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.
Participants of the sixth edition of the Model African Union Assembly pose after the general meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. The two-day event that began on Thursday aims to exchange views on major issues concerning the African continent with delegations from 28 African countries. Courtesy of the Korea-Africa Foundation
Ko Young-hwan, who worked as a North Korean diplomat before defecting to South Korea in 1991, attends a seminar on the 2023 Report on North Korean Human Rights in Seoul, July 11. Ko will be named as a special aide to Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho, according to government officials familiar with the matter. NewsisBy Jung Min-hoA North Korean diplomat-turned-defector will be appointed as a special aide to Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho, The Korea Times has learned.According to two government officials familiar with the matter, Ko Young-hwan, who had worked as a North Korean diplomat in Africa for more than 10 years before defecting to South Korea in 1991, will help the minister formulate North Korea policies.The decision is expected to be announced in two weeks as part of other reforms involving the unification ministry. Last month, President Yoon Suk Yeol called for change, saying the ministry should no longer operate like “a support department for North Korea.” Soon afterward, Vice Minister Moon Seung-hyun said the ministry was preparing for a sweeping reshuffle.Spea
Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho speaks during a press conference on the possible resumption of China's deportation of North Koreans against their will at the Press Center in Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapUnification minister asks China to abide by UN treaties on refugees, tortureBy Jung Min-hoSeoul urged Beijing, Wednesday, to stop repatriating North Korean escapees against their will amid signs that China is about to resume the practice, which would put the lives of those people in grave danger after returning to their homeland.At a press conference on the issue in Seoul, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho asked Chinese authorities to abide by U.N. treaties on human rights the country signed and to recognize North Korean escapees as refugees.“The forcible repatriation of people against their will is a violation of the spirit and principle of the international law that bans it,” Kim said during the event held at the Press Center. “All North Koreans in China should be treated based on the international human rights standard and be allowed into the countries they wish. I ask
A girl points to a display showing the signatures of Korea's independence fighters in Seoul, Tuesday, as the nation celebrates the 78th anniversary of its liberation from the 1910-45 Japanese occupation. Yonhap By Jung Min-hoMore than one out of four young Koreans who were born between 1995 and 2009 are not sufficiently aware of the meaning of National Liberation Day, with more than 10 percent saying they had no idea, a recent poll shows.According to survey results released Monday, the day before the national holiday marking Korea's independence from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, 15.6 percent of respondents in that age group said they were “not well aware” of its meaning, while 11.2 percent said they were “completely unaware.”Among those respondents, described as members of Generation Z by PMI, a pollster, only 21.9 percent said they were well aware of the day, including the date, year of independence and meaning, while 51.4 percent said they were somewhat aware.Th
President Yoon Suk Yeol gives a speech during a ceremony marking the 78th anniversary of National Liberation Day from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Tuesday. NewsisPresident vows not to give in to 'communists disguised as democracy or human rights activists'By Jung Min-hoPresident Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to strengthen security ties with Japan, calling the country a partner which South Korea must work with to defend shared values against intensifying threats. He made the comments in a speech, Tuesday, marking the 78th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Tokyo's 1910-45 colonial rule.He delivered the speech ahead of a trilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden at Camp David, Friday (local time), which Yoon said would “set a new milestone” for their cooperation in preserving peace not just on the Korean Peninsula but in the entire Indo-Pacific region.“South Korea and Japan are now partners who share universal values and pursue common interests,” Yoon said at the National Liberation D
