[Editorial] Chaebol’s greed

One large business enterprise after another is implicated in a scandal involving families controlling them. Quite a few leaders of family-controlled business conglomerates, or chaebol, have recently been sent to prison for their fraudulent practices.In July, Lee Jae-hyun, chairman of CJ Group, was arrested on charges of embezzlement, negligence and tax evasion. He was accused of creating a slush fund after fraudulently taking 100 billion won from the business group and evading 70 billion won in

Oct. 4, 2013

[Editorial] Revealing truth

The controversy over the whereabouts of the transcript of the 2007 summit between President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has entered a new phase as prosecutors have found the missing electronic document. According to prosecutors who have been tracing the missing transcript since late July, the important document was found not where it should be ― the National Archives of Korea ― but in the computer system that Roh used after retirement.When Roh moved to his hometown, Bongha V

Oct. 3, 2013

[Editorial] Low-cost mortgages

The government’s new mortgage program has proved tremendously popular among first-time home buyers, raising expectations that it could increase housing transactions and revitalize the depressed real estate market.The government has introduced two innovative, low-cost products, the likes of which people here have never seen before. One is a profit-sharing mortgage while the other is a profit/loss-sharing one.Under the profit-sharing type, the government provides first-time buyers with a 20-year m

Oct. 3, 2013

[Editorial] Improper match-up

The U.S. has suggested considering another delay in the transfer of wartime operational control to South Korea, but apparently with a precondition that Seoul finds hard to accept.Top U.S. officials have recently increased pressure on Seoul to join the Pentagon-led global missile shield program, implying that its participation would facilitate discussion on putting off the OPCON handover slated for December 2015. They cite the need to counter threats from North Korea’s ballistic missiles, but Sou

Oct. 2, 2013

[Editorial] Ideological shift

The parliamentary by-elections set for Oct. 30 will draw attention as a test-run for local polls in June, which are to be followed by parliamentary and presidential elections in 2016 and 2017, respectively. In preparing for the electoral showdowns, election strategists of the main political parties may have to take into account a new phenomenon: 20-something voters who have been increasingly tilted toward conservative stances.A recent series of polls shattered the conventional perception that yo

Oct. 2, 2013

[Editorial] Pay-as-you-go rules

The government is planning to introduce pay-as-you-go, or PAYGO, budgeting rules to maintain fiscal soundness by preventing political parties from recklessly passing costly welfare bills.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said it would seek to revise the law on state finances during the ongoing parliamentary session to bring the rules into effect next year.PAYGO is the practice of financing new spending commitments with currently available funds rather than fresh debt. Under the rules, a new l

Oct. 1, 2013

[Editorial] Flawed pension plan

President Park Geun-hye’s revised pension program for senior citizens is going to be a hard sell, as it faces strong resistance from the main opposition Democratic Party. On the campaign trail last year, Park pledged to introduce a universal basic pension plan that gives all senior citizens aged 65 or older a monthly allowance of 200,000 won, regardless of their income. Yet last week, the government scaled back the plan, citing an unexpected revenue drop due to the slow economic recovery. The re

Oct. 1, 2013

[Editorial] Sending back statues

Culture Minister Yoo Jin-ryong has rekindled controversy over the issue of two ancient Korean Buddhist statues stolen from Japan last year with his recent remarks endorsing their return to Japanese owners. He reportedly said during a meeting with his Japanese counterpart last week that the Korean government would make due efforts to ensure the statues would be sent back to Japan. Yoo was quoted by a Japanese daily as reiterating the position on the following day.A year ago, a Korean crime ring s

Sept. 30, 2013

[Editorial] Tripartite cooperation

Korea’s national competitiveness ranked 25th on a list of 148 countries released by the World Economic Forum last month, prompting calls here for strengthened efforts to further sharpen its global competitive edge. Among the major obstacles to enhancing the country’s competitiveness are its inflexible labor market and strained labor-management relations. Korea’s labor market efficiency and labor-management cooperation placed 78th and 132nd, respectively, on the 2013 WEF list.President Park Geun-

Sept. 30, 2013

[Editorial] Avoiding embarrassment?

