[Editorial] Yen’s new low

The Japanese yen fell below the 100-per-dollar mark over the weekend, sending shivers down the spine of the Korean government, which was deeply concerned about its potential impact on the fragile Korean economy. A weak yen is set to boost Japan’s exports of autos, ships, steel products and other items at the expense of their Korean counterparts.On Friday morning, the yen weakened to 101 per dollar in the Tokyo foreign exchange market, breaking the 100-per-dollar mark for the first time in four y

May 12, 2013

[Editorial] Rule on ordinary wage

The Supreme Court ruled in March last year that bonuses, if paid out to the employee periodically and uniformly, constitute part of ordinary wages. What might have appeared to be an innocuous decision was a bombshell for Korean industry, which now had to include bonuses in the calculation of severance pay.Prior to the ruling, corporations had kept bonuses from the calculation of severance pay. Moreover, guidelines from the Ministry of Employment and Labor had stated that payments made under the

May 12, 2013

[Editorial] Abe’s tactical retreat

Late last month, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe claimed that “invasion” had no definition that was firmly established, either internationally or academically. He said it differed, depending on from whose perspective it was seen. He made the remarks in reply to a question regarding Japan’s past apology for invading Korea, China and other Asian countries for colonial occupation.It would not be too farfetched to perceive, as Korea did, that Japan under Abe was attempting to deny its brutal use

May 10, 2013

[Editorial] Succumb to pressure?

When the Bank of Korea kept its benchmark rate unchanged a month ago, Governor Kim Choong-soo said a rate cut was not needed because the Korean economy was showing signs of recovery. He was holding out under mounting pressure for a rate cut from the administration.On Thursday, however, the central bank slashed 25 basis points off the seven-day repurchase rate, from 2.75 percent to 2.5 percent ― the first rate cut in seven months. The rate cut came as a surprise, given that Kim sent out a signal

May 10, 2013

[Editorial] Conflict over jobs

There is a growing sign of intergenerational conflict over jobs. To the embarrassment of lawmakers, a set of bills recently passed to enhance employment have added fuel to the dispute between different age groups. This situation should call our attention to the need to be more careful and considerate in addressing job-related measures and dealing with their consequences.Since a law was revised last month to extend the retirement age to 60, social networking services have been flooded with postin

May 9, 2013

[Editorial] Blessed ties

President Park Geun-hye’s U.S. visit culminated in her address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, in which she tried to win American hearts and put forward a vision for upgrading the alliance between Seoul and Washington that marks its 60th anniversary this year. She emphatically used such words as peace, future, trust, alliance and freedom in the speech delivered in English, drawing numerous rounds of applause from the audience.Park’s congressional address followed her first summit wi

May 9, 2013

[Editorial] Irresponsible lawmakers

A bill proposing to give the same investigative power as judicial police officers to public officials in charge of early childhood education and care has been shelved due to pressure from operators of pre-kindergarten institutions.According to news reports, one of the 13 lawmakers who signed up to the bill has withdrawn his name just because owners of pre-school facilities in his district threatened to campaign against him in the next election.Under the law on the operation of the National Assem

May 8, 2013

[Editorial] Predatory practices

An audio file uploaded to YouTube last weekend has clearly shown where the government should direct its economic democratization campaign.The short clip, lasting less than three minutes, recorded a phone conversation from three years ago between a young sales manager of Namyang Dairy Products, the largest company in the domestic dairy market, and an older local distributor of its products.The conversation was about the company’s attempt to unload onto the distributor a larger amount of products

May 8, 2013

[Editorial] Effective increase

Finance Ministry officials are said to be considering a measure to link cigarette price hikes to inflation rates. This consideration appears to have come from the need to compromise different views over whether and how much to increase tobacco prices. In our view, it is simply a bad idea that would be of no help in protecting public health.The envisioned scheme, under which cigarette prices are supposed to rise by a smaller amount ― say, tens of won (cents) ― on more frequent occasions, would do

May 7, 2013

[Editorial] Multicultural children

It was a mean act for some local Internet users to make attacks against a 7-year-old boy who gained fame for his appearance in Psy’s “Gangnam Style” music video. Hwang Min-woo, dubbed “Little Psy,” is said to have remained increasingly withdrawn since he became subjected to the vicious online comments taking issue with his multicultural background in March.Encouragement should be given to the boy, whose mother is a Vietnamese woman, so that he can overcome racial prejudice mixed with jealousy an

