[Editorial] Party politics in crisis

The default political system throughout the world is representative democracy ― a form of government in which people are represented by those they have elected to the legislature. It applies not just to the parliamentary system of government but to the presidential system.With representatives select

Sept. 7, 2011

[Editorial] Where’s the market?

One of the first things students learn in an economics class is that, in a competitive market, the price of a good is determined by the supply of and demand for it. There is no room for intervention by the government except in case of a market failure.But the Korean government intervenes in the mark

Sept. 7, 2011

[Editorial] MBC’s overdue apology

MBC said it painfully accepts responsibility upon the Supreme Court’s judgment of falsity in its investigative report aired on April 27, 2008 concerning a bilateral accord for imports of U.S. beef. The broadcaster should have made a public apology for its inaccurate reporting on mad cow disease in t

Sept. 6, 2011

[Editorial] Celebrity tax evasion

Many top entertainers and sports stars make large donations to charity. It is often reported that their acts of sharing are related to their extremely difficult lives before they reached stardom. Even if some of them insist on not making their donations public, their charitable deeds become known to

Sept. 6, 2011

[Editorial] Ahn Chul-soo candidacy

Ahn Chul-soo’s candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election late in October is getting closer to reality day by day despite his ambivalence, alerting both ruling and opposition parties. Close associates of the 49-year-old software businessman-cum-social critic say his running for Seoul mayor is “90 p

Sept. 5, 2011

[Editorial] Park Geun-hye’s essay

Park Geun-hye contributed an article to the September-October edition of Foreign Affairs, the New York-based international affairs magazine, to discuss how to achieve genuine peace on the Korean Peninsula. In the 2,250-word article, the frontrunner on the 2012 presidential race said Seoul must be mo

Sept. 5, 2011

[Editorial] Donations and taxation

Kim Jang-hoon, a pop singer, is well known not only for his songs but his charitable giving. During the past 10 years, he has donated 11 billion won to help the unfortunate.Despite his virtue, there is no knowing when his career as a popular entertainer will come to an end. After all, isn’t populari

Sept. 4, 2011

[Editorial] Back to basics

Exports, the nation’s main source of growth, are slowing, with a double-dip recession looming in the United States and Europe. But imports are growing fast, making a deep cut in the trade surplus.As a result, growth in gross domestic product is certain to fall below the 2011 target set by President

Sept. 4, 2011

[Editorial] Verdict on ‘comfort women’

The Constitutional Court has ushered in a new phase in the long-running dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over compensation of Korean “comfort women” and nuclear bomb victims for their suffering and human rights abuses during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea. On Tuesday, the court ruled on a petition fi

Sept. 2, 2011

[Editorial] New drug pricing policy

The government’s plan to cut drug prices by an average of 17 percent starting next year has triggered vehement protests from the domestic pharmaceutical community. On Thursday, an alliance of 10 pharmaceutical-related organizations issued a joint statement, declaring an all-out struggle against the

Sept. 2, 2011

[Editorial] Session in jeopardy

The regular session of an outgoing National Assembly is the least productive as its members often shun debate on issues of concern to the public, deliberation on pending bills and participation in voting. Instead, they tend to make a final pitch in constituency work in their electoral districts in p

Sept. 1, 2011

[Editorial] Change in N.K. policy?

Signals are coming from those close to President Lee Myung-bak that he is considering changing his anti-North Korea policy in favor of improving relations with the communist state. If he is really considering such a shift in policy, he will have to think about a backlash from his conservative suppor

Sept. 1, 2011

[Editorial] Fostering female CEOs

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee recently stressed the importance of utilizing women in the workforce, saying talented female employees should be allowed to become CEOs. Lee held a rare session last week with a small number of female executives from Samsung companies to express his commitmen

Aug. 31, 2011

[Editorial] Education and politics

Seoul education chief Kwak No-hyun’s alleged involvement in election campaign corruption has sparked a flurry of moves to reform the current system for electing education officials in the nation’s seven largest cities and nine provinces.A group of lawmakers of the ruling Grand National Party is movi

Aug. 31, 2011

[Editorial] Jeju naval base

The Jeju district court issued an injunction Monday to stop obstructions by radical activists and residents against the construction work for a naval base at Gangjeong on the southern coast of Jeju Island. However, the court ruling did not totally prohibit opposition activities around the constructi

Aug. 30, 2011

[Editorial] Japan’s new premier

Watching Japan install a new prime minister after his predecessor’s 15 months in office, we cannot but feel unease about continuing political instability in the neighboring country, which needs a strong leadership to weather the many political and economic problems ahead. Naoto Kan may take consolat

Aug. 30, 2011

[Editorial] Hyundai donations

It is refreshing that the children of the late Hyundai Group founder, Chung Ju-yung, now operating top-level enterprises have made large donations amounting to 1 trillion won ($950 million) from their personal assets for social service programs. The charity moves by Chung Mong-joon of the Hyundai He

Aug. 29, 2011

[Editorial] Crucial investigation

With Seoul Education Superintendent Kwak No-hyun’s admission that he gave 200 million won to his former rival candidate Park Myung-gi in last year’s election, the prosecution will have no other choice but press charges of election law violation on Kwak, the champion of free school meals and an icon

Aug. 29, 2011

[Editorial] Mayoral by-election

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon resigned Friday, taking responsibility for Wednesday’s invalidated free lunch referendum. With his prompt resignation, a by-election will be held on Oct. 26, setting the stage for another battle on welfare between the ruling Grand National Party and the main opposition Democra

Aug. 28, 2011

[Editorial] External debt growth

When the Bank of Korea released the latest data on Korea’s external debt last week, it had both good news and bad news. First the bad news. The nation’s foreign debt continued to increase in the second quarter, with the outstanding balance reaching $398 billion as of the end of June, a new record hi

Aug. 28, 2011