[Editorial] Employment package

The government is planning to introduce a quota for the employment of young people to combat worsening youth joblessness. At the same time, it will promote part-time employment to create jobs for women and those approaching old age.These measures are part of an employment package the government is to announce soon to meet President Park Geun-hye’s key campaign promise of raising the nation’s employment rate from the present 64.2 percent to 70 percent by 2017. To tackle youth unemployment, the Na

May 24, 2013

[Editorial] Back to dialogue?

North Korea has signaled a shift toward a peace offensive after three months of saber-rattling that increased tension on the Korean Peninsula.On Thursday, China’s state television quoted Choe Ryong-hae, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s envoy to China, as saying that North Korea “is willing to accept China’s suggestion to have talks with all parties” involved in tackling “the problems of the Korean Peninsula.”A day earlier, Pyongyang proposed to Seoul that the two sides jointly host an event in

May 24, 2013

[Editorial] Reviving Nordpolitik

South Korea is moving to activate cooperation with Russia in a move prompted by its two powerful neighbors’ bids to grab energy and infrastructure development projects in the country trying to accelerate economic growth under President Vladimir Putin’s leadership. In recent years, Seoul has not paid due attention to boosting ties with Moscow, while preoccupied with consolidating its alliance with Washington, enlisting support from Beijing in resolving the nuclear standoff with Pyongyang and conf

May 23, 2013

[Editorial] An anxious society

Nearly 4 million closed-circuit TVs are installed at buildings, apartment complexes, public facilities and streets across Korea, according to figures from the Ministry of Security and Public Administration. Still, demand for security-related services has been growing in a reflection of widespread anxiety in Korean society.In addition to CCTV, unmanned electronic security and access control systems have been set up at an increasing number of places. Recently, a new type of service to code voice c

May 23, 2013

[Editorial] Setting history right

At a time when right-wing Japanese politicians are making reckless, history-distorting remarks on a daily basis, it is refreshing to hear that a group of Japanese intellectuals is visiting Korea to set history straight. The group, consisting of three retired history professors and a Buddhist monk, held a news conference in Busan on Tuesday to rebut Tokyo’s claim to Dokdo and urge conservative Japanese politicians to face history squarely.The four intellectuals are members of a volunteer group ca

May 22, 2013

[Editorial] Tripartite talks

Minister of Employment and Labor Phang Ha-nam has proposed tripartite talks among labor, management and the government to resolve the continuing controversy over the scope of “ordinary wages.”The controversy revolves around whether quarterly bonuses constitute part of workers’ ordinary wages.The ordinary wage matters because it is used to calculate various allowances, including those for extended, night or holiday work and retirement. Yet the relevant law does not clearly define it. According to

May 22, 2013

[Editorial] Show-off events

Over the last weekend, hundreds of thousands of people visited the international garden expo being held in the southern coastal city of Suncheon, South Jeolla Province. Organizers have raised the targeted number of visitors to the event, which will continue through Oct. 20, from 4 million to 6 million.Visitors are said to feel refreshed and relaxed while looking around 80 gardens set up by 23 participating countries under a variety of themes at the spacious plot. A number of officials from other

May 21, 2013

[Editorial] Dealing with Pyongyang

North Korea has ratcheted up tensions again in a measured way by firing what appeared to be short-range missiles into the East Sea for three consecutive days starting Saturday. Speculation has arisen about the North’s intention behind the launches, which it claimed were part of “a normal military exercise.” Experts note the missile firings seem aimed at putting pressure on President Park Geun-hye ahead of her planned visit to Beijing to discuss tension-easing measures with Chinese leaders. Some

May 21, 2013

[Editorial] Workplace nurseries

The most effective way to address working moms’ concerns about child care is to have their companies operate an on-site nursery school, given that parents prefer day care facilities to be in the workplace.But companies are reluctant to set up nurseries for employees because of the financial costs involved. It takes about 1 billion won on average to build a day care center. On top of that, wages have to be paid to staff the centers.Furthermore, the current regulations on the operation of nursery

May 20, 2013

[Editorial] Job inheritance

The district court in the industrial city of Ulsan has put the brakes on job inheritance practices at Hyundai Motor.On Thursday, the court nullified a clause in the automaker’s collective bargaining agreement that requires management to hire a relative of an employee who dies or retires due to an industrial accident, regardless of whether they have the required job skills.The court said the provision not only “intrudes on the employer’s intrinsic right to hire employees” but “defines something t

