[Editorial] No more conflicts

The recovered Sewol ferry is set to leave for a port in Mokpo on Thursday, exactly 1080 days after it left Incheon with 476 people aboard. Though rusted and corroded, the main hull of the 6,800-ton cruiser remains intact and seeing it make its voyage on a transport vessel will remind us of all the shock, frustration, anger and grief we went through nearly three years ago when it sank.  　Officials expect that after its arrival at Mokpo, it will take about five more days before the Sewol is put on

March 28, 2017

[Editorial] Arrest of Park

The prosecution requested an arrest warrant for former President Park Geun-hye on Monday.　Park is being investigated as a suspect in the corruption scandal which led to her impeachment. She faces 13 charges, including bribery.　The decision to seek the arrest of Park is fair and justifiable, considering her former aides and government officials are being tried in detention in connection with the scandal.　Since Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong has been arrested on charges including o

March 27, 2017

[Editorial] Onlookers

There are abundant signs that indicate tension over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs will be further heightened. First, North Korea is determined to improve its capabilities for developing a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile that can reach the US mainland. US and South Korean officials, citing intelligence reports, said North Korea has finished preparing for another nuclear test and it may come soon. The North has already ratcheted up tension by continuing to test-fire

March 26, 2017

[Editorial] Mudslinging

Negative campaigning is as universal as elections, and Korea is no exception. Almost every election -- big and small -- has been tainted by candidates who focus more on attacking rivals than promoting their own merits and policies. This year, the impeachment of Park Geun-hye as president resulted in an unexpected early election, and with the May 9 election fast approaching, negative campaigning is raising its ugly head. With major parties heading toward primaries to nominate candidates, no presi

March 24, 2017

[Editorial] Sewol salvage

The Sewol ferry, which sank April 16, 2014, was lifted above the surface of the water from the seabed Thursday.It came 1,073 days after the ship capsized with 476 people aboard. Of that number, 304 -- mostly high school students on a field trip -- died, with nine bodies still unaccounted for and believed to be inside the ship.The government decided to recover the ferry in April 2015. It chose a firm to carry out the salvage operation, laid the groundwork for lifting the ship and made the first a

March 23, 2017

[Editorial] Go home

Former President Park Geun-hye, who underwent questioning by state prosecutors, now awaits their decision on whether they will seek a detention warrant for her or not. If they do, the final decision to issue it will be made by the court. Park, who faces 13 charges including bribery and abuse of power, spent 22 hours at a prosecution office in Seoul until Wednesday morning. One of the core questions Park faced from prosecutors was about the allegation she conspired with her detained confidante Ch

March 22, 2017

[Editorial] Anti-reform pledges

Presidential front runner Moon Jae-in reportedly pledged to abolish merit-based pay in the public sector immediately if he takes power.In a ceremony to launch the Confederation of Korean Government Employees’ Unions Saturday, rivals of the former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea made similar pledges.Merit pay is being enforced in the public sector to remove its inefficiency. It has been adopted by 119 public enterprises and quasi-governmental agencies.Repealing the reward program the unio

March 21, 2017

[Editorial] Truthful answers

The nation’s eyes and ears will be fixed to televisions Tuesday morning, when former President Park Geun-hye enters a prosecution office in Seoul to undergo questioning by state prosecutors.The scene will be another disgraceful moment for the Korean presidency, which has already been marred by numerous cases of corruption and even by assassination and suicide. Park, who faces 13 charges including bribery, abuse of power and coercion, is the fourth former president to face prosecution. Chun Doo-h

March 20, 2017

[Editorial] Close a back door

The US and China remain apart on solutions to North Korean nuclear threats.　US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi agreed in their meeting Saturday to work together to stop North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. But they repeated their different positions on solutions.　The US demanded China put stronger pressure on North Korea, while China reiterated its call for both dialogue and negotiations.　A day earlier, Tillerson had said on his visit to Seoul that Wa

March 19, 2017

[Editorial] Conservatives in lethargy

With the presidential election just about 50 days away, the conservatives have sunken into lethargy.Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was favored by conservatives when he returned home to start a campaign of his own, abruptly dropped out of the race just a few weeks in. Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn, who led conservative candidates in support ratings though he had not declare candidacy, announced he would not run for president. Their departure from the campaign scene has left a big h

