[Editorial] Textbook row

As expected, President Park Geun-hye used her annual budget proposal address at the National Assembly to put pressure on the opposition to give in to her administration’s push to replace Korean history textbooks for middle and high school students with state-authored ones. 　She said the current textbooks offer wrong descriptions of history and history education cannot be normalized without addressing the problem. “I will not sit idle with textbooks that distort history,” Park said.  　Park’s hard

Oct. 27, 2015

[Editorial] State history textbooks

When President Park Geun-hye addresses the National Assembly on Tuesday, she is expected to raise the issue of state-authored history textbooks, among other matters. Any mention of the textbook issue should take into consideration the legitimate concerns raised by historians, scholars, teachers and students, as well as the general public.　A public opinion poll conducted last week showed 52.7 percent of the respondents opposed the move while 41.7 percent are in favor. History professors from the

Oct. 26, 2015

[Editorial] Pandora’s box

Whether Japan’s Self-Defense Forces may be allowed on the Korean Peninsula in the event of a military clash here has become a hot point of contention between Seoul and Tokyo since Japan passed new security laws that allow its Self-Defense Forces to engage in collective self-defense and fight in conflicts overseas.　Koreans who suffered brutal Japanese colonial rule from 1910-1945 find the possibility of the Japanese military setting foot on Korean soil again simply unacceptable. Hence, when Prime

Oct. 26, 2015

[Editorial] Mired in debt again

We are dumbfounded to hear that trillions of won in taxpayers’ money has to be poured into Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering again as the company reels under mounting debts and losses.The company reportedly suffered operating losses of more than 3 trillion won ($2.66 billion) in the first half of the year alone. By year-end, its losses are expected to reach 5.3 trillion won.We are left speechless by the totally irresponsible behavior of the troubled company’s management and workers. Des

Oct. 25, 2015

[Editorial] Export blues

The third-quarter economic growth data released by the Bank of Korea last Friday had both good news and bad news.The good news is that Korea’s economic growth hit a five-year high in the July-September period. Korea saw its gross domestic product expand 1.2 percent on quarter, the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010, when GDP grew 1.7 percent.The third-quarter growth rate compares favorably with the 0.8 percent in the first quarter and 0.3 percent in the second quarter. The GDP expansi

Oct. 25, 2015

[Editorial] Science matters

It is needless to say that science and technology are vital to addressing many of the problems facing us today and forging a better future for mankind. The fast evolution of human civilization, being accelerated by digitalization and globalization, makes the role of science in human life much more crucial. 　So it was timely that science ministers from the world’s most advanced countries gathered in Daejeon this week to discuss the role of science. 　The “Daejeon Declaration on Science, Technology

Oct. 25, 2015

[Editorial] Foreign policy faux pas

President Park Geun-hye usually gets a higher score card on foreign policy, including dealings with North Korea, than on domestic affairs. 　Recently, however, a series of faux pas committed by Park’s aides is cutting into her foreign policy achievements -- if any. 　The first controversy surrounds the acquisition of next-generation stealth jet fighters from the U.S. firm Lockheed Martin. Korean officials had said that they would be able to obtain key technologies as part of the deal, and would us

Oct. 25, 2015

[Editorial] Reforming school system

The ruling Saenuri Party is pushing to reform the school system as part of its campaign to raise the nation’s fertility rate and cope with an aging population.　　Rep. Kim Jung-hoon, the party’s chief policymaker, said Wednesday that the government has agreed to consider the party’s proposal to overhaul the school system.　　The scheme calls for lowering the starting age for primary education from the current 6 years old to 5. It also seeks to shorten the schooling years of primary and secondary edu

Oct. 22, 2015

[Editorial] Economic reform overdue

In February 2014, President Park Geun-hye unveiled a three-year economic reform plan to mark the first anniversary of her inauguration. She vowed to raise Korea’s potential growth rate to 4 percent by 2017, noting that without her plan, the rate might drop to the low end of the 3 percent range by that year.　　Earlier this month, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol estimated the national economy’s potential growth rate for this year at 3.2 percent. Lee offered the figure on the sidelines of a meeting o

Oct. 22, 2015

[Editorial] Talks at Blue House

President Park Geun-hye is to meet with the chairmen and floor leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy on Thursday. 　The meeting at Cheong Wa Dae was proposed by Park to discuss her trip to the United States last week and ask for cooperation from the party leaders in addressing urgent national tasks.　Seven months after Park last met with Saenuri chairman Kim Moo-sung and his NPAD counterpart Moon Jae-in, the meeting comes at an opportune time a

