[Editorial] After apology

It is usual for Korean politicians and business tycoons to offer apologies when they are embroiled in big scandals. In most cases, they hope their public apologies will end the furor and return things to normal.　But for Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin, such hopes are slim. To be fair, the public apology he made Tuesday over the recent leadership feud in his family and the consequent turmoil in the retail giant should be the start of many things he, his family and the conglomerate will do in t

Aug. 12, 2015

[Editorial] No complacency

The recently published white paper on illegal drugs should ring alarm bells for Korean society, which has been relatively safe from the globally widespread problem.　The white paper, compiled by the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office, shows that a total of 5,130 people were caught in illegal drug cases in the first six months of this year. This is an 11.8 percent increase from 4,590 in the same period last year. 　The number of drug offenders -- traffickers and users -- exceeded 10,000 for the first time

Aug. 12, 2015

[Editorial] A tricky provocation

The long strained inter-Korean relations are worsening in the days leading to the 70th anniversary of the peninsula’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule and division into South and North.　The result of a South Korean investigation showed Monday that three wooden-box land mines believed to have been planted by North Korea were the cause of the explosion that severely wounded two soldiers on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone last week.　In a statement, the South Korean military urged t

Aug. 11, 2015

[Editorial] Proactive approach

South Korea and the U.S. have denied a recent report by a Japanese news agency that Washington has asked President Park Geun-hye not to attend China’s high-profile ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of its victory over Japan in World War II.　An official at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the report as untrue, saying a situation like that would never take place. The White House also said the U.S. had made no such request to Park.　It would be far-fetched to believe that Washington might push

Aug. 11, 2015

[Editorial] Zero tolerance

As a public outcry mounts over sexual molestation and harassment cases at a high school in Seoul, officials are busy announcing measures to curb sexual abuses at schools and other public workplaces. 　Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn presided over a meeting of senior government officials last Friday to discuss the issue. Participants agreed to push for revisions of pertinent laws and regulations to fight sexual abuse. 　Under the plans, teachers, soldiers and government employees will be removed from

Aug. 10, 2015

[Editorial] Political commitment

The government included plans to tax the incomes of members of the clergy in a package of proposals to revise tax codes, which are mainly aimed at boosting the economy stuck in a low-growth trap and export slump. 　It is the latest move of the government to levy income tax on the clergy, discussions of which began in 1968. The latest plan calls for revising the income tax law to count the earnings of ministers, priests and monks as taxable income. 　The issue of taxing clergy incomes has caught th

Aug. 10, 2015

[Editorial] Divided in time

In an abrupt move not unusual for the isolated North Korean regime, its official news agency said Friday that the communist state would push back its standard time by 30 minutes starting on Aug. 15.　“The wicked Japanese imperialists committed such unpardonable crimes as depriving Korea of even its standard time,” the Korean Central News Agency said in announcing the measure to take effect on the 70th anniversary of the end of Japan’s colonial rule over the peninsula.　　Currently, South and North

Aug. 9, 2015

[Editorial] No leniency

President Park Geun-hye is expected to convene a Cabinet meeting Thursday to finalize the scope of the special pardons to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule. A committee under the Justice Ministry is to draw up a preliminary list of people to be granted the presidential pardon during its meeting Monday.　Park has said this year’s Aug. 15 Liberation Day should serve as an occasion for the nation to be proud of what it has accomplished over the past decades a

Aug. 9, 2015

[Editorial] Diverse composition

Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae on Thursday recommended Lee Gi-taek, head of the Seoul Western District Court, as the successor to a justice who is to retire in September. A justice is appointed by the president after parliamentary approval.　　Lee was chosen from three final candidates selected by a recommendation committee earlier this week. They were all male senior judges in their 50s, who graduated from the same school -- Seoul National University’s College of Law.　　Their selection has been met w

Aug. 7, 2015

[Editorial] Frayed ties

Lee Hee-ho, the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, is on a four-day visit to North Korea, at a time when tension lingers on the divided Korean Peninsula.　The two Koreas have not held high-level talks since February 2014. They remain far apart from agreeing to hold joint events to mark the 70th anniversary of the peninsula’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule, which falls on Aug. 15.　When the 93-year-old former first lady, accompanied by an 18-member entourage, arrived in Pyongyang on Wed

