[Editorial] Disgraced military school

The Korea Military Academy has put emphasis on developing a sense of autonomy and responsibility in educating and training its cadets so that they will become good Army officers. Its long-standing practice of letting them take tests without supervisors is intended to make future military commanders realize the value of honor and conscience.A recent string of shameful incidents involving some cadets, however, have raised concerns that the KMA is failing to achieve this goal. It seems no exaggerat

Aug. 27, 2013

[Editorial] Commercial Code

President Park Geun-hye is rolling up her sleeves to boost corporate investment. On Wednesday, she is hosting a lunch for the heads of the top 10 conglomerates. The next day, she is meeting with the chiefs of 30 midsized companies. The Presidential Office said Park arranged the meetings to listen to the captains of Korean industry air their views on corporate investment, job creation and her vision of an economy driven by creativity and technological fusion.Increasing corporate investment is one

Aug. 26, 2013

[Editorial] Jobless growth

The Korean economy’s job creation capacity continues to weaken, aggravating the sad phenomenon of jobless growth.According to the Bank of Korea, the job creation effect of exports ― Korea’s primary engine of growth ― fell more than 30 percent between 2005 and 2011. The employment inducement coefficient of exports stood at 7.3 in 2011, which means that a 1 billion won increase in overseas demand for Korean goods added 7.3 jobs to the economy two years ago. The figure was 10.8 in 2005. It is not j

Aug. 26, 2013

[Editorial] War on shadow economy

The National Tax Service collected 9.8 trillion won less than it could have in value-added taxes last year. It also could have collected another 2 trillion won more in taxes if counterfeit gasoline and diesel had been prevented from being sold to drivers.These uncollected taxes must be the tip of the iceberg, given that the nation’s shadow economy is estimated at 300 trillion won. The administration will have to expose as much of the underground economy to taxation as possible before it consider

Aug. 25, 2013

[Editorial] Roh to pay up fines

Former President Roh Tae-woo, setting himself apart from his immediate predecessor, Chun Doo-hwan, is reportedly planning to pay his fines next month. Chun, who has claimed that he has no money to pay his remaining fines, is being investigated by the prosecution, together with his children and relatives.Roh, who has recently agreed to take 15 billion won from his brother and another 8 billion won from the father of his former daughter-in-law, is planning to use the money to pay 23 billion won in

Aug. 25, 2013

[Editorial] Universal welfare plans

It is becoming increasingly clear that the universal welfare programs introduced in recent years under political motivations are unsustainable.Last week, Kim Moon-soo, governor of Gyeonggi Province, declared that the provincial government would drastically cut its financial support for the free school lunch program next year.The provincial government had originally planned to provide 86 billion won ($76 million) for the scheme next year. But it decided to cut the budget to 18.7 billion won and u

Aug. 23, 2013

[Editorial] First six months

Six months have passed since President Park Geun-hye was sworn in as the nation’s first female chief executive on Feb. 25. Six months is not a short time for Park ― it accounts for a 10th of her five-year term. Yet it is still too early to evaluate her performance, especially on the economic front, as many of her key policies still wait to be put in place. In the fields of diplomacy and national security, however, she has already cut a brilliant figure.Park’s approval ratings are currently above

Aug. 23, 2013

[Editorial] Active seniors

Recent data from the national statistics office showed that the proportion of people aged 50 and older among the country’s working population reached an all-time high in June. The number of workers in this age group stood at 9.36 million at the end of June, accounting for 35.6 percent of Korea’s economically active population of 26.2 million. This proportion represented a sharp increase from 24 percent recorded a decade ago. Workers aged 60 and above took up 13.6 percent of the population that w

Aug. 22, 2013

[Editorial] Business better abroad

A recent survey of 700 Korean manufacturing companies operating production facilities abroad highlighted the need to improve the business environment at home.The poll conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry showed manufacturers having trouble with deteriorating conditions both at home and abroad but believing it was still better to operate overseas.Nearly 38 percent of them said conditions for operating factories abroad had deteriorated while 15.4 percent saw an improvement. Aske

Aug. 22, 2013

[Editorial] Ping-pong dialogue

South and North Korea have exchanged a flurry of proposals and counterproposals for dialogue since they agreed last week to reopen a joint industrial complex that has been shut down for months.In the latest move, the South proposed holding talks on the possible resumption of tours to Mount Geumgang in the North in late September after reunions for separated families are realized. The proposal came in response to Pyongyang’s earlier request that consultations on resuming the tour project suspende

