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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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Politics

Yoon faces strong political backlash after Tokyo summit

Thousands of people hold a protest near City Hall in central Seoul, Saturday, denouncing President Yoon Suk Yeol's March 16 summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. YonhapOpposition leader accuses president of being 'Japan's servant'By Jung Min-hoWhat was mostly welcomed by Japan and many allied nations as a meaningful step toward a future-oriented relationship between Seoul and Tokyo has left President Yoon Suk Yeol in a political bind at home.After his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo last week, Yoon faces a strong backlash from victims of Japan's wartime forced labor, civic groups and opposition politicians who call his bid to recover the frayed bilateral ties a “humiliating” concession.Thousands of protesters packed the streets in front of City Hall in central Seoul, Saturday, to criticize the government's attempt at resolving the issue through a fund raised by a Korean public foundation instead of seeking payment from Japan. Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), was among the demonstra

Mar 19, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Yoon faces strong political backlash after Tokyo summit
North Korea

North Korea fires ballistic missile as US bombers join drills

Two U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, upper left, fly in formation with Republic of Korea Air Force F-35A fighter jets and U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets over South Korean skies during a joint air drill in South Korea, Sunday. Courtesy of defense ministryBy Jung Min-hoNorth Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday in yet another provocation amid South Korea's combined military exercise with the United States.The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that it detected the missile launched from Dongchang-ri, North Korea's key long-range rocket shooting site in its northwestern coast, at 11:05 a.m. It flew about 800 kilometers across land before falling into the waters off its east coast.It was North Korea's fourth weapons test apparently targeting the Freedom Shield exercise that began last Monday. On Thursday, only several hours before President Yoon Suk Yeol's summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, the North fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile into the East Sea between the two countries ― after launching two short-range ballistic missiles on

Mar 19, 2023By Jung Min-ho
North Korea fires ballistic missile as US bombers join drills
  • N. Korea holds nuclear counterattack simulation drills; Kim urges perfect readiness
Defense

Pyongyang fires another missile ahead of Yoon-Kishida summit

South Korean and Japanese national flags raised ahead of the arrival of President Yoon Suk Yeol at Tokyo International Airport in Tokyo, Thursday. North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, Thursday, as South Korea and Japan are poised to reinforce their security ties. Reuters-YonhapSouth Korea, Japan poised to reinforce security tiesBy Jung Min-hoPyongyang fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan on Thursday, as Seoul and Tokyo are moving to reinforce their security ties in the face of North Korea's growing aggression.South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters that it detected the missile test ― on a steep trajectory ― from Sunan, a district in Pyongyang, at around 7:10 a.m. It flew about 1,000 kilometers during its 70-minute flight before falling into the East Sea.North Korea's latest provocation ― its first ICBM test in a month and third weapons test this week ― comes amid South Korea's joint military drills with the U.S. and several hours before President Yoon Suk Yeol's summit with Japanese Prime

Mar 16, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Pyongyang fires another missile ahead of Yoon-Kishida summit
North Korea

Why South Koreans should have access to Pyongyang's propaganda media

North Koreans read a copy of the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's official newspaper, at Mirae Scientists Street in Pyongyang, in this Jan. 11, 2021, file photo. South Korea is stepping up its efforts to lift its ban on North Korean media amid concerns over the potential influence of its propaganda. AFP-YonhapWorries about nonsensical ― even risible ― regime messages overblown, experts sayBy Jung Min-hoAfter the 1950-53 Korean War, ideological conflicts within and outside South Korea intensified. Many South Korean citizens were raising questions about the promises of capitalism; some gravitated to the communist utopian vision promoted by the North. Back when South Korea was poorer than the North economically, the regime's propaganda was a major threat to its very survival, prompting its leaders to enact the National Security Act to counter those messages.Seven decades have passed since. South Korea today is incomparably more prosperous and influential than its totalitarian rival. Yet the act is still firmly in place, imposing a de facto ban on free public access to North Korean media. Th

Mar 16, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Why South Koreans should have access to Pyongyang's propaganda media
Defense

Research center opens to honor fallen heroes of Cheonan sinking

Choi Won-il, head of a research center dedicated to sailors killed in the 2010 sinking of the ROK Cheonan corvette, speaks during its opening ceremony at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoA research center dedicated to the sailors who were killed in the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette, Cheonan, opened on Wednesday to honor their sacrifices and set the record straight about the tragedy for which North Korea is responsible.Choi Won-il, who was the captain when the vessel sank following a torpedo attack by North Korea, will serve as the center's first director. Speaking in front of survivors, Veterans Affairs Minister Park Min-shik and other guests at the opening ceremony in Seoul, Choi said he will “forever remember” their devotion to their country.The Navy corvette carrying 104 personnel broke in two and sank near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas, on March 26, 2010, killing 46 sailors. International investigations that followed concluded that the destruction was caused by a torpedo fired

