[Editorial] Ethical breach

Practices of fraudulent stock trading are still rampant although local regulators pledged to reinforce their scrutiny of alleged perpetrators of financial crimes.　Apart from manipulators — who issue bogus trading orders for price-rigging — other major scammers continuously tainting the equity market are those who make irregular gains by using insider corporate information.　Data from the Korea Exchange showed that the number of unfair stock trading allegations came to 64, in the first half of 201

Dec. 13, 2015

[Editorial] More than a seat

This week, South Korea was elected chair of the U.N. Human Rights Council for next year. Foreign Ministry officials boast about the fact that it will be the first time that Korea has assumed the leadership post of an international rights body since the establishment of the republic in 1948. 　As the officials say, taking the UNHRC chair may attest to the progress this country has achieved in human rights and civil liberties over the past decades. 　Indeed, things have changed much since 30 to 40 y

Dec. 11, 2015

[Editorial] No sanctuary

What happened at the head temple of the Jogye Order in Seoul over the past weeks offers many things to think about. Most of all, the case exposed some of the abnormalities this society has to overcome.  The most ridiculous abnormality was that a fugitive could defy law enforcement for 25 days by using a religious facility as a shield. Where does the law stand?  Don’t we live in a country where the law should be applied fairly and equally to all — labor activists, thieves, fraudsters or rapists —

Dec. 11, 2015

[Editorial] NPAD discord

Korea’s liberal party has lost to its conservative counterpart in most elections over the past few years. It allowed the conservative party to score landside victories in the general elections in 2008 and 2012.　The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy does not seem to stand a good chance when it comes to the coming April 13 general election.　Two NPAD heavyweights — Reps. Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo — are again locked in a bitter confrontation, reminding voters of the conflict th

Dec. 10, 2015

[Editorial] Prepare for rate hikes

A U.S. rate hike has become a near certainty as the U.S. economy delivered another month of solid job growth in November. The latest employment statistics show that 211,000 jobs were created last month, a gain that topped expectations. The figure strongly suggests that the U.S. labor market and economy has become healthy enough to withstand a tighter monetary policy. Now, the U.S. Federal Reserve appears ready to put an end to seven years of near-zero interest rates. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said

Dec. 10, 2015

[Editorial] Room for compromise

Upon her return last weekend from a visit to Europe, President Park Geun-hye used her bully pulpit to point out to the public the urgency of enacting bills on labor reform and economic revitalization.　On Monday, she arranged an unscheduled meeting with the ruling Saenuri Party leadership and strongly urged them to speed up the passage of those bills through the National Assembly. 　“What would be the use of labor reforms after the economy has flatlined? We can’t revive the economy after it ceases

Dec. 9, 2015

[Editorial] Paradox of cheap oil

In Korea, low oil prices have long been considered a blessing, as the country has to import crude oil to meet more than one-third of its energy demands. Korea suffered an economic crisis in 1979 due to a surge in oil prices following the second oil shock. But it enjoyed an unprecedented economic boom in the late 1980s thanks to low oil prices. 　This perception is changing. Crude oil prices have fallen to 7-year lows following the failure last Friday of OPEC members to set an oil production ceili

Dec. 9, 2015

[Editorial] Bad tradition

President Park Geun-hye is set to reshuffle the Cabinet soon, with at least five ministerial posts expected to be affected. 　The impending Cabinet appointments have been necessitated by the five Cabinet members’ plans to run in the general election in April. 　The five include three incumbent lawmakers who want to seek reelection — Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan, Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea and Gender Equality Minister Kim Hee-jung. In addition, Minister of the Interior Chong Jong-sup and

Dec. 8, 2015

[Editorial] Worst report card

It is already well-known that the National Assembly is one of the least trusted public institutions in the country. This public view has obviously worsened during the current 19th Assembly, which ends its last regular session Wednesday.  　A recent Gallup Korea poll found that 82 percent of Koreans think the Assembly did not play its role well and that only 24 percent want current members to be reelected in next April’s general election. 　Why does the general public give them such poor marks? Fir

Dec. 8, 2015

[Editorial] Assembly of misdeeds

One of the reasons the general public has lost faith in members of the National Assembly is that they — contrary to the expectations of the people who elected them — have such low ethical standards.　One need look no further than the fact that a total of 22 members of the current 19th Assembly lost their seats due to convictions. Their charges range from election law violations to bribery and influence-peddling. The number is likely to increase, as a further 10 are facing trial.　That being the ca

