[Editorial] Too fast

It seems that the Japanese government is laying the ground for a visit to North Korea by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which if realized, could pose diplomatic challenges not only to South Korea but also other major players in the region. The first indication of Abe’s visit to Pyongyang came from Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on June 3, five days after the two countries agreed to reopen the investigation into Japanese citizens abducted by the North in the 1970s and 1980s. “We must think constantly

June 16, 2014

[Editorial] Close loopholes

When it comes to personnel management, President Park Geun-hye started her presidency disastrously: Her first nominees for the prime minister and five other cabinet minister posts had to bow out in the face of ethical problems.The prime ministerial nominee, Kim Yong-joon, a former senior judge who led Park’s transition team, gave up his nomination amid public outcry over his son’s military service exemption and allegations of real estate speculation.Five more Cabinet nominees followed suit and e

June 16, 2014

[Editorial] Meaning of ‘God’s will’

President Park Geun-hye plans to submit to parliament Tuesday a motion calling for its confirmation of her new prime ministerial nominee, who has been embroiled in a controversy over his remarks on the modern history of the country since his nomination last week.She might not have expected Moon Chang-keuk, her second nominee for the post in about two weeks, to come under pressure to withdraw. A failure to get parliamentary approval of Moon’s nomination would deal a severe blow to the Park admini

June 15, 2014

[Editorial] Election of education chiefs

Members of an education subpanel under a presidential commission on the advancement of local autonomy last week worked out a draft plan to abolish the direct election of educational superintendents. The move came a day after the conservative ruling Saenuri Party formed a task force to review how to change the current system.There has been persistent concern about problems with the election of educational superintendents. But the latest moves by presidential advisers and ruling party officials ar

June 15, 2014

[Editorial] Raise tobacco tax

Marking World No Tobacco Day on May 31, the World Health Organization set out the goals of its campaign for 2014: Prompting governments to increase taxes on tobacco to levels that reduce tobacco consumption, and marshaling individuals and civil organizations to encourage their governments to increase taxes on tobacco.The WHO campaign is based on the conviction that raising taxes on tobacco is the most effective policy to reduce tobacco use and is also the most cost-effective. The organization su

June 13, 2014

[Editorial] Positive signs

The political hostility that peaked during the recent local elections is heating up again over President Park Geun-hye’s nomination of a conservative former journalist as prime minister and the parliamentary probe into the Sewol ferry disaster. In the eyes of many Koreans who are accustomed to extreme partisan fights, the current standoff between the conservative ruling camp and the progressive opposition is nothing new. They are simply inured to politicians who believe that politics is about fi

June 13, 2014

[Editorial] Improper reward

The Defense Ministry’s plan to give extra credits to college students for military service has stirred up a controversy.Under the envisioned scheme, which the ministry hopes to implement by 2017, nine credits will be given to collegians who have served their mandatory duty. Combined with the existing system of allowing those who joined the military while attending college to get up to nine credits by taking online courses, the measure would help them finish school one semester early.Defense Mini

June 12, 2014

[Editorial] Gender wage gap

Korean women are the most educated in the world. With the country having the highest college entrance rate in the 34-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the figure for women has exceeded that of men since 2009. Last year, nearly 75 percent of female high school graduates entered university, while 68.6 percent of male graduates did so, according to data from the national statistics office.But women’s educational advantage has not led to more active participation in econo

June 12, 2014

[Editorial] Illegal fishing

It is lamentable that Korea faces a ban on exporting its fish and fishery products to member countries of the European Union for its failure to fully cooperate in fighting “illegal, unreported and unregulated” fishing.Last November, the European Commission preliminarily identified Korea as a noncooperating country in fighting IUU fishing, citing its failure to properly monitor its fishing fleet, punish vessels engaged in illegal fishing and enact robust fisheries laws.An inspection team from the

June 11, 2014

[Editorial] New P.M. nominee

President Park Geun-hye’s nomination on Monday of former journalist Moon Chang-keuk as her new prime minister reminds us of the constraints she faces in making key appointments.Park’s selection of Moon came as a surprise, given that the former chief editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo has never been mentioned as a possible candidate for the executive branch’s No. 2 post.Moon, 66, spent most of his career as a conservative political journalist. Since his retirement, he has taught journalism at