Mar 15, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Research center opens to honor fallen heroes of Cheonan sinking
Defense

US, South Korea start major drills after Pyongyang's weapons test

South Korean Army's self-propelled howitzers move in Yeoncheon, near the border with North Korea, Monday, for joint drills with the U.S. military. AP-YonhapNorth Korea's first cruise missile launches from submarine should concern Seoul: expertBy Jung Min-hoSouth Korea and the United States launched massive joint military exercises on Monday, as North Korea ratcheted up the threat level by conducting its first submarine-launched cruise missile tests in protest of the drills.The computer simulation-based Freedom Shield exercise began its 11-day run on a scale not seen since 2017, in order to reinforce the allies' defense capabilities and interoperability amid North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.The exercise, for which the U.S. is expected to deploy some of its most formidable strategic assets such as a nuclear-powered aircraft, includes 20 field training plans with realistic war scenarios. Progress in North Korea's weapons capabilities and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine were factored into the scenarios, military officials said.This photo shows South Korean and U.S. troop

Mar 13, 2023By Jung Min-ho
US, South Korea start major drills after Pyongyang's weapons test
  • NK fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea
Politics

Death of another aide adds pressure on opposition leader

Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea, attends a Supreme Council meeting at the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly in Suwon, Friday. Yonhap Lee blames prosecution after ex-chief of staff found deadBy Jung Min-hoA former chief of staff to main opposition party leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung was found dead Thursday. The apparent suicide is fueling speculation over the cause of the tragedy following the deaths of four other people close to Lee, who is the target of high-profile investigations into corruption allegations.The news has drawn criticism and concerns from ruling party politicians, who are calling on the chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to come clean about all of the allegations facing him. Lee, however, attributed the latest death to “excessive” investigation by prosecutors.Jeon Hyung-soo, 64, who served as Lee's chief of staff when he was the mayor of Seongnam and governor of Gyeonggi Province, was found dead at his home th

Mar 10, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Death of another aide adds pressure on opposition leader
Foreign Affairs

Next week's Seoul-Tokyo summit to open new chapter in relations: vice minister

First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong speaks during a press conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club inside the Press Center in central Seoul, Friday. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoA summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, in Tokyo next week will open a new chapter in the two countries' bilateral relationship, First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong said, Friday.Speaking to foreign media journalists in Seoul, Cho called Japan a partner country that shares universal values, saying South Korea's partnership with “the closest neighbor” in the region is more important today than ever before amid geopolitical uncertainties such as North Korea's military threats.His remarks come four days after the Yoon administration announced its solution to the wartime forced labor of Japan's colonial era issue by compensating victims through a fund raised by South Korea's public foundation, rather than seeking payment from Japan. The proposal is widely considered a major concession by Seoul, which gave up its previous stance demanding dire

Mar 10, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Next week's Seoul-Tokyo summit to open new chapter in relations: vice minister
Politics

ANALYSIS Ruling party leadership united behind Yoon for first time

Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, center, new leader of the ruling People Power Party, walks with members of its Supreme Council toward a meeting room at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. NewsisBiggest culprit of president's popularity problem removed: analystsBy Jung Min-hoWith his close aide taking control of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), President Yoon Suk Yeol has secured ― for the first time ― a party leadership that shares much of his political vision, according to analysts, Thursday.Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, a four-term lawmaker, was elected as the PPP's new chairman the previous day. This means a united and supportive leadership for the president, who has been less popular than most of his predecessors, in part because of a lack of support from his own party.“The most damaging factor in terms of a president's approval rating is criticism from their own party,” Bae Jong-chan, a political analyst who runs Insight K, a consultancy, told The Korea Times. “With the problem now removed, Yoon's popularity is expected to grow.”It may not be accurate to say that the o

Mar 9, 2023By Jung Min-ho
[ANALYSIS] Ruling party leadership united behind Yoon for first time
Defense

South Korea to launch military drone unit in July

A soldier controls a reconnaissance drone during joint drills with the U.S. military in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, in this Jan. 13 file photo. South Korea's military plans to launch a comprehensive drone operations unit in July as part of efforts to bolster counter-unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities following North Korea's drone incursions three months ago. NewsisArmy seeks operational knowhow from Turkey, other partner countriesBy Jung Min-hoSouth Korea's military plans to launch a comprehensive drone operations unit in July as part of its efforts to bolster its counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capabilities following North Korea's drone incursions late last year. According to officials Wednesday, the military is accelerating its efforts to map out its plans, such as the size of the unit, command structure and its location.This comes as a direct order of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who in January called for a multi-mission unit capable not just of effectively fending off UAV threats from North Korea but also of conducting reconnaissance and psychological warfare roles.Gen. Lee Bo-h

Mar 8, 2023By Jung Min-ho
South Korea to launch military drone unit in July
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