[Editorial] Still in quagmire

One-and-a-half months have passed since the presidential election, but the main opposition Democratic United Party is still trying to work out why it failed to win.The opposition party sponsored 12 rounds of debate on the question from Jan. 23-30. On the morning of Jan. 30, for instance, a group of 10 first- and second-term lawmakers affiliated with the party held a forum to evaluate the Dec. 19 election and the prospects for future presidential elections. In the afternoon, female lawmakers deal

Feb. 4, 2013

[Editorial] Preventive care

One controversial election pledge made by President-elect Park Geun-hye is her plan to provide free medical care for four disease groups: cancer, cerebrovascular disorders, heart problems and terminal illnesses.The scheme, if implemented, would lower the high medical bills of the people suffering from these major diseases. But critics question its wisdom and argue that the money needed to finance it should be used to tackle more serious challenges facing the nation’s health insurance program.In

Feb. 3, 2013

[Editorial] Bills are piling up

Budget officials are having a hard time drawing up a funding plan for President-elect Park Geun-hye’s numerous campaign pledges. They have been told to secure 135 trillion won for five years from 2013 ― 60 percent of it by reforming the budget and the remaining 40 percent by increasing tax revenue without directly raising tax rates.Park has made the officials’ unenviable task all the more difficult by promising to provide provincial governments with fiscal support exceeding 10 trillion won a yea

Feb. 3, 2013

[Editorial] More development aid

A recent review by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee suggested a set of recommendations for enhancing Korea’s official aid, while appreciating the country’s increasing influence in the field of international development cooperation.Seoul was asked to increase grants and untied assistance for less developed and heavily indebted nations. In the first peer review of Korea since it became a DAC member in 2010, the group also called on the country to formulate a unified strategy for officia

Feb. 1, 2013

[Editorial] Accepting refugees

When Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s opposition leader, arrived here early this week for a five-day visit, she encountered a group of enthusiastic greeters who were moved to tears. For the Myanmar people staying here, it was a truly overwhelming moment to welcome the 67-year-old Nobel Peace laureate, who was released from two decades of house arrest in 2010 and was elected to the parliament of the Southeast Asian country last year.It must have been particularly so for those who left their home count

Feb. 1, 2013

[Editorial] Beyond loyalty

President-elect Park Geun-hye will have to start the process of selecting her first prime minister all over again, as her first choice, Kim Yong-joon, withdrew from his designation Tuesday, as one suspicion after another was raised about his background.With her inauguration scheduled for Feb. 25, she will have to speed up the process. It is not just the prime minister-designate but candidates for other Cabinet posts that will have to go through confirmation processes at the National Assembly.Mor

Jan. 31, 2013

[Editorial] What next?

On its third attempt Wednesday, Korea launched a rocket from home soil and put a scientific satellite in orbit. The next day, the satellite was found to function as intended. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the state-funded space program developer, and its scientists deserve a hearty congratulations from all Koreans on their success.The success was all the more valuable because it came after two failed attempts ― in August 2009 when a technical hitch prevented the satellite from being pu

Jan. 31, 2013

[Editorial] Boosting service sector

During outgoing President Lee Myung-bak’s five-year term, which ends late next month, the economy grew at an average annual rate of 2.9 percent. The figure, far below the country’s potential growth rate estimated at 3.7 percent, is lower than that marked by any previous administration.Such poor performance should be all the more embarrassing for Lee, as the former construction company CEO won the 2007 presidential election on the platform of reinvigorating the economy. To be fair to him, the pro

Jan. 30, 2013

[Editorial] College restructuring

It is deplorable that a provincial college was found to have bribed high school teachers to attract more entrants. According to a recent announcement by the prosecution, the college in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, gave 228 million won ($210,000) to 48 teachers for three years since 2008 in return for guiding their students to attend it. The college paid 200,000 won for each entrant, and one teacher was accused of having received 47.8 million won for sending 239 students.Education officials

Jan. 30, 2013

[Editorial] Household debt

President-elect Park Geun-hye is quoted as saying that her administration will start to grapple with snowballing household debt upon its inauguration ― an indication how seriously she takes the problem. She made the commitment Friday and reaffirmed it Sunday ― on each occasion that she was briefed by her transition team on the economic issues to which her administration will have to give top priority.If she goes ahead with her commitment, Park will undoubtedly set herself apart from outgoing Pre

Jan. 29, 2013

[Editorial] Integrity in doubt?

