[Editorial] Negligible effects

The administration has come up with cosmetic tax cuts and other supposedly stimulus measures to prop up the sagging economy. By taking these measures, it apparently hopes to show the ruling party that it has done what little it can.Under pressure from the Saenuri Party to give the listless economy a shot in the arm, the administration has decided to halve tax rates on the acquisition of homes until year-end ― to 1 percent on homes priced 900 million won or less and 2 percent on the amount in exc

Sept. 11, 2012

[Editorial] Less than 100 days

Korean presidential elections have basically been races between the ruling and main opposition parties in the past. Third-party candidates, if they have made it to the finish line, have been little better than spoilers. Yet, the routes to a two-way competition have often been convoluted, as witnessed during the run-up to the 1997 and 2002 elections.In his fight against a formidable conservative rival, the liberal candidate Kim Dae-jung won the support of a lesser conservative candidate, Kim Jong

Sept. 11, 2012

[Editorial] Suicide prevention

The World Health Organization said in a recent report that approximately 1 million people worldwide die by their own hand each year, corresponding to one death by suicide every 40 seconds. The report, released ahead of the World Suicide Prevention Day that fell on Monday, called for urgent action to tackle the problem, noting “suicide is largely preventable.”This call should be seriously heard by officials in Korea, which has the highest suicide rate among industrialized countries.According to s

Sept. 10, 2012

[Editorial] In step with Russia

The talks between South Korean and Russian leaders last week showed that the two countries have much room to enhance economic partnership and share critical interests in securing stability in Northeast Asia.During their meeting in Vladivostok on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, President Lee Myung-bak and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to work together to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff and accelerate collaboration on a gas pipeline project.

Sept. 10, 2012

[Editorial] Rating upgrades

When Moody’s Investors Service elevated Korea to the “double-A” category two weeks ago by raising its sovereign credit rating by one notch to “Aa3” from “A1,” some analysts were not sure whether Korea really deserved it. As if to assure them that Korea fully deserved it, Fitch Ratings also made Korea a double-A country last week by upgrading its credit level to “AA-” from “A+.” Fitch’s “AA-” is equivalent to Moody’s “Aa3.” The successive upgrades can be seen as a strong vote of confidence in the

Sept. 9, 2012

[Editorial] Breakup of UPP

The splitting of the strife-torn United Progressive Party has begun as the party’s reform-minded faction expelled four proportional representatives Friday so that they could retain their parliamentary seats and join a soon-to-be created new progressive party.Under the law, a lawmaker elected through the proportional representation system loses his seat if he voluntarily quits his party. However, he can maintain his lawmaker status if the party expels him. The four expelled lawmakers all belong t

Sept. 9, 2012

[Editorial] No to death penalty

The recent spate of violent sex crimes has reignited the old debate on the death penalty. On one side of the debate are people enraged by the appalling kidnapping and rape of a 7-year-old girl in Naju, South Jeolla Province. They are calling for execution of those who commit heinous sex crimes.These people urge the government to lift the moratorium on executions, which has been in place since 1998, as it contributes to increasing violent sex crimes. They also argue that keeping death row prisone

Sept. 7, 2012

[Editorial] Blackmail or advice?

Was it to blackmail an opponent or to give advice to an old friend? An aide to Ahn Cheol-soo, a strong potential presidential candidate, alleged Thursday that a Saenuri Party official threatened to expose skeletons in the entrepreneur-turned-professor’s closet.Geum Tae-sup, a lawyer with close ties to Ahn, claimed that Jeong Joon-gil, a Saenuri media relations official, called him Tuesday and said the ruling party would disclose allegations about Ahn’s “bribery and woman problems,” if he decided

Sept. 7, 2012

[Editorial] Undue pressure

Election pledges are just conditional promises ― nothing more, nothing less. For the promises, no presidential candidate gains a mandate or assumes an obligation until after he or she wins the election. This holds true even if the candidate is the standard-bearer of the ruling party.But Rep. Park Geun-hye, the presidential nominee of the ruling Saenuri Party, is putting pressure on President Lee Myung-bak and his administration to endorse her election promises.Her undue request comes at a time w

Sept. 6, 2012

[Editorial] Pay level at issue

According to a survey conducted shortly after the 19th National Assembly was launched in late June, two in three respondents favored the idea of cutting the pay for lawmakers.What those favoring a pay cut were saying was that lawmakers were underperforming. They had apparently been nursing a grudge against their representatives who had frequently boycotted legislative sessions, used violence on the floor and demonstrated their incompetence in other ways.The pay level is at issue again, this time