March 17, 2017

[Editorial] Fixing the system

The revision of the Constitution is emerging as a top political issue ahead of the presidential election on May 9. How it evolves could affect the election in which a liberal is favored to win for now.The move to amend the basic law has been expedited by the agreement of three major parties -- the Liberal Korea Party, the People’s Party and the Bareun Party -- to put their unified proposal to a referendum on the day of the presidential election. The agreement, reached Wednesday by the three part

March 16, 2017

[Editorial] Prudent assessment

A local think tank made an absurd argument Monday that foreign and national security policymakers of the current government should do nothing until the presidential election because President Park Geun-hye has been removed.　“The impeachment of Park means the impeachment of all her policies. Bureaucrats she appointed to the unification, foreign affairs and national security portfolios should stop all their activities immediately,” Korea Peace Forum, an institute studying Korea’s foreign policy an

March 15, 2017

[Editorial] Real end

There are several good reasons for the state prosecution to hasten its investigation of former President Park Geun-hye over the influence-peddling and corruption scandal involving her and her confidante Choi Soon-sil. Many of the allegations in the scandal have been verified by the investigation conducted by the state prosecution and the team of independent counsel Park Young-soo and -- more importantly -- the Constitutional Court’s verdict to oust Park as president. There are 13 charges filed a

March 14, 2017

[Editorial] Recognize ruling

Former President Park Geun-hye has expressed her disapproval of her impeachment and the corruption allegations against her. In a message delivered Sunday by Rep. Min Kyung-wook, formerly her spokesperson, after she returned to her private residence from the presidential office, she said, “I am sorry that I couldn’t complete the mission that was bestowed upon me as president. I’ll take all the consequences. It may take time but I have faith that the truth will come to light eventually.” Her messa

March 13, 2017

[Editorial] Root cause

The Constitutional Court’s historic decision to oust Park Geun-hye as president confirmed what many of us had believed: The president has too much power and it paved the way for Park to abuse her power for the personal gains of her confidante. As the court found, the basic element of the influence-peddling and corruption scandal involving Park and Choi Soon-sil is that Park abused her power as president to help Choi earn personal gains through foundations and companies she controlled. Since the

March 12, 2017

[Editorial] Leaving crisis behind

It was a fair and legitimate judgement. The Constitutional Court’s unanimous decision to uphold the parliamentary impeachment of Park Geun-hye, now a former president, demonstrated that -- as the court said -- this nation is and should be governed by representative democracy and the rule of law. The Constitutional Court’s 8-0 decision came as no surprise. It rightfully concluded that Park committed wrongdoings too serious to be allowed to continue serving as president. Acting Chief Justice Lee J

March 10, 2017

[Editorial] Loopholes in sanctions

The UN Security Council Wednesday condemned North Korea’s violations of its resolutions for firing ballistic missiles, but the North does not appear to be bothered.It has violated them many times before and will likely do so again, at least, until it perfects its nuclear missile technology. Its leaders have been developing nukes at all costs.The North is nearing its goal, which some experts forecast is a few years away. How could it come to this, as the UN has escalated sanctions each time it vi

March 9, 2017

[Editorial] Rule of law

The Constitutional Court set Friday for announcing its verdict on the parliamentary impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. The court’s verdict will take effect immediately. A ruling that confirms the impeachment would remove Park from office. She would forfeit most of her presidential privileges, including immunity from criminal charges, and would most certainly face further investigation and, possibly, indictment. Any such verdict would be historic, in that Park would be the first president ev

March 8, 2017

[Editorial] Missile launch

North Korea fired four ballistic missiles Monday, and a day later, its state-run news agency said the country had conducted a missile launch exercise targeting US military bases in Japan.The report did not disclose when the drill was carried out, but it was apparently referring to Monday’s missile launch.The missiles were fired from a site on the west coast, not far from the border with China, flew about 1,000 kilometers and landed in the exclusive economic zone of Japan.It came 22 days after it

March 7, 2017

[Editorial] Double shock

The Korean economy, already struggling with sluggish domestic consumption, rising household debt and youth joblessness, is facing double shocks from its two biggest economic partners -- China and the US. The most immediate threat comes from China, which has been stepping up its economic retaliation against South Korea’s decision to host an advanced US missile defense system. The Chinese retaliation, which started when South Korea and the US decided last July to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Ar

March 6, 2017