[Editorial] Kim Young-ran bill

The Sewol ferry tragedy has once again brought into focus the so-called Kim Young-ran bill, a legislative proposal aimed at rooting out corruption among public officials. The disaster clearly showed the urgent need to enact the bill as one of its main causes was the symbiotic ties among the Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries, shipping companies and industry organizations in charge of inspecting ships and ferry operations. Yoo Byung-eon, the de facto owner of Chonghaejin Marine Co., the operator of

May 12, 2014

[Editorial] Bracing for strong won

The steep appreciation of the Korean won in recent months is unnerving both the government and businesses, which are already struggling with sluggish domestic demand and a slump in the world economy. The local currency strengthened to 1,020 won to the U.S. dollar last week, the strongest in five years and nine months. What causes more concern is the pace of its appreciation. The won remained at the 1,060 won level in the first quarter, but rose to the 1,050 level early last month, and further to

May 11, 2014

[Editorial] Overhaul Coast Guard

The Sewol tragedy has exposed many problems within the government regarding its anti-disaster readiness and response. That the victims included hundreds of high school students on a field trip fueled public outrage at the government, from President Park Geun-hye downward. Among the government agencies under heavy criticism, the Korea Coast Guard is in the hot seat, for ample reasons. Some of the harshest critics are even demanding the disbandment of the agency. They are not going too far, judgin

May 11, 2014

[Editorial] Politicizing disaster

Some political groups are intent on making political capital out of the heartbreaking Sewol ferry disaster. The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy is demanding that a parliamentary investigation be launched immediately to get to the bottom of the nation’s worst maritime disaster. It is also calling for a public hearing on the tragedy and a parliamentary inspection of the public and private agencies involved in it. On top of that, it is pushing for the appointment of a special co

May 9, 2014

[Editorial] Consumption slowdown

The Sewol ferry tragedy is beginning to take its toll on the national economy. More than three weeks have passed since the ferry sank off the southern coast. But a deeply mournful atmosphere continues to pervade the nation, depressing consumer sentiment and impeding the recovery of private consumption. Since April 16, the entire nation has been in mourning. Gripped with shock and sadness, many consumers have refrained from seeking pleasure through shopping, spending or drinking. They have also c

May 9, 2014

[Editorial] Compensate leprosy victims

It is good news that a district court ordered the government to compensate victims of discriminatory policies against leprosy patients. The first of its kind in the country, the ruling should pave the way for wider, systematic compensation for the discrimination and hardship they endured. The ruling made by a court in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, last week called on the government to pay 30 million won in compensation to each of the leprosy patients who had been forced into sterilization. Th

May 8, 2014

[Editorial] As lax as ever

The tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry has set off alarm bells over society’s safety problems. Not only the government and politicians but also businesses and individual citizens have been making a fuss over safety issues. There is a lot of talk about how to make the nation safer. But the string of accidents that occurred after the Sewol sinking demonstrate that all the fuss was only in words. Korea is not learning lessons even from this devastating accident.The collision on Seoul’s subway Line N

May 8, 2014

[Editorial] Safety in wrong hands

The crew members of the Sewol, who deserted their sinking ship without taking any discernible measures to evacuate the passengers, must not escape strong punishment for any reason. Their sheer lack of any sense of duty infuriated the Korean public and media, who have called for the maximum possible legal penalties for their actions in the sinking, which left more than 300 passengers dead or missing, most of them teenagers. But it needs to be remembered that behind their terrible dereliction of d

May 7, 2014

[Editorial] Boosting overseas aid

Korea has temporarily earmarked 1.2 trillion won ($1.16 billion) in overseas grant aid for next year, down from 1.56 trillion won in 2014. The grant plan unveiled by the Foreign Ministry on Monday will be presented to the Cabinet for approval after two weeks of fine-tuning.The decrease runs counter to a request made by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee last year that Seoul increase grants and other untied aid for less developed and heavily indebted nations. In the first peer review of

May 7, 2014

[Editorial] Shipping modernization

One thing the government should do to prevent maritime accidents similar to the Sewol ferry disaster is modernize the domestic coastal shipping industry.The capsizing of the ferry off the southern coast three weeks ago demonstrated that the government has done little to tackle the industry’s chronic problems, which were exposed more than two decades ago.In October 1993, the ferry Seohae sank off the western coast, killing 292 of the 362 passengers and crew on board. Just like the Sewol tragedy,

