[Editorial] Far-sightedness

South Korea’s economy is entering what seems to be shaping up to be a perfect storm, driven by rising fears over the rapid spread of a novel coronavirus. The crippling effects of the epidemic, which originated in China in December, is further weighing on the country’s economy, which has already lost its vitality largely due to ill-conceived policies pursued by the Moon Jae-in administration. Consumer spending has dwindled dramatically while industrial output is being disrupted. Ou

Feb. 26, 2020

[Editorial] Korea-phobia

With a surge of infections of the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19, South Korea has reached the pitiful state where it is treated as a “second Wuhan” in the international community. Hong Kong barred entry to nonresident travelers coming from Korea beginning Tuesday. Israel was one of the first countries to deny entry to visitors from Korea. On Saturday it sent back about 170 Koreans, on the same flight that brought them there, soon after they entered the country. Israel also ann

Feb. 25, 2020

[Editorial] Consequential mistake

It has become clear that President Moon Jae-in’s administration has made a consequential mistake in containing the spread of a novel coronavirus by hesitating to impose an entry ban on visitors from all parts of China. On Monday morning, Korea reported its seventh fatality from the epidemic and 161 new confirmed cases, bringing the total infections here to 763. Now the country has the largest number of infections outside China, where the deadly virus originated in December. Many infectio

Feb. 24, 2020

[Editorial] Brace for a protracted fight

The spread of COVID-19 is increasing sharply, with the bulk of new cases concentrated in Daegu and nearby North Gyeongsang Province. The number of confirmed cases in South Korea rose to 602 on Sunday, since the nation’s first case was reported Jan. 20. It was a whopping increase within just a few days, and five patients have already died. The new coronavirus that causes the disease has spread nationwide, with all eight metropolitan cities and nine provinces reporting confirmed cases.　 T

Feb. 23, 2020

[Editorial] Emergency prescription

Presiding over a weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Moon Jae-in called for all extraordinary measures to be taken to cope with what he described as an emergency economic situation. He said the situation required an emergency prescription, stressing the need to exert imaginative powers beyond expectations in making such efforts. His remarks came a day after he instructed his economic team to take strong measures to minimize the impact of the spread of a new coronavirus on the economy.

Feb. 20, 2020

[Editorial] New phase of infection

Infections of the novel coronavirus via unknown channels have begun to increase. The fourth such patient was confirmed in Seoul on Wednesday, three days after the first case emerged. On the same day, 18 new cases were confirmed in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. Fifteen of them are believed to have contracted COVID-19 from the third patient with an unknown transmission route who was reported a day earlier in Daegu. The fifth patient is said to have been infected through unknown channel

Feb. 19, 2020

[Editorial] Alternative force

With less than two months before the general election on April 15, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and two minor parties launched a merged conservative party on Monday. The formation of the tentatively named Party for United Future represents a partial success following months of efforts to build a big tent embracing conservative and centrist forces to defeat the ruling Democratic Party of Korea in the upcoming election. Though joined by some right-leaning civic activists, the merged p

Feb. 18, 2020

[Editorial] Ruling party’s arrogance

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Friday dropped charges of election law violations that it had filed against a university professor and the news outlet to which she had contributed a column critical of the party. In a column published in the Jan. 29 edition of the Kyunghyang Shinmun, Lim Mi-ri, a Korea University professor, criticized the ruling party for “being preoccupied with its grip on power rather than with people’s aspirations even though it claims it is a regime for t

Feb. 17, 2020

[Editorial] Necessary step

The US is increasing pressure on South Korea to cooperate to enhance its advanced missile defense system, which it deployed here in 2018 to cope with rising military threats from North Korea. The move might further complicate efforts by President Moon Jae-in’s government to gain Washington’s support for inter-Korean projects. The US remains opposed to Moon’s recent suggestion that Seoul consider allowing South Korean citizens to make individual trips to the North. Officials i

Feb. 16, 2020

[Editorial] Time to explain

Since a newspaper revealed the indictment of 13 figures involved in Cheong Wa Dae’s suspected meddling in the Ulsan mayoral election, calls for a direct explanation from President Moon Jae-in are mounting. The Professors’ Solidarity for Freedom and Justice, which has about 6,000 members from 377 colleges and universities across the country, urged Moon on Tuesday to clarify his position on the election intervention suspicions. “The president must enunciate his position regardi

