[Editorial] Anti-North Korean leaflets

It is high time that the government adopts a clear position on the controversial flying of anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border by activist groups.The Park Geun-hye administration has so far claimed that its hands are tied as blocking sending of anti-North Korean leaflets to North Korea would infringe on freedom of expression.On Jan. 6, the Uijeongbu District Court provided legal grounds for intervention when it dismissed a case filed by an activist seeking 50 million won in c

Jan. 8, 2015

[Editorial] Deferring graduation

The plan by several universities to scrap the system allowing students to defer graduation and maintain their enrollment status without paying fees is facing vocal opposition from students.It has become common practice these days, with low employment opportunities, for students who have already earned the required credits to delay graduation by not submitting their thesis or not fulfilling other requirements. This way, the undergraduates are able to maintain their enrollment status without payin

Jan. 8, 2015

[Editorial] Inflow of Chinese money

It is encouraging that foreign direct investment in the country has continued to increase. New FDI that was pledged to or arrived in Korea last year rose by 30.6 percent and 17.1 percent from the previous year, reaching highs of $19 billion and $11.52 billion, respectively.Announcing the figures Monday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the record amount of FDI, despite many unfavorable conditions confronting the global economy, was proof of foreign investors’ confidence in Korea’s

Jan. 7, 2015

[Editorial] Increasing employment

The number of Koreans who found new jobs last year is estimated to have reached a 12-year high, according to figures released by the national statistics office this week. The increase in employment, however, is hardly good news for the economy, as it was attributed mostly to a rise in the number of part-time and irregular jobs for elderly workers.A monthly average of 543,000 people landed jobs in the first 11 months of 2014. With the figure for December factored in, the monthly average may fall

Jan. 7, 2015

[Editorial] Questions unanswered

Similar to previous politically charged cases, the prosecution’s probe into the leaks of Blue House documents and alleged influence-peddling by presidential aides left more questions than answers. The prosecution, announcing the outcome of its investigation into the scandal that had battered the political community for more than one month, said that key elements of the allegations turned out to be false. First of all, the allegation that President Park Geun-hye’s former aide met her current Blue

Jan. 6, 2015

[Editorial] Cowardly parliament

Last year’s Sewol ferry disaster and a string of corruption scandals have bolstered public pressure on the National Assembly to pass bills aimed at curbing the rampant corruption in public service. After a lot of foot-dragging, the parliament managed to pass one of the two key bills ― which is designed to restrict revolving-door employment ― late last year. But the other bill ― to impose strict punishment on civil servants who take bribes ― did not make the list of about 150 bills passed by the

Jan. 6, 2015

[Editorial] Sex crimes against children

The number of sex crimes is expected to rise this year while murder, robbery and traffic accident cases are projected to decline.In its safety forecast for this year, the Police Science Institute said the number of sex crimes, which rose 41.3 percent from 20,375 cases in 2010 to 28,786 cases in 2013, will continue to rise. Sex crimes violate the human rights of the victims and, as such, the perpetrators should be strictly dealt with. While sex crimes encompass a wide range of offenses, all leave

Jan. 5, 2015

[Editorial] Safety of Ebola workers

The first Korean suspected of having contracted Ebola tested negative in the preliminary test for the deadly virus, but it is too early to feel relieved. The patient remains under close monitoring as the incubation period for the Ebola virus is 21 days and the conclusive test results are available six to 10 days after exposure to the virus.The volunteer health care worker was transported to Charite University Medicine in Berlin on Jan. 3 after scraping an index finger with a needle while drawing

Jan. 5, 2015

[Editorial] Trade surplus

The country’s exports and trade surpluses reached all-time highs in 2014, with overall trade volume also climbing to a new record.Korea’s exports and imports rose by 2.4 percent and 2 percent from the previous year to $573.1 billion and $525.7 billion, respectively, last year for a trade surplus of $47.4 billion, according to figures released last week by the Trade Ministry. Its annual trade volume also surpassed the $1 trillion mark for the fourth consecutive year in 2014.The growth in exports,

Jan. 4, 2015

[Editorial] Allied stance

The U.S. measure to slap new sanctions on North Korea in response to the communist state’s alleged cyberattack on Sony Pictures may be a reminder to Seoul officials of the need to moderate their response to a recent peace overture from the North.A White House statement said Friday that President Barack Obama had signed an executive order authorizing additional sanctions against the North to respond to its “ongoing provocative, destabilizing and repressive actions and policies, particularly its d

