[Editorial] Fostering healthy competition

The Fair Trade Commission recently ordered the Korean Bar Association and the Seoul Bar Association to lift a ban on their member lawyers’ use of LawTalk, a legal counseling platform, and fined each association 1 billion won ($760,000). It is the largest possible fine imposed by the commission on a business association. The commission judged that the prohibition of lawyers’ advertisements on the platform restricts free competition among lawyers and consumer choice of lawyers. It al

Feb. 28, 2023

[Editorial] Pattern of shameless acts

You don’t have to be a Stoic to understand what Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius said: “Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.” Some South Korean elites, however, are doing the exact opposite to defend their wayward children. A striking example is the controversy surrounding Chung Sun-sin, 57, who was appointed Friday to head the National Office of Investigation, only to resign Saturday over his son’s bullying in high school that had reportedly caused the victim t

Feb. 27, 2023

[Editorial] Population disaster

South Korea's total fertility rate fell to 0.78 last year, down from 0.81 a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. The total fertility rate is the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime. Experts believe the rate should be at least 2.1 to keep South Korea's population stable. The country's rate last year is the lowest since 1970, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. In 2018, the country’s total fertility rate dropped below 1 for t

Feb. 24, 2023

[Editorial] Fighting drug crimes

South Korean prosecutors launched a special investigation unit Tuesday to fight growing drug crimes including large-scale drug trafficking and the spread of drug sales through internet channels. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office said the special unit is made up of four investigation teams at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and district prosecutors' offices in Incheon, Busan and Gwangju, respectively. The special teams represent the country’s latest attempt to co

Feb. 23, 2023

[Editorial] Opaque accounting

The nation’s two largest labor groups, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, are found to have received 152 billion won ($117 million) in subsidies over the past five years from the Ministry of Employment and Labor and 17 regional governments -- eight cities including Seoul and nine provinces. According to data disclosed by Kweon Seon-dong, a People Power Party lawmaker, the groups received 17.7 billion won in subsidies from the ministry and 13

Feb. 22, 2023

[Editorial] A tricky decision

The Bank of Korea is scheduled to announce its benchmark interest rate on Thursday, following heightened attention on the market and growing concerns over their tightening monetary policy. Last month the central bank raised its interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.5 percent, a seventh straight rate increase since April last year. It also marked the 10th rate hike, totaling a combined 3 percentage points, since August 2021, when the BOK started “normalizing” the low rate. Opinions ar

Feb. 21, 2023

[Editorial] Let the court judge

The majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea declared “war” on the prosecution for requesting a warrant to arrest its leader Lee Jae-myung. It is bracing up for the battle to vote down the request for the National Assembly’s consent to Lee's arrest. If the prosecution asks for a warrant to arrest a lawmaker, the court sends a request to the prosecution to seek the National Assembly's consent to the arrest. The prosecution forwards the request to the National As

Feb. 20, 2023

[Editorial] Temporary fix

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday the government would freeze the price of public utilities, at least for the first half of the year, in a bid to ease the growing financial burden on the public following outcry over soaring heating bills and high inflation. At a meeting of economic ministers, Yoon requested the central government freeze public utility bills -- road, railroad and postal fees -- for the first half of this year. He also asked provincial governments to cooperate in stabilizing

Feb. 17, 2023

[Editorial] Salaried workers' blues

The government collected 57.4 trillion won ($45.3 billion) in earned income tax last year. The revenue increased 21.6 percent or 10.2 trillion won in a year. Compared with five years ago or 2017, it swelled 68.8 percent or 23.4 trillion won. Revenues from overall national taxation and general income tax increased 49.2 percent and 49.4 percent, respectively, over the five-year period. Total withholding income tax levied on salaried employees increased much faster than both general income tax an

Feb. 16, 2023

[Editorial] Fatal child abuse

In back-to-back incidents, two young children have been found dead in Incheon this month in connection with alleged abuse and negligence by their parents, igniting criticism over the repeated failures of child protection services to safeguard children. On Feb. 2, a 2-year-old boy was found dead. Incheon Police Station took a 24-year-old woman into custody on suspicion of leaving her son at home alone for three days. Police suspect that the boy died of starvation, though investigations are still

