[Editorial] Fair society

One essential thing you need to live in a fair society is solid legal justice, for which highly ethical and capable legal professionals -- prosecutors, judges and lawyers -- are indispensable. Sadly, this is not the case with Korean society. A recent case highlights that the legal community is as vulnerable to corruption as other sectors of society. The central figure in the latest scandal involving legal professionals is Jung Woon-ho, CEO of cosmetics firm Nature Republic, who is serving a pris

May 4, 2016

[Editorial] Foreign residents

Justice Ministry data showed early this week that the number of foreign nationals in South Korea, including tourists, has topped 1.9 million for the first time, heralding the upcoming era of 2 million foreigners.The figure of 1.94 million foreign nationals far surpasses the population of Daejeon, which is estimated at 1.51 million. It is also close to that of South Chungcheong Province, whose population is 2.07 million.Considering that Daejeon is the nation’s fifth-largest city and South Chungch

May 3, 2016

[Editorial]Car sale crisis

Hyundai Motor Group has suffered a rapid drop in car sales in China so far this year, although the market has been the most lucrative revenue source for the second-largest South Korean conglomerate.Hyundai Motor posted 229,011 units in Chinese sales during the first quarter, down 18.2 percent over the same period last year. Its sister firm Kia Motors reported a 10.4 percent decline by selling 138,292 units.Amid the slump, a report from a global consulting firm is frustrating Hyundai-Kia, which i

May 3, 2016

[Editorial] Constraints on FX policy

Korea has avoided being designated as a “currency manipulator” by the United States, but the government needs to be more cautious in undertaking foreign exchange operations, as Washington has put the nation on its “monitoring list” along with China, Japan, Germany and Taiwan.The U.S. Treasury Department designates a country as a manipulator of foreign exchange if it satisfies all of the following three criteria: A trade surplus against the U.S. larger than $20 billion a year; a current account s

May 2, 2016

[Editorial] Bank recapitalization

A debate is raging over how to recapitalize the two state-run banks that have to lead the government‘s corporate restructuring process.The Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea are in urgent need of capital increases as restructuring of the troubled shipping and shipbuilding industries is gathering pace.The two banks have to play a central role in revamping the key companies of the two industrial sectors, as commercial banks are dragging their feet in providing further suppo

May 2, 2016

[Editorial] Park in Iran

There are two major points President Park Geun-hye is focusing on in her current historic visit to Iran: economic cooperation and nonproliferation vis-a-vis North Korea. Park, who arrived in Tehran on Sunday as the first South Korean head of state to visit Iran since the two countries formed diplomatic relations in 1962, will have talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday. For Park, the high-level talks in Tehran could not have

May 1, 2016

[Editorial] Self-ruining greed

Korea’s workforce is so polarized that unionized workers at big conglomerates are often called “labor aristocrats” as they enjoy privileges their counterparts at the bottom of the labor market -- workers at small firms, part-timers or short-term contract workers -- could never dream of. Fat paychecks -- usually much fatter than that of their foreign counterparts -- and solid job security are some of the many benefits unionized workers enjoy. Some unions even have an agreement with management und

May 1, 2016

[Editorial] More stimulus

The government has designated May 6 as a temporary holiday, allowing people to take a four-day break from May 5, which is Children’s Day in Korea.The designation is intended to boost the economy by stimulating sluggish domestic consumption. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposed the idea, as the designation of Aug. 14 as an extra holiday last year had a positive impact on the economy.Last year, the government allowed people to take Aug. 14 off because Independence Day on Aug. 15, wh

April 29, 2016

[Editorial] Jobs for youth

The government has come up with another set of measures to tackle the worsening youth unemployment problem. The package, the sixth of its kind put forward by the incumbent government, however, is unlikely to put a big dent in youth joblessness.The measures came after the unemployment rate for young adults hit an all-time high of 12.5 percent in February. The rate edged down to 11.8 percent in March, but it was still the highest on record for the month.Officials of the Employment Ministry say the

April 29, 2016

[Editorial] Talk of coalition

Talk of forming a coalition government has become a topic in politics since the April 13 general election, which relegated the ruling party to the second-largest party and which did not give any party a majority control of the parliament. The proposal for a coalition government comes mostly from members of the People’s Party, a splinter opposition group that emerged as the third-largest party by winning 38 parliamentary seats. The proposal is apparently aimed at increasing political clout of the

