[Editorial] China and N.K. refugees

Large numbers of North Koreans cross the Amnok (Yalu) and Duman (Tumen) Rivers into China to escape from hunger and repression. Only the privileged few get official travel permission for business or visits with their relatives but most risk their lives as they swim across narrow and shallow points o

Oct. 17, 2011

[Editorial] ‘Occupy Yeouido’ rally

Anti-capitalism protests, which took shape in New York a month ago to decry Wall Street bankers, swept across the world Saturday. Angry protesters rallied in hundreds of cities all over the world, denouncing greedy financiers and ineffectual politicians for ruining the global economy and condemning

Oct. 16, 2011

[Editorial] Prosecution-police clash

The prosecution and the police are again locking horns over police officers’ right to open criminal investigations. In June, the two law enforcement agencies fought bitterly over the issue, which prompted the resignation of the then prosecutor general, Kim Joon-gyu. The dispute was papered over with

Oct. 16, 2011

[Editorial] Whither labor movement?

More than 100 days have passed since the multiple labor union system went into effect on July 1. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, a total of 498 new unions were established during the first 100 days. These unions appear to be already exerting palpable influence on Korea’s labor mov

Oct. 14, 2011

[Editorial] Speed up FTA ratification

The U.S. Congress has finally ratified the Korea-United States free trade agreement, demonstrating America’s commitment to upgrading and expanding the long-standing military alliance between the two countries to encompass the economic dimension. With Washington completing its part of the deal, the b

Oct. 14, 2011

[Editorial] Lee’s land purchase

The controversy over plots of land President Lee Myung-bak purchased in the name of his son is not dying down even though he has started the process of registering it under his name. The fault is Lee’s own.Lee bought the land in the outskirts of Seoul in May this year to build a new home in which to

Oct. 13, 2011

[Editorial] Bracing for low growth

The administration’s 2012 budget awaiting deliberation at the National Assembly is based on a 4.5 percent growth forecast. Few expect growth will be that high.At the outset of this year, the administration said it expected growth would be at 5 percent next year, but the official growth outlook has s

Oct. 13, 2011

[Editorial] Credit card row

The Financial Supervisory Commission is under fire for its plan to allow small retailers and merchants to refuse credit card payments for small-value transactions under 10,000 won.The commission’s plan is intended to address the long-running resentment of small, self-employed shop owners toward cred

Oct. 12, 2011

[Editorial] Curbing carbon emissions

Korea has begun to take concrete steps to deliver on its pledge to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 2009, the government announced a plan to cut the nation’s carbon emissions in 2020 by 30 percent from the projected business-as-usual level or 4 percent below its 2005 level. On Monday,

Oct. 12, 2011

[Editorial] U.S. military discipline

News pictures showing a U.S. Army general in camouflage fatigues on a nightly inspection of the Itaewon district of Seoul taking a team of MPs along were impressive enough to convince the host Koreans of earnest efforts of U.S. military authorities to keep their young soldiers from making trouble. L

Oct. 11, 2011

[Editorial] Lee’s U.S. visit

Although it was not originally planned that way, President Lee Myung-bak’s official state visit to Washington is about to coincide with the vote on the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement bill in U.S. Congress. It may also be said that the congressional process for the ratification of the bilateral FTA

Oct. 11, 2011

[Editorial] New chief justice’s ideas

New Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae has a very good idea about removing the worst blot in Korea’s legal system, the favoritism between incumbent judges and prosecutors and their retired ex-colleagues who practice law. Yang, who took office late September, told a TV interview that the best way to cut th

Oct. 10, 2011

[Editorial] Overseas Hangeul promotion

When it was reported that the local government of a remote Indonesian city decided to use Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, as its official writing system in 2009, many wondered how the decision would be practically implemented, while feeling pride in the overseas recognition of the excellence of the Ko

Oct. 10, 2011

[Editorial] Global patent war

Competition for patents is intensifying among global technology companies as growing technological convergence has blurred the boundaries that once separated them. This race for patents was recently well illustrated by Apple Inc. and Google Inc. In June, Apple purchased some 6,000 telecom patents he

Oct. 9, 2011

[Editorial] Punishment for sex crimes

The government has toughened punishment for sex crimes against people with disabilities. The measures, announced Friday, came following public outcry over the mild punishments given to teachers at a special school for the hearing-impaired in Gwangju, who raped and sexually assaulted their students.T

Oct. 9, 2011

[Editorial] Brace for the worst

The nation’s foreign exchange reserves fell by a margin of $8.8 billion to $303.3 billion between the end of August and the end of September, the largest drop since November 2008. The decline, government officials say, resulted mainly from the weakening value of assets held in euros and pounds.There

Oct. 7, 2011

[Editorial] Post-court ruling action

With Lone Star Funds found guilty of stock-price manipulation, the Financial Services Commission is set to take post-ruling measures, including ordering the Texas-based private equity firm to dispose of the stake it holds in Korea Exchange Bank in excess of a 10 percent stake.In a retrial ordered by

Oct. 7, 2011

[Editorial] R&D efficiency

In recent years, Korea’s R&D investment by both public and private sectors has increased sharply. The incumbent government has been keen to boost R&D spending under the so-called “Science and Technology 577 Plan,” which calls for increasing the nation’s R&D investment to 5 percent of GDP by 2012 and

Oct. 6, 2011

[Editorial] Boost for software industry

Lee Suk-chae, chairman of KT Corp., one of Korea’s leading telecom operators, has recently surprised domestic software developers by announcing that it will reform its predatory software procurement practices. His reform initiative deserves attention as it could revitalize the domestic software indu

Oct. 6, 2011

[Editorial] Local fiscal prudence

Fiscal prudence is not just demanded of the central government. The need to maintain fiscal soundness also applies to metropolitan, provincial and municipal governments. Local debt is no less serious than national debt, on which public attention has been mainly focused until recently.But some of the

Oct. 5, 2011