[Editorial] Step for future

South Korean and Japanese leaders’ joint tribute to Korean victims of the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing is significant considering the two countries must heal the scars of their past to make it far into the future together. President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida jointly visited a cenotaph honoring the Korean victims at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Sunday. It is the first visit by a South Korean president and the first joint visit by leaders of the two count

May 23, 2023

[Editorial] Fukushima inspection

A team of South Korean experts embarked on a six-day visit to Japan on Sunday for an on-site inspection amid growing concerns over whether the team will be able to properly check the safety status surrounding Japan’s planned release of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. The inspection comes after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a summit in Seoul earlier this month to thaw frosty bilateral relations. E

May 22, 2023

[Editorial] Uproot subsidy fraud

Subsidy irregularities by some nongovernmental organizations detected through inspection by the government are shocking. The Board of Audit and Inspection said on Tuesday it found that 10 NGOs are suspected of embezzling a total of 1.74 billion won ($1.3 million) from subsidies they received from the government. It also said that it had asked the police to investigate 73 people on charges of embezzlement, fraud and violation of the subsidy law. The board selected NGOs whose accounting was dubiou

May 19, 2023

[Editorial] Looming medical crisis

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday rejected the passing of the Nursing Act, marking his second presidential veto that is now feared to intensify divisive conflicts not only in the medical industry, but also in partisan politics. The legislation of the Nursing Act traces back to March 2021, when a group of lawmakers proposed different versions of the bill. Over the past two years -- a period in which medical professionals played a crucial role in fighting COVID-19 -- lawmakers from rival parties

May 18, 2023

[Editorial] Untrustworthy service

Daum, a web portal under Kakao, started showing trending keywords right below the search bar on May 10. Naver is scheduled to launch a similar service in the second half of this year. A few years ago, the portals discontinued their "real-time search trends" services amid controversy that they could be abused by specific groups to manipulate public opinion. They seem to have resurrected the services under new names. The keyword recommendation service arouses concerns that the portals co

May 17, 2023

[Editorial] Snowballing crypto scandal

Rep. Kim Nam-kuk of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea said Sunday he would “temporarily” leave the party because he “does not want to be a burden to the party and its members at this crucial moment.” Kim’s announcement came nine days after embarrassing revelations that he had been engaged in suspicious cryptocurrency transactions and owned around 800,000 wemix coins valued at 6 billion won ($4.4 million), even though he promoted a frugal image. Suspicion

May 16, 2023

[Editorial] No quick fix

Korea Electric Power Corp. recorded an operating loss of 6.2 trillion won ($4.6 billion) in the first quarter of this year. Its quarterly sales increased 31 percent year-on-year thanks to four rate hikes last year, and its operating loss decreased 20 percent. And yet the amount of the loss remains gigantic. Kepco remains in the red since it turned into a deficit in the second quarter of 2021. It posted operating losses of 5.8 trillion won and 32.6 trillion won in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The

May 15, 2023

[Editorial] Med school obsession

The overwhelming and almost obsessive popularity of medical schools among elite Korean students has been a concern among education policymakers over its side effects, such as a growing number of repeat test takers. Another troubling sign is emerging: 1 in 5 applicants who made it to much-coveted medical schools hailed from wealthy districts in southern Seoul -- and their share is steadily on the rise. Among those who were admitted to medical schools, 20.8 percent of applicants came from the thre

May 12, 2023

[Editorial] Step up reforms

The accomplishments of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in its first year are far from small. His presidency marked the first anniversary on Wednesday. It set some state affairs that had caused problems right. The Yoon administration scrapped the nuclear phase-out policy that damaged Korea’s advanced nuclear industry. It eased anti-market real estate regulations that caused property prices to skyrocket. Its attempt to redress the high-handedness of large labor unions is something the previ

May 11, 2023

[Editorial] Shift in COVID-19 policy

The World Health Organization announced Friday that COVID-19 is no longer a global public health emergency, a landmark declaration that calls for a change in policy and strategy to handle the coronavirus. The WHO said in a statement that deaths and hospitalizations related to COVID-19 are declining, while the levels of immunity to the coronavirus is going up as a result of vaccination or prior infection. The global health agency suggests it is time to shift to more long-term prevention and contr