Sept. 6, 2012

[Editorial] Nearing the brim

One of the intractable problems that the incumbent government has failed to address is the construction of an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel rods. The project should have already started in light of the fact that the temporary at-reactor spent fuel pools, which currently store all fuel rods discharged from the nation’s 22 nuclear reactors, are nearly full.But the current administration did not bother to tackle the urgent problem throughout its term. All it did was to launch an a

Sept. 5, 2012

[Editorial] Shortage of doctors

Should the entrance quotas of domestic medical colleges be expanded or curtailed? The Ministry of Health and Welfare says student enrollments at medical schools need to be increased as physicians are in short supply. Yet practicing doctors argue exactly the opposite.According to a report released by a Yonsei University research institute, Korea is suffering a shortage of medical manpower. A comparison of doctor-population ratios among OECD countries clearly shows this. In 2010, Korea had two phy

Sept. 5, 2012

[Editorial] No talk on growth

The Korea Development Institute, the leading government-funded economic think tank, publishes a report on the nation’s economic outlook twice a year ― in May and November. Based on the November report, the administration sets up its New Year economic management plan in December. If necessary, it revises the plan in June, this time based on the KDI’s May report.But the KDI is scheduled to publish an interim report later this month, a rare exception, which speaks volumes about the nation’s weakene

Sept. 4, 2012

[Editorial] Strategy torn apart?

The presidential primaries of the main opposition party are running out of steam, dashing the party’s hopes of getting attention and praise from the electorate and deepening the schism between the frontrunner and the three other contenders. It looks as if the Democratic United Party was being torn apart in an undue power struggle in the midst of the primaries.The turnout of registered voters is declining. The turnout in Ulsan peaked at 64.2 percent on Aug. 26, one day after the first primary on

Sept. 4, 2012

[Editorial] College restructuring

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has disclosed the list of 43 underperforming colleges ― 23 four-year schools and 20 junior colleges ― that will be deprived of financial support from the government next academic year. The selected schools ranked in the bottom 15 percent in the ministry’s annual assessment of the nation’s 337 tertiary educational institutions ― 198 four-year colleges and 139 junior colleges.Of the 43 on the list, 13 face another disadvantage: Some of their studen

Sept. 3, 2012

[Editorial] Fighting sex crimes

A gruesome sex crime has been committed against a child girl in Naju County, South Jeolla Province. The 7-year-old girl was kidnapped in the middle of the night while sleeping at her own home with her family. She was brutally raped and strangled to the point of unconsciousness, but luckily survived.Police has arrested a suspect, a 23-year-old man who lives in the victim’s neighborhood. A day laborer with no fixed abode, the suspect confessed he committed the crime under the influence of alcohol.

Sept. 3, 2012

[Editorial] No overnight shift

Hyundai Motor Co. will put an end to the overnight shift in March next year, pending the approval by union members of the latest labor-management deal, which will be put to a vote on Monday. The change in the work pattern will undoubtedly improve the quality of life for employees.The change will also have a far-reaching impact on the entire domestic auto industry, pressuring Kia Motors Corp., Hyundai’s sister company, and other domestic automakers to brace for union demands for a similar change.

Sept. 2, 2012

[Editorial] Budgetary balance

The National Assembly opens its regular session on Monday for a 100-day run, with its activities focused on deliberating on the administration’s 2013 budget request and inspecting government agencies. The schedule for the regular session is subject to negotiations between the two negotiating groups ― the ruling Saenuri Party and its rival, the Democratic United Party.When a regular session starts, one of the issues of great concern to the administration is whether or not the legislature will app

Sept. 2, 2012

[Editorial] Tokyo’s futile campaign

As expected, Korea has flatly rejected Japan’s proposal that the two countries jointly refer their territorial row over the Dokdo islets to the International Court of Justice. Seoul has delivered a diplomatic note to Tokyo to reaffirm its stance that no territorial disputes exist regarding Dokdo because the islets in the East Sea are an integral part of Korean territory.Following Seoul’s rejection, Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said in a statement that Tokyo would take “appropriate mea

Aug. 31, 2012

[Editorial] Corporate universities

The government’s “employment first, education later” policy for students at vocational high schools is yielding results. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, about 41 percent of the students who graduated from specialized high schools in Seoul in February opted to get a job instead of going on to university. The figure represents a big improvement from 19.2 percent in 2010 and 23.4 percent in 2011. Yet it is still far lower than 62 percent in 2001.The office has found a simil

Aug. 31, 2012