[Editorial] Perverted teachers

The government has announced a package of measures aimed at curbing sex crimes and domestic violence. These two problems, along with school violence and substandard food, are the “four social evils” on which the Park Geun-hye administration has declared war. The latest plans include the launch of a mobile service to provide information about convicted sex offenders, which is currently only available on the website www.sexoffender.go.kr. The government will also develop an electronic tag with adv

Feb. 28, 2014

[Editorial] Demographic vitality

Last year only 302 Koreans registered as emigrants, marking the lowest number since the government began compiling emigration data in 1962 when 386 people left here to live abroad.The number of Korean emigrants increased steeply to a peak of 46,533 in 1976. Until the early 2000s, more than 10,000 Koreans emigrated annually, according to data from the Foreign Ministry. But the figure fell below the 10,000 mark in 2003 and shrank to less than 1,000 in 2010.The continuous decline in the number of e

Feb. 27, 2014

[Editorial] Equal education

It may seem too restrictive, or even nonsensical, to punish schools for teaching students what is beyond the scope of the regular curriculum set by education authorities. That was what lawmakers did last week. They passed a bill banning proactive teaching at schools and any form of test that requires students to study beyond their curriculum. Any school or teacher found to have broken the law, which is to take effect in September, will be subject to stern disciplinary action.The fact that the le

Feb. 27, 2014

[Editorial] New economic vision

President Park Geun-hye has marked her first year in office by unveiling a new economic vision. In a nationally televised news conference Tuesday, she sketched out an ambitious three-year plan aimed at putting the economy back on a high-growth path. Park painted a rosy picture for the economy. Through the reform package, she hoped to raise Korea’s potential growth rate back to the 4 percent range, increase its annual per-capita income beyond $30,000 and boost the employment rate to 70 percent ―

Feb. 26, 2014

[Editorial] Preparing for unification

Amid growing signs of improving cross-border relations, President Park Geun-hye has put forth a plan to launch a presidential committee to prepare for the reunification of Korea.Park unveiled the plan during her announcement on Tuesday of a three-year economic innovation blueprint. It was the first time Park had referred to such an organization. She said the presidential committee would serve as a forum for exploring a “systematic and constructive” approach to unification. She also said the pane

Feb. 26, 2014

[Editorial] Four years from now

The excitement, thrills, rejoicing and despair are all over. The Sochi Olympics, which captivated the hearts and minds of people around the world, has come to a close after a 17-day run. We Koreans were also enthralled by the athletes’ performances, staying up until the wee hours to cheer for Team Korea and share both their victories and their losses. We were happy to see the excellent performances of star athletes like Kim Yu-na, Lee Sang-hwa and Park Seung-hi. We were impressed by those who di

Feb. 25, 2014

[Editorial] Lawmakers’ job

The Democratic Party on Monday submitted to the National Assembly a bill aimed at strengthening lawmakers’ ethical standards. Among other things, it allows a recall of lawmakers and imposes tighter rules on taking cash gifts for weddings, funerals and book publishing. The DP’s submission is a follow-up to the party’s announcement on Feb. 3 of the first of a series of “political self-reform” measures. On Sunday, the DP also announced a package of measures aimed at making it a cleaner party. These

Feb. 25, 2014

[Editorial] Park’s first anniversary

The two words President Park Geun-hye has mentioned most frequently since she took office a year ago are “people” and “we.” She has used “people” 379 times and “we” 310 times in her speeches and other public remarks over the past year, according to Cheong Wa Dae officials.The frequent use of the two words is quite natural for Park, who began her five-year presidency with pledges to build a “100 percent Korea” and bring happiness to all Korean citizens. Marking her first year in office today, how

Feb. 24, 2014

[Editorial] Partisan calculations

The conservative ruling Saenuri Party and the liberal main opposition Democratic Party have been locked in partisan strife since President Park Geun-hye was sworn in a year ago. They have been quick to point fingers at each other over a range of controversial matters.Last week, however, the two parties seemed less enthusiastic to take on two cases that should have been used as good occasions to criticize one another.The opposition party backpedaled on its earlier stance on the issue of unseating

Feb. 24, 2014

[Editorial] Tokyo’s provocations

Scoffing at Washington’s pressure to pursue reconciliation with Seoul, the Tokyo government is stepping up provocations against its neighbor, threatening to ruin the already frayed bilateral relationship. One cornerstone of Seoul-Tokyo relations is the Kono statement of 1993, which was issued by then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono to acknowledge and apologize for the involvement of the Japanese government and military in forcing Korean women to serve as “comfort women,” or sexual slaves for