Feb. 13, 2020

[Editorial] Proof of democracy

President Moon Jae-in’s administration has been criticized for being less supportive of North Korean defectors here than its conservative predecessors. Since taking office in 2017, it has been preoccupied with pursuing reconciliation with the repressive regime in Pyongyang, feeling uneasy about defector groups’ outright criticism of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and reducing financial support for them. Moon’s persistent efforts to embrace Kim, including three summits in 201

Feb. 12, 2020

[Editorial] Cultural feat

Director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” won the Oscar for best picture, the first for a foreign-language film, at the 92nd Academy Awards on Sunday. In addition, it won three more awards -- for best director, best original screenplay and best international feature film.　 “Parasite” is the first film in the 101-year history of Korean cinema to receive an Oscar.　 Furthermore, it is a historic event and an outstanding cultural achievement for a Korean flick to be nominate

Feb. 11, 2020

[Editorial] Vulnerability laid bare

The spread of the new coronavirus has laid bare the potential danger of South Korea’s economic overreliance on China. Korea relies on the neighboring country with the world’s largest population and second-biggest economy for a quarter of its trade and a third of its inbound tourists. Notably, materials and parts account for more than 60 percent of its imports from China, leaving many Korean manufacturers vulnerable to supply chain disruptions there. The country’s largest car

Feb. 10, 2020

[Editorial] Keep neutral

The National Election Commission on Thursday banned “strategic nominations” of proportional representation candidates in the upcoming election for the National Assembly.　 Parties have nominated proportional representation candidates strategically so far.　 Strategic nomination means the selection of candidates based on the strategic judgment of party leaders without a formal contest within the party.　 Currently strategic nomination is permitted without any restriction for candidate

Feb. 9, 2020

[Editorial] Flawed system

The government announced earlier this week that it would exempt local producers of face masks from the maximum 52-hour workweek rule to cope with surging demand amid the spread of the new coronavirus. It is increasingly difficult to buy masks with good filtering features here as people scramble to protect themselves from the virus, which originated from the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December. Chinese visitors have been blamed for exacerbating the shortage of masks by going on a buying b

Feb. 6, 2020

[Editorial] No zigzagging

Concerns are mounting in South Korea over the spread of the novel coronavirus that has spread beyond China, but inconsistent responses by President Moon Jae-in’s administration add to the worries. On Sunday, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced a package of measures, including entry ban for foreign nationals who have been in China’s Hubei province for two weeks, after a meeting with six related ministries. At around 5:30 p.m. on the same day, Health and Welfare Minister Park Neun

Feb. 5, 2020

[Editorial] Rising risks

The rapid spread of a deadly new coronavirus is threatening to throw South Korea’s economy into a perfect storm beyond dashing its fragile recovery momentum. The epidemic, which originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, is beginning to affect the country’s economy across the board, from consumption to production and the financial market. Korea, which relies on China for a quarter of its exports and a third of its inbound tourists, is positioned to take one of the

Feb. 4, 2020

[Editorial] Tardy response

The government has announced a package of “strong” measures to contain the spread of a new coronavirus, called Wuhan pneumonia, but their effectiveness is questionable. The measures came too late, and furthermore they are insufficient. Starting Tuesday, the government will bar foreigners who have been in China’s Hubei province in the past two weeks from entering the country. South Korean nationals who visited the region will have to quarantine themselves for 14 days. A visa-f

Feb. 3, 2020

[Editorial] Alarming indicators

Data released last week attested to South Korea’s sagging industrial activity -- particularly in the manufacturing sector, which makes up the backbone of its export-dependent economy. The country saw its industrial output edge up 0.4 percent from a year earlier in 2019, marking the slowest gain since 2000, according to figures from Statistics Korea. Manufacturing production capacity, which refers to the maximum amount of production by all manufacturers under normal operating conditions,

Feb. 2, 2020

[Editorial] Do not shake prosecution

The prosecution indicted 13 people on Wednesday, accusing them of taking part in the presidential office’s alleged intervention in the Ulsan mayoral election. They include Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho, former Commissioner of the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency Hwang Un-ha and former Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Baek Won-woo. As in the case of Choi Kang-wook, a presidential secretary for public office discipline, Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl directly made the decision to in

Jan. 30, 2020