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.
South Korea to change passport design
Option A and B for cover design / Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
By Jung Min-ho
Should diplomats and some other government officials be allowed to use passports of different colors?
Inside the new passport
By Jung Min-ho
The South Korean government will determine the country's new passport design by the end of the year ― and your opinion is needed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism revealed new design options, Monday, saying they would gather more options before making a final decision.
If everything goes as planned, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will start issuing the new passports from 2020.
There are two options for the cover design: one has the nation's symbolic Mugunghwa (Rose of Sharon) mark in a bright color at the top, while the other does not highlight it.
The ministries also must decide whether to allow diplomats and other government officials with special tasks to use passports of different colors.
The ministries came up with the design options based on the award-winning work of Kim Su-zung, a fine arts professor at Seoul National University.
The ministries said they would gather opinions from visitors at Culture Station Seoul 284 from Oct. 18-28. They also plan to conduct online surveys before making a final decision at the end of December.