[Editorial] Real estate police state

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea proposed a bill to punish real estate service providers and houseowners for rigging market prices. The bill also calls for the establishment of a new agency to scrutinize transactions. The agency will have the authority to look into loan accounts of financial institutions on real estate transactions if buyers and sellers are suspected of fixing market prices in designated regions. It can examine the flow of related funds and tax payment data kept by the Nat

Nov. 12, 2020

[Editorial] Wise response

US President-elect Joe Biden’s trade policy is expected to mark a shift from his predecessor Donald Trump’s unilateralism and protectionism to a more conventional approach based on multilateralism. Along with his other economic initiatives, Biden’s multilateral approach to trade issues will pose both opportunities and challenges for South Korea’s economy. President Moon Jae-in’s government is now urged to cooperate closely with local business associations and poli

Nov. 11, 2020

[Editorial] Don’t shake investigation

The Wolsong-1 nuclear reactor was shut down earlier than scheduled on the grounds that its economic value was low, but a state audit agency found that it had been unreasonably undervalued. As the prosecution stepped up investigations into the alleged undervaluation and the obstruction of the audit, leaders of the ruling Democratic Party and Justice Minister are pressing for a stop to the probe. DP Chairman Lee Nak-yon said Friday that the “prosecution must stop its dangerous and reckless

Nov. 10, 2020

[Editorial] Principled stance

With US President-elect Joe Biden set to enter the White House on Jan. 20, calls are rising here for Seoul to craft an approach befitting his emphasis on “principled diplomacy.” Under a Biden administration, the South Korea-US alliance will certainly be free of much of the uncertainty that has overshadowed it during President Donald Trump’s bumpy four-year term. Still, President Moon Jae-in’s government might find Biden’s team more delicate or difficult to deal wi

Nov. 9, 2020

[Editorial] Tax politics

The government is planning to reduce property taxes for individuals who own one home valued at 600 million won ($530,000) or less.　 Earlier, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea -- mindful of the municipal by-elections in Seoul and Busan next year -- demanded that the threshold be raised to 900 million won, but its attempts fell through due to the government’s strong opposition. But the government will maintain the minimum stockholding value for the imposition of stock transfer tax at 1

Nov. 6, 2020

[Editorial] Thorough scrutiny

The National Assembly this week undertook deliberations on the government-proposed budget for 2021, which is set at a record 555.8 trillion won ($489.2 billion), up 8.5 percent from this year. On Monday, the Assembly’s special committee on budget and accounts hosted a public hearing on the proposed spending plan. A two-day parliamentary session is being held through Thursday for lawmakers to ask questions of Cabinet members on a range of policies planned to be implemented next year. It wi

Nov. 5, 2020

[Editorial] A broken promise

By-elections for the Seoul and Busan mayors will be held in April next year after the posts were left vacant by two ruling party members who were accused of sexual misconduct.　 Under the constitution of the Democratic Party of Korea, the party cannot field candidates in the by-elections. The internal rule prohibits the party from fielding a candidate in a by-election called after a Democratic Party member loses the elected seat over “serious wrongdoing.”　 But the party was set to r

Nov. 4, 2020

[Editorial] Inflexible stance

South Korea’s Labor Standards Act was amended in February 2018 to reduce the maximum weekly working hours to 52 from 68. The reduced workweek came into force for companies with 300 or more employees in July last year. At the outset of this year, it was applied to small and medium-sized enterprises with 50 to 299 workers. Violators of the revised workweek rules are subject to up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won ($17,630). The government has deferred the punishment

Nov. 3, 2020

[Editorial] NK’s buck-passing

Regarding its killing of a South Korean fisheries official at the West Sea on Sept. 22, the North said Friday that the incident happened because the South failed to exercise proper control over its people. Through its Korean Central News Agency, North Korea argued that South Korea was the first to blame for the shooting death of its citizen. The North overturned its position 35 days after its leader Kim Jong-un offered an apology on Sept. 25 saying that he feels “very sorry.” It e

Nov. 2, 2020

[Editorial] Path to recovery

Apparently buoyed by positive figures released by the Bank of Korea on Tuesday, President Moon Jae-in said in his parliamentary speech on the proposed budget for 2021 the following day that it was time for a full-fledged push to revitalize the economy. He stressed the need to continue an expansionary fiscal policy to help achieve a full economic recovery and a win in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, which he said the country should catch at the same time without fail. His administrat

