[Editorial] Regulations and growth

The Korean economy grew 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2013 from the final quarter of last year. Was the high quarterly growth rate an aberration, as claimed by President Park Geun-hye’s administration, or an unmistakable sign of recovery, as argued by the Bank of Korea? Neither the administration nor the central bank will be able to present a convincing answer at least until after more data comes in for the performance of the second quarter. Growth had been anemic until the first quarter o

April 30, 2013

[Editorial] Spy agency shamed

Won Sei-hoon, a former director of the National Intelligence Service, humiliated not just himself but the intelligence agency on Monday when he subjected himself to a prosecutors’ inquiry into an allegation that he interfered in domestic politics and attempted to influence the Dec. 19 presidential election. The prosecution said he could be summoned for additional questioning once or twice more before its investigation was completed.The case also involved two NIS agents, who were accused of posti

April 30, 2013

[Editorial] Duty of victims

The National Assembly passed a resolution denouncing Japan’s recent moves turning a blind eye to its pre-1945 wartime atrocities in its plenary session Monday. But its members should be ashamed of the belated passage, which showed again their negligent attitude.The parliamentary foreign affairs committee adopted the resolution Friday and submitted it to the plenary session, which was to approve it later in the day. But the resolution failed to be put to a vote as only about 70 lawmakers attended

April 29, 2013

[Editorial] Rewarding motherhood

Korea urgently needs to encourage more women, especially highly educated ones, to join the workforce to shore up its competitiveness and growth potential. Calls have mounted for stronger measures to keep female employees from quitting their job when they marry, get pregnant or give birth. There have also been growing voices for the need to induce more housewives who left the workforce to return to the workplace. According to figures from Statistics Korea, more than one-third of married women in

April 29, 2013

[Editorial] Business revolt

Blinded by their pursuit of short-term gains, businesses are putting up an organized opposition to moves to improve working conditions and promote fairer trade. The administration and political parties will have to guard against undue pressure from the business community, which is trying to discourage the revision of relevant laws.On Friday, the five major business organizations banded together in accusing President Park Geun-hye’s administration and the political community of attempting “to str

April 28, 2013

[Editorial] Permanent shutdown?

The industrial complex for South Korean corporations in the North Korean border town of Gaeseong is at risk of permanent closure now that all South Koreans are being withdrawn from the complex as a consequence of escalating inter-Korea tensions. North Korea would have more to lose than the South.Held accountable is North Korea, which has been blocking entry to South Korean factory managers and cargo since April 3. It has been ignoring a repeated South Korean plea that the remaining personnel, wh

April 28, 2013

[Editorial] Want no friends?

Japan under the leadership of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears to have abandoned its desire to cultivate friendship with its neighbors, notably Korea and China. To the chagrin of the victims of Japan’s imperialist expansion, Abe came near to denying Japan’s invasion of neighboring Asian countries when he said on Tuesday that there was “no clear definition of an invasion internationally and academically.”Abe went on to say that what happened in international relations might look different, depen

April 26, 2013

[Editorial] Debate on prosecution

On Tuesday, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office disbanded its Central Investigation Department, the most powerful department with a staff of elitist prosecutors. Its abolishment went down in the history of the nation’s prosecution as an event nothing short of epochal.Its predecessor, the Central Investigation Bureau, which was inaugurated 52 years ago, changed its name to the Central Investigation Department in 1981. Then the department was given a strengthened mission to investigate corruption case

April 26, 2013

[Editorial] Prudent attitude

Former President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday embarked on his first overseas trip since retiring in February for an encounter with an old friend ready to welcome Lee, who has been increasingly beleaguered at home. Accompanied by his wife, Lee attended a ceremony dedicating the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Thursday on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. The reunion with the former U.S. leader must have been a warming and nostalgic moment for Lee. Though their terms of offi

April 25, 2013

[Editorial] Ahn’s comeback

By winning a parliamentary by-election in a Seoul constituency Wednesday, former independent presidential runner Ahn Cheol-soo joined the political establishment he has criticized for turning a deaf ear to the public. Shortly after his election, Ahn said his win reflected voters’ aspiration for new politics.His successful political comeback, which came just months after his withdrawal from last December’s presidential race, appeared to have been propelled by the public disappointment with Presid

