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Park Ung

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

I cover a wide range of stories about Korean society — one of the most dynamic places in the world. To me, journalism means being on the ground, uncovering untold stories and amplifying marginalized voices, especially in an era when AI is reshaping the media landscape. That’s why I’m always here to listen. Tips and stories are welcome — feel free to reach out via email. Before becoming a journalist, I traveled through 24 countries over 702 days, served two years as a military police officer in the Republic of Korea Air Force and later studied filmmaking at the Korea National University of Arts.

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Society

Korea Heritage Service designates Jongmyo Shrine as world heritage zone

The Korea Heritage Service (KHS) on Thursday designated roughly 194,000 square meters around Jongmyo Shrine — the royal Confucian shrine where ancestral rites for Joseon Dynasty kings are still performed to this day — as a world heritage zone, aiming to curb high-rise development near the protected site. Built in 1395, Jongmyo houses ancestral tablets bearing the names of 49 Joseon kings and queens. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995, it is widely regarded as the world’s oldest and most intact Confucian royal ancestral shrine, with its original layout preserved. The move comes after the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s October decision to raise building height limits in Sewoon District 4 — a redevelopment area located roughly 180 meters from the shrine — to as much as 141.9 meters. However, the KHS immediately pushed back, saying the move could undermine the shrine’s outstanding universal value. The agency noted that when Jongmyo was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the U.N. cultural body specified that no nearby high-rise construction should be appr

Dec 12, 2025By Park Ung
Korea Heritage Service designates Jongmyo Shrine as world heritage zone
People & Events

Tempered by crisis, Lee Wang-jun seeks to lead Int'l Hospital Federation into AI-driven future

Lee Wang-jun, the incoming president of the International Hospital Federation (IHF) and chairman of the Myongji Medical Foundation, says true leadership reveals itself only in moments of crisis. That belief has been shaped by more than three decades of overcoming major challenges in the Korean health care sector. The year after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Lee acquired a bankrupt hospital in Incheon and built it into a 400-bed institution within a decade. In 2020, Myongji Hospital successfully treated the first Korean COVID-19 patient just five days after it opened the nation’s first emergency response center for the virus. Drawing on those crisis-tested credentials, Lee now seeks to guide the IHF’s push into artificial intelligence (AI) and digital health care. Founded in 1929, the IHF is a nonprofit association that connects about 30,000 hospitals worldwide, with more than 170 member organizations across over 70 countries. Elected in November as president-designate of the IHF, Lee is only the second leader from both Korea and Asia to helm the body, succeeding Kim Kwang-tae, the

Dec 12, 2025By Park Ung
Tempered by crisis, Lee Wang-jun seeks to lead Int'l Hospital Federation into AI-driven future
People & Events

Korea Times reporter wins Gender Equality Media Award's Grand Prize

The Korea Times reporter Jung Da-hyun won the Grand Prize in the reporting category at the 27th Gender Equality Media Award on Tuesday for her investigative series, “Deepfake crisis at schools,” produced in collaboration with the Excellence Lab team at sister publication Hankook Ilbo. Established in 1999, the honor is presented by the Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education (KIGEPE) to strengthen the media’s role in promoting gender equality and to recognize outstanding broadcast programs and news reporting. The award-winning series, recognized with the Prime Minister’s Award, examines the alarming prevalence and impact of deepfake crimes among teenagers. The institute said the work effectively highlighted the growing severity of deepfake sexual offenses involving younger age groups by presenting concrete cases, and persuasively outlined the urgent challenges facing society through a multidimensional analysis. “The continued rise of deepfake crimes demands sustained public attention, especially as both victims and perpetrators are increasingly adolescents,

Dec 11, 2025By Park Ung
Korea Times reporter wins Gender Equality Media Award's Grand Prize
Society

Santa Clara water agency explores digital twin technology with K-water

Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water), the public water agency for the county in California, held talks with Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-water) on Monday to discuss cooperation on water management technology and digital twin water systems. The three-day visit, joined by Assistant CEO Rita Chan of the district, focused on building on a partnership established in September, when the two sides signed a memorandum of agreement in San Jose, California, to enhance their cooperation on digital twin-based water management. Digital twin is a technology mirroring real-world entities in a virtual environment. Santa Clara faces a range of water management challenges — aging dams nearing 100 years old, recurring drought, limited water supply, and rising demand driven by the rapid growth of data centers and the semiconductor sector. Under these mounting pressures, the region is now turning to digital twin and artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions to improve its water management system and has chosen K-water as its strategic technology partner for that effort. The delegation revie

Dec 10, 2025By Park Ung
Santa Clara water agency explores digital twin technology with K-water
Politics

Opposition party accuses special counsel of partisan bias, demands inquiry

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Tuesday said it will file complaints against the special prosecutors investigating Kim Keon Hee, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, alleging that the investigation has been tainted by political bias. The development comes as a former high-ranking Unification Church official, accused of illegally funding PPP members in 2022, testified at a hearing last week that the religious group had also sought contact with the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) at the time. On Monday, special prosecutors said they had obtained the testimony but ruled it outside their mandate because it was not directly tied to allegations involving the former first lady — the scope set by the special counsel law. The team led by Min Joong-ki, a former chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court, is examining 16 allegations against the former first lady and last week requested a 15-year prison sentence. The prosecutors said they assigned an internal case number to the testimony, created official records and plan to forward them to another investigative agency.