Oct. 21, 2015

[Editorial] Tearful reunions

The tearful reunion of families separated across the border for more than 60 years is a stark reminder of the legacy of the Korean War that has technically not ended.　Elderly parents well into their 80s shed tears upon meeting with their children, some of whom were mere babies when they were separated by the war. Each of the 389 South Koreans and 141 North Koreans gathered at Mount Geumgangsan resort on North Korea’s east coast -- for what would most likely be their one and only meeting with lov

Oct. 21, 2015

[Editorial] Addressing low birthrate

Government-arranged matchmaking, creating more jobs for youths and making housing more affordable for newlyweds are among the latest in a list of initiatives aimed at boosting the country’s very low birthrate unveiled Sunday. 　The goal of the third five-year plan to address low birthrate and an aging society to be implemented next year appears to be to get people to marry earlier so that they will have more children. Indeed, statistics show that women who marry at age 25 or under will have 2.03

Oct. 20, 2015

[Editorial] High-wire act

President Park Geun-hye’s visit to the U.S. last week was chiefly designed to dispel concerns that the Park administration is siding closer with China.　The visit, which was rescheduled following the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in Korea earlier this year, took place after Park attended a military parade in Beijing marking Victory Day on Sept. 3, and so it was seen as vital to Korea’s interests to dismiss speculation that the Korea-U.S. relations were in trouble.　The two leaders spok

Oct. 20, 2015

[Editorial] Irresponsible minister

Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan has suggested that he would quit as top economic policymaker to run for general election next April. 　Choi’s plan to run for National Assembly is hardly surprising as he has been widely rumored to do so. But his expected resignation should not be taken for granted. If he does step down from his post prematurely, he will face criticism for behaving irresponsibly. 　Choi is already under fire for the frivolous remarks he made last week about his current job.　When as

Oct. 19, 2015

[Editorial] Lessons from Italy

Last week, Italian lawmakers set a great example of political reform, surprising many watchers of Italian politics around the world.　In what is described as a “Copernican revolution,” Italy’s Senate passed a bill aimed at depriving it of most of its political power.　The bill called for drastically cutting the number of senators from 315 to 100 and effectively ending their power to make law and bring down the government.　Italy’s parliament consists of two chambers — the Senate and the Chamber of

Oct. 19, 2015

[Editorial] In unison

President Park Geun-hye’s trip to the U.S. last week seems to have attained some of its goals, including awakening Americans and the international community to the urgent need to tackle North Korea and assuring them South Korea is not seeking close relations with China at the expense of its ties with the U.S. North Korea always tops the agenda in summits between South Korean and U.S. leaders, and the Park-Obama meeting was no exception. It is noticeable, however, that they adopted the first-ever

Oct. 18, 2015

[Editorial] Long overdue

It is almost certain that President Park Geun-hye will hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Seoul in about two weeks’ time. It would be the first one-on-on talks between the two leaders since Abe took office in 2012. 　The strongest indication came from none other than Park, who had refused to meet Abe over his revisionist stance on Japan’s military sex slavery. During a trip to Washington, Park said there could be an opportunity for her to hold summit talks with Abe when she

Oct. 18, 2015

[Editorial] Stray cat problem

Debate is raging online over how to deal with street cats following the recent death of a “cat mom” in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.A cat mom refers to a person who provides food to stray cats. The police at first suspected that the Yongin woman was killed by one of her neighbors who hated people taking care of stray cats, given that she was hit by a brick while setting up a shelter for feral cats in a garden at the apartment building. But the suspect identified by the police on Friday was a 10-yea

Oct. 16, 2015

[Editorial] Fight against drought

The persisting drought has begun to take an increasingly heavy toll on crops across much of the nation. As weather forecasters warn that the drought is highly likely to last until next April, the government needs to step up efforts to secure water resources and minimize damage.The hardest hit region has been South Chungcheong Province, where the accumulated rainfall from January to September this year totaled 754 millimeters, slightly more than 60 percent of the 30-year average of 1,188 millimet

Oct. 16, 2015

[Editorial] Election map

The failure of a panel commissioned to redraw parliamentary constituencies to fulfill its mission mirrors the many ills of Korean politics.  　Most of all, it means we still don’t know -- only sixth months before the next parliamentary elections -- how the boundaries of each of the constituencies will be drawn. We had seen such a problem frequently in the past.  　More seriously, it is unlikely that political parties will be able to reach an agreement by the Nov. 13 legal deadline, exactly five mo

Oct. 15, 2015