[Editorial] Hard to change

Politicians should – or at least pretend to – respect the public mandate delivered in major elections like last week’s general election. One such way is to change – or at least promise to – but Korean political parties, winners and losers alike, remain as stale as ever. The two largest parties Saenuri and Minjoo are struggling with internal disputes that plagued their campaigns for the April 13 general election. The biggest problem lies with the biggest loser of the election, the Saenuri Party,

April 22, 2016

[Editorial] Seoul-Tehran ties

While South Korea is pushing for expansion of trade with Iran, the latest government data shows that uncertainty continues to loom large. Despite the lifting of international sanctions in January, Korean exports to the Islamic republic have dropped.According to Korea Customs Service, exports to Iran were down 44.7 percent on-year in the first quarter, at $660 million.While it is premature to be disappointed with the lackluster export performance, given the huge expectations, there is a need to r

April 21, 2016

[Editorial] Law school woes

Law schools are likely to create controversy in society again amid allegations that irregular screening processes were used to select students at some universities.Social conflict could arise from a series of litigations from people who failed the bar exam, as the Ministry of Education is deciding whether to unveil the result of its full-fledged scrutiny of 25 law schools nationwide over possible admissions irregularities.One allegation is that some children of legal professionals entered law sc

April 21, 2016

[Editorial] Last session

A month-long extraordinary parliamentary session kicks off Thursday as the three major parties have agreed to bring the 19th National Assembly to a fruitful conclusion.The agreement deserves praise, as there are many issues that cannot wait until the launch of the 20th National Assembly in early June.During the one-month session, the three parties should work productively, given that the 19th National Assembly is widely viewed as the least productive parliament in history.The public will closely

April 20, 2016

[Editorial] Push for restructuring

The government is shifting its focus to corporate restructuring, an issue that is of vital importance to the economy but has been put on the back burner due to the April 13 general election.Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said during his visit to Washington last week that the government would speed up the long-delayed restructuring of such troubled industries as shipping and shipbuilding.Referring to Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., one of Korea’s largest shippers drowning in debt, Yoo said that if shipp

April 20, 2016

[Editorial] Time is crucial

Every major election poses a challenge to law enforcement authorities: punishing candidates who violated laws in the fastest and fairest manner. The general election held last week is no exception. In this sense, the state prosecution and police appear to be doing a good job. Prosecutors have already arrested a close associate of a lawmaker-elect on suspicion of attempting to buy a parliamentary seat under the proportional representation system. Investigators armed with court-issued warrants hav

April 19, 2016

[Editorial] Another act of folly

It is highly likely that the world will see a new nuclear test by North Korea. This calls on the international community to get ready to punish the rogue regime swiftly and forcefully.There have been so many signs from the North that South Korean authorities seem convinced that a fifth nuclear test by the North is all but a fait accompli. A Defense Ministry spokesman said he believed the North could conduct nuclear test at any time. Seoul officials note that recent satellite monitoring of the Pu

April 19, 2016

[Editorial] Misdirected economy

Economic policymakers are poised to unveil a stimulus package after the weeks-long campaign for the 20th general election ended last Wednesday. Simultaneously, doubts in the market over the efficacy of the coming policy are also mounting, as the ruling Saenuri Party suffered a surprise rout in the election.As a result, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance is assumed to have become more prudent in fine-tuning its policy direction before unveiling it. An ineffective package or a stopgap measure to

April 18, 2016

[Editorial] Fear of quakes

South Korea is not a haven from earthquakes. Though it is not located along the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire,” which covers Alaska, California, Mexico, Peru, Chile Japan and Indonesia, the nation is adjacent to the seismic belt.The earthquake damage in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan and the central coast of Ecuador over the past week point to the urgent need for taking what preemptive measures society can to minimize the number of victims in natural disasters. Kumamoto prefecture was reportedly able to r

April 18, 2016

[Editorial] Saenuri in crisis

The April 13 general election has thrown the ruling Saenuri Party into a panic. The election defeat was so unexpected and devastating that the party appears to have lost its sense of direction.The first thing the party should do now is thoroughly analyze the factors that contributed to its humiliating rout. Then it needs to start reinventing itself based on the analysis to regain the public’s confidence in it. Yet the party is neither willing nor able to embark on such a project now. Its leaders

