[Editorial] Longing for real leader

About 400 years after his death, Adm. Yi Sun-sin has gripped the entire nation. A movie about his triumph over the invading Japanese fleet is smashing all the box-office records. The film is leading to a sensational boom in the related publishing, tourism and even in online retail businesses. “Roaring Currents,” a period action film portraying the legendary 16th-century admiral, drew 10 million viewers in 12 days. It is the 12th film ever to have sold more than 10 million tickets, and it did it

Aug. 12, 2014

[Editorial] Bad comedy

The appointment of Johnny Yune, a former Korean-American comedian and actor, to the post of the Korea Tourism Organization’s auditor general last week casts serious doubt on the Park Geun-hye administration’s often-stated commitment to overhauling state corporations. Yune, who went to the United States in 1962 on a scholarship, became a U.S. citizen in 1978. He made over 30 appearances on Johnny Carson’s “The Tonight Show” and acted in a number of films. He apparently had little to do with Korea

Aug. 11, 2014

[Editorial] Heightened safety concerns

The Lotte World Tower & Lotte World Mall, comprising what is to be the tallest building on the Korean Peninsula at the height of 555 meters and three adjacent buildings, continues to be plagued by safety concerns today, ahead of the proposed opening of the three mall buildings. Safety issues have been at the forefront of Lotte Group’s list of troubles ever since the initial plan to build the landmark building was unveiled in the 1990s. After abandoning the project at one point, construction fina

Aug. 11, 2014

[Editorial] City sets example

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has unveiled a set of toughened anticorruption rules for its employees. The new ethics code deserves praise since it sets an example for not only other local governments but also the central government and the National Assembly, which have yet to fulfill the commitment to curbing corruption that they made in the wake of the Sewol ferry disaster. The city’s measures are highlighted by harsh punishment for bribery, prevention of conflicts of interest and revolving

Aug. 10, 2014

[Editorial] Japan under siege

Last week witnessed two major developments regarding international efforts to press Japan to resolve the issue of its wartime sexual enslavement of women during World War II. The U.N.’s top human rights official condemned the Tokyo government’s failure to settle the issue in its strongest statement yet. And officials from the White House and the U.S. State Department met with two Korean victims of wartime sex slavery for the first time. These developments indicate that the solidarity of the inte

Aug. 10, 2014

[Editorial] Toward unification

A presidential blue-ribbon committee devoted to preparing for inter-Korean unification held its inaugural session Thursday with little fanfare, as the public attention is riveted to horrible abuses at military barracks and measures to revive the sluggish economy.A recent series of missile and rocket launches by North Korea has also undermined the atmosphere for substantial discourse on how to lay the groundwork for national reunification.Yet, the daunting task of preparing for unification should

Aug. 8, 2014

[Editorial] Intelligence pathologies

Lee Byung-ki, the chief of the nation’s top intelligence agency, told a parliamentary confirmation hearing last month that he would erase the words “political interference” from his mind when he took over the post. He made the remark to demonstrate his determination to reform the National Intelligence Service that had been mired in a string of scandals.During his inauguration ceremony, Lee reiterated his pledge to keep political neutrality, asking NIS staff to commit themselves solely to their p

Aug. 8, 2014

[Editorial] Corrupt lawmakers

At least five members of the National Assembly are being investigated by the prosecution for corruption. Although the five are implicated in three different cases, the probes are making the political community jittery because it is the largest-scale inquiry into politicians in about two years. The investigations are also drawing public attention because they come after the Sewol ferry disaster, which disclosed widespread corruption in public service and the maritime industry. The first lawmaker,

Aug. 7, 2014

[Editorial] Female workforce

The alarm bell has already sounded that Korea’s demographic evolution, highlighted by the world’s lowest birthrate and the fast pace of aging, will dent the nation’s economic growth. Some pessimists say that because of the shortfall in the working-age population, Korea may not be able to get out of a protracted period of low economic growth, which may fall to less than 2 percent in the 2030s. This grim picture raises the importance of fostering the roles of women and senior citizens as key playe

Aug. 7, 2014

[Editorial] Back to work

Rep. Park Young-sun, the interim leader of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, pledged Tuesday to rebuild her party, which suffered a crushing defeat in last week’s parliamentary by-elections, by breaking away from old practices and inertia.In a news conference a day after being chosen by NPAD lawmakers to lead the embattled party until its national convention early next year, Park said she would do her utmost to stay in line with the public viewpoint. Among reform measures