President Park Geun-hye accepted a resignation offer from Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook on Saturday, more than two weeks after he tendered it. She has yet to accept the resignation of Minister of Health and Welfare Chin Young, who tendered his resignation on Wednesday, only to be asked to remain in the post, and offered to resign again on Friday.The wishes of a public officeholder should be respected if he submits a letter of resignation. The president and others in charge may call on him to

Sept. 29, 2013

[Editorial] Mind-boggling debt

When put together, the national debt, the liabilities of government-owned corporations and the government’s debt guarantees have topped 1 quadrillion won ($930 billion). The figure, represented by 1 followed by 15 zeros, is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.During the past three years, the public-sector debt has increased 28.1 percent, from 807 trillion won to 1,033.8 trillion won. What is still alarming is that the debt’s increase can be arrested at 1,206.1 trillion won in 2017 only i

Sept. 29, 2013

[Editorial] Dispute over subsidies

The central government is planning to increase its subsidies to provincial and metropolitan governments by 5 trillion won each year by readjusting national and local taxes. But given local tax cuts, the net increase in revenue will be a mere 1.5 trillion won, which the local governments say will be woefully inadequate to cover increasing welfare costs.The dispute over subsidies to local governments follows the central government’s decision to scale down its earlier basic pension plan in its 2014

Sept. 27, 2013

[Editorial] Deficit after deficit

In 2014, President Park Geun-hye’s administration foresees 370.7 trillion won in revenue and 357.7 trillion won in spending, both in its 2014 consolidated budget request. But no one should be overwhelmed by the consolidated budget surplus, which is far from a rigorous measure of fiscal soundness. A more meticulous measure is the operational budget balance, which is defined as the consolidated budget balance minus the social security balance, plus the redemption of public funds. The 2014 operatio

Sept. 27, 2013

[Editorial] Revitalizing factory estates

The government’s plan to renovate aging industrial complexes and create new high-tech factory parks, which was unveiled Wednesday, should help improve the unfavorable local business environment that has been pushing many Korean companies to move their production facilities abroad.According to figures from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, there are currently 993 industrial estates across the country, housing 67,895 firms that account for 65 percent and 76 percent of the country’s manuf

Sept. 26, 2013

[Editorial] Consistent plan

It was natural that the trust-building process was highlighted in the basic plan unveiled Wednesday for managing relations between South and North Korea for the coming five years. The plan, released by a commission affiliated with Seoul’s Unification Ministry, will guide policies toward the North during the term of President Park Geun-hye. It seeks to achieve “a small form of unity” in various fields such as the economy through the process to lay the foundations for the eventual reunification of

Sept. 26, 2013

[Editorial] Hot money alert

The government is on the alert as massive inflows of foreign capital are putting upward pressure on the Korean currency, threatening to erode the competitiveness of Korea’s exports.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance hurriedly convened a meeting Tuesday with chief financial officers of major export companies to discuss measures to stabilize the currency markets. The ministry’s move was prompted by the Korean won’s sharp rise against the greenback on Monday. It wanted to make sure that Korean ex

Sept. 25, 2013

[Editorial] Ultimatum to union

The government has given the left-leaning Korean Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union an ultimatum that it would be outlawed unless it amends its constitution that accepts dismissed teachers as members.The Ministry of Employment and Labor served the final notice Monday, telling the 60,000-member powerful union to follow its order by Oct. 23 or face losing its hard-won legal status.Under the current law on trade unions, an organization is not regarded as a trade union if it allows those who ar

Sept. 25, 2013

[Editorial] Reality check

President Park Geun-hye will certainly feel embarrassed when the Cabinet meeting set for Thursday passes the budget proposal for next year, which is expected to curtail funding for her controversial campaign pledges to drastically expand welfare benefits. Her signature program designed to pay basic pension to all citizens aged 65 and older is to be restructured to narrow the scope of recipients and cut the amount of payments.The reduced funding will also likely trim her other generous plans for

Sept. 24, 2013

[Editorial] Reactivating reactor

It has proven more difficult than expected to build momentum toward the resumption of multilateral negotiations aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. The differences among the countries involved in the six-party talks over the circumstances for restarting their formal discussion have not been narrowed by an inch since the U.S. and Chinese leaders agreed to work together to denuclearize the North during their summit in June.South Korea and the U.S. have maintained that it is meaning

Sept. 24, 2013

[Editorial] Normalizing Assembly

For lawmakers, Chuseok is a time to touch base with their constituents back home. During the holidays, they travel to their hometowns and listen to the voices of local residents. As in other years, most lawmakers went back to their hometowns during the long Chuseok break last week to get in touch with their constituents and hear what they had to say about major national issues.Now back in Seoul, they are sharing what they have seen and heard during their visits with party leaders to help them be

Sept. 23, 2013