May 20, 2013

[Editorial] New floor leaders

Rep. Choi kyung-hwan, the new floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, and his opposition Democratic Party counterpart, Rep. Jun Byung-hun, have much to do in shaping new strategies and directing activities on the floor.They will have to fiercely compete against each other to win the hearts and minds of the electorate. At the same time, they will have to cooperate closely with each other to ensure the smooth operation of the National Assembly over the next year.If deliberations on the floor are

May 19, 2013

[Editorial] No to dialogue

On May 3, South Korea delivered $13 million in cash to North Korea and withdrew the last batch of seven South Koreans from the industrial complex in the North Korean border town of Gaeseong. The money was for back pay and severance pay to 53,000 North Koreans that had been withdrawn from the South Korean factories in the industrial complex at the height of inter-Korean tensions the previous month.When the money was paid, North Korea had to allow the South Korean companies to bring back materials

May 19, 2013

[Editorial] Venture ecosystem

The government has started to churn out detailed policy measures geared toward realizing President Park Geun-hye’s economic vision ― building a “creative economy.” On Wednesday, the government unveiled steps aimed at boosting investment in venture companies, the key players in an innovation-driven economy.The package is highlighted by measures designed to ensure that capital invested in venture companies is easily recouped and re-invested. Thus far, the government has focused on supporting ventu

May 16, 2013

[Editorial] Expanding safety net

The government has come up with a plan to reform the National Basic Living Security System, a social safety net designed to provide income security for people in poverty.The proposal is aimed at increasing the number of beneficiaries by easing the eligibility criteria and changing the way benefits are provided. According to a government estimate, the proposed changes will boost the total number of recipients from 1.4 million to 2.2 million.The safety net needs to be expanded in light of the wors

May 16, 2013

[Editorial] Ties with ASEAN

Japan’s rightwing political leaders, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, have raised the ire of neighboring countries with acts and remarks denying Tokyo’s pre-1945 wartime atrocities. Abe recently exacerbated the angry sentiment with a photo showing him sitting in the cockpit of a training jet numbered 731, which recalled the name of a germ warfare unit the Imperial Japanese Army ran during World War II. His move toward revising a postwar pacifist constitution has prompted concerns about the r

May 15, 2013

[Editorial] DMZ peace park

Hours after an abrupt instruction from President Park Guen-hye on Tuesday, Seoul’s Unification Ministry proposed talks with Pyongyang on bringing South Korean products and raw materials out of a suspended joint industrial complex in a North Korean border city. The proposal was seen as reflecting Park’s hope to reopen dialogue with the North to put on track her initiative for building inter-Korean trust in parallel with keeping a firm posture against provocations.Recently emerging as a symbolic p

May 15, 2013

[Editorial] Crisis management

The sexual abuse scandal involving a now-sacked presidential spokesman has exposed another big hole in the governance system of the Blue House. The first hole needs no further explanation. A series of personnel appointment debacles by President Park Geun-hye a couple of months ago showed that the presidential office lacked a system that could help her pick the right person for the right post. This hole still needs to be plugged.The newly identified hole concerns crisis management. The way the gr

May 14, 2013

[Editorial] Squeeze on SMEs

About three years have passed since the government launched a campaign to promote mutual prosperity between big companies and their smaller partners. Yet the deeply entrenched practice of large corporations bullying their suppliers still remains firmly in place.This is well illustrated by recent surveys. In a survey of CEOs of small firms, many respondents cited unfair demands for price reductions from their principal contractors as the biggest obstacle to mutual growth.Another major obstacle wa

May 14, 2013

[Editorial] Presidential apology

President Park Geun-hye came forward Monday to apologize over allegations her now-dismissed spokesman molested a young Korean-American woman hired as his secretary while accompanying the president on her U.S. visit last week. Park broke her silence three days after the snowballing scandal came to the surface on the day she returned home.It is not difficult to guess how embarrassed and frustrated she feels with the shameful misdemeanor by one of her close aides, which has engulfed the accomplishm

May 13, 2013

[Editorial] Pension payment

Concerns have been growing over the possible exhaustion of the national pension fund. As of the end of February, about 20.18 million people subscribed to the pension service with an accumulated fund of 401 trillion won ($361.9 billion), according to data from the National Pension Service. NPS analysts forecast that, under the current scheme, the pension fund would begin to decrease after peaking at 2,561 trillion won in 2043 and be exhausted by 2060.That prospect has deepened subscribers’ anxiet

May 13, 2013