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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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Defense

'Soldier most feared by North Korea' returns to military

Former Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, right, poses with President Yoon Suk Yeol at the presidential office in Seoul, Thursday. Kim was appointed as the de facto chief of a committee tasked with military reform. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoKim Kwan-jin, a former defense minister known as the “soldier most feared by North Korea” because of his zero-tolerance stance against the regime's provocations while in office, has been named the de facto chief of a committee tasked with reforming the South Korean military.According to President Yoon Suk Yeol's office Thursday, Kim is one of 11 members of the Presidential Committee on Military Innovation. With Yoon as the chairman of the body, Kim is expected to lead the effort to improve the military's capabilities against rising nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.Addressing Kim as “the vice chairman” at the committee's first meeting, the president called for fundamental reforms, saying the military must build up an overwhelming force that can deter North Korea and, if an armed conflict occurs, completely defeat it.More s

May 11, 2023By Jung Min-ho
'Soldier most feared by North Korea' returns to military
North Korea

Over 70% of South Koreans support promoting human rights in North Korea

People bow to portraits of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, in this November 2021 file image. More than 70 percent of South Koreans said they are in support of promoting North Korea's human rights issues, according to a poll released Thursday. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoMore than 70 percent of South Koreans said they are in support of promoting North Korea's human rights issues, according to a poll released Thursday.A survey, conducted by the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council between March 24 and 28, shows that 70.5 percent of the respondents said they support their government's efforts to improve the human rights situation in North Korea by conducting studies and cooperating more closely with other countries.Only 28.5 percent said they do not support such efforts, while 1 percent refused to respond.Notably, the support rate among those who identify themselves as politically liberal was 77 percent, which was higher compared to their conservative and moderate counterparts, at 69.3 percent and 68.8 percent, respectively.This particular result refutes the traditional assumptio

May 11, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Over 70% of South Koreans support promoting human rights in North Korea
Defense

Korea showcases weapons to foreign diplomats

Envoys from 18 countries attend a question and answer session with officials of Korea's foreign and defense ministries during an event promoting Korean weapons in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, in this May 2 photo released Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign AffairsEnvoys from 18 countries watch firing drills as exporters aim for global expansionBy Jung Min-hoAmbassadors and other diplomats from 18 countries were invited to a special military event promoting Korean weapons last week as local government and arms exporters intensify efforts to expand their presence in the global market.According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wednesday, envoys from the Czech Republic, Chile, Poland, Saudi Arabia and about a dozen other major arms markets for Korean companies were given an opportunity, May 2, to watch live-fire gunnery exercises with ministry officials and military officers.The event, the first of its kind, was held in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. Some of the Korean Army's most lethal hardware, including K2 tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, K21 infantry fighting vehicles and K

May 10, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Korea showcases weapons to foreign diplomats
Foreign Affairs

Korea's forgotten A-bomb survivors welcome acknowledgement from leaders

Wooden memorial plaques for Korean victims are placed near a nursing facility for Korean atomic bomb survivors in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province, in this July 19, 2018 photo. Korean atomic bomb survivors have welcomed President Yoon Suk Yeol's plan to visit the memorial monument for Koreans at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida later this month. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukVictims' representatives plan to visit Hiroshima during G7 summitBy Jung Min-hoIn a symbolic move for peace and harmony, the leaders of Korea and Japan ― Yoon Suk Yeol and Fumio Kishida ― said at Sunday's summit that they will visit later this month a memorial monument in Hiroshima established to remember Korean atomic bomb victims.This August 2018 photo shows a memorial monument for Korean atomic bomb victims at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan. Korea Times photo by Jung Min-hoYoon and Kishida's joint plan for the Japanese host city of the upcoming G7 summit (May 19 to 21) has been welcomed by the Koreans whose lives changed forever on Aug. 6

May 9, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Korea's forgotten A-bomb survivors welcome acknowledgement from leaders
Foreign Affairs

ANALYSIS Kishida's remarks on forced labor victims show his political limits

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko Kishida arrive at Seoul National Cemetery, Sunday. AP-YonhapExperts welcome Japan's decision to allow Korean inspection of Fukushima plantBy Jung Min-hoJapanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Sunday that he felt “strong pain” in his heart when he thought of the suffering of the Korean victims of forced labor during his country's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.In carefully selected words, he expressed sympathy for the Koreans at a press conference in Seoul after his summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol, acknowledging “the extreme difficulty and sorrow that many people had to suffer under the harsh environment in those days.”Kishida's remarks suggest both his determination to improve Korea-Japan relations and how far he was willing to go in that effort, given his political climate at home, according to experts, Monday.“In his famous 2015 address [marking 70 years since Japan's defeat in World War II], former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his administration would not let their futu

May 8, 2023By Jung Min-ho
[ANALYSIS] Kishida's remarks on forced labor victims show his political limits
  • Allies eye talks to form trilateral security forum at G7 meeting
North Korea