Jan. 4, 2015

[Editorial] Inter-Korean summit

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appeared to have gone beyond Seoul’s expectations when he responded to an earlier offer of dialogue from the South in his New Year address Thursday. Seemingly alluding to the possibility of summit talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Kim said there was no reason not to hold the high-level meeting, depending on the atmosphere and circumstances to be forged between the two Koreas.Hours after Kim’s speech, Seoul’s Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae came f

Jan. 2, 2015

[Editorial] Korea-Japan ties

A survey conducted by the Japanese government last year showed that more than 66 percent of Japanese citizens perceived South Korea negatively. This proportion, up from 58 percent in 2013, was the highest since Tokyo began the survey in 1978.Despite the growing anti-Korean sentiment in Japan, the number of South Korean travelers to the country last year rose to the highest level in seven years. This flow is expected to further increase this year, as more South koreans take advantage of the weake

Jan. 2, 2015

[Editorial] Wrong step

The ruling Saenuri Party announced last week proposals to change the way the National Assembly conducts confirmation hearings for the president’s nominees for senior government posts. The proposals, drawn up after five months of work, are highlighted by the arrangement of a closed-door session in which lawmakers question nominees about their moral and ethical qualifications. The other session about their professional competence will continue to be open to the public. On the surface, the change s

Jan. 1, 2015

[Editorial] Future for opposition

It is no exaggeration to say the opposition in Korea is in disarray. The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy is struggling with successive election defeats, internal strife, frequent leadership changes and sagging popularity.Then came the dissolution of the splinter leftist Unified Progressive Party, which is expected to touch off a realignment of the liberal and progressive political forces, and more broadly the opposition camp. Related to the latest developments, a senior NPAD

Jan. 1, 2015

[Editorial] Looking toward 2015

As we end one year and look forward to another, we are allowed to express hopes and wishes for the New Year. Given what the past year bequeathed to us and the perennial uncertainties for the future, however, we cannot expect too much. Nevertheless, we still hope this year will be better than the past one.As we step into 2015, we face daunting challenges on almost every front of our national and individual lives: from North Korea’s security threat, the economy stuck in a low-growth trap, politics

Dec. 31, 2014

[Editorial] Transparent charities

It is yet another gloomy piece of news at the end of a year marred by tragic accidents and divisive scandals that charitable donations have decreased. Contributions to the annual giving campaign launched by the Community Chest of Korea on Nov. 20 reached 184.8 billion won ($168 million) on the weekend, down 7.5 percent from a year earlier. Other charity organizations have also received less in donations this year.This disappointing phenomenon may be attributed mainly to the prolonged economic do

Dec. 29, 2014

[Editorial] Intelligence sharing

South Korea, the U.S. and Japan signed an accord Monday on sharing their intelligence regarding North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats to better cope with Pyongyang’s possible provocations. No joint ceremony took place, with the vice defense ministers of the three countries separately signing the arrangement, which took effect immediately.Defense officials here stressed that the scope of information to be shared under the pact would be confined to intelligence on military threats from the Nor

Dec. 29, 2014

[Editorial] Time for changes

There has been much talk of a possible reshuffle of the Cabinet and the Blue House senior staff since President Park Geun-hye accepted Maritime Minister Lee Ju-young’s resignation last week. Lee’s resignation had been anticipated because he had expressed his intention to step down several times since the tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry in April. As the head of the ministry responsible for, among other things, recovering the bodies of the victims of the worst maritime catastrophe in decades, Le

Dec. 28, 2014

[Editorial] Another backstep

The government has decided to delay its plan to impose income tax on members of the clergy. It is not rare for the government to take a backstep on key reform agendas for unconvincing reasons, but this is truly disappointing. The Finance Ministry said it was putting off the plan, which was to go into effect next year, by one year, because the religious community needed more time to prepare for the change. In an apparent move to appease public criticism, the ministry stressed that the ruling part

Dec. 28, 2014

[Editorial] No more politicizing

An ad hoc committee announced this week the results of its investigation into the four-river development projects undertaken during the Lee Myung-bak administration. To sum up the findings of the 92-member panel, the projects have achieved their goals to a large extent, although there are some minor problems that need to be fixed. The panel, which included civilian experts, said that the 16 dams built under the 22 trillion won project had no serious structural and safety problems. It also said t

Dec. 26, 2014