May 6, 2014

[Editorial] Basic pension

After many twists and turns, the National Assembly has finally passed the controversial “basic pension” bill, enabling President Park Geun-hye to make good on one of her key election pledges.The Assembly’s action on the bill was much belated but welcome. The legislation, which is expected to go into effect in July or August, will benefit the poorest 70 percent of Koreans aged 65 or older.Specifically, about 4.5 million of the nation’s 6.4 million senior citizens will receive a monthly allowance

May 6, 2014

[Editorial] Visitors to Gaeseong

North Korea is no doubt an intriguing, unpredictable country. It often sends out conflicting signals to the outside world as seen in one of the latest developments involving an industrial park it runs jointly with South Korea. Pyongyang, while ratcheting up military tension on the peninsula for months, accepted successive visits to the Gaeseong industrial complex by two foreign business delegations this week. This clearly shows that for the leadership in Pyongyang, saber-rattling is one thing an

May 2, 2014

[Editorial] Psychological toll

The painstaking, yet painfully slow progress of recovering those missing after the sinking of the Sewol ferry is traumatizing for family members who have been sheltered at a gymnasium for more than two weeks. No one but themselves could possibly measure how excruciating their suffering is. There is no doubt that the authorities’ first and foremost job is to recover the missing as quickly as possible. Getting them back to their loved ones is the least this government can do for those in torment.

May 2, 2014

[Editorial] Boosting reading culture

Koreans now seem simply too familiar with the criticism that they read too little. But a set of recent figures should still embarrass and worry them.According to household survey data released by the national statistics office early this week, households with two or more members spent an average of 18,690 won (about $18) per month on buying books last year. The figure, down 1.8 percent from the previous year, was the lowest in 11 years since the survey was first conducted nationwide in 2003. Giv

May 1, 2014

[Editorial] Civil service reform

During a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, President Park Geun-hye expressed deep regret over the failure to prevent the tragic sinking of the ferry Sewol by correcting what she called evils long accumulated in many corners of the country. She conceded that greater efforts should have been exerted to right the wrong and abnormal practices in the early phase of her administration.But Park may have to admit that she was responsible in the first place. Since taking office in February last year, she has brou

May 1, 2014

[Editorial] Park’s reform agenda

The deadly sinking of the Sewol ferry off the southern coast has put President Park Geun-hye to a major leadership test. In the first place, Park is facing the task of placating the public’s mounting anger and frustration over the manmade disaster, in which some 300 of the 476 passengers on board died or went missing.Then she has to reform the nation’s disorganized safety system to prevent similar tragedies from taking place in the future. This task involves more than just setting up a new gover

April 30, 2014

[Editorial] Wageless growth

“Wageless growth,” a phenomenon characterized by a drop in real wages despite an improvement in real labor productivity, is more serious in Korea than in other OECD countries, a report from the Korea Institute of Finance shows. The report says that in Korea, real wages and real labor productivity had moved in tandem before the global economic crisis erupted in 2008. Then the two began to move in different directions, with real wages going south despite continued gains in real labor productivity.

April 30, 2014

[Editorial] Heroes and unity

It seems that the entire nation is in mourning. Although the government has yet to declare an official period of national mourning, pending the recovery of those still missing, the whole nation is gripped by the tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry. Some of the prevailing sentiments are sorrow, grief, anger, frustration, shame, guilt, pity and sympathy. Few words, however, would be able to describe the unbearable pain suffered by the families of those who died or are missing. Nothing and nobody can

April 29, 2014

[Editorial] Revolving door

The grim picture of how and why the Sewol ferry capsized and sank is gradually emerging as the prosecution intensifies its investigation into the causes of the calamity. What has been gathered from the probe so far shows that there was a combination of several immediate causes. They include ignorance of safety regulations, an irresponsible and incompetent captain and crew, and inefficient emergency response and rescue systems. Besides these “direct” causes, there are indirect, but more fundament

April 29, 2014

[Editorial] Final duties

To be faithful to his duties, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won should have announced his intention to resign after the response to the deadly sinking of a ferry almost two weeks ago was wrapped up.No one believes he can be absolved of responsibility for the dismal handling of the tragic accident that has left more than 300 people, most of whom were high school students on a school trip, dead or missing. But he was surely aware that stepping down so soon would be of no help in facilitating the rescu

April 28, 2014