[Editorial] Practical cooperation

The western Japanese island of Tsushima, about 50 km off the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula, hosts more than 150,000 Korean tourists annually, more than five times its population.It is natural for Korean companies to seek to invest in resort and other accommodation facilities on the island. A plot of land purchased by a Korean firm in June happens to be located near a structure used by a Japan Maritime Self-Defense unit. In the eyes of Japan’s Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, the pur

Nov. 21, 2013

[Editorial] Is this time different?

The government is rolling up its sleeves to reform state-run corporations as their lax management despite excessive indebtedness is causing public anger. In her budget speech at the National Assembly on Monday, President Park Geun-hye pledged to reform the public sector. Referring to the glaring instances of managerial laxity at public agencies exposed during the parliamentary audit period, Park said the government would ensure that such practices are not repeated.She also said the government wo

Nov. 20, 2013

[Editorial] Breaking impasse

Twelve days are left until the National Assembly is constitutionally obligated to approve the 2014 budget bill. There are many other bills that the administration would like the legislature to pass before it closes its current 100-day regular session on Dec. 10, as scheduled.This is not to say the regular session cannot be extended. On the contrary, it will probably need an extension, with little progress being made in the budgetary process. Barring a sudden breakthrough in the impasse, the best

Nov. 19, 2013

[Editorial] Ill-advised CEO change

Chung Joon-yang, chairman and chief executive officer of POSCO, offered to resign last Friday. He did so well ahead of the expiry of his term in office, which had been set for February 2015.But the news did not come as a surprise. Nor would anyone have believed him when he said he was under “no outside pressure” when he decided to step down when the next shareholders’ meeting was held next March.The days of his stay in office were numbered when Park Geun-hye was elected president in December. Ch

Nov. 19, 2013

[Editorial] Overseas relief aid

Rep. Jasmine Lee of the ruling Saenuri Party, a naturalized Korean from the Philippines, submitted a parliamentary resolution last week, urging the Seoul government to bolster its assistance for the Southeast Asian country hit by a super typhoon. More than 100 lawmakers supported her move.Some online postings criticized her for acting as a Filipina rather than Korean parliamentarian. Needless to say, this criticism was inconsiderate and narrow-minded.The resolution submitted by her is the fourth

Nov. 18, 2013

[Editorial] Game addiction

More than 21 people, many of whom were pop singers, comedians and other celebrities, were indicted last week for betting on illegal sports gambling websites. According to the prosecution, they wagered large sums on football teams in the English Premier League through private gambling websites.Their indictment was just one case showing how widely illegal gambling has permeated Korean society. Government figures estimate the size of the illicit gambling sector at 75 trillion won ($70 billion), nea

Nov. 18, 2013

[Editorial] Account surplus grows

Korea’s current account surplus grew for the 20th consecutive month in September. With this trend set to continue, the nation is set to produce the largest-ever surplus in 2013. This should be welcomed, though with reservation. The Korea Development Institute expects this year’s current account surplus will reach a record high of $69 billion. The Bank of Korea, which is more conservative in its estimation, says it will be around $63 billion. Japan expects it will have a current surplus amounting

Nov. 17, 2013

[Editorial] More questions raised

Wrapping up its investigation into the absence of a 2007 inter-Korean summit transcript at the National Archives on Friday, the prosecution claimed then-President Roh Moo-hyun ordered his aides not to deliver it to the government office. It said he told them to delete all related files from the presidential office’s computer system. The prosecution said Roh ordered his aides to make a copy of the transcript of his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, classify it as top secret and keep it

Nov. 17, 2013

[Editorial] Union gets reprieve

Pending a court ruling, the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union will be allowed to remain a legitimate trade union and exercise its right to engage in collective bargaining and take industrial action. The conditional permission was granted earlier in the week when the court accepted the liberal union’s request for an injunction against the administration’s move to deprive it of its legal status as a trade union.What the court did on Wednesday was to order the administration to put on ho

Nov. 15, 2013

[Editorial] Fiscally irresponsible

President Park Geun-hye’s administration says it plans to balance the national budget in 2017, the final year of her governance. But it is more optimistic in its fiscal outlook than warranted, its critics say.Most notable among the critics is the National Assembly Budget Office, which says the demand for spending on welfare is soaring while tax revenues are not growing fast enough to meet it. If the administration has an earnest desire to balance the budget by the target year, the office says, i