May 7, 2013

[Editorial] Cheating on tests

A group of unethical college prep schools in southern Seoul has brought shame on the nation by allegedly helping students who were preparing to get into U.S. universities cheat on the Scholastic Aptitude Test.They are suspected of having provided students with SAT questions, which they have obtained through illegal means. This has led the U.S. College Board, a nonprofit organization that administers the exam, to cancel the May test in Korea, which was slated for last Saturday.Korea has fallen in

May 6, 2013

[Editorial] New opposition leader

The main opposition Democratic Party, which was called the Democratic United Party until last week, has elected Rep. Kim Han-gil as its new leader. By picking a non-mainstreamer as its new chairman, the party held the fractious mainstream faction accountable for the successive election defeats it has suffered since last April.The Saturday leadership election was a two-way race between Kim, a seasoned politician in his fourth term as lawmaker, and Rep. Lee Yong-sup, the unified candidate of the m

May 6, 2013

[Editorial] Deliberations resumed

The Special Committee on Budget and Accounts has resumed deliberations on a supplementary budget, aiming at passing it by Tuesday ― the final day of the National Assembly’s current extraordinary session. With the main opposition Democratic United Party having retreated from its earlier demand for an increase in tax revenues, the budget bill is most likely to pass before the current session is closed.The opposition party boycotted deliberations Wednesday, demanding an increase in tax revenues for

May 5, 2013

[Editorial] Park-Obama talks

The withdrawal from the industrial complex in North Korea’s border town of Gaeseong has been completed, with the seven remaining South Koreans having returned home and $13 million in back pay and severance pay having been delivered to the North on Friday. Now there is no predicting what will become of the industrial complex, where small South Korean manufacturers have operated for the past decade.The complex’s shutdown, triggered by escalating tensions over North Korea’s third nuclear test in Fe

May 5, 2013

[Editorial] Campaign reform

The National Election Commission has come up with a set of proposals to change the nation’s election culture, which it described as overly restrictive. The election watchdog says its proposals are geared toward enhancing the freedom of candidates and voters to express their political views. True, the nation’s election regulations are too rigid. They specify the official campaign period and ban most campaign activities before it. These restrictions, however, are intended to ensure a level playing

May 3, 2013

[Editorial] Fixing growth engines

President Park Geun-hye reminded many of her father when she presided over a meeting on trade and investment at Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday. Attended by corporate CEOs as well as ministers, the high-profile session was designed to resolve problems that hamper exports and investment.The troubleshooting meeting was modeled after the monthly export promotion meetings that former President Park Chung-hee had held from 1965 to 1979. Through these meetings, the late president sought to remove the obsta

May 3, 2013

[Editorial] Party’s bleak future

The main opposition party is set to change its name from the Democratic United Party back to its previous one, the Democratic Party, at its upcoming national convention on Saturday, which speaks volumes about the precarious state in which it is placed.To reflect its of forging alliances with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and progressive activist groups led by diehard supporters of former President Roh Moo-hyun, the main opposition changed its name in late 2011. The shift to the left was

May 2, 2013

[Editorial] A messy settlement?

The settlement of a dispute over the withdrawal of South Korean companies from the North Korean border town of Gaeseong may become messy, given that the North Koreans are notoriously tenacious in making unreasonable demands in negotiations, as witnessed time and again in the past.As the South Korean unification minister says, however, yielding to undue demands is out of the question this time. Still, North Korea can have its way if it decides to confiscate all assets that the departing companies

May 2, 2013

[Editorial] Trade in technology

Korea has emerged as the world’s eighth-largest trader, mainly on the back of improvement in its manufacturers’ competitiveness. In parallel with its rise in global commerce, the country has also increased investment in research and development. Korea’s R&D spending rose by an annual average rate of 11.4 percent over the five years from 2007. The ratio of R&D investment to gross domestic product has grown to 4.3 percent, the second highest in the world.But a report released by a local research i

May 1, 2013

[Editorial] Circumventing neighbors

China recently canceled a top-level annual finance meeting with Japan and South Korea, which was to be held on the sidelines of an Asian Development Bank conference that opens in Delhi on Thursday for a four-day run. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the three countries have in past years held discussions before separate talks with their counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.Japanese officials said last Friday they have been informed by China, the

May 1, 2013