May 10, 2023

[Editorial] Foundation for cooperation

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to South Korea is significant in that it revived the "shuttle diplomacy" format after a 12-year hiatus. It was a two-day working visit in return for President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to Japan in March. Kishida's return visit came less than two months after they met in Tokyo. The Japanese leader came to Seoul on Sunday for a summit with Yoon. The last time a Japanese leader visited Korea was February 2018. At that time, Prime Mi

May 9, 2023

[Editorial] Crypto asset disclosure

Rep. Kim Nam-kuk of the Democratic Party of Korea is now at the center of an intensifying political conflict over his cryptocurrency transactions. The focus is on whether his holdings and disposal of crypto assets violated laws or regulations. With the investigation still underway, there is no way at this point to conclude that any illegal acts were committed by Kim. Regardless of the result of the probe, however, the implications of the case are likely to be far-reaching, especially in connecti

May 8, 2023

[Editorial] Biased evaluation

Korea Gas Corp., a state-owned enterprise that effectively monopolizes the import of liquefied natural gas, is said to have raised the annual salary of its executives by 30 percent on average last year despite its mounting debt. The average annual salary of its board members was 171.48 million won ($128,545) in 2022, according to ALIO, a government system that provides management information on public institutions including state-owned enterprises. The amount was up 30.1 percent from 131.79 mill

May 5, 2023

[Editorial] Shuttle diplomacy

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is scheduled to pay a two-day visit to South Korea this weekend amid growing attention about whether the Japanese leader will respond in kind to President Yoon Suk Yeol’s friendly gesture. Kishida’s visit to Seoul -- the first bilateral visit by a Japanese leader in 12 years -- was initiated by Yoon’s efforts to improve the badly damaged ties between the two countries in recent years over historical and economic disputes. In March, Yoon fle

May 4, 2023

[Editorial] Leafleting of NK positive

The Supreme Court ruled last week that it was unfair for the Moon Jae-in administration to cancel the permission for the establishment of a group run by North Korean defectors to fly balloons filled with leaflets into North Korea. It reversed the lower courts’ decision which had said the cancellation of the permission was just. The Supreme Court ruled that sending leaflets into North Korea plays a positive role in showing North Koreans the reality of their nation's regime, calling att

May 3, 2023

[Editorial] Standoff over Nursing Act

A divisive conflict is heating up in the medical sector that could paralyze medical services for the public over the Nursing Act, which was passed Thursday by the opposition-controlled National Assembly. Making matters more complicated is the muddy partisan politics over the controversial bill, with the ruling People Power Party set to ask President Yoon Suk Yeol to veto the bill -- a development that could weaken the president’s political standing from the view of the main opposition Demo

May 2, 2023

[Editorial] Nuclear alliance

President Yoon Suk Yeol returned home Sunday wrapping up a seven-day state visit to the United States. Yoon and US President Joe Biden discussed ways to strengthen extended deterrence and released the Washington Declaration separately from a joint summit statement. The gist of the declaration is the establishment of a new bilateral nuclear consultative group and the regular deployment of US strategic assets in South Korea. The Washington Declaration is significant in that US capabilities to back

May 1, 2023

[Editorial] Lurking beneath fragile data

South Korea’s economy skirted a recession in the first quarter of this year -- by a narrow margin. Exports weakened, investment slowed and the growth outlook darkened amid the increasing uncertainties of the global economy. The economy expanded a mere 0.3 percent in the January-March period, compared with the previous quarter, according to the data of the Bank of Korea. Given that it had contracted by 0.4 percent on-quarter in the October-December period, the plus figure may offer a hopefu

April 28, 2023

[Editorial] Crucial occasion

President Yoon Suk Yeol and US President Joe Biden will release a special statement on strengthened extended deterrence to North Korea’s nuclear threat, South Korea's presidential office and the White House announced Tuesday. It will be the first time for South Korea and the US to release a separate statement on extended deterrence as part of a summit outcome. Documentation on a nuclear umbrella in the form of a statement is an extraordinary measure for an ally. In connection with Yoo

April 27, 2023

[Editorial] Tricky support plan

The massive rental fraud case in Incheon has taken a new turn as the government has opposed a proposal calling for direct state intervention, while a special revision bill related to the scam will be put to a vote in the National Assembly this week. At the heart of the dispute is whether the government should extend direct financial support to the victims of home rental scams by offering them security deposits first through taxpayer money and then recoup the deposits later. The proposal was made

April 26, 2023