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a meeting with officials of United Nations Command at the presidential office in Seoul, Thursday. Yoon on Monday granted pardons to 2,176 people on the occasion of Liberation Day, including business tycoons. YonhapList includes ex-chiefs of Kumho Petrochemical, Booyoung, Lotte FoundationBy Jung Min-hoPresident Yoon Suk Yeol granted pardons to 2,176 people, Monday, on the occasion of Liberation Day (Aug. 15), including the former chiefs of Kumho Petrochemical, Booyoung and Lotte Foundation.Park Chan-koo, former chairman and CEO of the leading manufacturer of synthetic rubber, Lee Joong-keun, founder and former chairman of Booyoung, a building developer and Shin Young-ja, a daughter of late Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, were among those on this year's list. The three were all convicted of breach of duty and embezzlement.Other names on the list include Kim Tae-woo, who was given a suspended prison term after disclosing classified information regarding the misconduct of the previous Moon Jae-in administration, and Kang Man-soo, who was sentenced
Participants wait in a long line to enter a souvenir shop at the campsite for the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, Aug. 4. Government data suggests that a big portion of the event's budget may have been wasted. Reuters-YonhapTate Modern, Prague Castle, Iguazu Falls: Much of budget earmarked for 'unnecessary trips'By Jung Min-hoKorea has built its reputation as a reliable host of international events over the past several decades during which it successfully staged the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the 2010 G20 Summit, the 1988 Summer and 2018 Winter Olympics and many others.That reputation is now in tatters as a result of the disastrous management of the 25th World Scout Jamboree, which opened on Aug. 1 amid extreme weather, sanitation issues and a slew of other problems.Given a lack of resources and basic services prepared for the teenage Scouts and adult volunteers, many have raised questions as to how the more than 117 billion won ($89 million) budgeted for the event was spent. Government data about officials' work-related overseas trips and training programs
gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoKorea will now place more of a weighting on an immigrant's ability to communicate in Korean over other skills, as the country moves to accept more foreign workers after plans have been implemented to reform its immigration policy.In its response to questions sent recently by The Korea Times, the Ministry of Justice, which is expected to announce policy details regarding immigration system changes later this year, said that Korean language ability would be a significant factor in terms of obtaining E-7-4 visas.The visas are issued to those meeting certain requirements, including a minimum amount of work experience (four years). They effectively permit a permanent stay in Korea, offering a three-year base period with unlimited renewals.“Korean language ability is the most basic and crucial element in order for immigrants to assimilate as members of our society, as was the case for other countries,” the ministry said. “We are planning to give more points if those with excellent language ability wish to change their visas (to E-7-4).”T
This March file photo, taken in the Chinese city of Dandong, shows two bridges connecting North Korea and China. Human rights groups on Friday called for the OHCHR to take action to protect North Korean refugees in China as North Korea is expected to lift COVID-19 border restrictions to resume Beijing's forcible repatriation of escapees. Korea Times photo by Cho Young-binOHCHR accused of keeping silent on repatriation issue for sake of BeijingBy Jung Min-hoHuman rights activists called for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to take immediate action to protect North Korean refugees in China amid signs of the resumption of Beijing's forcible repatriation of escapees.In a joint statement, Friday, Transitional Justice Working Group and 11 other groups said the lives of as many as 2,000 North Koreans are now at stake as Pyongyang is expected to lift its COVID-19 border restrictions soon ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games, which are scheduled to take place from Sept. 23 to Oct. 8.In a serious accusation, the groups also claimed that the OHCHR remains
This image shows Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu looking at North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War in Pyongyang, North Korea, July 27. YonhapBut allies expected to promote unity out of necessityBy Jung Min-hoA team of North Korean hackers reportedly breached the computer networks of a major Russian weapons maker for at least five months last year, in an episode analysts said demonstrates deep-rooted distrust between the two countries.According to Reuters, the hackers secretly installed stealthy digital back doors into systems at NPO Mashinostroyeniya, a leading manufacturer of missiles and military spacecraft based in Reutov, east of Moscow.Speaking to The Korea Times, Tuesday, experts said the North Korean attempt to damage Russia's key national interest probably did not surprise Moscow, which knows its ally all too well. They also believe the two countries would nevertheless continue to promote unity as if nothing serious had happened, given that “they desperately need each other.”“