Aug. 7, 2015

[Editorial] Unexpected holiday

Koreans will be treated to an unexpected long weekend when Aug. 14 is officially declared a temporary public holiday next Tuesday. 　The government said that the decision to turn the eve of the Liberation Day  into a temporary public holiday was made to celebrate the 70th anniversary of liberation and to boost the economy by encouraging domestic consumption.　At the same time, the government unveiled a package of measures aimed at encouraging domestic tourism, including a toll waiver on all expres

Aug. 6, 2015

[Editorial] It’s the economy

President Park Geun-hye addressed the nation yesterday, asking the people’s support for the administration’s reform drive.　Her nationally televised address, the first since she addressed the country in May last year following the Sewol ferry sinking, and fourth since assuming office, came near the halfway point of her five-year presidency.　The 25-minute speech was, in a way, a continuum of Park’s inaugural speech which outlined economic revival, people’s happiness, and flourishing of culture as

Aug. 6, 2015

[Editorial] Exports in distress

Korea’s exports stood at $46.61 billion in July, down 3.3 percent from the same month last year. It marked the seventh consecutive month that the outbound shipments dropped on-year. 　The bad global economy is primarily responsible for the continuing slump in exports, but the latest data calls upon both the government and businesses to redouble their efforts to cope with the situation. 　In addition to exports, the nation’s imports are also dropping -- faster than exports, with the inbound shipmen

Aug. 5, 2015

[Editorial] Sexual misconduct

The Korean society, like elsewhere in the world, often witnesses sex scandals involving politicians, government officials, professors, teachers and celebrities. But the latest two cases -- one involving a member of the National Assembly and the other involving five teachers in the same high school -- should be a cause for big concern. 　The scandal involving Rep. Sim Hag-bong of the ruling Saenuri Party looks like a nasty soap opera, starting with a woman accusing the lawmaker of raping her at a

Aug. 5, 2015

[Editorial] Lax management

The country’s 30 major public corporations were saddled with a combined debt of 429 trillion won ($366 billion) as of the end of last year, according to data submitted by the Finance Ministry to a lawmaker last week.　Over the period 2012-2014, however, they paid nearly 3.5 trillion won in bonuses to their employees. It is particularly lamentable that some public corporations paid large bonuses to their workers while posting a net loss every year during the cited period. 　One such deplorable case

Aug. 4, 2015

[Editorial] Redrawing constituencies

Members on the parliamentary special committee on political reform have been sitting on their hands over the work to establish guidelines for redrawing electoral districts across the country.　Irritated by the snail-paced progress, the head of an independent panel tasked with rezoning constituencies asked the committee last week to suggest concrete guidelines by Aug. 13. Election officials say the deadline should be met if the panel is to submit its rezoning scheme to parliament six months before

Aug. 4, 2015

[Editorial] Golf lessons

Golfer Park In-bee achieved a career grand slam by winning the Ricoh Women’s British Open early Monday morning.Park, ranked first in the world, became only the seventh LPGA golfer in the world to win at least four different majors over a career, the only Asian woman to have done so. She now joins the elite league of women golfers that includes Louise Suggs, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb and Annika Sorenstsam.　Park, 27, won her seventh career major at 12-under 276, beating

Aug. 3, 2015

[Editorial] Family feud

It is a story that is familiar to Korean drama viewers. Scions of an imaginary chaebol family fight a bitter battle over control of the company that the father or the grandfather had founded. Lots of backstabbing, behind-the-door conspiracies and boardroom intrigues characterize such dramas.　The Lotte Group family feud unfolding before the nation and broadcast almost daily on television news does not deviate much from the drama plots. Except this case involves a real company, the country’s fifth

Aug. 3, 2015

[Editorial] First step

Few expect that reforming the labor market is an easy task, especially considering the stubbornness and militancy of the unions and the liberal opposition which usually sides with radical labor activism.But the way the rival parties are dealing with the issue even before they start negotiations makes one wonder whether they would be able to achieve the all-important reforms.　The ruling party and the main opposition party are far apart on key issues of the labor reform talks -- from what should b

Aug. 2, 2015

[Editorial] Looking to Blue House

During the past authoritarian governments, state prosecution was often exploited as a tool for suppressing the president’s opponents and critics. Businesses also fell victim to investigation by prosecutors acting under the command of the president.　The prosecution is not entirely free from this shameful legacy. It is still widely believed that prosecutors engage in investigations with political motives. 　The prosecution’s months-long investigation of POSCO Group could be a good case in point. Wh

Aug. 2, 2015