[Editorial] Buying their hearts

One does not need more data and reports to ascertain how serious the youth unemployment problem in the country is. You can easily come across young men and women struggling to find jobs for years and those who toil in low-paying, unstable part-time and temporary jobs. 　It is not surprising, therefore, that tackling the youth unemployment problem has become a national agenda, with government officials from the president down and politicians talking loudly about the issue. 　However, some of the po

Nov. 8, 2015

[Editorial] Electoral map redrawing

Less than a week remains before the legal Nov. 13 deadline for redrawing the electoral map. Yet talks on the matter between the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy still remain stalled amid the escalating confrontation over history textbooks.　The two parties need to rush to hammer out an agreement on the issue because a further delay in fixing the parliamentary boundaries would create a big mess. 　At every election, the electoral map has been redrawn

Nov. 6, 2015

[Editorial] Wind back guarantees

The Financial Services Commission has unveiled a plan to reform the present system of supplying credit guarantees to small and medium-sized enterprises. The reform is welcome as serious abuses have long been waiting for remedy　The current credit guarantee system was introduced in the 1970s to provide government guarantees to SMEs that had difficulty accessing bank loans due to their lack of tangible collateral.　Since then, the system has remained virtually unchanged, although the business enviro

Nov. 6, 2015

[Editorial] Repeated follies

As the South Korean leader, President Park Geun-hye faces some perennial, but tough foreign policy challenges, just as her predecessors did. There is the constant troublemaker North Korea, and she has to deal with Japan, which often turns out to be a close neighbor only in terms of geographical distance. The growing rivalry between the U.S. and China is posing new, but no less serious challenges. 　The series of summits Park hosted for the Chinese and Japanese leaders in Seoul recently illustrate

Nov. 5, 2015

[Editorial] Focused M&As

Many Koreans still remember their harsh life during the 1997-98 financial crisis. Many were kicked out of their workplaces and even those who survived the cold snap had to tighten their belt. It was the same with major conglomerates and financial firms, which were a major target of the IMF-directed austerity program.　In the business world, there was a frenzy of shutdowns and mergers and acquisitions, mostly directed by the government. Many companies disappeared or changed hands, with the severe

Nov. 5, 2015

[Editorial] Textbook tangle

The government plan to publish state-authored history textbooks for middle and high schools got into full swing Wednesday with the announcement of the basic outline and the composition of authors. 　The National History Compilation Committee said it would recruit senior scholars, leading academics and history teachers to write the history textbooks, which is scheduled for completion by next November. The committee also said they would be “correct textbooks” based on the spirit of the constitution

Nov. 4, 2015

[Editorial] Solid alliance

This year’s Security Consultative Meeting between Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his U.S. counterpart Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Monday took place at a significant time in the geopolitics of Northeast Asia, coming on the heels of the Korea-China summit on Saturday, Korea-China-Japan summit on Sunday and the first summit between President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday. 　The trilateral summit and the Korea-Japan summit, long suspended due to outstanding h

Nov. 4, 2015

[Editorial] Park-Abe summit

The gap in historical awareness between Korea and Japan was too wide for the leaders of the two countries to plug in one summit. This sums up the first one-on-one on Nov. 2 between President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.　The Seoul summit was the first of its kind between the two countries in more than three years. As such, it raised expectations for a breakthrough in normalizing the frayed bilateral relationship.　Yet the meeting must have been disappointing to those who e

Nov. 3, 2015

[Editorial] No rush for KF-X

Last week, President Park Geun-hye gave the Defense Acquisition Program Administration the go-ahead for its plan to locally develop four key technologies for next-generation jet fighters. Yet before the agency places orders on local defense contractors, the government needs to address burning questions about the plan’s feasibility.　DAPA is in charge of the KF-X project, an 18-trillion-won ($15.9 billion) program to produce 120 fifth-generation combat jets by 2025. But the project’s future was cl

Nov. 3, 2015

[Editorial] After the summits

On the surface, the gathering of the leaders of South Korea, China and Japan in Seoul seemed to have achieved their primary goal -- restoring the three-way cooperation that had stalled dues to historical territorial disputes for more than three years. 　President Park Geun-hye declared after hosting talks with the Chinese and Japanese leaders Sunday that the three countries have “fully” restored their trilateral cooperation through the Seoul summit. 　Economic cooperation topped the leaders’ agree

