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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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North Korea

Seoul pivots from confrontation to engagement with Pyongyang

South Korea is moving away from its previous confrontational stance toward North Korea, as the Lee Jae-myung administration tries to mend relations that deteriorated under his predecessor. In the latest development on Saturday, Lee directed all relevant government departments to devise measures to prevent and penalize the sending of leaflets critical of the North Korean regime across the inter-Korean border. This directive followed an attempt by human rights activists to launch balloons carrying anti-regime messages from Ganghwa Island, near North Korean shores, earlier that day. Lee reaffirmed his commitment the next day to restoring communication and trust between Seoul and Pyongyang. “The Lee Jae-myung government will cease all hostilities, resume dialogue and cooperation and restore the inter-Korean communication channel and the crisis management system to ease military tensions and create a peaceful atmosphere,” Lee said in a social media post on the 25th anniversary of the June 15 North–South Joint Declaration, which was adopted in Pyongyang following a landmark inter-Korean

Jun 16, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Seoul pivots from confrontation to engagement with Pyongyang
  • KOREA TIMES POLL Strengthening US alliance is top foreign policy priority
Global Community

Low applicant turnout delays Seoul’s foreign nanny program

The Seoul city government has received fewer applications than expected for its new foreign nanny program, raising concerns that services may not be available to residents until at least late summer. The sluggish uptake highlights the complexities of addressing Korea’s deepening demographic crisis, as the city tries to ease the child care burden on working parents amid plummeting birthrates. The program’s struggles could worsen challenges for families seeking affordable child care, potentially limiting workforce participation and further depressing fertility rates over time. As of Wednesday, only about 70 foreign residents had applied, according to officials at the Seoul Metropolitan Government — well short of the city’s goal to recruit enough workers to serve 300 households. Of these applicants, approximately a dozen has completed training required to work as caregivers so far, officials said. As a result, those eager to use their services will likely have to wait until August, according to officials. Originally, city officials planned to complete work training between April and

Jun 12, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Low applicant turnout delays Seoul’s foreign nanny program
  • Activists condemn new foreign nanny program as ‘abusive, discriminatory’
Society

Prominent activist urges Korea to end death penalty

When France abolished the death penalty in 1981, public opinion was largely opposed to the move, with nearly 65 percent of the population supporting its retention. Nonetheless, then-President François Mitterrand pressed ahead with abolition, making it a cornerstone of his administration’s early reforms. A gradual but uneven decline in public support for the death penalty in France followed the change. If Korea is to move toward abolition, it must take a similar approach, according to Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan, executive director of ECPM, a France-based nonprofit organization advocating for the universal abolition of capital punishment. “As seen in France and other countries, abolishing the death penalty is possible only when there is political courage and political willingness,” Chenuil-Hazan said during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul on Tuesday. “I really hope President Lee Jae-myung will show his leadership to end it.” His comments come as the Korean president, who was elected last week on promises to champion human rights of all individuals, works to form his admi

Jun 12, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Prominent activist urges Korea to end death penalty
People & Events

History lecturer named honorary ambassador of Overseas Koreans Agency

Choi Tae-sung, a prominent lecturer on Korean history, has been appointed the first honorary ambassador of the Overseas Koreans Agency, a government body that supports members of the global Korean diaspora. The agency said Tuesday that Choi, 53, will help advance its mission of providing administrative services to Koreans living abroad, safeguarding their rights and strengthening their ties to the homeland. The Overseas Koreans Agency is a government body established last year to succeed the Overseas Koreans Foundation. With an expanded mandate, the agency now provides comprehensive administrative services, advocates for the rights of 7.5 million Koreans living abroad and works to deepen their connections to Korea. This is the first time the agency has appointed an honorary ambassador since being founded in June 2024 under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “As an instructor, Choi has played a big role in teaching the history of Korean immigration to other countries and their contributions to their home country through fun and entertaining lectures,” the agency said in a statement. Choi

Jun 11, 2025By Jung Min-ho
History lecturer named honorary ambassador of Overseas Koreans Agency
Society

Matchmaking program leads to first wedding in Gimhae

A couple set to tie the knot this Saturday say they probably would not have met if it weren't for Gimhae Mayor Hong Tae-yong. The couple who met at a matchmaking event hosted by the South Gyeongsang Province city last year may be the first to marry there — but they are unlikely to be the last, as such government-backed matchmaking programs gain traction nationwide. “I am happy and grateful to have found a good spouse to spend the rest of my life with,” the soon-to-be husband, surnamed Kim, said. “I hope ‘Gimhae Solo’ will continue to remain as a platform for many young men and women to find love.” A growing number of municipal governments across Korea are turning to matchmaking programs like Gimhae’s to address the country’s record-low birth rate, hoping that encouraging marriage will eventually lead to more births. Initially met with public skepticism and criticism over the use of taxpayer money, these initiatives are now gaining broader acceptance. Rather than scaling back, many local officials are expanding such efforts, pointing to growing participation and early si

Jun 10, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Matchmaking program leads to first wedding in Gimhae
Foreign Affairs