Nov. 15, 2013

[Editorial] Parliament in paralysis

The ruling Saenuri Party is seeking to amend the National Assembly Act, which was revised last year to make it virtually impossible for the majority party to pass bills unilaterally. The party is also planning to file a request with the Constitutional Court for adjudication on the constitutionality of the law.The present law was enacted toward the end of the 18th National Assembly to root out violence in the Assembly. At the time, public aversion to lawmakers frequently engaging in unseemly braw

Nov. 14, 2013

[Editorial] Top banks under scrutiny

The financial regulator is inspecting the nation’s top four commercial banks as they are plagued by allegations of corruption. It is unusual for the Financial Supervisory Service to inspect the four largest banks ― Kookmin, Hana, Shinhan and Woori ― at the same time.For Kookmin Bank, the FSS has launched an intensive probe into the recent allegations that the bank’s branch in Tokyo had been involved in irregularities to create slush funds.The Tokyo branch is suspected of having extended illegal

Nov. 14, 2013

[Editorial] Curbing jeonse prices

Korea has a unique housing rental system called jeonse, in which a tenant deposits a large amount of money instead of paying monthly rent to a landlord. The average jeonse price in the country has increased for a record 64 consecutive weeks, prompting outcry from many working-class and lower-income families.A local economic research institute recently cited the skyrocketing jeonse prices as one of the “four major culprits” behind the sluggish national economy, along with an aging population, gro

Nov. 13, 2013

[Editorial] Practicality and principle

A group of Japanese intellectuals came forward Monday to launch a movement to inherit and enhance the spirit of the 1995 statement announced by then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, which apologized for Tokyo’s pre-1945 wartime atrocities. They criticized incumbent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for his distorted historical perceptions and attempts at reinterpreting the pacifist constitution to open the way for exercising the right to collective self-defense.This conscientious voice raised by academ

Nov. 13, 2013

[Editorial] Fake parts in weapons

The nuclear industry is not the only industry in Korea plagued by the malpractice of parts suppliers fabricating test certificates. The Defense Agency for Technology and Quality has found that similar irregularities had been committed by defense contractors as well.The arms acquisition watchdog has recently scrutinized all the parts and raw materials used in the 136,844 military items supplied by defense contractors in the last three years. Through the unprecedented inspection, the agency discov

Nov. 12, 2013

[Editorial] Uniform tax rate

Speaking during a parliamentary audit of his ministry last month, Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said that it would be desirable to impose all corporate taxes at a uniform rate. Though he added the introduction of the measure would be considered on a long-term basis, his remarks prompted strong backlash from political circles.Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party argued a flat tax system would only benefit large corporations and increase burdens on smaller enterprises. The conservativ

Nov. 11, 2013

[Editorial] Dying alone

A survey released last week showed that more than 30 percent of salaried workers in their 20s and 30s had no intention of taking care of their parents at home. Asked to cite the reason, about half noted they could barely afford to support their spouse and children, and 29.4 percent said their parents had prepared for their later years.These results may not have been so surprising but were still disappointing for elderly people, many of whom have spent their savings or other assets to support the

Nov. 11, 2013

[Editorial] Putin’s Seoul visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin is coming to Seoul Tuesday for a two-day visit. His talks with President Park Geun-hye will cover a variety of issues, ranging from regional security to Russian-South Korean ties.Among the key agenda items will undoubtedly be Korean participation in Russia’s development of Siberia, which is rich in natural gas and other resources ― an issue the two leaders broached when they met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Summit in St. Petersburg two months ago. Park and

Nov. 10, 2013

[Editorial] Assembly process stalled

In protest against what it perceives to be biased investigations by the prosecution, the opposition Democratic Party is boycotting all National Assembly sessions. At the same time, it is calling for an investigation by an independent counsel into an allegation that the spy agency breached the law by intervening in the 2012 presidential election.The opposition party had good reason to suspect that the prosecution was unfair in its investigation into an allegation that former President Roh Moo-hyu

Nov. 10, 2013

[Editorial] Misguided budget plan?

During her election campaign last year, President Park Geun-hye pledged that patients with one of the government-designated four major illnesses ― cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and incurable diseases ― would be charged a minimum amount of the cost of treatment. She said the additional cost to be covered the state-administered medical insurance would be 1.5 trillion won each year. But she was accused by her opposition rival of being too conservative in her estimate. Now the Park

Nov. 8, 2013