[Editorial] After the crisis

It is a relief that South and North Korea reached an agreement to defuse the crisis that had brought the two sides close to a serious armed conflict. 　The agreement is highlighted by the North’s expression of “regret” over the recent land mine blast in the DMZ and the promise of the South to cease its propaganda broadcasts into the North. 　What’s encouraging is that the two sides decided to continue their discussions beyond resolving the crisis and seek to improve ties. What we note is the agree

Aug. 25, 2015

[Editorial] Unsolved murders

The enactment of the so called Taewan Law, which abolished the statute of limitations on murder cases, puts uncaught criminals and potential perpetrators on notice that they will not easily get away with their crimes and that they will eventually be caught and receive their just deserts.　The 25-year statute of limitations on murder cases had meant that murderers could get away scot-free if they could elude the authorities for 25 years. With the abolition of the statute of limitations, law enforc

Aug. 24, 2015

[Editorial] Protracted talks

President Park Geun-hye vowed to continue with its propaganda broadcasts across the border unless North Korea offered a clear apology for the recent land mine attack and pledged not to carry out further provocations, while top negotiators from both sides continued talks that stretched into a third day.　During a regular meeting with her senior aides, Park stood firmly by her oft-stated position that her administration would deal sternly with military provocations while remaining open to dialogue

Aug. 24, 2015

[Editorial] Defusing tensions

South and North Korea sought to find ways of defusing tensions on the peninsula at high-level talks that were resumed Sunday after being adjourned earlier in the day. The talks began Saturday at the truce village of Panmunjeom, an hour after the North’s deadline for the South to halt propaganda broadcasts across their heavily fortified border or face a military attack.　The fact that Pyongyang first proposed the talks Friday and accepted Seoul’s counterproposal may suggest the rogue regime has wi

Aug. 23, 2015

[Editorial] Shame on both

Former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook will be jailed Monday, four days after the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling that sentenced her to two years in prison for taking illicit political funds from a local businessman. The prosecution has postponed the execution of the sentence to allow her to go through some medical checkups and settle her affairs.　The delay seems to have further exacerbated the negative sentiment against what the public saw as Han’s brazen attitude and the judiciary’s

Aug. 23, 2015

Abe must ditch diluting line for true apology

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s speech last Friday, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II, was keenly awaited upon for an apology.　East Asian countries were critical, but for Japan locally, his enunciation was well received by the inference of polls conducted by Pew, which indicated that his approval ratings rose by 5 percent to land at 44 percent, although still lower than his disapproval rating. 　Reuters quoted a Kyodo News poll, which was conducted after hi

Aug. 23, 2015

[Editorial] Cable car at Mt. Seoraksan

The latest proposal for a cable car to be installed at Mount Seoraksan National Park has deeply divided the proponents, who claim the cable car would boost the local economy, and the opponents, who argue the cable car would damage the environment and threaten gorals, an endangered goat-like species living in the area. 　Proposals from Gangwon Province for a cable car taking off from Osaek in Mount Seoraksan National Park have already been twice rejected, in 2012 and 2013, by the National Park com

Aug. 21, 2015

[Editorial] N. Korea provocations

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are high following North Korea’s firing of rockets across the border and South Korea’s subsequent return fire. 　North Koreans fired several shells toward loudspeakers broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda and the South retaliated by firing dozens of 155-millimeter howitzer rounds Thursday afternoon. Seoul had resumed propaganda broadcasting after an 11-year hiatus as retaliation against North Korea’s land mines placed on the southern side of the DMZ that injured

Aug. 21, 2015

[Editorial] Youth employment

It is welcome news that the country’s conglomerates have recently come up with plans to help increase youth employment.　Samsung, the largest business group in Korea, has announced a plan to provide 30,000 young people with jobs or job training over the next two years. Hanwha and Lotte have promised to hire 17,569 and 24,000 workers by 2017 and 2018, respectively. SK plans to help 20,000 youths begin their own businesses and offer job training to 4,000 others for two years starting in 2016.　Their

Aug. 20, 2015

[Editorial] Reasonable approach

The agreement reached between the two Koreas this week on increasing the minimum wage for North Korean workers in a joint industrial park has raised some eyebrows among critics in the South. The deal, reached after six months of negotiations, virtually accepted Pyongyang’s unilateral decision to hike wages by 5.18 percent for its workers at the Gaeseong industrial complex in the North Korean border city.　The inter-Korean accord to raise the monthly wage by 5 percent to $73.87 came as military te

