[Editorial] Policy continuity

As in any other sector, policies on education and employment should be consistent ― especially if they are seen to have taken the right direction. A change of government in itself cannot and should not be a reason for dropping policies that have brought positive effects.From this viewpoint, it is regrettable and undesirable that the number of high school graduates landing jobs at public institutions and private companies has been decreasing under the incumbent government of President Park Geun-h

Dec. 26, 2013

[Editorial] Circular shareholding

A bill banning chaebol companies from making fresh circular equity investments in sister firms is likely to be passed in the National Assembly within this year. If enacted, the bill is expected to improve corporate governance. The current law bans cross-shareholding between two units of a business group. To work around this ban, chaebol groups use circular shareholding structures. An ownership loop is created when Company A makes an equity investment in Company B, which buys a stake in Company C

Dec. 25, 2013

[Editorial] PKO troops in Sudan

Controversy has arisen after Korean peacekeepers in South Sudan received 10,000 rounds of ammunition from Japan’s Peacekeeping Operations troops in the war-torn African country.The 280-member Korean contingent, Hanbit, has been stationed since March in the town of Bor, some 170 kilometers north of Juba, the capital. Last week, the town was seized by rebels, prompting the Korean troops to step up a defense posture.The Hanbit troops’ mission is to assist in the country’s reconstruction efforts. As

Dec. 25, 2013

[Editorial] Principled compromise

The prolonged standoff between President Park Geun-hye’s administration and the railway workers on strike has blown into a full-scale confrontation between the government and labor since last Sunday’s police raid on the headquarters of an umbrella union to arrest strike leaders presumed to have been holed up there. To the embarrassment of the police, officers failed to capture any of the leaders, who had apparently slipped out of the offices of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions shortly be

Dec. 24, 2013

[Editorial] Transparent expenses

Officials at key judiciary, legislative and law enforcement institutions were recently found to have used money set aside to help them carry out work in an unclear and improper manner.The national budget has annually earmarked a certain amount of money to cover expenses incurred in the process of implementing official duties related to investigation, inspection, taxation and other specific fields. This year, about 652 billion won ($614 million) was allocated for this purpose.The state auditor la

Dec. 24, 2013

[Editorial] Suits for damages

Courts have recently handed down a series of stiff rulings against workers involved in illegal strikes. These rulings are welcome as they will help curb illegitimate industrial action and union militancy. Last Thursday, the district court in Ulsan told 22 irregular workers of Hyundai Motor to pay 9 billion won to the carmaker for the losses they had inflicted on it by staging an illegal strike in 2010. The figure represents the largest-ever award of damages in relation to an illegal strike. In N

Dec. 23, 2013

[Editorial] Preemptive restructuring

Major Korean business groups facing potential liquidity problems are rushing to sell off assets to shore up their balance sheets. This is a well-advised move in light of the recent debacles of the STX and Tongyang groups, both of which collapsed under excessive debt burdens.On Sunday, Hyundai Group, a second-tier conglomerate separate from Hyundai Motor Group, announced it would dispose of an array of assets to raise 3.3 trillion won ($3.1 billion). It will use the proceeds to lower the average

Dec. 23, 2013

[Editorial] Ratcheting up threats

South Korea’s defense minister referred to the possibility of a North Korean military provocation last Tuesday, as he had often done in the past. But this time, he gave a specific time frame. He said the possibility was high that North Korea would provoke the South from late January to early March. Detractors denounced him for making such a grave comment without providing backup information and, by doing so, fanning fear among the public. His warning, however, deserved keen public attention, giv

Dec. 22, 2013

[Editorial] Failure to connect

It should be disconcerting to President Park Geun-hye and those close to her that her approval rating has fallen below the 50 percent mark for the first time since her inauguration in February. Even more worrying should be the sharp drop in the rating.According to an opinion poll conducted by Gallup Korea from Monday through Thursday, those who approved of her performance accounted for 48 percent of the respondents, down 6 percentage points from the previous week. The big drop should have come a

Dec. 22, 2013

Is Xi Jinping a new ‘paramount leader’ in China?

