**Jung Eunkyoung's eldest son makes more money than his 'medical school professor' mother**

Jung Eunkyoung (60), the nominee for the Minister of Health and Welfare, has a son who reportedly earns a higher salary than his mother, a doctor.

According to the information submitted to the National Assembly on the 8th, Jung's eldest son, A (32), is working as an artificial intelligence (AI) researcher at a major domestic company's management development center.

Previously, A graduated from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and served his military duty as a researcher.

The documents submitted to the National Assembly indicate that A earned a total of 78.39 million won in the first half of this year, including a salary of 32.7 million won and a bonus of 45.69 million won.

Jung Eunkyoung, a specialist in family medicine who has been a professor at Seoul National University's medical school since September 2023, received a total of 75.76 million won from Seoul National University Hospital in the first half of this year.

This indicates that A's annual income as an AI researcher from a technical background surpassed that of his mother, a medical school professor.

Last year, A’s annual salary was 146.03 million won, while Jung earned 159.27 million won, meaning A earned slightly less.

Despite this, it is still higher than the salary Jung received while serving as the Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) (14.128 million won in 2020 and 14.533 million won in 2021).

Meanwhile, Jung's husband (64) is a family medicine specialist graduated from Seoul National University and currently works as a department head at a hospital in Incheon.

His income from that hospital was a total of 189.42 million won last year, and 181.01 million won in 2023. In 2022, while working at a nursing hospital in Changnyeong, Gyeongnam, he received 125.10 million won.

Additionally, both of Jung's sons, A and B (31), are reported to possess assets in the billion-won range. A has reported owning a 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe hybrid vehicle (43.44 million won), 327.44 million won in deposits, and 62.51 million won in stocks.

B has deposits of 184.43 million won and stocks worth 62.49 million won. Like A, B also graduated from a technical university (POSTECH). This raises discussions again about the competitiveness of technical universities, which have been somewhat sluggish due to the trend of students flocking to medical schools.

Image source: On the 30th of last month, Jung Eunkyoung, the nominee for the Minister of Health and Welfare, was seen answering reporters' questions while arriving at the personnel hearing preparation office set up at T Tower in Sowol-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul. / News1, In February 2022, Jung Eunkyoung (then Director of the KDCA) briefed on the newly introduced Novavax and the fourth COVID-19 vaccination at the KDCA in Osong-eup, Chungju, North Chungcheong Province. / News1, Material photo for better understanding of the article / gettyimagesbank