Nov. 3, 2015

[Editorial] Prosecutor nominee

President Park Geun-hye has nominated Kim Soo-nam, deputy head of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, to succeed Prosecutor General Kim Jin-tae, whose two-year term expires early next month.　As is usual with the president’s choice of the top prosecutor, Park’s nomination of Kim immediately generated a debate on his qualifications, with the focus placed on his regional background. 　Kim hails from the same southeastern city of Daegu as Park. Blue House officials insist that Kim’s hometown has nothing

Nov. 3, 2015

[Editorial] Expanding China ties

A flurry of summit meets are taking place in Seoul, starting with a meeting between President Park Geun-hye and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday. This was followed by a trilateral summit – the first in more than three years — of Park, Li and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday and the first ever summit between Park and Abe will take place on Monday. 　Issues concerning the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia were discussed during the Park-Li summit on Saturday, with Park emphasizing

Nov. 1, 2015

[Editorial] Not just another logo

“I.Seoul.U” was proclaimed as the new city brand for the Korean capital last Wednesday evening at Seoul Plaza, amid much fanfare.　Those who saw the logo for the first time were puzzled at the string of English letters and a Korean character. Only when the Korean explanation below the logo is read, roughly translated as “Seoul, mine and yours” or “My and your Seoul,” is it possible to get a sense of what the logo is attempting to communicate. Still, the logo is puzzling. 　The public reaction to t

Nov. 1, 2015

[Editorial] Hopes and worries

For every South Korean president, dealing with superpower neighbors like China and Japan always poses challenges. Yet, no Korean leader in recent years has faced as tough a challenge as President Park Geun-hye will encounter when she hosts the Korea-China-Japan summit and the bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.  A look at some background of the three-way talks and the Park-Abe summit will indicate how heavyheartedly Park and the other two leaders will be taking their seats. 

Oct. 30, 2015

[Editorial] Shaky base

We have already got used to downbeat economic data -- be it the growth rate, exports, youth unemployment or household debt. But the news that the combined sales of manufacturers in the country contracted last year -- for the first time since 1961 -- should ring alarm bells, and ring them very loud. The Bank of Korea said that manufacturers posted combined sales of 1,726 trillion won ($1.5 trillion) last year, 1.6 percent down from the previous year. It is hard to believe that this is the same se

Oct. 30, 2015

[Editorial] Families held hostage

A major disruption of child care services was averted Wednesday, but families of some 775,000 children enrolled at privately run child care centers were affected by staff taking leave collectively to protest government child care policies.　According to the Ministry of Welfare, 1,989 privately run child care centers participated in the walkout, but all remained open. The group representing more than 14,600 private child care centers had earlier announced the impending three-day protest, urging pa

Oct. 29, 2015

[Editorial] Time for decisiveness

U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of at least one of the artificial islands in the South China Sea claimed by China on Tuesday, bringing to stark reality the growing tensions between the U.S. and China.　For some two hours, the USS Lassen sailed close to the 12 nautical-mile area claimed by China as its territory, at one point sailing within the 12 nautical miles of Subi Reefs, while two Chinese vessels shadowed the guided-missile destroyer. The episode went

Oct. 29, 2015

[Editorial] Abused guarantees

Top financial regulators are stepping up pressure on creditor banks to push ahead with corporate restructuring. They are urging bank officials to weed out nonviable companies by the end of this year. 　Jin Woong-sup, head of the Financial Supervisory Service, stressed the need to speed up the restructuring process when he met with the heads of the nation’s top 10 banks on Tuesday.　Referring to the slowing Chinese economy and the expected increase in U.S. interest rates, he called on the top bank

Oct. 28, 2015

[Editorial] Trilateral summit

Korea, China and Japan will resume their long-stalled trilateral summit this weekend, starting to make joint efforts to normalize their frayed relations. 　President Park Geun-hye has invited Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the summit, slated for Nov. 1 in Seoul. Each leader will also have bilateral meetings with the other two before or after the summit.　Park’s meeting with Abe is drawing keen attention as it will be their first one-on-one since they took offi

Oct. 28, 2015

[Editorial] War on gambling

Gambling is becoming a serious problem in Korean society. One need look no further than the recent string of news reports on gambling scandals involving people from various walks of life. The cases reflect the phenomenon that people who make money more quickly and easily than ordinary Koreans easily fall into the trap of illegal gambling, which could be as addictive as other social vices, like excessive drinking and drug abuse. 　One such example is the case involving two pitchers of the Samsung

Oct. 27, 2015