[Editorial] Leave companies alone

Minister of Knowledge and Economy Choi Joong-kyung invited legitimate complaints from the business community again when he called on large corporations on Saturday to cut executive pay and use the savings to create jobs. His remarks were received as an unwarranted act of government intervention in t

Aug. 3, 2011

[Editorial] A disturbing comedy

The three Japanese Diet members who were turned back from Gimpo Airport nine hours after arriving in Korea Monday morning may still feel their airport-to-airport trip was politically rewarding. But they will be only remembered here for having performed a comedy, a very disturbing one at that, disapp

Aug. 2, 2011

[Editorial] Jeju naval project

As the Navy is about to resume the work to build a major naval base on the southern coast of Jeju Island near Seogwipo Port, tension rises between the authorities and residents. In the four years since the project took shape, the resentment of residents and the patience of government authorities hav

Aug. 2, 2011

[Editorial] Espionage investigation

Reports of the ongoing investigation into an alleged espionage network for North Korea brings us to a dj vu of the 1960s or 70s when the authorities occasionally, or rather frequently, exposed subversive groups maneuvering to collect information here and topple the government on orders from Pyongyan

Aug. 1, 2011

[Editorial] ‘Hope Bus’ protests

The “Hope Bus” demonstrations near a shipyard of the Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction in Busan last weekend ended without serious disturbances. But turmoil can resume any time as a coalition of leftist groups has chosen the labor trouble at the midsized shipbuilding company as a rallying poi

Aug. 1, 2011

[Editorial] Cyber attacks again

Korean businesses, financial institutions and government agencies have been frequently targets of hacking in the past. It is like an epidemic. The latest case involves SK Communications, which runs the Cyworld social networking website and the Nate online portal.The hackers, whose attacks reportedly originated in China, stole personal information of 35 million clients of Cyworld and Nate last week

July 31, 2011

[Editorial] No extra session?

August, a sultry month for holidaymaking, may not be amenable to engaging in heated political deals. But that is what lawmakers are required to do, with the National Assembly statutorily required to open a special session on each even-numbered month prior to September when a 100-day regular session starts.Moreover, the National Assembly needs to act on as many pending bills as possible during the

July 31, 2011

[Editorial] Folly or posturing?

Savings banks’ depositors are protected by deposit insurance, not in full but in part, from losses caused by the inability of the non-banking institutions to pay their liabilities when they are due. Deposit insurance is designed to promote financial stability by protecting depositors and, by doing so, forestalling bank runs.But the downside is the moral hazard it causes. It encourages depositors a

July 29, 2011

[Editorial] Prices and growth

Growth is slowing and prices remain stubbornly high, sending economic experts scratching their heads and trying to figure out if it is a sign of forthcoming stagflation. But the administration and the central bank rule out the possibility of the economy slipping into stagflation, saying that growth will regain momentum and prices will be more stable in the months ahead.Gross domestic product grew

July 29, 2011

[Editorial] Rain bombardment

Record downpours continued to bombard the central part of the nation for three consecutive days on Thursday, raising the death toll to 48. The “rain bombs” triggered landslides in Seoul, Chuncheon and Pocheon, killing more than 30 citizens. They also flooded thousands of houses and roads, leaving some 5,000 people homeless and causing traffic chaos and power outages.In Seoul, the precipitation bet

July 28, 2011

[Editorial] Investment banks

The Financial Supervisory Commission has renewed its attempt to create homegrown investment banks. On Wednesday the commission unveiled a draft bill that would allow brokerages with equity capital exceeding 3 trillion won to become investment banks. The commission plans to submit the legislation to the National Assembly in October for passage within this year. If approved as planned, the bill will

July 28, 2011

[Editorial] Mergers, liquidations

Talks on forced mergers and liquidations are under way. The targets are not corporations that have become insolvent or are nearing insolvency, but junior colleges and universities whose finances are in bad shape.One of the first steps to be taken in this regard is to pass a bill on restructuring private schools. The presidential office and the ruling Grand National Party agreed on the bill’s early

July 27, 2011

[Editorial] ‘Gangnam leftists’

As Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announces tomorrow the schedule for the Seoul residents’ referendum on free school meals which is likely to be held on Aug. 24, he will be most anxious about how the so-called “Gangnam leftists” would react to his policy of limiting the benefits to only children from low-income families. Gangnam leftists, according to Korea Herald columnist Kim Seong-kon, refer to leftist

July 26, 2011

[Editorial] Japan lawmakers’ visit

Special Affairs Minister Lee Jae-oh and Grand National Party chair Hong Joon-pyo need to calm down from their irritation about Japanese lawmakers’ plan to visit Ulleung-do, an island in the East sea, next week. They rightly understand that the Japanese politicians’ ulterior motive is to raise controversy about the nearby Dokdo, but we should just treat them as some of the numerous Japanese tourist

July 26, 2011

[Editorial] Chemical castration

As Korea introduces the use of “chemical castration” on sex offenders this week for the first time in Asia, many wonder how effective the controversial method will be in protecting our children from sexual deviants. “Chemical castration” is a misnomer because what will be implemented in Korea does not involve sterilization or removal of any specific organ. The law on the treatment of sexual offend

July 25, 2011

[Editorial] Threats to global peace

A madman calling himself a Christian fundamentalist or an anti-Islam crusader can be as dangerous to global peace as al-Qaida. The horrible fact is that the man who killed 93 in a few hours on Friday hailed from Norway, reputedly the last place to spawn terrorism on earth.As investigation into Anders Breivik’s bombing of a government building in Oslo and his shooting at hundreds of youths on a pol

July 25, 2011

[Editorial] Talks as a formality?

The inter-Korean nuclear talks held in Indonesia on Friday were the first step toward the resumption of full-fledged, six-way talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. It had previously been agreed that Pyongyang would talk first with Seoul and later with Washington before the six-way talks, stalled since December 2008, would resume.Given the affirmative assessment of the Friday talks by the S

July 24, 2011

[Editorial] Koreans overeducated

Few would dispute that high school education is enough for the lowest two administrative positions on the one-to-nine scale. Nor would anyone deny that it does not take much formal education to sweep streets. But this common sense does not prevail in Korea, as shown by examples below.Last year, the Seoul metropolitan government selected 415 recruits to fill the vacant positions of grades eight and

July 24, 2011

[Editorial] Nonregular workers

Remedying discrimination against nonregular workers has emerged as a burning issue as political parties are competing to win their hearts and minds to ensure victory in next year’s parliamentary and presidential elections. Irregular workers are a political force to be reckoned with. As of March, they accounted for 5.77 million or 33.8 percent of the nation’s 17.06 million paid workers. When daily

July 22, 2011

[Editorial] GNP’s new vision

The Youido Institute, the think tank of the ruling Grand National Party, has released a report to outline a new vision for the party. The document, unveiled Wednesday, signals the beginning of a major debate within the ruling party over the revision of its platform in preparation for the general and presidential elections slated for next year. Thus far, the GNP’s vision has been “the advancement o

July 22, 2011