Aug. 20, 2015

[Editorial] Preventing crisis

The recent devaluation of the Chinese yuan, which followed a free fall in its stock market, showcased the uncertainties surrounding the world’s second-largest economy and more broadly, the global economy.　The storm from China is battering Korea and other emerging markets. The local currency and stock markets are still reeling from Beijing’s aggressive devaluation of the yuan. The currencies of emerging markets like Malaysia and Indonesia have fallen to their lowest level since 1997.　This is rais

Aug. 19, 2015

[Editorial] Worse than useless

A recent OECD report grabbed headlines in the Korean media as it highlighted Koreans’ low confidence in the country’ public institutions, including the national government and the judiciary. 　The OECD Government at a Glance 2015 report, based on a survey of 1,000 people in each member state, found that only 34 percent of Koreans trusted the national government. This is hardly surprising, considering the rampant corruption and bureaucratic red tape that characterizes the work of government employ

Aug. 19, 2015

[Editorial] China’s Victory Day

While the Blue House says it will make an official statement in the latter part of the week, it is now generally accepted that President Park Geun-hye will visit China in conjunction with that country’s Victory Day. What has not been decided on yet is whether she will attend the military parade that will form the centerpiece of the day’s events.　Her visit was all but confirmed when the Blue House and the White House announced that a summit between Park and U.S. President Barack Obama would be he

Aug. 18, 2015

[Editorial] Tianjin accident

One of the worst accidents in China’s recent history involving toxic materials has claimed 114 lives with some 70 people missing and more than 700 injured.　Two blasts last Wednesday at a warehouse in Tianjin caused extensive damage over a vast area and have raised concerns about possible environmental contamination. According to reports, the warehouse was authorized to hold 24 tons of sodium cyanide, but in fact it held nearly 30 times the amount it was licensed to store. Furthermore, the wareho

Aug. 18, 2015

[Editorial] Trilateral summit

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se last week pledged to make strenuous efforts to arrange for a three-way summit among the leaders of South Korea, China and Japan. He said his intention was to “host this trilateral summit at the earliest possible mutually convenient time before the end of this year” when he met with the outgoing secretary-general of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat headquartered in Seoul.　Shigeo Iwatani, a Japanese diplomat who assumed the post in 2013, may not be in a position

Aug. 17, 2015

[Editorial] Devaluation of yuan

China’s central bank put a brake on the steep decrease in the value of the yuan against the dollar on Friday. The Chinese currency depreciated by 4.5 percent in the previous three days, marking the biggest drop in decades.　The surprise devaluation, which triggered concerns of a currency war, was seen as the latest measure to help boost China’s exports at a time when the world’s second-largest economy is struggling with its worst slowdown in more than two decades. China has set this year’s econom

Aug. 17, 2015

[Editorial] Proof of defects

The Improper Solicitation and Graft Act had already been a target of public criticism when it passed the National Assembly last March. Some of the criticisms were so well grounded -- to the degree that the Korea Bar Association has petitioned the Constitutional Court to review its constitutionality.　Without some defects, the act, commonly called Kim Young-ran Act after its original author, should be hailed as the toughest law ever regarding punishment of public officials accepting bribes. 　The a

Aug. 16, 2015

[Editorial] Leaders’ words

Good leaders aren’t necessarily good speakers, but it is important for them to deliver the right message at the right time if they want to rally people behind their leadership. 　From that aspect, neither President Park Geun-hye nor Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe can hardly be called good communicators. We could ascertain this in the past few days as both leaders addressed their countries to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. 　Especially, we had no high expectation of the s

Aug. 16, 2015

[Editorial] Liberation Day speech

Speechwriters for President Park Geun-hye are said to be preparing two versions of the address she will give Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule.　They are watching for how far Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will go in acknowledging and apologizing for Japan’s past wrongdoings in his statement to be issued a day before Park delivers her speech. She expressed hope this week that the statement timed to commemorate the end of World War II would

Aug. 13, 2015

[Editorial] An ultimate task

South Korea’s ties with North Korea and Japan remain as tense and frayed as ever 70 years since the peninsula’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule and subsequent division into two parts along the 38th parallel.　Tension is escalating along the heavily guarded inter-Korean border in the wake of explosions on Aug. 4 of land mines planted by the North on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone, which severely injured two South Korean soldiers.　Seoul is also watching with unease for a statemen

Aug. 13, 2015