[Editorial] Shady connections

Woo Byung-woo, former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, said in a recent parliamentary hearing that it was then-presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon who offered him a job at Cheong Wa Dae.Woo was appointed as an ordinary secretary in the civil affairs office in May 2014.In February 2015, he was promoted to senior presidential secretary for civil affairs.Earlier this month, Kim told lawmakers it was not him, but President Park Geun-hye who initiated the appointment of Woo to th

Dec. 27, 2016

[Editorial] Constitutional revision

Constitutional amendment is emerging as a key political issue at a time when Korean politics, while undergoing an upheaval caused by the crisis in the Park Geun-hye presidency, is gearing up for a major political realignment ahead of the presidential election. All major parties and potential presidential candidates are engaged in the issue in one way or another. Since last week, three forums of parliamentarians -- one each by the ruling and the main opposition Democratic Party and the third by t

Dec. 26, 2016

[Editorial] One year ago

It has been a year since South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced it had reached a deal with its Japanese counterpart to settle the bilateral dispute over the wartime sex slavery during the Japanese colonial rule of the peninsula.However, the majority of Korean citizens say they do not agree to the Dec. 28 accord, as polls show. A group of college students are still staging a sit-in day and night to guard a statue symbolizing victims in front of the Japanese Embassy in Junghak-dong, Seoul.Their

Dec. 25, 2016

[Editorial] Fund scandal

Investigators from the independent counsel have raided an office of the National Pension Service, playing a part in a variety of allegations stemming from President Park Geun-hye’s scandal.　The state-run fund operator is suspected of having offered an irregular favor to Samsung Group in return for the conglomerate’s donation to shady foundations. The entities were reportedly backed by Park or her civilian confidante Choi Soon-sil.　Last year, the NPS -- as a large shareholder -- voted in favor of

Dec. 23, 2016

[Other view] Tears for Berlin: Vigilance is the watchword this holiday season

It is too bad that holiday revelers have to look over their shoulders instead of focusing on the spirit of the season. However, that is the state of the world today, as was made clear by the truck attack Monday in Berlin that killed 12 people and injured dozens more at a Christmas market.　The so-called Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, in which a tractor-trailer barreled into the well-known market by the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, toppling a Christmas tree, tables a

Dec. 23, 2016

[Editorial] Saenuri breakup

It was inevitable and desirable that reformist lawmakers decided to leave the ruling Saenuri Party where loyalists of President Park Geun-hye have been digging their heels in to shield their beleaguered boss and hold onto their vested interests. The breakup of the party had largely been anticipated because the Park loyalists had been refusing to take responsibility for the crisis in the Park presidency. The decision by 34 lawmakers to leave the party next week will certainly have implications be

Dec. 22, 2016

[Editorial] Kim & Woo

Many citizens might initially have thought the core of the Park Geun-hye scandal mostly lay in the irregularities of her civilian confidante Choi Soon-sil and the president, when it surfaced in late October.Among presidential aides, the public might have focused only on Choi’s three major confidantes -- Ahn Bong-keun, Jung Ho-seong and Lee Jae-mahn -- identifying them as individuals who helped Choi meddle in state affairs.But it has been two months since the scandal first began to rock the natio

Dec. 21, 2016

[Editorial] Uncontested evidence

The investigation team led by independent counsel Park Young-soo will officially start its work Wednesday. Special counsel Park and his 105-strong team is tasked with getting to the bottom of the key allegations involving President Park Geun-hye and her associates implicated in the Choi Soon-sil scandal. The investigation should be conducted both swiftly and thoroughly because its outcome could affect the Constitutional Court’s review of the parliamentary impeachment of the president. It was wel

Dec. 20, 2016

[Editorial] Relaxed BOK

The global market is departing from an era of low interest rates and low oil prices. Both OPEC members and some non-OPEC countries agreed to reduce their crude output, while the United States is normalizing its policy rate.South Korea’s economic policymakers frequently say that external uncertainty is increasing. But they are also producing fresh worries, as they fail to take practical countermeasures to minimize negative impacts from that uncertainy. The nation saw gasoline prices reach a yearl

Dec. 19, 2016

[Editorial] Digging in their heels

Two recent developments clearly showed that President Park Geun-hye and her underlings in the ruling Saenuri Party are digging their trenches deeper as the Constitutional Court deliberates on the impeachment bill passed by the National Assembly. First, Park refuted all the impeachment charges against her, heralding a dogged legal battle with the top court under strong public pressure to uphold the impeachment. In the position paper her defense team delivered to the top court on Friday, Park deni