June 11, 2014

[Editorial] Ill-gotten gains

One of the salient outcomes of the June 4 local elections is that the most left-wing parties fared very badly. Their performance was so poor that one might even say the liberal forces as a whole, which had been building up their support base steadily in recent years, are now in crisis. The far left groups performed dismally across the board. They were removed from all five of their mayoral seats ― one in Incheon and four in Ulsan, the latter a traditional stronghold of laborers, and lost still m

June 10, 2014

[Editorial] Sewol obligation

There is no doubt that the Sewol ferry disaster was one of the hottest issues in the June 4 local elections. As the campaigns heated up in the final days of campaigning, however, the usual smear tactics and other typical ills of electioneering reared their ugly head. As more days go by since the catastrophe occurred on April 16, it is also getting increasingly less media coverage and fewer people talk about it. This may be inevitable. But what’s worrisome is that now that the elections are over,

June 10, 2014

[Editorial] Running against time

A South Korean woman who was forced into sexual enslavement for the imperial Japanese army during World War II died Sunday. The death of the 91-year-old woman is yet another reminder that time is running out for the aging victims to receive a formal apology and due compensation from Tokyo. Her death reduced the number of surviving victims of wartime sexual slavery to 54. Initially, 237 women were on the list of South Korean government-registered former sex slaves, euphemistically called “comfort

June 9, 2014

[Editorial] Beyond partisan framework

Won Hee-ryong, who was elected governor of Jejudo Island in the local elections last week, has asked his rival contender Shin Koo-bum to lead his transition team. The unprecedented move by Won, a reform-minded member of the conservative ruling Saenuri Party, prompted strong protests from the liberal main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, to which Shin belongs.In the face of the backlash, the governor-elect postponed the announcement of his transition committee, which was scheduled

June 9, 2014

[Editorial] R&D paradox

Korea ranks high among OECD countries in terms of total investment in research and development. But it ranks low when it comes to R&D productivity. Addressing this paradox would go a long way toward creating another venture boom and attaining President Park Geun-hye’s vision for making Korea a creative economy.　According to a recent OECD report on Korea’s innovation policies, the nation spent $49.2 billion in R&D in 2012, ranking sixth among the organization’s 34 members. When seen in terms of R

June 8, 2014

[Editorial] Feasibility checks

The winners of the June 4 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial elections have made many costly pledges on the campaign trail to drum up support for vote. Now they are strongly advised to more closely examine the feasibility of their promises before seeking to put them into practice.A tally compiled by the Korea Manifesto Center puts the combined costs of the projects promised by 14 of the 17 winners at 220.7 trillion won, with the central government expected to cover 101 trillion won or 46 per

June 8, 2014

[Editorial] Electorate’s verdict

The June 4 local elections have ended in a tie between the two major parties. Neither the ruling Saenuri Party nor the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy has won an outright victory or suffered a major defeat.The ruling party won eight of the 17 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial seats, one less than the current nine. But party officials expressed satisfaction with the outcome. They said the party had put up a good defense in the aftermath of the Sewol ferry fiasco.Before th

June 5, 2014

[Editorial] Reining in rent-seeking

Following the Sewol ferry tragedy, uprooting the so-called “bureaucratic mafia” has emerged as an urgent national task. Last month, President Park Geun-hye unveiled plans to prevent retired public officials from pursuing rent-seeking in cahoots with officials on active duty. While all government agencies are supposed to join this drive, the ethics committee of the executive branch has recently made a decision that runs counter to it. Late last month, it approved the employment of a former direct

June 5, 2014

[Editorial] After the polls

Now that the nationwide polls are over, major political parties are examining the results of Wednesday’s local elections and ponders their future political maneuvers. President Park Geun-hye and her aides may also be gauging the latest polls’ impact on her administration. Usually Korean local elections are focused more on national politics than local issues. The latest polls, which selected nearly 4,000 new local administrators, council members and education officials, followed this tradition, a

June 4, 2014

[Editorial] Strong won

The Korean won is continuing to appreciate against the U.S. dollar. The rise of the currency’s value requires both government and business to work to minimize its negative effects and maximize its positive effects on the Korean economy. Last week, the Korean currency peaked at 1,017 won against the greenback, its strongest level in five years and 10 months. Some experts now forecast that it may go below 1,000 won per dollar, which has not happened since July 2008. There are ample reasons for the

June 4, 2014