[Editorial] More leaks at DSC

Yet another Defense Security Command official has been caught passing on classified documents, raising serious concerns about the organization’s function as the military counterintelligence agency and protector of military secrets.On Friday, the military said a Navy lieutenant commander was arrested early last month on suspicion of leaking classified military secrets to a Chinese national. According to the military, the officer is suspected of having handed over military information to a Chinese

July 8, 2015

[Editorial] Resorting to word play

The UNESCO added 23 industrial sites in Japan to its World Heritage list Sunday, after a 24-hour delay due to last-minute negotiations between Korea and Japan over the wording of the statement to be issued following the inscription.In the end, the listing was agreed on by consensus by the 21 member states of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, including Korea and Japan, avoiding a vote that would have been unprecedented.Korea and Japan negotiated for several months over the UNESCO listing of Ja

July 8, 2015

[Editorial] Multicultural population

The number of multicultural residents in the country has more than tripled over the past decade to 1.74 million this year, according to government data released Sunday. The figure accounted for 3.4 percent of Korea’s total population of 51.33 million.The figure includes naturalized Koreans and their children, migrant workers, foreign students and immigrant spouses. Their number, which stood at about 540,000 in 2006 when the government began compiling related data, has since increased by an annua

July 7, 2015

[Editorial] Hanging in the wind

All eyes in political circles are on whether and when Saenuri Party floor leader Yoo Seong-min will resign from his post in what should be a move to end deepening discord in the ruling camp.Yoo has not clarified his stance since the National Assembly failed to put a bill designed to strengthen its oversight over the administration’s authority to enact ordinances to a revote Monday. The ruling Saenuri Party, which has 160 seats in the 300-member parliament, boycotted the vote on whether to overri

July 7, 2015

[Editorial] NPAD’s insistence

The outrageously disappointing result of the prosecution’s investigation into the Sung Woan-jong scandal is raising calls for reopening the probe by appointing an independent counsel. On the surface, there seems no problem in bringing in a special prosecutor as the ruling and opposition parties share the view that the prosecution’s investigation failed to get to the bottom of the scandal. There are obvious reasons why the case should be subject to an independent probe. Basically, the Sung case i

July 6, 2015

[Editorial] Timing matters

The government sent an 11.8 trillion won ($10.5 billion) supplementary budget bill to the National Assembly on Monday. The extra spending plan is part of a stimulus package of 22 trillion won the government is pushing to prop up the economy, which has been ailing due to sluggish exports and weak domestic consumption. The outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome that battered consumer spending and service sectors like tourism and the extended drought added urgency to the task of providing a s

July 6, 2015

[Editorial] Palace hotel

Of the four major Joseon-period palaces in Seoul, Changdeokgung Palace stands out for its natural beauty. Unlike the nearby Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was arranged in the Chinese style, Changdeokgung Palace reflects the more nature-loving Korean style. The palace was built to be in harmony with the natural terrain and the extensive garden has been kept in its natural state.The palace also stands out for being well-preserved. The Changdeokgung Palace garden was closed to the public for 38 years

July 5, 2015

[Editorial] North Korean drought

With food experts predicting a possible famine in North Korea as a result of prolonged drought, Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo told the National Assembly that the government stood ready to cooperate with Pyongyang in tackling the emergency.The entire Korean Peninsula has been hit by a drought this year as a result of the El Nino weather phenomenon and Pyongyang last month said that it was experiencing the worst drought in 100 years. In a statement by the official Korean Central News Agency,

July 5, 2015

[Editorial] Gruesome reality

National police arrested this week a low-ranking government official on charges of taking kickbacks from car importers while issuing environmental certificates for foreign automobiles. Given the rampant corruption in the civil service, the news should not surprise many, but this case is truly distressing. Police said the man, a staffer of the Transportation Pollution Research Center, had been responsible for testing the emissions and noise levels of imported cars since 2009. He allegedly abused

July 3, 2015

[Editorial] Unfinished probe

The Sung Woan-jong bribery scandal has exposed many dark sides of Korean society ― pervasive corrupt links between politics and business, elections being financed by illicit money, lack of strict ethics among politicians and senior government officials, and rampant influence-peddling by people in or close to power, including relatives of the president. Casting a darker cloud on this gloomy situation is the prosecution, the nation’s top law-enforcement authority, which has again failed to shake o