HONG KONG ― Before China’s leadership transition earlier this year, experts said that the Chinese Communist Party was intent on preventing a larger-than-life personality from assuming power. The CCP, it was argued, wanted someone more like the bureaucratic outgoing leader, Hu Jintao, rather than a charismatic successor like, say, the former Chongqing provincial governor Bo Xilai.Yet the new president and CCP leader, Xi Jinping, is hardly dull. He began his term by paying homage to Deng Xiaoping

Dec. 22, 2013

[Editorial] New KT chairman

Barring the unexpected, Hwang Chang-gyu, a former Samsung Electronics semiconductor veteran, will be installed as new chief executive officer of KT, the second largest mobile service operator in the nation, next month. Few would say he is unqualified, with his management skills having already been proven. Still, he will have so many obstacles to overcome during his three-year term in office.When it picked Hwang, now a university professor, as the next KT chairman on Monday, the CEO selection com

Dec. 20, 2013

[Editorial] Lessons of 2013

One year has passed since Park Geun-hye was elected president by earning 51.6 percent of the vote against the 48 percent of her opponent, Moon Jae-in. In her acceptance speech, she promised to do many things, including achieving national reconciliation and launching a new era of happiness for all South Koreans. Throughout 2013, however, she has had difficulties delivering on her campaign pledges. The government has submitted a host of reform bills to the National Assembly to implement her promis

Dec. 19, 2013

[Editorial] End to wage disputes

The Supreme Court has sent shockwaves through the business community by expanding the scope of “ordinary wage.”The top court has ruled that bonuses constitute ordinary wages if they have been paid “on a regular, uniform and fixed basis” ― regardless of the length of the payment intervals. This reverses the government’s rule that has been in place for the past 25 years. The rule regards bonuses as part of ordinary pay only when they are paid on a monthly basis. It excludes bonuses paid quarterly

Dec. 19, 2013

[Editorial] Firm security posture

The volatile situation in North Korea following the execution of its young leader Kim Jong-un’s uncle and guardian, Jang Song-taek, is posing an immediate and serious security concern for South Korea, which has already been grappling with a complex set of disputes with neighboring powers.During meetings with her senior secretaries and top security officials this week, President Park Geun-hye warned that the North might resort to “reckless provocations” to cover up internal vulnerabilities. As sh

Dec. 18, 2013

[Editorial] Anti-Korean sentiment

It may be understandable that Japanese sentiment toward South Korea, like the Korean attitude toward Japan, has been deteriorating amid longstanding disputes between the two countries over historical and territorial issues. But the results of a recent survey conducted by a Japanese newspaper and Gallup showed it was far worse than officials and commentators here had thought.The poll found that only 16 percent of Japanese citizens trusted South Korea, while 72 percent did not trust it at all. Res

Dec. 18, 2013

[Editorial] Pork-barrel politics

As in previous years, lawmakers deliberating the government’s budget proposal are keen to secure state funding for their districts, a practice called pork-barreling. Their enthusiasm appears to be stronger than usual due to the local elections slated for next year.As a result, all 12 of the Assembly’s 16 standing committees that have finished deliberations approved a budget increase. The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee had the biggest rise in requested funding, at 2.3 trillion won,

Dec. 17, 2013

[Editorial] Protracted rail strike

The rail workers’ strike has entered its 10th day and still shows no sign of letup. The walkout, the longest ever of its kind, is already taking a heavy toll on passengers and industries that depend on rail transport. The government is stepping up pressure on the striking workers of Korea Railroad Corp. to end their illegal action. Prosecutors are tracking down the 10 union leaders for whom the court has approved arrest warrants.They applied for the warrants after President Park Geun-hye denounc

Dec. 17, 2013

[Editorial] Youth unemployment

Figures released last week by the national statistics office showed Korea’s labor market conditions were improving, with a growing number of new jobs being created. The number of people with employment stood at 25.53 million in November, up 588,000 from a year earlier, meaning that the jobless rate has decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 2.7 percent. This year-on-year monthly increase in jobs was the largest since September last year, when 685,000 new jobs were created.The job data has heighten

Dec. 16, 2013

[Editorial] Overseas assistance

The Seoul government in 2010 announced a plan to increase its official development assistance to 0.25 percent of Korea’s gross national income by 2015. A year earlier, Korea joined the 24-member Development Assistance Committee, a core group within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development comprised of 34 affluent nations. With the DAC entry, Korea became the world’s first country that had advanced from a recipient of aid to a donor.The plan set up in 2010, which is aimed at rais

Dec. 16, 2013

[Editorial] Prelude to downfall

On the eve of the second anniversary of his enthronement, North Korea’s young leader Kim Jong-un faces the biggest test of whether he will be able to consolidate his one-man rule. On Friday, the North executed Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle who has long been regarded as the No. 2 man, for committing treason, mismanaging the economy, engaging in factionalism and indulging in corruption. Jang’s execution came just four days after he was removed from all his positions and expelled from the Workers’ P

Dec. 15, 2013