[Editorial] NK drone infiltration

The latest infiltration of five North Korean drones into South Korean airspace on Monday sparked heated criticism on the South’s military preparedness and raised many bewildering questions about whether there is an effective way to track and shoot down small uncrewed aerial vehicles at all. On Tuesday, the South Korean military apologized for its apparent failure to properly respond to the North Korean drones that flew over densely populated Seoul and residential areas along the western in

Dec. 29, 2022

[Editorial] Harassment signal

The majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea recently disclosed the identities of prosecutors investigating allegations involving its leader Lee Jae-myung. It is said to have distributed the list of prosecutors to its members and supporters via the internet. The list shows the names, job titles, and photos of 16 prosecutors of Seoul Central District and Suwon District, the allegations they are investigating -- the Daejang-dong land speculation scandal, Ssangbangwool‘s suspicious payme

Dec. 28, 2022

[Editorial] Budget, debt and populism

The National Assembly finally passed the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s budget for 2023, set at 638.7 trillion won ($499.7 billion), on Saturday -- 22 days after its legal deadline of Dec. 2 amid lingering concerns about state debt and populist moves by lawmakers. After fierce wrangling over budget details, lawmakers from the ruling and main opposition parties worked out a compromise that slashed around 310 billion won of the original government budget proposal of 639 trillion won. Not onl

Dec. 27, 2022

[Editorial] A deplorable ride

The act of using the deadly Oct. 29 Itaewon crowd surge for political gain deserves condemnation. Investigation is underway and the National Assembly launched a probe to uncover the truth and figure out ways to prevent similar disasters. In this respect, the belatedly revealed act of Shin Hyun-young, a National Assembly member of the majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea, is not only deplorable, but also needs to be investigated. Shin resigned Tuesday as a member of the special Assembl

Dec. 26, 2022

[Editorial] New Year’s press conference

President Yoon Suk-yeol may not hold his first New Year’s press conference as the presidential office is said to be skipping the crucial and customary event. However, Yoon is encouraged to go for the press conference, not only for clarifying his stance on various national issues, but also for making good on his pledge to better communicate with the public through the media. According to media reports, the presidential office decided to skip the presidential conference next year for mainly

Dec. 23, 2022

[Editorial] Opaque accounting

Budget execution by two labor groups -- the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions -- and government subsidies to the two groups are on the chopping block as the government began to take issue with opaque accounting practices of labor unions. The Office for Government Policy Coordination, under the Prime Minister's Secretariat, is said to have instructed the Ministry of Employment and Labor and other related ministries on Monday to grasp the scale o

Dec. 22, 2022

[Editorial] Economic headwinds ahead

South Korea is expected to confront tough economic conditions in 2023, as weakening exports, coupled with global recession woes, could undercut the country’s growth momentum, even as prices are forecast to increase at a slower pace. Major economic agencies at home and abroad predicted the country’s economic growth rate will be limited to the 1 percent range next year, raising concerns about an economic slowdown. The underlying reasons for a gloomy outlook involve stubbornly high infl

Dec. 21, 2022

[Editorial] No shaking basis of policy

The Board of Audit and Inspection is speeding up its audit of allegations that important national statistics were distorted under the Moon Jae-in administration. The audit of the national statistics system started in September. The board called in Statistics Korea officials for investigation, followed by its two ex-commissioners under Moon -- Hwang Soo-kyung and her successor Kang Shin-wook. The audit seems to be near its end. Hong Jang-pyo, Moon's former senior secretary on economic affa

Dec. 20, 2022

[Editorial] Japan's rearmament

As expected, Japan finalized the revisions to its three key security documents Friday, adopting a new security strategy that includes the possession of “counterstrike capability.” It will double its defense spending to about 2 percent of gross domestic product. It may be too early to say that Japan’s adoption of a new security change will be limited to purely defend itself against possible attacks from China, North Korea and Russia. What’s certain, though, is that given J

Dec. 19, 2022

[Editorial] A new leap forward

A ceremony to mark the completion of the first unit of the Shin Hanul nuclear power plant in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday has more meaning than merely adding a nuclear reactor to the country. It is the nation's 27th nuclear reactor and the first completed under the pro-nuclear administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol. Its reactor "APR1400" is the first domestically designed model to adopt two fully localized core parts -- a human-machine interface system and r