A suspicious exemption from military service, let alone a downright draft evasion, is a great liability for people in pursuit of public office. Public opinion is so intolerant of what is seen to be an unjustifiable exemption that even conscientious objection is not legally permitted.The odds are stacked against not just those directly involved but those whose children are under suspicion. One such case involved a presidential nominee of the ruling Saenuri Party’s predecessor, whose son was decla

Jan. 29, 2013

[Editorial] Unwarranted pardon

Defying public outcry, President Lee Myung-bak is expected to announce a special pardon soon, possibly Tuesday. The Ministry of Justice has already submitted a presidential clemency proposal to Lee.The planned pardon has triggered public outcry as it reportedly includes some of Lee’s friends and aides who have been convicted of corruption. For this reason, President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team has voiced opposition to the amnesty plan. Yoon Chang-jung, spokesman of the team, said on Sa

Jan. 28, 2013

[Editorial] Digging own grave

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have decided to conduct another nuclear test. The North’s state media reported on Sunday that Kim had expressed his firm intention to take “substantial and high-profile state measures” in response to the Jan. 23 U.N. Security Council sanctions.The dispatch from the North’s Korean Central News Agency did not elaborate on the “measures,” but they were believed to be referring to an atomic bomb test in light of Pyongyang’s escalating threats to detonate a

Jan. 28, 2013

[Editorial] Boosting birthrate

It is good news but still far from relieving that the country’s fertility rate is estimated to have risen slightly to 1.3 children per woman last year. The rate, which means the average number of children born to a woman during her lifetime, needs to be at least 2.1 to keep the population from shrinking. In Korea, it has remained below that level since 1983, dipping to as low as 1.08 in 2005.A projection by a presidential commission last week put the country’s fertility rate for 2012 at 1.3, up

Jan. 27, 2013

[Editorial] Together we can

In Korea, there are about 192,000 registered people with intellectual disabilities, a relatively small proportion of the disabled population of 2.5 million. But experts estimate the actual number of the intellectually disabled exceeds 400,000 as many parents are reluctant to admit or disclose that their children are disabled.The negative perceptions and attitudes in Korean society toward people with intellectual disabilities, who are highly vulnerable as they are generally unaware of their right

Jan. 27, 2013

[Editorial] Old-age pension reform

Debate continues on President-elect Park Geun-hye’s plan to reform the current basic old-age pension. During her election campaign, Park put forward three interrelated proposals concerning the senior pension. First of all, she promised to double the monthly pension benefit from the present 97,100 won to 200,000 won.Then she proposed to make the increased benefit available to all senior citizens aged 65 or older, regardless of their income. Currently, the benefit is paid to people in the bottom 7

Jan. 25, 2013

[Editorial] Upholding rule of law

President-elect Park Geun-hye has surprised many by nominating Kim Yong-joon, chief of her transition team, to be the first prime minister of her government. But the nomination has clearly shown what values she cherishes most.One such value is the rule of law. She has repeatedly pledged to handle state affairs in compliance with the law. By nominating Kim, Park probably wanted to show that her pledges were not hollow rhetoric. Explaining why she picked Kim, 74, who served as a Constitutional Cou

Jan. 25, 2013

[Editorial] Corporate spending

Most of the nation’s conglomerates have not yet fixed their investment plans for this year, as they are still trying to sort out uncertainties over future currency fluctuations and economic policies to be taken by the incoming administration. The 10 largest business groups, except for LG, which announced on Jan. 5 it would invest 20 trillion won ($18.7 billion) in 2013, have delayed disclosing their plans, which usually came in mid-January in past years.Samsung, the biggest conglomerate, put for

Jan. 24, 2013

[Editorial] Price for provocation

The U.N. Security Council’s latest sanctions against North Korea, which were approved unanimously by its 15 members Tuesday, should signal ― as noted by U.S. ambassador Susan Rice ― that the impoverished regime will have to pay “an increasingly steep price” if it continues confrontation with the international community.The resolution imposing new penalties against Pyongyang for its long-range rocket launch last month was a compromise between the U.S. and China, which had held weeks of negotiatio

Jan. 24, 2013

[Editorial] Rapidly falling yen

It would be unusual for the chief of the Korean central bank to make public his intention of intervening in the foreign exchange market, and all the more so if he singled out a specific country as the one having prompted the shift in policy.That was what Kim Choong-soo, governor of the Bank of Korea, did when he met with foreign correspondents based in Seoul last week. Kim, who used to say it would not be appropriate for the central bank head to comment on foreign exchange policy, went out of hi

Jan. 23, 2013