Feb. 15, 2023

[Editorial] Public role of banks

The top four commercial banks in South Korea posted record-breaking profits last year, greatly helped by the wide gap in deposit and lending rates following a steady rise in interest rates amid raging disputes over their “easy” profits and their public role. Shinhan Bank led the pack by posting 4.64 trillion won ($3.66 billion) in net profit last year, followed by KB Kookmin Bank with 4.41 trillion won, Woori Bank at 3.17 trillion won and Hana Bank's 3.62 trillion won. The stell

Feb. 13, 2023

[Editorial] Political abuse

The majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea and two minor parties pushed a motion to impeach Interior Minister Lee Sang-min through the National Assembly on Wednesday. It is the nation’s first-ever impeachment of a Cabinet member. He was suspended from his duties immediately. There were great concerns that the impeachment was inappropriate in many respects, but the Democratic Party shut its ears. The relationship between the ruling People Power Party and the Democratic Party will

Feb. 10, 2023

[Editorial] Dispute on start of old age

How old is old? In South Korea, there is one simple measure. If you turn 65, you are officially identified as a senior citizen and are eligible for free subway rides. But the age of 65 that delimits “old age” here might be raised to 70 in the near future, something that could force many poverty-stricken elderly people to stay home. More important, raising the eligibility age for free subway rides involves more than the perception of older adults in Korea. It is a complex matter linke

Feb. 9, 2023

[Editorial] Absurd bills for Lee

The Democratic Party of Korea is said to be preparing a horde of bills to pressure prosecutors and restrict their rights, as the prosecution is on the brink of indicting its leader, Lee Jae-myung, in connection with an array of alleged irregularities that transpired when he was the mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and the governor of Gyeonggi Province. Lawmakers of the majority opposition party took to the streets last Saturday and condemned the "prosecutors' tyranny" -- an

Feb. 8, 2023

[Editorial] Price debacle

Soaring energy bills, led by gas and electricity, are hitting South Korean households, already saddled with rising interest rates and stubbornly high inflation that erode into disposable income amid few signs of an economic recovery. The latest energy price figures released Sunday by the Korean Statistical Information Service shows how big increases have been made for the prices of essential utilities such as gas and electricity in a year -- and is an indicator of how painful it is for Koreans t

Feb. 7, 2023

[Editorial] Time for self-reflection

The prison sentence given to former Justice Minister Cho Kuk is founded on a court judgment that those who undermine the fairness of our society should be punished severely. The court sentenced him to two years in jail. The ruling came three years and two months after he was indicted for forging his daughter's credentials to facilitate her admission into a medical school and abusing his power when he was senior presidential secretary for civil affairs. Cho strongly denied the charges, but t

Feb. 6, 2023

[Editorial] Chip slump hits exports

South Korea suffered a record-high trade deficit in January, hammered by the sluggish demand for semiconductors, a major export item, amid worries about a global economic slowdown that could further depress the country’s exports in the coming months. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Wednesday, the country's outbound shipments dropped 16.6 percent on-year to $46.27 billion in January. Imports shrank by 2.6 percent on-year to $58.96 billion, a relatively small

Feb. 3, 2023

[Editorial] Remittance connection

Kim Seong-tae, the former chairman of underwear maker Ssangbangwool Group, allegedly said he gave North Korea $3 million in 2019 to facilitate then-Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung's visit to the North. Lee is the leader of the majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea. Previously, Kim told prosecutors that he handed a total of more than $5 million to North Korea to obtain economic cooperation rights involving the North. However, grilled by prosecutors recently over the group's addition

Feb. 2, 2023

[Editorial] Soaring utility bills

Many South Koreans were deeply shocked to see their heating bills for December as a result of gas price hikes and more cold waves this winter. The so-called “heating bill bomb,” however, is not the last one. The heating bills for January will be equally, if not more, painful for most households. Worse still, other utility rates, led by electricity, are scheduled to be raised, putting more burdensome pressure on households and companies at a time when the country is still mired in an

Feb. 1, 2023

[Editorial] Unjustifiable silence

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung appeared at the prosecutor's office to be questioned as a suspect Saturday in connection with allegations over a property development project. It was the second time for the chair of the majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea to appear before the prosecutor for questioning after being interrogated in a separate corruption probe 18 days earlier. The questioning started at 10:30 a.m. and ended at 9 p.m., then Lee reviewed the interrogation report on hi

Jan. 31, 2023