Feb. 23, 2014

[Editorial] Bittersweet reunions

Two nights and three days was too short a time for the families reuniting for the first time after more than six decades of separation. But that was all that was granted to the 80 elderly South Koreans and their 180 relatives from North Korea who gathered at a mountain resort in the North last week. The reunions were bittersweet. The separated families from the two sides were delighted to reunite after so many years of separation. But the moments of joy were too short. They had to bid farewell t

Feb. 23, 2014

[Editorial] Renewed momentum

A proposal to rewrite the Constitution has gained renewed momentum, with 151 lawmakers having so far joined an advocacy group in the 300-seat National Assembly. The group is now capable of setting an amendment process in motion, given that either a majority of the total members of the legislature or the president is permitted to propose a constitutional amendment.The group says it will produce a single draft amendment for deliberation in the National Assembly by April. But its promise is a setba

Feb. 21, 2014

[Editorial] No more ‘parachuting?’

The Park administration says it will do away with the practice of “parachuting” unqualified political appointees to the top posts of corporations invested in by the government. It says that from now on, candidates for the posts of chief executive officer and comptroller will be screened out unless they have worked for five years or longer in the business areas in which their management skills are demanded.If the promise is met with public skepticism, and even cynicism, the administration has onl

Feb. 21, 2014

[Editorial] Ban on ‘advanced learning’

The government has come up with another measure to normalize school education and curb the excessive expansion of the private education sector.The latest step calls for banning elementary, middle and high schools from cramming into the heads of their students the stuff that they should be learning semesters or even years later.Banning this nonsensical practice, called “advanced learning” here, was one of President Park Geun-hye’s campaign promises in the field of education. To put her pledge int

Feb. 20, 2014

[Editorial] Low safety awareness

Immediately after taking office about a year ago, President Park Geun-hye restructured the government. Among the many changes she introduced, one thing puzzled many. She insisted on changing the name of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security to the Ministry of Security and Public Administration.Changing a ministry’s name involves costs. But Park wanted to put “security” before “public administration” in the ministry’s name simply to demonstrate the new government’s commitment to maki

Feb. 20, 2014

[Editorial] Action long overdue

A U.N. investigation panel has released the most comprehensive, scathing report yet on human rights violations in North Korea. What is laid bare by the report might not shock many of us in South Korea, who know better than most about how horrible the situation in the totalitarian state has been. Yet it is sad to read the report, which even compares what has been taking place in the northern part of the peninsula with atrocities committed by the Nazis. It is shameful that we have done little for

Feb. 19, 2014

[Editorial] Deadwood faith

Many received the news with disbelief. It was hard to imagine that a lawmaker sitting in the National Assembly was the chieftain of a secret organization that aimed to overthrow the government in an armed uprising. We shuddered with fear and anger. The court ruling that found Rep. Lee Seok-ki of the United Progressive Party and six others guilty of the charges of treason and praising North Korea proved that those who had even the slightest doubts had been wholly mistaken. A district court in Suw

Feb. 19, 2014

[Editorial] Viktor Ahn’s gold

The short-track speed skater who finished first in the men’s 1,000 meters and won the first gold for Russia in Sochi on Saturday was Viktor Ahn, formerly a South Korean citizen. South Koreans best remember him as the man who won three gold medals in the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics under his former name Ahn Hyun-soo. A U.S. daily hypothetically compared the case to Michael Jordan deciding to play for Cuba in the Olympics. The comment was a bit far-fetched. Russia is not to Korea what Cuba is to th

Feb. 18, 2014

[Editorial] Document forgery

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs allegedly obtained copies of the Chinese government papers documenting a criminal suspect’s exit to and entry from North Korea. But the Seoul-based Chinese Embassy was quoted as saying that the copies, submitted to the court, were forgeries. Now the question is who doctored the immigration documents.Involved in the case is Yoo Woo-sung, a North Korean refugee of Chinese descent, who had worked as an official of the Seoul metropolitan government until

Feb. 18, 2014

[Editorial] Social dialogue

Industrial relations are expected to be highly unstable this year as a host of labor issues remain unresolved. A recent survey conducted by the Korea Employers Federation has found that more than 3 out of 4 companies expect industrial relations to worsen in 2014 compared with last year.Many companies predict the expanded scope of ordinary wages will be the biggest labor issue this year. In December, the Supreme Court ruled that non-monthly bonuses, if paid out regularly, constituted part of ordi

Feb. 17, 2014