April 17, 2016

[Editorial] Collaborative politics

In the three-party system that emerged from the April 13 general election, no single party controls a majority of seats in the National Assembly. This means it takes two parties to pass a bill through the parliament. The message that Korean voters sought to convey through the election was unmistakably clear: Political parties should collaborate in handling state affairs. The message appears to have been successfully delivered. All parties now talk about the need to discard politics as usual and

April 17, 2016

[Editorial] Danwon voters

Voters in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, did not coordinate in the liberal parties’ sweep of the Seoul metropolitan area during the April 13 general election. The two constituencies -- Danwon-A and Danwon-B -- are residential districts of bereaved families of the Sewol ferry disaster.　It had been widely expected that angry sentiment toward the incumbent administration would lead to a landslide victory for opposition parties in the two constituencies. But the ruling Saenuri Party candidates were elect

April 15, 2016

[Editorial] Humiliation from conceit

The recent general election witnessed an extraordinary event, very much like rare cases at soccer matches. 　As a recent example, the Netherlands has failed to advance to the Euro2016 tournament, slated for this summer, as it ranked below the Czech Republic, Iceland and Turkey in a regional qualifying round.　Considering that the number of advancing teams has increased from 16 to 24, starting from this event in Paris, the dropping out of the Netherlands -- which was runner-up in 2010 and third in

April 15, 2016

[Editorial] Environmental laggard

A recent report from the International Energy Agency showed Korea’s carbon dioxide emissions have grown at the fastest pace among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development members over the past two decades. 　Korea saw its per capita carbon dioxide emissions soar 111 percent from 5.4 tons in 1990 to 11.4 tons in 2013, in stark contrast with the 7.2 percent drop in the OECD average over the corresponding period.The increase in Korea’s carbon emissions is attributable to the steady rise

April 14, 2016

[Editorial] Judgment on Saenuri

The April 13 general election has transformed Korea’s political landscape, depriving the ruling Saenuri Party of its majority, while giving the minor opposition People’s Party the balance of power in a revived three-party system.The biggest surprise of all was the ruling party’s humiliating defeat, especially in the crucial capital area that encompasses Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.The Saenuri Party relegated itself to a minority party by garnering a mere 122 of the 300-seat National Assembly, on

April 14, 2016

[Editorial] Signs from North Korea

The recent series of defections by North Koreans have serious implications for South Korea, which is obliged to assess the situation in the North correctly and work out countermeasures in the short, middle and long terms. First of all, the latest defections indicate that there are growing cracks in the North’s ruling elite. This may be an early sign of the North Korean system crumbling at the top. There had been cases of North Korean defections involving high-profile figures -- like Workers’ Par

April 13, 2016

[Editorial] What election meant

Koreans have selected 300 people who will form the new National Assembly, with the hopes that it will -- at the least -- be better than the current parliament which many see as one of the worst performers in its history.  Now that voters gave their verdict, politicians -- while trying to grasp what voters’ choices mean -- will say all the fine-looking things: Winners will express appreciation in the most modest possible manner, and promise to work only for the people; losers will express humble

April 13, 2016

[Editorial] Mounting suspicions

The Government Public Ethics Committee has launched its probe of senior prosecutor Jin Kyung-jun, who is facing questions over his stock trading gains worth more than 10 billion won ($8.6 million).It is a mercy that the state has not hushed up the allegation involving his possible exploitation of corporate insider information. At the same time, a concern is that the committee has no right to summon key figures of game developer Nexon, whose stocks were traded by the prosecutor.While some figures

April 12, 2016

[Editorial] Continued doldrums

Korean businesses are pinning their hopes on reaching some type of agreement at a meeting between the OPEC and non-OPEC members in Doha on April 17. If the oil producers reach a consensus on an output freeze, Korea may be a beneficiary, as the nation is an export powerhouse in petrochemical products.Although an increase in crude prices has many positive effects, some industries will also have to bear a heavier burden in procuring raw materials. This divided sentiment reflects the desperate situa

April 12, 2016

[Editorial] Undue pressure

In an unprecedented move, research heads of more than 30 domestic securities companies released a joint statement Thursday to condemn Hana Tour for attempting to block research that was critical of its performance.The collective action was prompted by an official of Hana Tour, the nation’s largest travel agency, who threatened to freeze out an analyst at Kyobo Securities for writing a negative report on the company.In his March 30 report, the Kyobo analyst offered a sell rating on Hana Tour, low

April 11, 2016