Aug. 21, 2013

[Editorial] Pragmatic opposition

Key officials from the main opposition Democratic Party started a round of consultations Tuesday with metropolitan and provincial government heads affiliated with the party on next year’s budgetary needs. The DP says the discussions, which will continue through next week, will help draw up a more balanced and efficient budget plan for 2014 by reviewing pending projects and grasping exact demands for spending in each region.On the same day, DP chairman Kim Han-gil praised an intraparty committee

Aug. 21, 2013

[Editorial] Autonomous schools

Education is said to be a project that requires a far-sighted plan spanning at least a hundred years. Unfortunately, in Korea, education has been a very hit-and-miss affair. Policy flip-flops have been frequent, confusing students, parents and teachers.The latest case in point involves autonomous private high schools, which are, together with Meister vocational high schools, symbolic of the preceding Lee Myung-bak government’s educational policy.Autonomous private schools refer to private school

Aug. 20, 2013

[Editorial] Time to end gridlock

Only two days are left before the parliamentary probe into the National Intelligence Service’s alleged intervention in the December presidential election comes to an end. Yet there are few signs that the long drawn-out political standoff is thawing.If anything, partisan gridlock is likely to deepen as the main opposition Democratic Party is threatening to step up its fight for NIS reform even after the parliamentary investigation ends.Some DP lawmakers are calling for the appointment of an indep

Aug. 20, 2013

[Editorial] Lawmakers avoiding tax

Rival political parties competitively criticized the government for its initial scheme to overhaul the tax code, which drew an angry response from middle-income earners immediately after being unveiled early this month. Instructed by President Park Geun-hye to review the unpopular plan, Finance Ministry officials hurriedly put forward a revised proposal last week. It included a measure to raise the minimum annual salary subject to reduced tax deductions to 55 million won ($49,000) from the 34.5

Aug. 19, 2013

[Editorial] Initiatives toward ASEAN

In Thursday’s ceremony to mark the 68th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made no mention of Japan’s wartime aggression and skipped its usual pledge not to wage war again, provoking the ire and concern of South Koreans and other neighbors. His stance, which appeared in the context of his rejection of what is called by Japanese conservatives “apology diplomacy,” just reflected his distorted perception of history.In her Liberation Day speech, also gi

Aug. 19, 2013

[Editorial] A deal with Chun

The prosecution is closing in on former President Chun Doo-hwan’s family in its search for his ill-gotten assets presumed to be hidden away. In the face of a criminal investigation gaining momentum, Chun’s family is reportedly considering offering to make a deal with the prosecution.Apprehension must be deepening among the Chun family as a court is set to determine whether to issue an arrest warrant for Chun’s brother-in-law on Monday. Moreover, it appears to be only a matter of time before the

Aug. 18, 2013

[Editorial] Chuseok family reunions

Many South Koreans who have family members residing in North Korea desire to meet them as the Chuseok holiday approaches. On their behalf, the South Korean Red Cross is set to hold talks with its counterpart on Friday. It is a follow-up to President Park Geun-hye’s earlier proposal for family reunions next month.Arranging reunions with long lost family members, their number restricted to some hundreds each time, is an urgent humanitarian issue for the South Korean government. For North Korea, ho

Aug. 18, 2013

[Editorial] College restructuring

The government has announced a package to reform higher education, which is highlighted by a plan to toughen the current rule on establishing universities.Currently, the government automatically approves a plan to set up a university only if it meets the minimum requirements regarding faculty, school sites, school buildings and basic properties for profit.The present system was put in place in 1996 to meet an explosive growth in demand for higher education. It facilitated the establishment of un

Aug. 16, 2013

[Editorial] Park’s proposals

One day after the two Koreas agreed to normalize the disrupted operation of the Gaeseong industrial park, President Park Geun-hye proposed two projects to the North to get the inter-Korean trust-building process rolling.In her Aug. 15 Liberation Day speech, Park suggested that the two Koreas arrange reunions of separated families in the South and the North around the upcoming Chuseok holiday, which falls on Sept. 19 this year.She also formally proposed to the North the establishment of an intern

Aug. 16, 2013

[Editorial] Time running out

An 87-year-old woman who was forced into sexual slavery by Japan during World War II died recently, reducing the number of surviving former Korean comfort women registered with the government to just 57. The death of Lee Yong-nyeo renewed concerns that all the aging victims may pass away before Tokyo issues an apology or compensation.Historians estimate more than 200,000 women, most of whom were Koreans, were coerced into sexual slavery at frontline brothels run by the Japanese military during t

Aug. 15, 2013