Dec 9, 2025By Park Ung
Opposition party accuses special counsel of partisan bias, demands inquiry
Society

Lawmakers advance bill to ban entrance tests at English cram schools for preschoolers

A revised bill banning entrance exams for preschoolers at English-language academies passed the National Assembly’s Education Committee on Tuesday, in a move to curb excessive competition in early private education. The so-called “4- and 7-year-old test,” used by some English academies, requires preschoolers to take assessments beyond their age level, such as reading complex passages or demonstrating conversational skills. The practice has drawn criticism for placing undue pressure on children. The revised bill updates the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Private Teaching Institutes and Extracurricular Lessons by adding a provision barring such institutions from administering pass-or-fail entrance tests for children ages 3 through the start of elementary school. Still, a short oral level test after admission will continue to be permitted for class placement. Korea’s private education industry, long a powerful economic and social force, had found a lucrative new frontier: the crib-to-kindergarten track. Amid growing unease over the pressures placed on young children, Engl

Dec 9, 2025By Park Ung
Lawmakers advance bill to ban entrance tests at English cram schools for preschoolers
Travel & Food

Tourists spend $828 on average during 6-day stays in Busan, survey finds

As Busan welcomed more than 3 million foreign tourists this October — a record — a city survey found visitors stayed six days on average and spent $828 each. Among the 1,060 foreign tourists surveyed last year, 90.8 percent reported spending a minimum of four days in the southeastern port city, a share that municipal officials say underscores the city’s growing appeal as a place worthy of extended exploration rather than a brief transit point. By spending category, transportation and fuel costs accounted for the largest share at $364, followed by lodging at $256, shopping at $227 and food and beverages at $209. The average travel party numbered 2.8 people, with 61.7 percent of visitors traveling with friends or partners. Among accommodation choices, 62 percent stayed at two- or three-star hotels, followed by shared lodging such as Airbnb at 23.4 percent, and four- or five-star hotels at 17 percent, with guesthouses and hostels at 10.8 percent. The most visited site was Gwangalli Beach, cited by 58.5 percent of respondents, with Busan International Film Festival Square and Gamcheon C

Dec 8, 2025By Park Ung
Tourists spend $828 on average during 6-day stays in Busan, survey finds
Law & Crime

Police warn of phishing surge after Coupang data leak, citing new tactics

Police on Sunday warned of a rise in voice phishing and text message scams exploiting a recent large-scale data leak at e-commerce giant Coupang, urging the public to stay vigilant as new tactics emerge. The leak, beginning in June and revealed last month, exposed the personal information of 33.7 million Coupang customers, intensifying concern that criminals are combining the stolen data with scam techniques to make it easier to deceive people. One tactic identified by police involves text messages claiming a delivery delay or warning that an item may be missing from an order, prompting recipients to click a link. Those who click the link may end up installing a malicious application or entering information on a fake website, allowing criminal groups to use sensitive personal and financial information and ultimately cause monetary losses. The National Police Agency said that although no secondary damage has been confirmed yet, the public should remain alert as new scam techniques surface. In one newly identified scheme, a scammer approaches victims by claiming that a credit card has been

Dec 7, 2025By Park Ung
Police warn of phishing surge after Coupang data leak, citing new tactics
Society

SpaceX’s Starlink faces backlash for map designating Dokdo as ‘Liancourt Rocks’

Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by SpaceX, drew criticism after its availability map labeled Dokdo as the Liancourt Rocks, a designation critics said mischaracterizes the islets, which are under Korea’s longstanding administrative control. The controversy erupted just days after the service entered the local market. The name Liancourt Rocks is taken from a French whaling ship that passed the islets in 1849. As of Sunday, a search for “Dokdo” on Starlink’s availability map also returns the name “Liancourt Rocks.” Selecting either term does not produce a blue marker for the islets, used to identify places where the service is available. The dispute surfaced shortly after Starlink entered the Korean market. The company rolled out two home internet plans last week, listing them at 64,000 won ($43) and 87,000 won a month. Experts say using the French-derived name is inaccurate and ignores the established name. “Dokdo is Dokdo — it is a proper noun,” said Seo Kyung-duk, a professor at the School of Creative Convergence Studies at Sungshin Women’s University

Dec 7, 2025By Park Ung
SpaceX’s Starlink faces backlash for map designating Dokdo as ‘Liancourt Rocks’
Politics

President criticized for ignorance of S. Koreans detained in NK

President Lee Jae Myung fielded most questions with confidence at Wednesday’s press conference with foreign correspondents. That changed when NK News' Chad O’Carroll asked what Lee’s message was to the families of South Koreans detained in North Korea — and what he would do differently to help bring them home, after three prior administrations failed to secure their release. “This is the first time I’m hearing about this,” Lee replied. “It happened so long ago that I lack detailed information. I will look into the situation further before making any judgment.” The prolonged failure — spanning more than a decade and four administrations, from Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in to Yoon Suk Yeol and Lee — to bring them home is raising questions about whether the government is fulfilling its duty to protect its constituents, experts and activists say. The presidential office said in a belated press release Thursday that three missionaries and three North Korean defectors were detained on espionage and other charges between 2013 and 2016. With the government unable to confirm

Dec 4, 2025By Park Ung
President criticized for ignorance of S. Koreans detained in NK
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