[Editorial] Abuse in the barracks

Acts of physical abuse committed out of personal malice and those of harsh discipline administered without being sanctioned are prevalent in the barracks. One report comes after another about enlisted men being humiliated, beaten up, sexually abused or ill treated in other ways. But the military authorities have taken few effective measures to prevent them.A report from the Ministry of National De

July 10, 2011

[Editorial] Integrity in danger

The Board of Audit and Inspection has recently told the National Pension Service to fire an executive and sanction two others for tampering with performance evaluations of brokerage companies that carry out stock transactions on behalf of the NPS. The board’s action is disturbing as it suggests some of the fund managers at the NPS have problems with their integrity. Given the huge amount of assets

July 8, 2011

[Editorial] Test for GNP leaders

The newly elected five leaders of the ruling Grand National Party will hold a workshop tomorrow with key members of the party’s policymaking team to discuss how they would promote policies aimed at improving the livelihoods of ordinary people. The meeting is timely as confusion over the party’s welfare policies has escalated following the inauguration of the new leadership on July 4. But whether t

July 8, 2011

[Editorial] A drop in real wages

When wage earners are asked if they are better off today than before, many will probably be quick to say no. Such an instant response is borne out by new wage figures. Worse still, few signs indicate there will be any significant improvement in the near future.The average monthly real wage per employee was at 2,364,074 won during the first quarter of this year, down 4.08 percent from a year before

July 7, 2011

[Editorial] Winter Games for Korea

Korea’s ardent, decade-long pursuit of the Winter Olympic Games was rewarded when Jacques Rogge uttered one long-awaited word, “PyeongChang.” Its selection as the venue of the 2018 Winter Games in the South African city of Durban on Wednesday sent not just Korean delegates but all Korean citizens glued to the TV back home into ecstasy.PyeongChang’s win over Munich of Germany and Annecy of France w

July 7, 2011

[Editorial] Era of multiple unions

New labor unions are mushrooming at companies following the enforcement on July 1 of the law allowing multiple unions in a single workplace. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, a total of 130 new labor unions were created during the first five days. The pace is faster than expected. Many labor experts expected the formation of new unions would be slow in the initial period due to th

July 6, 2011

[Editorial] Overdue restructuring

The Financial Supervisory Commission has finally decided to take a scalpel to the ailing savings bank industry. The regulator disclosed Monday a scheme to distinguish between viable and nonviable banks. For viable players, it plans to provide public funds if they want to shore up their capital base. Nonviable banks will be forced to make self-rescue efforts or face acquisitions by other financial

July 6, 2011

[Editorial] Ruling party stewards

The Grand National Party has elected its new executive council, including the party chairperson, which will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the governing party through next year’s parliamentary and presidential election campaigns. What is special about the five new stewards of the party, who will be added with two appointed members is that they are barred from presidential candidacy

July 5, 2011

[Editorial] Incomplete service

Upon resigning from his office Monday, Supreme Prosecutor General Kim Jun-kyu cited the legal maxim, “pacta sunt servanda,” which means “promises (agreements) must be kept.” He was referring to the National Assembly’s passage of a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act overriding an agreement between the prosecution and the National Police Agency concerning the distribution of criminal investigati

July 5, 2011

[Editorial] KEB dividends

Upon reports of Korea Exchange Bank’s release of huge dividends to its shareholders, a wave of criticism has been hurled at the Texas-based Lone Star Funds, which will collect nearly a half trillion won from its 51 percent share in the bank. Xenophobia again raises its head in some civic quarters. Radical voices ask financial regulators to stop the U.S. buyout fund’s “eat-and-run” business. The Fi

July 4, 2011

[Editorial] Illegal wealth transfer

Chaebol owners have long sought to transfer their wealth to their children without paying taxes. One way they have developed in recent years is to have their group affiliates place sweet deals on companies controlled by their children. It is a clever way to siphon-off corporate wealth to line the pockets of chaebol siblings.According to a report released by the Economic Reform Research Institute,

July 3, 2011

[Editorial] A new growth strategy

On Thursday, the government unveiled the economy management plan for the second half. Minister of Strategy and Finance Bahk Jae-wan said the government would put the policy focus on stabilizing the livelihoods of ordinary people. To this end, Bahk said, the government would tamp down on inflation, create jobs, boost domestic demand and strengthen the social safety net.The government’s new economic

July 3, 2011

[Editorial] A shift in policy

The economic policy of President Lee Myung-bak’s administration sounded more convincing than before when it revised its 2011 economic outlook on Thursday. It lowered its growth target from 5 percent to 4.5 percent and raised its inflation outlook from 3 percent to 4 percent. Simply put, it abandoned its vaunted growth-first policy.Prior to revising its economic management plan for the second half

July 1, 2011

[Editorial] Ill-advised protest

One senior prosecutor has tendered his resignation in protest against the process of revising the code of criminal procedure currently underway. Several others are offering to follow suit under pressure from disaffected ordinary prosecutors. Even the prosecutor-general is reportedly hinting at his impending resignation.Their action could be justified if the revision bill were to restrict the role

July 1, 2011

[Editorial] Violence-free Assembly

The Korean National Assembly has long been notorious for violence. In one of the worst cases that took place in December 2008, opposition lawmakers even brought hammers and electric saws to smash their way into an Assembly room where ruling party lawmakers gathered to table a bill on the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement. They were stopped by security officials who blasted water cannons and fire ext

June 30, 2011

[Editorial] Tackling household debt

The financial regulator has come up with a packages aimed at defusing the ticking household debt bomb. The measures, unveiled Wednesday, appeared more focused on slowing the rapid growth of household credit and gradually changing the debt profile than on offering incentives for indebted households to pay down their loans.Korea’s household credit, including loans and credit purchasing, stood at 801

June 30, 2011

[Editorial] Eavesdropping, TV fees

The opposition Democratic Party occupied the parliamentary culture committee hall on Tuesday ― an attempt to forcibly block the process of raising the license fee the state broadcaster KBS charges each household. By doing so, it turned itself into a target of public criticism.The opposition party’s reversal of an earlier accord on raising the TV license fee from 2,500 won to 3,500 won drew denunci

June 29, 2011

[Editorial] Corruption evolves

Reciprocity, with which homo sapiens survived as a hunter-gather, is an unmistakable human trait, if not a manifestation of human nature. The urge for reciprocity compels people to return favors and repay kindness with kindness. Of course, retaliation is another form of reciprocity ― an eye for an eye.What drives people to reciprocate has long been a subject of scholarly research among anthropolog

June 29, 2011

[Editorial] Diplomatic reform

Two new innovations of our foreign service are being prepared. One is designed to help recruit personnel with the ability and integrity required to advance Korea’s national interests in the global community. The other is designed to correctly evaluate the performances of diplomats posted overseas. A bill for the establishment of the National Foreign Service Institute (NFSI) passed the National Ass

June 28, 2011

[Editorial] Chaebol bashing

It is an improvement if the current chaebol bashing by politicians of both the ruling and opposition camps signifies their independence from corporate influences. It is rather less reassuring, however, if our lawmakers choose the targets for their verbal assaults as a political ploy to chase votes. Grand National Party members have become harsher in their criticism of conglomerates for making prof

June 28, 2011