KOREA TIMES POLL Strengthening US alliance is top foreign policy priority

Strengthening South Korea’s alliance with the United States should be the top foreign policy priority of the Lee Jae-myung administration, according to a recent poll commissioned by The Korea Times. In the poll conducted by Hankook Research at the request of The Korea Times, 49 percent of 1,000 respondents said bolstering ties with the ally as the top foreign policy issue the new president should focus on. Strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance was especially important among conservatives, with 75 percent of the major conservative People Power Party (PPP) supporters and 67 percent of the minor right-wing Reform Party supporters saying so in their responses. Even among supporters of the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), 30 percent said they think focusing on that issue is the most important. However, DPK supporters said improving relations with China is almost as important as the South Korea-U.S. alliance, which 29 percent picking it as the top priority. PPP and Reform Party supporters did not see improving relations with China as an important task. Among all respondents, bo

Jun 8, 2025By Jung Min-ho
[KOREA TIMES POLL] Strengthening US alliance is top foreign policy priority
Politics

Ruling party backs off Supreme Court expansion plan amid outcry

Korea's ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) opted, Thursday, to delay its controversial push for legislation that would dramatically expand the Supreme Court, proposing to increase the number of justices from 14 to 30. The move came amid escalating concerns over the potential impact on judicial independence. Referred to by critics as "court packing," the proposed bill, if enacted, is widely feared to swiftly recalibrate the ideological balance of the nation's highest judicial body. Opponents contend such an expansion would align the court's composition more closely with the political views of President Lee Jae-myung, who took office just this Wednesday. The Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jung Chung-rae, approved that bill on Wednesday amid opposition from the conservative People Power Party. DPK officials said it may try to pass the bill during Thursday's plenary session at the Assembly. Under the bill, 16 additional Supreme Court justices will be added over the next four years. All will be appointed by President Lee, who has just begun his five-yea

Jun 5, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Ruling party backs off Supreme Court expansion plan amid outcry
  • 30 on the bench? DPK eyes radical Supreme Court expansion plan
  • DPK pauses contentious court overhaul bid — for now
Politics

President nominates Rep. Kim Min-seok as prime minister

President Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday nominated Kim Min-seok, an activist-turned-lawmaker who led his election win as co-chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK) campaign committee, for Korea’s next prime minister. It was Lee’s first job announcement after his inauguration earlier in the day. “Rep. Kim Min-seok is the right candidate to lead the recovery of the economy with his rich parliamentary experience, political and policy acumen as well as good sense of international affairs,” Lee told reporters at the presidential briefing room in Seoul. Known as one of the key figures in the pro-Lee faction within the liberal party, Kim, 61, was elected to its Supreme Council in August 2024 before joining the presidential campaign. For the general elections held the same year, Kim was also a director of its campaign operations and helped lead the party to a landslide win. To formally assume office, Kim is required to receive the approval of the National Assembly ― a process unlikely to face significant hurdles, as the ruling party holds a majority. Once confirmed, he will beg

Jun 4, 2025By Jung Min-ho
President nominates Rep. Kim Min-seok as prime minister
Foreign Affairs

Diplomatic, security challenges lie ahead for new president

When Yoon Suk Yeol was sworn in as South Korea’s president three years ago, denuclearization of North Korea still appeared within reach, China had not yet introduced its DeepSeek artificial intelligence model and Donald Trump was not occupying the White House. With Lee Jae-myung’s election victory, he took office Wednesday amid a dramatically shifting global landscape — one defined by rising geopolitical tensions and mounting security challenges that will put his foreign policy instincts to the test. “The complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is no longer viable. And a nuclear-armed North Korea has become an irreversible reality for all South Koreans. Now the question for the new administration is how to live with that nuclear threat,” Cho Han-bum, a researcher at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification, told The Korea Times. What has also changed over the past three years is North Korea’s view of the South and the possibility of peaceful unification. In a declaration that completely reversed its decades-long stance on

Jun 4, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Diplomatic, security challenges lie ahead for new president
Politics

Bills target hate speech, fake news amid controversy over Lee Jae-myung's son

Amid controversy surrounding the son of leading presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, liberal lawmakers are pushing to criminalize the creation and spread of hate speech and disinformation. This legislative drive has ignited a fierce debate over free expression ahead of the pivotal Tuesday presidential election. One key proposal, recently introduced by Rep. Cho In-cheul and fellow Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) members, specifically aims to outlaw information deemed discriminatory against certain individuals or groups. This move signifies a potential shift in Korea's legal approach to public discourse, setting new boundaries in a society increasingly grappling with polarized narratives. “The goal is to contribute to the establishment of a healthy internet culture by criminalizing information that justifies, promotes or reinforces discrimination against a particular group or its members on the basis of race, nationality, ethnicity, region, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion, occupation or disease,” the lawmakers said. Another bill, proposed by 13 DPK lawmakers, se

Jun 2, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Bills target hate speech, fake news amid controversy over Lee Jae-myung's son
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