[Editorial] All the president’s men

Choi Si-joong resigned from his second term as chairman of the Broadcasting and Communications Commission earlier this year when one of his close aides was accused of corruption. The former journalist who is known as a “mentor” of President Lee is now under investigation for receiving hundreds of million won from a construction businessman while he was helping Lee’s presidential campaign in 2007.Over the past four years, Choi is considered a senior member of the president’s inner circle, along w

April 24, 2012

[Editorial] East Sea, Sea of Japan

For millennia, East Asians called the sea located to the east of the Eurasian continent East Sea, and in more recent centuries, Western navigators called it the equivalent of the East Sea or Sea of Korea or Corea. Only from the late 19th century when Japan became an imperial power, did growing political influence lead “Sea of Japan” to overtake “East Sea” in international usage. Japanese official emphasis on the Sea of Japan is connected with Tokyo’s territorial claim to Dokdo, which it calls Ta

April 23, 2012

[Editorial] Starting presidential race

The race for the Dec. 19 presidential vote has begun. The election management commission opened its registry for “provisional candidates” Monday. Earlier on Sunday, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Moon-soo declared his candidacy first for the Saenuri Party. Park Geun-hye, Chung Mong-joon and Lee Jae-oh will follow soon.Both Saenuri and the main opposition Democratic United Party will hold nomination conventions in August. The focal issues in the two parties will be what rules they will adopt for the

April 23, 2012

[Editorial]Curbing gas prices

The government has come up with another package of measures to bring down soaring fuel prices. The latest steps announced on Thursday, however, are unlikely to have much impact.Government officials have long blamed high fuel prices on the dominance of the four refiners ― SK Innovation, GS Caltex, Hyundai Oilbank and S-Oil ― in the domestic oil product distribution market.These big refiners earn high margins, officials explain, by forcing exclusive supply contracts on gas stations. They can impos

April 22, 2012

[Editorial] Upgrading missile defense

On Thursday, the military did something quite unusual. It released a video clip of two South Korean-developed missiles ― a cruise missile that can strike any place in North Korea from any corner of the South and a ballistic missile that can devastate an area as large as dozens of soccer fields in a single blow.The military stopped short of disclosing the names and specifications of the new missiles; it just said that they have already been deployed. But the cruise missile was believed to be the

April 22, 2012

[Editorial] Private KTX operator

The administration has started the process of selecting a private operator of KTX high-speed trains departing from Suseo in southern Seoul, ignoring the political community’s demand that the matter be fully debated in the National Assembly before a final decision is made. It is emerging as a national issue of contention.On Thursday, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said a consortium will be selected in July or August and that it will be given the right to operate KTX trains r

April 20, 2012

[Editorial] Post-election blues

If ill-conceived nominations cost the opposition alliance a majority in the parliamentary election, the election of candidates with moral or ethical deficiencies is threatening to hurt the ruling Saenuri Party.When Kim Yong-min, a podcaster who gained fame for lampooning President Lee Myung-bak, was nominated by the opposition Democratic United Party, he was found to have made morally indefensible remarks, including those about Korean women forced into sexual slavery during World War II, on an I

April 20, 2012

[Editorial] Ill-advised subsidies

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has recently revised a regulation on daycare services to ensure that working moms and families with multiple children have priority in enrolling their toddlers at daycare facilities. The measure was necessitated by a surge in demand for daycare services for children aged 0-2 years. Starting March, the government expanded its subsidy program for children under 24 months old. Previously, the subsidy was given to families in the bottom 70 percent of the income lad

April 19, 2012

[Editorial] Changing tack with N.K.

The U.N. Security Council acted with unusual swiftness when it condemned North Korea on Monday for launching a long-range rocket. It took just three days for the council to toughen sanctions against the rogue regime for violating its previous resolutions. While the council’s response was timely, it lacked teeth needed to deter the wayward regime from making further provocations. On Tuesday, the North “resolutely and totally” rejected the council’s unanimous statement, asserting that it ignored i

April 19, 2012

[Editorial] More self-help needed

Employees in grade 5 and upward of the Yongin municipality are set to forfeit their pay raises this year ― a consequence of its ill-advised investment in a light-rail transit system. The municipality in Gyeonggi Province has also decided to cut perks for its employees and shelve big-ticket projects, including the replacement of dilapidated air-conditioning systems in school.The savings are estimated to total 22.6 billion won if such efforts are continued during the next five years. Yet the amoun

April 18, 2012

[Editorial] A magic solution?

