my timesThe Korea Times
mj6c2

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.

Go to Email

Read more

Law & Crime

30 on the bench? DPK eyes radical Supreme Court expansion plan

Lawmakers from the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) have introduced a bill to significantly increase the number of Supreme Court justices from 14 to 30. Known as “court packing,” the bill is seen by critics as an attempt to swiftly shift the ideological balance of the Supreme Court to align with the next president’s political agenda. The move comes as Lee Jae-myung, the DPK’s presidential candidate for the June 3 election, holds a wide lead in the polls. Currently, 10 of the 13 sitting justices are considered conservative or moderate, with one seat vacant. The Constitution does not specify the number of Supreme Court justices. Instead, that is determined by the Court Organization Act, which can be amended with approval from the National Assembly. However, the size of the court has remained relatively stable, with around a dozen justices since the law was enacted in 1949. The legislators who signed the bill said building a diverse bench is one of their objectives. “The fact that the pool of potential candidates for the Supreme Court is virtually limited to senior justices

May 7, 2025By Jung Min-ho
30 on the bench? DPK eyes radical Supreme Court expansion plan
  • DPK intensifies impeachment threats against Supreme Court justices
Law & Crime

DPK intensifies impeachment threats against Supreme Court justices

The Supreme Court has come under unprecedented threat as the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) vows to use any means necessary to protect its presidential candidate, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, including the impeachment of the court's 10 justices who ruled against him last week in his election law case. The liberal party is demanding the judiciary immediately suspend all trials regarding Lee's criminal charges by Monday. If it doesn't, judges and justices would face impeachment, the party warned. “This case was a judicial coup that violated the sovereignty of the people. A judicial coup is a clearly impeachable offense,” Rep. Lee Geon-tae, a spokesperson for the party’s committee for the June 3 election, said in a statement on Tuesday. The statement comes after Rep. Yun Ho-jung, the committee chief, vowed the previous day to use “every power granted” to its lawmakers to thwart judges’ plan to hold a hearing on May 15 at the Seoul High Court, where they will deliberate on Lee’s sentence. If Lee is sentenced to a fine of 1 million won ($710) or higher, he will lose his eligibility to r

May 6, 2025By Jung Min-ho
DPK intensifies impeachment threats against Supreme Court justices
  • DPK urges high court to postpone review of verdict against presidential candidate Lee until after June election
Global Community

Seoul to send 130 volunteers to help underprivileged in Uzbekistan, Laos

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will send 130 volunteers to Uzbekistan and Laos to assist underprivileged communities this year as part of its youth program. According to officials, applications for the program are being collected until May 20. Any residents of the city aged 19 to 39 can participate. Those selected will receive training before visiting Uzbekistan’s Tashkent and Laos’ Vientiane between July and August. They will be offered free round trip air tickets, food, accommodation and some cash. While staying in the cities, the volunteers will take part in various projects such as repairing and improving infrastructure facilities and teaching local children about Korean culture. Tashkent was selected as one of this year’s program destinations to commemorate the 15th anniversary of its sister-city relationship with Seoul, while Vientiane was chosen in recognition of the cities' 10-year partnership. The destination for the inaugural program in 2023 was Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. The following year, 70 volunteers went to Jakarta and Yogyakarta in Indonesia. The progra

May 5, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Seoul to send 130 volunteers to help underprivileged in Uzbekistan, Laos
Global Community

Foreign residents volunteer to help Korean fire victims

In response to the massive wildfires that swept through Korea’s southeastern regions earlier this year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government launched a special program inviting foreign residents to support those affected by the disaster. The initial aim was to find a few dozen people who would be willing to join in and do volunteer work on April 4 in Andong, a city several hours away from central Seoul in North Gyeongsang Province, or in Yeongdeok, a county located further east. But within a day of the plan's announcement, more than 300 foreign residents in the city applied through the city-run Seoul Foreign Resident Center. “It was a pleasant surprise,” a city official who helped organize the program told The Korea Times. “But for safety reasons, we could not take everyone there. Eventually, 71 were selected to join the mission and sent to the affected areas.” Along with 27 medical professionals and 58 city officials, the foreign volunteer workers went separately to Andong and Yeongdeok, where they moved and sorted boxes of relief goods, cleaned temporary shelters set up for fire

May 3, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Foreign residents volunteer to help Korean fire victims
Global Community

Presidential contenders urged to stop deporting undocumented foreigners

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, a powerful umbrella labor union with more than 1 million members, is calling for presidential contenders to discard the detain-and-deport policy currently used against undocumented foreign residents. In its list of 10 requests for the nation’s next leader released Wednesday, the group said migrants, including those without visas to remain in Korea, should be embraced as members of society and that the next administration should offer a legal path for undocumented people to stay. “The deportation policy must be stopped, and the government should implement a policy to grant residency to undocumented migrants,” the group said in the statement. The organization also said all migrants should be given an opportunity to obtain permanent residency if they stay here for five years or longer, regardless of their legal status. Their demands come as presidential hopefuls reveal their political visions and policy priorities ahead of the June 3 election. The organization has long advocated protecting human rights for foreign workers. But it was only last