Aug. 6, 2014

[Editorial] Initiatives at ARF

President Park Geun-hye’s government has been successful in strengthening ties with the U.S. and China, though it faces an increasingly difficult strategic task of striking a delicate balance between the two superpowers.Under her presidency that started in February last year, however, South Korea’s relations with North Korea and Japan have remained frozen. At the moment, it still seems hard for South Korea to find momentum for improving ties with the two neighboring countries. Pyongyang is indic

Aug. 6, 2014

[Editorial] Door keeps revolving

One of the social consensuses reached in the wake of the Sewol ferry disaster is that Korea should curb the revolving door employment that fosters collusive links between the government and the private sector. All, from President Park Geun-hye to opposition leaders and families of victims of the sunk ferry, stressed the importance of rooting out the practice that has been cited as a primary causes of the maritime disaster. But some from powerful agencies still exploit loopholes and take high-pai

Aug. 5, 2014

[Editorial] The enemy within

The nation is upset by the belatedly known details of a case in which an enlisted man was beaten to death after months of abuse by his senior colleagues. At the time of the death in April, the Army announced it as an isolated case of unpremeditated violence. As details of the atrocities have come out, the case of Pfc. Yoon, identified only by his family name, is developing into a national issue, with public outrage mounting against the military authorities and politicians joining the uproar. Yoo

Aug. 5, 2014

[Editorial] Bloodshed in Gaza

Nearly a month of bloody conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip has inflicted insufferable pains on Palestinian civilians rather than the militant group.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday vowed to make Hamas pay “an insufferable price” for continued cross-border rocket fire. But Israel’s disproportionate and increasingly indiscriminate attacks have been called into more serious question in the international community.The Palestinian death toll f

Aug. 4, 2014

[Editorial] Record spending abroad

Spending by Korean travelers abroad hit a record high in the second quarter of this year in contrast to a protracted slump in domestic consumption in the aftermath of the ferry disaster in April. According to data released by the Korea Tourism Organization on Sunday, Koreans spent a record $5 billion abroad in the April-June period, up 19.6 percent from a year earlier.As the number of outbound tourists rises continuously, so has the average spending per traveler. This trend, which is partly attr

Aug. 4, 2014

[Editorial] Railway scandal

The prosecution is set to question Rep. Cho Hyun-yong of the ruling Saenuri Party over allegations that he took hundreds of millions of won in bribes from a parts supplier when he chaired the board of the Korea Rail Network Authority from 2008 to 2011. It also suspects Cho of taking bribes after he was elected to the National Assembly in 2012.The allegation against Cho is developing into a bribery scandal of great magnitude as the prosecution expands its inquiry into the case. Cho is one of seve

Aug. 3, 2014

[Editorial] Rebuilding opposition

The main opposition party, which framed the July 30 parliamentary by-elections as a referendum on President Park Geun-hye’s performance, faced a humiliating defeat, winning only four of the 15 seats at stake. Moreover, it yielded a constituency in South Jeolla Province to the ruling party for the first time since 1988.Did the New Politics Alliance for Democracy make a grave mistake when the main opposition party set its sights on the president? Definitely not, given the evidence that her popular

Aug. 3, 2014

[Editorial] $5.54m toys?

If former President Lee Myung-bak had made good on his promise, robotic fish would be swimming along with carp and other freshwater fish and carrying out the task of monitoring water quality in the nation’s four major rivers. None of the developed prototypes, however, can properly perform any of the functions they were designed for.In November 2009, Lee promised that fish-like robots would be released into the rivers to monitor water quality. He said their task was important for the control of w

Aug. 1, 2014

[Editorial] Earnings plunge

Samsung Electronics suffered a 24.6 percent decline in its quarterly operating income, from 9.53 trillion won in the second quarter of 2013 to 7.19 trillion won in the second quarter this year. The deep cut in its operating income came as a shock to industry analysts, with earlier earnings forecasts by 26 brokerages having averaged 8.71 trillion won.Hyundai Motor Group fared better. Yet, its second-quarter operating income plummeted almost 20 percent to 2.86 trillion won. The sharp fall came des

Aug. 1, 2014

[Editorial] Tragedies at barracks

A recent series of apparent suicides by three conscripts has amplified concerns over problems with South Korea’s troop management system.A Navy sailor was found dead on his vessel Monday, a day after two Army privates were discovered hanged in their barracks in separate locations near the heavily fortified border with North Korea. The three servicemen, who were in their early 20s, had been placed on a list of soldiers requiring special attention due to worries over their mental conditions.Their

July 31, 2014