April 25, 2013

[Editorial] Retirement reform

A bill proposing to extend Korean workers’ retirement age to 60 is likely to pass the National Assembly this month. The bill has already won approval from lawmakers on the parliament’s Environment and Labor Committee and will likely pass a floor vote during the April 29-30 plenary session.If enacted, the reform bill will make it compulsory for employers to set the minimum retirement age of their workers at 60. Currently, the relevant law simply recommends that companies set their contractual ret

April 24, 2013

[Editorial] Grassroots watchdogs

The government’s drive to raise tax revenue by shining a light on the underground economy is expected to get a boost from a group of citizens committed to bringing tax evaders to justice.Today people from some 150 civic organizations, including consumer groups and associations of self-employed businesspeople, are to launch a watchdog group to combat the shadow economy. Promoters of the grassroots movement say tip-offs on tax evasion have been pouring in from whistle-blowers since they announced

April 24, 2013

[Editorial] Cooperation with Japan

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se must have been disappointed with Japan’s blindness to its wartime atrocities disrupting his first outing abroad since taking office, which he might have hoped would kick off his initiative to consolidate partnerships with South Korea’s two key neighbors in resolving nuclear threats from North Korea.In protest of recent visits by three Japanese Cabinet ministers to a controversial war shrine, the minister Monday canceled his planned trip to Tokyo this week. Yun was s

April 23, 2013

[Editorial] No smoking districts

Is it a good ― or sensible ― idea to ban smoking at all places, including bars and restaurants of all sizes, in a district frequented by foreign tourists? A debate has been heating up over the question since a member of the Seoul Metropolitan Council recently proposed a bill to prohibit smoking in the five areas designated as special tourism zones in the city.If the council approves the draft revision to an ordinance on preventing damage from indirect smoking, people would be fined up to 100,000

April 23, 2013

[Editorial] Busting stock scams

In a capitalist economy, the stock market is expected to play a central role in financing corporate investment and monitoring companies’ performance. But in Korea, this has not been the case. Here, the bourse has ceased to be a source of capital and has instead become a playground for stock speculators and manipulators.The Korea Exchange has recently released data showing how serious the problem is. According to the bourse operator, the number of stocks that were improperly traded last year amou

April 22, 2013

[Editorial] Opening up to SMEs

Hyundai Motor Group set a good example for others to follow when it decided last week to reduce inter-subsidiary logistics and advertising deals worth 600 billion won a year in order to offer new business opportunities to outside firms, especially small and medium enterprises. The auto giant’s move is welcome, but it needs to go further by doing the same in other business fields.The plan will reduce the revenue of Hyundai Glovis, a company that ships Hyundai and Kia cars around the world, by 480

April 22, 2013

[Editorial] Substitute holidays

Beginning next year, the nation is most likely to have a substitute holiday when a national holiday falls on a Sunday. The Committee on Security and Public Administration of the National Assembly, whose subcommittee approved the underlying bill Friday, is scheduled to make a final decision in a plenary session Tuesday.Barring the unexpected, committee members say, the committee will pass the bill, overriding opposition from the cost-conscious business community. With substitute holidays set to b

April 21, 2013

[Editorial] Patience demanded

It has been three weeks since North Korea closed its border to commuters and vehicles carrying textiles and other materials to South Korean factories operating in the Gaeseong industrial complex. It does not even permit the shipment of foodstuffs to South Korean staff manning the factories, whose number is now cut to 190, one-third of the usual level.The 123 South Korean companies, mostly garment manufacturers, whose employees are waiting for entry permits, are fretting over snowballing losses.

April 21, 2013

[Editorial] Out of the spotlight

Only three seats of the 300-member National Assembly will be up for grabs when the parliamentary by-elections are held on Wednesday. Still, they are drawing much more public attention than they deserve.There are two reasons. One is that the elections are the first to be held since Park Geun-hye was elected president in December. The other is that Ahn Cheol-soo, an independent, who was once Park’s formidable adversary in the presidential race, is now running in one of the electoral districts.Barr

April 19, 2013

[Editorial] Lower ethical demands

President Park Geun-hye completed her Cabinet lineup on her 52nd day in office when she presented letters of appointment to the maritime and science ministers, along with the communications commission chairman and the prosecutor-general, on Wednesday. But the problem was that Chae Dong-wook, prosecutor-general, was the only one among the four that had won approval from the National Assembly.The most controversial among the appointments was that of Yoon Jin-sook as minister of oceans and fisherie

April 19, 2013