Dec. 16, 2022

[Editorial] Labor market flexibility

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday the government will finalize its position on labor reform recommendations and push ahead with measures to protect the vulnerable in the labor market. Yoon referred to recommendations that the Future Labor Research Council, a state-led expert group, presented Monday -- a set of reform proposals aimed at overhauling a South Korean labor market saddled with rigid practices that has long undermined productivity growth. At the heart of the reform proposals are sub

Dec. 15, 2022

[Editorial] Impromptu voting

An absurd thing happened in the National Assembly. Ruling and opposition parties passed a bill in standing and legislation committees then voted it down in the plenary session of the National Assembly. Then, a day after it was thrown out, they agreed to process it again. The bill in question is an amendment to the Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) Act that will increase the issue limit of its debentures. Kepco has suffered a severe shortage of funds due to the previous administration's p

Dec. 14, 2022

[Editorial] Wrangling at National Assembly

South Korea’s political landscape has long been mired in wasteful wrangling at the National Assembly, where ruling and opposition party members clash with each other for partisan purposes while ignoring pressing issues for the country. The familiar pattern of partisan fighting is playing out again, threatening to derail and freeze the parliamentary process to handle key legislative tasks, including the budget for next year, as the opposition-controlled National Assembly passed a motion Sun

Dec. 13, 2022

[Editorial] Adhere to principle

A vote by truckers to call off their strike and return to work can be attributed to the government's strict adherence to the law and principles in responding to their walkout. Cargo Truckers Solidarity, a division of the Korean Public Service and Transportation Workers Union affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, withdrew its strike Friday. The withdrawal came 16 days after the strike began Nov. 24, demanding the abolition of the sunset provision of the "Freight Ra

Dec. 12, 2022

[Editorial] Meddling in the financial market

When President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in May, he vowed to promote free market principles, unlike his predecessor. In mid-October, Yoon publicly reaffirmed his stance that he is “a believer in a free market economy that respects the freedom and creativity of businesses.” But in a country where the government’s heavy intervention in the private as well as financial sectors had long been a norm, Yoon has yet to put his money where his mouth is. The problem is that Yoon may find

Dec. 9, 2022

[Editorial] Indoor mask mandate

A debate has been reignited over lifting indoor mask mandates as cautious attitudes toward COVID-19 infection is steadily being replaced by public complacency, but authorities and experts have offer mixed views about easing mandatory masking. The municipal government of Daejeon sent an official notification to the government’s COVID-19 response headquarters Sunday, saying it will lift the indoor mask mandates from next year through its own administrative order unless the central government

Dec. 7, 2022

[Editorial] No sanctuary in probe

Suh Hoon, former director of the National Security Office at Cheong Wa Dae, was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of “covering up the case of a fisheries official killed by North Korean troops in September 2020.” After media broke news that Lee Dae-jun, an official of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, was killed by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea after falling overboard a fisheries guidance boat and floating into North Korean waters, Suh jumped to the conclusion that Lee wa

Dec. 6, 2022

[Editorial] Neutrality matters

Few expect South Korean public broadcasters such as KBS, MBC and EBS to stay politically neutral, largely because their journalistic narratives have long been twisted and distorted to portray the views of the ruling party of the moment in a positive light. Some critics claim that public broadcasters are responsible themselves for making not-so-neutral TV programs and news reports, as if they exist only to serve the current administration and reflect the voices of ruling parties, while ignoring o

Dec. 5, 2022

[Editorial] Labor rule of law

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration's back-to-work order to drivers of bulk cement trailers carries significant meaning beyond its response to their strike. The order given for the first time ever on Wednesday was inevitable. Shipment of cement is said to have shrunken to a level of about 10 percent than usual. Works on more than half of construction sites across the country hit a snag. Past governments were swayed by militant labor unions, particularly those affiliated with the Korean Confede

Dec. 2, 2022

[Editorial] Guidelines for metaverse

The South Korean government this week unveiled a set of ethical guidelines for the fast-growing metaverse ecosystem, in a bid to deal with a growing number of problematic issues in virtual space. The Ministry of Science and ICT on Monday announced the nonbinding guidelines based on three core values -- sincere identity, safe experience and sustainable prosperity. The broad core values are designed to make sure users can develop their identity in a safe and sustainable virtual world. Under the

Dec. 1, 2022