A portable terminal includes an apparatus for controlling an operation of a mobile terminal. More particularly, an apparatus and a method sets a menu to control a mobile terminal in a specific region of an image stored in advance. A relevant function is performed by selecting the specific region of the image in which the menu has been set in the mobile terminal, thereby performing the relevant function fast and conveniently without separately selecting a menu (entering a menu). The apparatus includes a controller. The controller selects a specific region from an output image, sets a menu for controlling a function of the mobile terminal at the specific region, and stores the image where the menu has been set.