Dec. 18, 2016

[Editorial] Foreign policy vacuum

The monthslong Choi Soon-sil scandal and subsequent parliamentary impeachment of President Park Geun-hye are costing the nation a lot. Foreign policy is one of the areas that suffers most dearly. 　Park missed the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit held in Peru in November, sending instead Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn. She was the first South Korean leader to have skipped the annual forum since its launch in 1993.　The 21-member APEC forum usually offers a stage for vigorous summit diplomacy

Dec. 16, 2016

[Other view] US Congress must get to the bottom of Russia’s role in 2016 campaign

Rep. Adam Schiff, the leading Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, is a measured politician not prone to hyper-partisanship.So it’s noteworthy that the former federal prosecutor is calling for a full investigation by members of the Senate and House of Representatives into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.“This investigation would serve the purpose of informing the public, developing a concerted response, deterring the Russians from further malignant cyber action and inoculating the

Dec. 16, 2016

[Editorial] Sewol & meddling

It seems that the independent counsel is set to focus on the bribery allegations against President Park Geun-hye in its investigation.Certainly, investigators must scrutinize the allegations the she and her confidantes took kickbacks from conglomerates.Evidence to prove her suspected corruption is important, as it could lead to jail terms for Park, the civilians involved or presidential aides -- indictment and court trials for them in the coming months cannot be ruled out.Simultaneously, the ind

Dec. 15, 2016

[Editorial] Loyal to the end

The ruling Saenuri Party is on the verge of a breakup. The impending implosion of the party endangers not only what has been a conservative bastion for decades but also the bipartisan system that has been buttressed by two major parties representing conservatives and liberals. Since the National Assembly voted to impeach Park on Friday, the situation within the ruling party has become more complicated, with the nonmainstream faction diverging. Some non-Parks had already bolted from the party bef

Dec. 14, 2016

[Editorial] Untimely calls

Will South Korea see the 10th amendment to the Constitution next year? If this is attained, the revision would mark the first in 30 years since the ninth was promulgated in October 1987.More and more lawmakers, including some presidential hopefuls, are calling for a constitutional revision “before” the coming presidential election. The ruling Saenuri Party said it has reached an agreement with some opposition lawmakers on launching a special committee for constitutional amendments early next yea

Dec. 13, 2016

[Editorial] Reducing uncertainty

The parliamentary impeachment of President Park Geun-hye tells us two important things regarding the political crisis caused by a corruption scandal involving her civilian confidante and friend Choi Soon-sil. The first is that Park was all but finished. About 80 percent of lawmakers, including half of the members of her own ruling party, lined up to impeach her. Regardless of the Constitutional Court’s decision on her fate, Park is destined to be remembered as one of the worst presidents since t

Dec. 12, 2016

[Editorial] Expulsion date

A nationwide interest is whether the Constitutional Court will finalize the review on the parliamentary impeachment accord and publicize its decision before its President Park Han-chul’s term expires on Jan. 31. There are effectively 46 days left for the court to make a decision, before he leaves, given that the lunar New Year holidays run from Jan. 27-30. Many in the legal sector say the timeline is too tight, predicting that reaching a decision by the end of next month will be difficult to ach

Dec. 11, 2016

[Editorial] Lost 46 months

The fate of President Park Geun-hye has been handed over to nine justices at the Constitutional Court by the 300-seat National Assembly.It has been 46 days since her irregularities were exposed to the public in late October. And it has been 46 months since Feb. 25, 2013, when she took office and is thought to have embarked on irregular operation of administrative affairs.Like the majority of citizens, we cordially welcome the landslide parliamentary passage of the bill to impeach Park on Friday.

Dec. 9, 2016

[Editorial] Politicians’ obligation

The National Assembly votes on the bill to impeach President Park Geun-hye on Friday. If it gets 200 or more votes, Park will be suspended from her duties and the Constitutional Court will have up to 180 days before it makes a ruling on whether to finally remove her from Cheong Wa Dae. While Park’s impeachment would mark a milestone in the political crisis caused by an influence-peddling scandal involving her civilian confidante, it has yet to be seen how the vote would affect the future course

Dec. 8, 2016

[Editorial] Loopholes in economy

The Park Geun-hye scandal has posed increased uncertainty over the economy, while the finance and business sectors are pinning hopes on the passage of a parliamentary bill to impeach her, to be voted on at 2 p.m. Friday. The vote could be delayed in the day -- the expiration date of the regular session of the Assembly -- or to another day for an extraordinary session later.　A voting down of the motion means anarchy. Its passage means uncertainty lifting to an extent, as the nation could to start

Dec. 7, 2016