 1:30 p.m. on Monday. “As the president, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility for the repeated accidents,” Jeong said in

Aug 5, 2025By Jung Min-ho
POSCO E&C CEO resigns over repeated workplace injuries
Society

Head of state adoption agency vows transparency as gov’t takes over process

The director of Korea’s national adoption agency is pledging to help establish a transparent system as the government moves to overhaul the longstanding practice of outsourcing adoptions to private agencies. The restructuring, which took effect on July 19 with the enactment of the Act on International Adoption and the Special Act on Domestic Adoption, assigns the state full responsibility for all adoption procedures, including counseling, temporary care, screening, education of prospective adoptive parents and post-adoption support. Under the transition, the state-run National Center for the Rights of the Child (NCRC) is now the primary institution responsible for the implementation and management of adoptions, including the operation of a temporary archival facility recently set up in Goyang to house all adoption records. “In the past, many adoptees trying to search for their birth records here ended up being lost without knowing where and how to begin,” Han Myoung-ae, director general at the NCRC’s adoption services office, said in a recent interview. “Through the reform, we

Aug 4, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Head of state adoption agency vows transparency as gov’t takes over process
Law & Crime

Lawmaker, police move to toughen anti-stalking statutes

A lawmaker and police are pushing for a major overhaul of Korea’s stalking laws following a spate of deadly stalking cases in recent weeks and mounting public concern over inadequate protections for victims. The National Police Agency said Friday it is collaborating with the office of Rep. Lee In-seon of the main opposition People Power Party to draft an amendment bill that will classify repeated stalking as a form of retaliatory crime to penalize offenders more severely. Under the proposal, offenders could face a minimum sentence of one year in prison if they continue stalking even after victims file a complaint with police. Currently, the vast majority of people indicted on stalking charges receive a fine or a suspended prison sentence, as the maximum sentence for the offense under the current law is three years in prison or a fine up to 30 million won ($22,000). The lawmaker and police are also seeking to redefine the meaning of stalking. The current anti-stalking law, enacted in 2021, defines stalking as a “repeated or continuing” act, which leaves room for legal interpretation

Aug 2, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Lawmaker, police move to toughen anti-stalking statutes
Global Community

Task force launched to investigate overdue wages for 91 Filipino workers

The government has launched an investigation into a major wage nonpayment case involving 91 Filipino workers at a farm in Yanggu, Gangwon Province. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Friday that it directed officials at its regional office there to establish a task force dedicated to investigating the incident, just one day after a complaint about it was formally received. The team is expected to begin on-site investigations in the coming days to find out why and how the mass wage delays occurred, the ministry said. “With more than 90 foreign workers involved, we are committed to a swift and thorough investigation,” an official said. “Our aim is to secure the workers’ rights and to deliver justice as quickly as possible.” Beyond wage theft, the ministry is also looking into the involvement of a broker agency that allegedly charged excessive fees to the Filipino workers. The agency is suspected of violating the Labor Standards Act by engaging in illicit profit-taking, according to the ministry. Article 9 of the law states, “No person shall intervene in the employment of

Aug 1, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Task force launched to investigate overdue wages for 91 Filipino workers
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