Growth is slowing. The Bank of Korea, which forecast in December that the Korean economy would grow 3.7 percent this year, has recently trimmed the growth outlook to 3.5 percent.It should not come as a surprise if the central bank makes a spate of downward adjustments again, as it has done in the past. Last year, it had to revise its growth forecasts several times, as economic conditions worsened both in Korea and across the world.Bearing the direct impact are households, whose income is stallin

April 18, 2012

[Editorial] Pyongyang after rites

After days of costly rituals to mark the centenary of their eternal leader Kim Il-sung, North Koreans are returning to their usual routine with the decade-old goal of becoming a “mighty, prosperous state” still beckoning them like a mirage. Awaiting them in reality are tons of debris from an all-night fireworks display in Pyongyang and continuing shortages of food and necessities.The more gruesome fireworks show of launching a long-range rocket on Friday, April 13, failed when it exploded minute

April 17, 2012

[Editorial] Bo Xilai scandal

China’s state news agency Xinhua reported last week that the government had shut down 42 websites and arrested 1,065 people for “fabricating or disseminating online rumors.” Xinhua also revealed that Beijing police had deleted 208,000 “harmful” online messages during the past month. The report did not specify the contents of the rumors, but most Chinese and concerned outsiders know what the main targets of the nationwide crackdown were.Tourists returning from trips to China report that everybody

April 17, 2012

[Editorial] Last legislative service

The 19th National Assembly has been elected and the outgoing 18th Assembly will finish its term at the end of May. This means that the current legislature has only a month to act on the bills submitted to it since its inauguration in 2008. As proof of the low productivity of our representatives and their parties, there are more than 6,000 bills pending in the Assembly, about 400 of them proposed by the administration. If these bills are not handled during the final session of the present Assembl

April 16, 2012

[Editorial] Subway Line No. 9

Stunned by the sudden rise in fares for Seoul Subway Line No. 9 by an incredible 500 won from 1,050 won to 1,550 won, we are puzzled at an incomprehensible clause in the contract between Seoul City and the operating company of the newest transit system in the capital city. Article 51 of the contract reads: “The operating company can decide fares independently within a certain limit and the company should consult with the mayor of Seoul when it wants to raise the fare beyond that limit.” On the b

April 16, 2012

[Editorial] Assertive progressives

When the new National Assembly is inaugurated in June, the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party will continue to hold the exclusive power to negotiate the parliamentary operations. They will be the only parties that qualify as official negotiating groups. Still, they will certainly find chinks in the faade of the virtual two-party system, as a resurgent third party is set to have its voice heard. During the run-up to the parliamentary elections last week, few talk

April 15, 2012

[Editorial] What next?

As it had promised, the United States confirmed Friday that it suspended its commitment to providing North Korea with 240,000 tons of nutritional aid after the communist state defied the international community and went ahead with the launch of a satellite using a long-range missile. Washington suspended the aid even though North Korea failed to place the satellite into orbit. Washington threatened to take more sanctions if North Korea should engage in additional provocations. The warning came a

April 15, 2012

[Editorial] Reform amid stability

Now that the parliamentary election is over, political parties are shifting their focus to the presidential race. The Wednesday election was widely viewed as the precursor to the December poll. Yet there is no guarantee that the Saenuri Party victory will be repeated in eight months’ time. To win the crucial election in December, political parties should listen to the vox populi expressed in the parliamentary poll. This applies to the ruling Saenuri Party, as well as to the main opposition Democ

April 13, 2012

[Editorial] Tokyo’s futile Dokdo claim

On Wednesday, about 800 Japanese right-wingers gathered in Tokyo to reiterate their claim that Dokdo, Korea’s easternmost islets, is Japanese territory and urge the Tokyo government to act on the issue.The rally, organized by Shimane Prefecture of western Japan, is notable as it was the first of its kind held in Tokyo. Furthermore, the participants included some 60 Japanese lawmakers and senior government officials. Some of the politicians at the rally made highly provocative comments. For insta

April 13, 2012

[Editorial] Park Geun-hye power

Defying earlier predictions, the ruling Saenuri Party won a majority in the parliamentary elections on Wednesday and put the National Assembly under its control again. Due credit must be given to Rep. Park Geun-hye, who reorganized a party in disarray after the October by-elections and successfully rallied conservative voters behind the party.It was not just pre-election opinion polls but exit polls that indicated that the opposition alliance could beat the ruling party. They did not even rule o

April 12, 2012