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.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea urged an international school in Jeju to change its strict uniform policy, saying it violates the students’ rights to self-determination.
Korea’s liberal opposition party has expressed its opposition to the introduction of a separate minimum wage system for foreign workers, a stance that could hinder the efforts of some ruling party politicians who are pushing for the agenda.
A Seoul court ruled in favor of city authorities who invalidated a taxi driver's license for repeatedly overcharging foreign customers.
Political parties and the government are working to establish a consultative body for negotiations with doctors' groups to resolve Korea’s months-long medical crisis, which originated from disputes over an expansion in medical school admission quotas.
At around 8:10 p.m. on Wednesday, an ambulance was parked just outside the emergency room of Gangbuk Samsung Hospital in Seoul. A woman inside the ambulance was waiting for other patients to be discharged so she could secure a bed for treatment.
The government is seeking to gradually increase the pension premium rate from the current 9 percent of income to 13 percent and the pension's income replacement rate from 40 percent to 42 percent through a major reform designed to restore public trust in the fund’s sustainability, particularly among young people.
For Christians, having children is supposed to be felt as an invaluable gift from God. But that is not the case for many young people in today’s world in which children are often perceived as obstacles to professional ambitions or material success.
A simple calculation highlights the severity of Korea's demographic crisis. Last year, around 230,000 babies were born in the country. To sustain its current population, approximately 760,000 births are needed annually.
Starting this year, the government will pour more than 10 trillion won ($7.5 billion) into vital health care services such as emergency care and neurosurgery over the next five years as a means of attracting doctors to unpopular-yet-necessary fields.