Dec. 7, 2015

[Editorial] Playing chicken

The conflict between the central government and local educational offices over the financing of the early childhood education and care program is escalating, causing anxiety among parents with preschoolers.　The government introduced the Nuri Curriculum, a universal care service for children aged 3 to 5, in 2013, in line with President Park Geun-hye’s campaign pledge to strengthen the state’s accountability for early childhood education and care.　Park’s intention was fine. She sought to reduce th

Dec. 7, 2015

[Editorial] Protest culture

Thousands of people from more than 100 labor, civic and farmers’ groups held a rally in the center of Seoul last weekend, protesting the government’s push for labor reforms and state-authored history textbooks for secondary students. 　The demonstration was the second of its kind following the one on Nov. 14. But unlike the first one, no violence or clash with police took place this time.　The organizers of the second protest sought to ensure a violence-free demonstration as the eruption of violen

Dec. 6, 2015

[Editorial] Fate of bar exam

Last week, the Ministry of Justice committed a folly typical of an immature government. It announced a half-baked policy on the state-run bar exam without consulting with related government offices or thinking about the response of those to be affected by its decision.　On Thursday, Vice Minister of Justice Kim Joo-hyun held an unexpected briefing to announce that the ministry would delay scrapping the bar exam by four more years until 2021. 　The exam, which had long served as the only point of e

Dec. 6, 2015

[Editorial] Donation culture

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have pledged to donate virtually all of their wealth to help children live in a better world.　What motivated the couple to make the philanthropy pledge was the birth of their daughter, named Max Chan Zuckerberg. In a long, open letter to the newborn, they said they would give 99 percent of their Facebook shares, currently worth about $45 billion, during their lives.　Zuckerberg and Chan are not simply giving away their wealth

Dec. 4, 2015

[Editorial] Close more loopholes

The response of a major Protestant organization to the legislation of a bill to levy income taxes on members of the clergy shows why the general public has lost faith in some religious groups. 　The Christian Council of Korea said in a statement that it opposed the legislation because it was more desirable for the clergy to pay taxes “voluntarily,” rather than under a binding law.　This is totally mistaken. What’s at stake here is not donating to a disaster relief fund, but paying taxes. It is sim

Dec. 4, 2015

[Editorial] Reform bills

Under the law governing the operations of the National Assembly, the ruling Saenuri Party cannot pass bills through the Assembly without the assent of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy. 　This rule has given the NPAD undue power in operating in the Assembly. So the ruling party has brought the law before the Constitutional Court, claiming it is unconstitutional as it runs against majority rule, the first and foremost principle of democracy.　Yet the positions of the two parti

Dec. 3, 2015

[Editorial] Yuan center

The International Monetary Fund’s decision earlier this week to add the Chinese currency to its reserve currency basket is expected to benefit Korea in the long term, but it poses policy challenges to Korea’s financial authorities.　The IMF has agreed to give the yuan a weighting of 10.92 percent in the basket of currencies that make up the Special Drawing Rights, making it the world’s third-biggest reserve currency following the dollar and euro. 　The decision is a momentous event for China. It i

Dec. 3, 2015

[Editorial] Korea-China FTA

President Park Geun-hye, now on a tour of Europe, must be happy to hear that the National Assembly has finally ratified free trade agreements with China, New Zealand and Vietnam. 　Park had been obsessed with the parliamentary approval of the trade pacts, especially the Korea-China FTA, which will help open a market of 1.3 billion people to Korean products and services. 　Outraged by the parliament’s foot-dragging, Park kept putting pressure on the Assembly, mixing personal appeals with direct ver

Dec. 2, 2015

[Editorial] Energy policy　

Leaders and officials from more than 140 countries gathered in Paris to kick off historic talks to set a new legally binding regime to cut greenhouse gas emissions. 　President Park Geun-hye was also in the French capital to express Korea’s commitment to joining the global endeavors to fight global warming. 　“We must marshal the collective will and capacities of the entire world and make absolutely sure that this Climate Change Conference gives birth to a new climate regime,” Park told the leader

Dec. 2, 2015

[Editorial] NPAD disappoints

The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy’s former leader Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo has affectively called on the party chairman Moon Jae-in to step down.　Spurning Moon’s proposal to form a three-way alliance of Moon, himself, and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Ahn proposed a plan of his own: Holding a party caucus in January to elect new leadership and merging with the People’s Reform Party, a new opposition party established by Rep. Chun Jung-bae who bolted from the NPAD early this year. 　“

Dec. 1, 2015