Oct. 30, 2020

[Editorial] Keep veto intact

An agency to investigate corruption cases involving high-ranking officials exclusively instead of the prosecution is likely in breach of the Constitution. Related legislative procedures last year were undemocratic. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea secretly promised to help revise the election law in favor of minor parties in return for their cooperation in passing the agency bill. The National Assembly speaker approved a forcible resignation of a lawmaker who vowed to vote down the bill in

Oct. 29, 2020

[Editorial] Inequitable taxation

Late Samsung Group chief Lee Kun-hee’s heirs, including his only son Jae-yong, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, are set to shoulder a record amount of inheritance tax, as he left behind about 18 trillion won ($15.9 billion) in stock assets. The total inheritance tax to be paid by them is estimated to be close to 11 trillion won, exceeding the total of 10.6 trillion won that the National Tax Service collected in inheritance tax from 2016 to 2019. The case, which also concerns the

Oct. 28, 2020

[Editorial] Big shoes to fill

Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who died Sunday at the age of 78, was an innovative businessman who led Samsung to the top of the world.　 In the second half of the 20th century, South Korea belatedly started industrialization and struggled to catch up with the advanced economies of the West. Products made in Korea were seen in the global market as cheap second- or third-class imitations.　 When he took the helm of Samsung Group at the age of 45 in November 1987 after his father, the founder of th

Oct. 27, 2020

[Editorial] Sobering reminder

China has made much of the 70th anniversary of its troops entering the 1950-53 Korean War to send a warning to the US with tensions between the two superpowers at their highest in decades. South Korean and the US-led UN coalition forces were pushed back to the 38th parallel dividing the peninsula after China weighed in on the side of North Korea. In his speech Friday marking the anniversary, Chinese President Xi Jinping said what China hails as a victory in the war, essentially fought to a blo

Oct. 26, 2020

[Editorial] Flu vaccine fear

With more deaths reported to be possibly connected to flu vaccinations, health authorities said that a direct connection between the deaths and the flu vaccines has not been confirmed. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said the current situation is not so serious as to suspend flu vaccinations. Nevertheless, concerns about the safety of seasonal flu shots are not diminishing, as reports of potential flu shot fatalities are increasing. The number of deaths suspected of being linke

Oct. 23, 2020

[Editorial] Undue shutdown

In its long-overdue audit report made public Tuesday, the Board of Audit and Inspection said the economic viability of the country’s second-oldest nuclear reactor was unreasonably undervalued in determining its early closure. The Wolsong-1 reactor in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, was shut down last year, earlier than scheduled, by the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., which cited the negative assessment on the profitability of the facility’s continual operation.

Oct. 22, 2020

[Editorial] Stop the death of couriers

Lamentable deaths of parcel couriers are occurring in succession. According to a coalition of 67 civic groups and labor unions formed to improve their working conditions, a courier of Hanjin Express, identified as Kim (36), was found dead at his home in Seoul on Oct. 12. Kim used to complain to those around him about his long work. In a text message sent to his colleagues on Oct. 8, four days before his death, he said: “I will be home by 5 am and I have to eat, wash and go to the termin

Oct. 21, 2020

[Editorial] Sluggish exports

South Korea’s exports, a main driver of its economic growth, rose for the first time in seven months in September, helped by increased shipments of chips and automobiles as its trade partners gradually resumed business activities hit by the pandemic crisis. Outbound shipments from Asia’s fourth-largest economy reached $48 billion last month, up 7.7 percent from a year earlier, according to figures from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The gain marked the largest monthly i

Oct. 20, 2020

[Editorial] ‘Jeonse refugee’

Things that South Koreans have never experienced before are happening in the “jeonse” market. The jeonse is a type of housing lease where a homeowner leases out a living space for a lump-sum deposit and returns the money when the renter moves out. Some renters are said to be demanding “compensation” money from landlords for moving out upon the expiration of their jeonse contracts. Some homeowners have reportedly fallen in a pickle when they try to sell their rental hom

Oct. 19, 2020

[Editorial] OPCON transfer

North Korea’s display of upgraded strategic and conventional weapons last week has raised the need to reconsider the hasty manner in which South Korea is pushing to retake the wartime operational control (OPCON) of its forces from the US. The North showed off a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile and submarine-launched ballistic missile during Saturday’s military parade held in Pyongyang to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers’ Party. Also

Oct. 16, 2020