Seoul to back companies suing Pyongyang for illegal use of property

North Korea leader Kim Jong-un speaks to officials at the Mount Geumgang resort on the east coast of North Korea, in this October 2019 photo. Seoul is pushing to hold Pyongyang liable for damaging and using South Korean companies' property there, including the pictured Hotel Haegumgang owned by Hyundai Asan. Yonhap Satellite images show Hotel Haegumgang demolished at Mount Geumgang resortBy Jung Min-hoSeoul is pushing to hold Pyongyang liable for damaging and using the property of South Korean companies without their consent at the Mount Geumgang resort in North Korea, officials told The Korea Times, Friday.This move comes as the Ministry of Unification is looking into the feasibility of taking separate legal action against the North Korean regime over clear violations regarding the property rights of the South Korean companies that own the facilities and equipment at the inter-Korean manufacturing complex in Gaesong, based on intelligence and North Korea's own medi

May 5, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Seoul to back companies suing Pyongyang for illegal use of property
Foreign Affairs

Gov't beefs up security ahead of Kishida's visit

Police stand behind the fences set up near the building in which the Japanese Embassy is located, in Seoul, Friday. NewsisBy Jung Min-hoAuthorities in Seoul are beefing up security ahead of one of the most significant diplomatic events in years ― the first Korea-Japan summit here in more than a decade. According to presidential officials Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will receive the highest level of protection during his two-day visit starting Sunday. That level of security has so far been given to only a handful of visiting world leaders, such as U.S. presidents, they said.With anti-Japan rallies set to be staged on streets before and during his visit, security forces are expected to set up fences and check points near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul and the Lotte Hotel in which he reportedly will meet with Korean business leaders and stay the night.Security issues have come to the fore in Japan recently following attempts targeting political leaders. Just three weeks ago, Kishida escaped an assassination attempt at Saikazaki port in Wakayama after being apparently ta

May 5, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Gov't beefs up security ahead of Kishida's visit
North Korea

Rights advocates welcome top court ruling on anti-Pyongyang leaflets

Human rights activists try to send balloons carrying anti-regime messages to North Korea in Paju, a city near the inter-Korean border, in this June 4, 2020 photo. The Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of rights activists, overturning a lower court ruling that justified the government's decision in 2020 to revoke the registration of a rights group led by North Korean defector Park Sang-hak for sending such leaflets to the North. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukCampaigner from North Korea vows to keep 'spreading truth and freedom'By Jung Min-hoSending balloons filled with anti-regime leaflets into North Korea is nothing new. Activists had done that for decades despite constant complaints and even threats from Pyongyang.So it was shocking for Park Sang-hak, the head of Fighters for a Free North Korea, a rights group known for the campaign, to be informed about the Unification Ministry's decision to revoke the group's registration in July 2020 ― only several weeks after Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, complained about Seoul's inaction.By the end of that year,

May 5, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Rights advocates welcome top court ruling on anti-Pyongyang leaflets
Defense

South Korea, US set to start largest-ever live-fire military drills

U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division participate in the 2023 Best Squad competition at Camp Casey in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. South Korea and the U.S. plan to conduct their largest-ever live-fire exercises for three weeks starting May 25. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoSouth Korea and the United States will conduct their largest-ever live-fire military exercises for three weeks starting May 25, according to military officials, Thursday.A diverse range of weapons systems, such as fighter jets, AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, multiple rocket launchers and K2 Black Panther tanks, are expected to be mobilized for the drills that will continue until June 15 at the Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.Speaking to reporters at a briefing, an official at the Ministry of National Defense said the drills are aimed at improving the allies' interoperability and readiness against intensifying security threats from North Korea.“Marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of [South Korea's] armed forces and the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-U.S

May 4, 2023By Jung Min-ho
South Korea, US set to start largest-ever live-fire military drills
  • N. Korea intensifies criticism of S. Korea-US deterrence plan
People & Events

Imprisoned Hong Kong activist wins Gwangju Prize for Human Rights

Chow Hang-tung, an activist barrister, speaks to reporters outside a court in Hong Kong, in this May 6, 2021, file photo. Chow has been selected as the winner of this year's Gwangju Prize for Human Rights. AP-YonhapBy Jung Min-hoChow Hang-tung, a prominent pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong, was chosen as the winner of this year's Gwangju Prize for Human Rights.Chow, 38, who is in prison now after being convicted of inciting and taking part in arranging an unlawful assembly ― a commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre ― has become a symbolic figure for everyone who is longing for democracy, a judging committee said at the May 18 Memorial Foundation office in Gwangju, Tuesday.On behalf of Chow, her representative is expected to receive the award at the ceremony on May 18, Korea's anniversary of the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city.“Chow Hang-tung's struggle against the Hong Kong government's undemocratic, inhumane treatment has become the source of courage and hope for human rights advocates and those longing for democracy around the world, even w

May 3, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Imprisoned Hong Kong activist wins Gwangju Prize for Human Rights
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