May 1, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Presidential contenders urged to stop deporting undocumented foreigners
  • Liberal lawmakers call for expansion of rights for migrant workers
Society

Aspiring cybersecurity experts receive training at state institute

A group of aspiring cybersecurity experts have received training at a state institute as part of government efforts to nurture the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. According to the Ministry of Personnel Management on Wednesday, 25 students studying artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity at Korea University were given an opportunity to learn more about growing cyber threats to the public such as AI-driven data breaches at the Government Joint Cyber Security Center (JCSC) in Sejong. Under the ministry program, the students got a glimpse into how government systems operate to prevent and counter threats through immersive simulations. “This training helped me understand that cybersecurity isn’t just about technology ― it also involves policy and cross-sector collaboration. Applying what we learned in class to real-world scenarios gave me genuine confidence,” said participant Yang Chae-han. Launched in 2021, the JCSC is now jointly run by 13 government departments and agencies. It provides facilities and equipment necessary to effectively respond to cybersecurit

Apr 30, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Aspiring cybersecurity experts receive training at state institute
Global Community

Liberal lawmakers call for expansion of rights for migrant workers

Liberal lawmakers on Tuesday called for expanding the rights of foreign workers in Korea as members of the Migrants’ Trade Union (MTU) marked the 20th anniversary of its founding. At the event held in Seoul to celebrate the anniversary, Rep. Lee Yong-woo of the Democratic Party of Korea expressed solidarity with union workers and vowed to help their voices be reflected in the future policies of his party and the new administration after the presidential election on June 3. “All workers are equal, regardless of their migration status,” he said. “I will do my best to help guarantee their equal rights as laborers during and after the election campaign.” In a statement released for the forum, he outlined several policy priorities, including introducing a system that would allow foreign workers to freely change their workplaces and fields of work — a long-standing demand of the MTU. Rep. Jung Hye-kyung of the minor liberal Progressive Party also vowed to improve the rights of migrant workers as she acknowledged the unfairness that remains in the current system. “I will do my part

Apr 29, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Liberal lawmakers call for expansion of rights for migrant workers
Global Community

Buyeo county seeks reprieve for unregistered migrants to ease labor shortage

The county government of Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, with a population of 59,000, are preparing a proposal to urge the central government to allow undocumented migrants to remain in Korea under specific restrictions in order to address labor shortages, according to a high-ranking official familiar with the matter. The county office plans to raise the issue at the next meeting of the National Association of Mayors in Korea, an organization of local government leaders, before formally submitting a more detailed policy proposal to the Ministry of Justice, according to the official. “The point is to permit undocumented foreign nationals to stay and work here if they meet certain conditions,” the official told The Korea Times recently. “Without them, the labor shortage situation would be much worse.” One thing the county office plans to propose is the introduction of a self-reporting system, whereby immigration officers will not detain or deport undocumented migrants who provide information voluntarily about where they live and work. This proposal comes two weeks after Park Jun

Apr 28, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Buyeo county seeks reprieve for unregistered migrants to ease labor shortage
Global Community

Bill drafted to guarantee undocumented children’s right to education

A bill has been proposed to guarantee undocumented children’s right to education in Korea. Under the bill, foreign minors would receive the same level of education as Koreans at elementary, middle and high schools despite not having valid visas to stay here. It was drafted Thursday by Rep. Lee Hack-young and nine other legislators from the liberal Democratic Party of Korea. The bill identifies all foreign children, “including undocumented ones,” as subject to the basic rights enshrined in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. In 1991, Korea joined the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a treaty that affirms children’s right to education, including access to free, compulsory primary education. But many undocumented children in the country have not been able to fully enjoy the right, according to the lawmakers. “While there have been no major problems with enrollment for registered foreign children, there have been problems with enrollment for undocumented ones, preventing them from receiving even basic education,” they said in the proposal. “The enfor

Apr 26, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Bill drafted to guarantee undocumented children’s right to education
Politics

More signs point to acting president entering June 3 election race

Speculation is growing that acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo may run in the upcoming presidential election, as his recent actions resemble those of a president preparing for a major political event. On Thursday, Han gave a budget policy speech at the National Assembly ― the first by an acting head of state since 1979. On Friday, he shed tears as he consoled the bereaved families of soldiers and police officers killed while on duty, during an event at the Daejon National Cemetery, where he also called for a strong defense posture against any North Korean provocation. In recent weeks, he also visited automakers and shipbuilders, held an economic task force meeting with the heads of the nation's top conglomerates and visited the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, to emphasize the alliance. Han has neither confirmed nor denied that he will run for president, despite continuous questions and speculation. Under the relevant election laws, if he is to join the race, he is required to resign from his current post by May 4. Speaking to The

Apr 25, 2025By Jung Min-ho
More signs point to acting president entering June 3 election race
previous page
3435363738
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.