April 28, 2016

[Editorial] Pain of restructuring

The founding families of Korea’s chaebol have both positive and negative public images. In hard times, the negative image tends to overwhelm the positive one. Chaebol families are often identified as the main culprit when their businesses go bad to the point of bankruptcy or government-aided bailouts. To make matters worse, they often try to avoid responsibility – both legal and moral – and are caught trying to protect their own personal wealth. So they become the target of public criticism, whi

April 28, 2016

[Editorial] Second chances

One hundred days remain before the 31st Summer Olympic Games kick off for a 17-day competition in Rio de Janeiro.A noteworthy event for local spectators is whether the country’s soccer team will advance to the semifinals, as they did four years ago in London, taking bronze. Fans are pinning their hopes on forward Son Heung-min, who plays in the English Premier League.Another is whether LPGA star Park In-bee or one of the other Korean female players will capture gold in golf, which has been desig

April 27, 2016

[Editorial] Demographic crisis

According to the National Pension Research Institute, South Korea is projected to see the number of seniors aged 65 or older take up about 45 percent of the population by 2060. This means the proportion of the population who are of working age -- between 15 and 64 -- will decrease sharply over the next few decades.As the drop in the working-age share of the population is set to start next year, concerns are mounting over the low birthrate. The International Monetary Fund forecast last year that

April 27, 2016

[Editorial] North’s SLBM threat

North Korea’s firing of a sea-based ballistic missile during the weekend represents another step forward in the rogue regime’s relentless efforts to make its nuclear threats more tangible. The submarine-launched ballistic missile flew only some 30 kilometers, far short of the 300 km range needed to qualify as an SLBM. But the test launch cannot be seen as a complete failure, given the progress made in undersea ejection capability. In 2015, the North conducted two ejection tests for a sea-based b

April 26, 2016

[Editorial] Rescuing shippers

The fate of Korea’s shipping industry hangs in the balance as its two flagship companies are fighting a daunting uphill battle for survival. Policymakers and creditors pushing for corporate restructuring are strongly advised to focus on revitalizing the key industry.On Monday, Hanjin Shipping, Korea’s largest shipping company, applied for a “voluntary agreement” with its creditors, seeking to obtain fresh financial support and restructure its mounting debt.The company’s move was unexpected, as H

April 26, 2016

[Editorial] Overdue reform

Every economy faces the challenge of realigning its industries in order to nurture new growth engines and weed out nonviable or underperforming sectors. No economy faces the challenge as urgently and acutely as the Korean economy does now.It is welcome that the government has decided to push what it calls “industrial reform” to foster the competitiveness of the Korean economy.Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho said last week the reform will have two tracks -- one to develop new industries and the o

April 25, 2016

[Editorial] Find the truth

The growing allegations of suspicious ties between a right-wing civic group and the nation’s largest business lobby is raising the specter of a major political scandal as they have already spread to President Park Geun-hye’s Blue House.At the heart of the case are allegations that the Federation of Korean Industries provided funds to the Korea Parent Federation -- a group of ultraconservative senior citizens -- and that the FKI and the Blue House used the KPF to orchestrate pro-government, pro-b

April 25, 2016

[Editorial] Illegal migrants

Dozens of Thais have seemingly attempted illegal residency in South Korea after allegedly disguising themselves as supporters of a professional soccer team from Thailand, which held a match with a Korean team last Wednesday.According to the Thai team, about 40 of more than 100 supporters that accompanied the players vanished after passing through immigration at Incheon International Airport. Considering the immigration office rejected the entry of 13 of the 100-plus supporters, the 40 runaways a

April 24, 2016

[Editorial] 30 more minutes

Korea’s financial authorities are seeking to extend the daily trading session of the stock market by 30 minutes in the coming months. The closing time of the main and secondary bourses would be changed from the present 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.The Finance Ministry is fine-tuning details with the Financial Services Commission and the Korea Exchange before unveiling the plan and implementation date. It seems the government is set to notify the public of a trading hours extension based on a road map to r

April 24, 2016

[Editorial] Mandate for economy

The Korean economy is under siege. Look around, then you will see gloom and doom, from the delayed recovery of the global economy, the slowdown of the Chinese economy and low oil prices to dwindling exports, sluggish domestic demand, consumption and investment. Problems like youth unemployment, household debt and impending massive layoffs threaten social stability. The Bank of Korea has cut its growth forecast for this year to 2.8 percent from 3 percent, which is still higher than forecasts made

April 22, 2016