July 3, 2015

[Editorial] Korean to head IMO

A Korean has been elected to head the International Maritime Organization, the first time since Korea joined the U.N. organization in 1962.Lim Ki-tack, president of the Busan Port Authority, will lead the IMO starting January 2016. Lim’s election is a coup for Korea ― it was only last year that the Sewol ferry sinking claimed more than 300 lives, exposing to the world the country’s feeble maritime safety enforcement. At the same time, Lim’s election is a recognition of Korea as a shipbuilding po

July 2, 2015

[Editorial] Airbus wins W1.5tr bid

In a clear departure from the usual practice, the Korean government has chosen a European defense firm to supply aerial refueling tanker aircraft.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said that the Air Force will buy four A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transports from Airbus Defence and Space, the first time that the Air Force will procure a non-U.S. major weapons system. Boeing’s KC-46A and Israeli firm IAI’s KC-767 MMTT were the other contenders in the bid for the 1.5 trillion won program.Unt

July 2, 2015

[Editorial] A welcome compromise

A recent agreement made by three regional governments and the Environment Ministry on the extended use of a landfill site is welcome as a rare case to overcome the not-in-my-backyard syndrome permeating our society.Under the accord reached after six months of negotiations, the Incheon city government will allow waste from Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to continue to be dumped in its landfill for a decade to come. The landfill, which has taken household rubbish from the Seoul metropolitan area with

July 1, 2015

[Editorial] Due obligations

Korea announced Tuesday it would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent by 2030, a higher target than previously proposed.Its planned contribution, which was submitted to the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat later in the day, calls for reductions of 25.7 percent from the country’s business-as-usual level ― the amount of emissions forecast if no action is taken ― by 2030. The remaining 11.3 percent cut would come in the form of purchasing carbon credits to offset emissions.On June 11, the Mini

July 1, 2015

[Editorial] Dark side

A series of doping scandals is again exposing the dark side of professional sports in the country. This should raise alarm bells because pro sports are getting bigger and bigger, making them more vulnerable to corrupt practices. There were three doping cases last week alone, including one involving pro baseball player Choi Jin-haeng of the Hanwha Eagles. Choi tested positive for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and the 29-year-old outfielder was banned for

June 30, 2015

[Editorial] Blame game

The ugly infighting that has been unfolding in the ruling camp ― namely the Blue House and the Saenuri Party ― is sickening the nation, which is already depressed by the economic slump and the effects of the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak. The internal feud, which was touched off by a conflict between President Park Geun-hye and Saenuri floor leader Yoo Seong-min, is now on the verge of an all-out war between the pro-Park and non-Park factions in the ruling party. Put simply, the ruli

June 30, 2015

[Editorial] Ex-first lady goes North

The widow of late President Kim Dae-jung, Lee Hee-ho, may soon make a trip to North Korea pending talks today at the North Korean border town of Gaeseong.The trip was initially planned for last year, when the North Koreans invited Lee to make a return trip to Pyongyang;  she had accompanied her husband during the historic visit to Pyongyang in 2000. In late October, Lee met President Park Geun-hye and expressed her desire to visit the North with relief supplies and knitted caps and mufflers for

June 29, 2015

[Editorial] MERS lessons

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak that has gripped the nation since the first case was confirmed on May 20 now seems to be contained, with no new cases reported for two consecutive days as of Monday. MERS has infected 182, claiming 32 lives, and 2,682 remained in quarantine as of Monday. In hindsight, the government’s initial response to MERS was a failure. Sticking to the guideline that the virus does not spread across distances of more than 2 meters, the authorities fai

June 29, 2015

[Editorial] A just ruling

Last week’s ruling by the Supreme Court to recognize basic labor rights for illegal immigrant workers should serve as an occasion to guarantee due reward for work rather than a cause for excessive concern.The landmark ruling paved the way for foreign workers who are in Korea illegally to set up or join trade unions and negotiate with employers over their working conditions.In June 2005, a group of 91 foreign workers in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province named the Migrants’ Trade Union, filed a

June 28, 2015

[Editorial] Reviving the economy

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance revised down key economic indicators last week when it announced its plan for the economy in the second half of this year. The ministry slashed its growth outlook for 2015 to 3.1 percent from an earlier projection of 3.8 percent, citing slumping exports and the negative impact of the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak on consumer spending and business sentiment. On employment, the ministry forecast that about 400,000 new jobs would be created this year

June 28, 2015