[Editorial] Scope of family

Koreans appear to be taking an increasingly narrow definition of the family. According to a recent survey, only 23.4 percent of Koreans consider their paternal grandparents to be part of the family while 20.6 percent recognized their maternal grandparents as family members. Five years ago, 63.8 percent of Koreans counted their paternal grandparents in while 47.4 percent viewed their maternal grand

Jan. 27, 2011

[Editorial] R&D centers

A controversy has flared up over President Lee Myung-bak’s promise on Monday to help domestic corporations set up R&D centers in Seoul and the adjoining Gyeonggi Province. Meeting with the heads of the nation’s top 30 conglomerates, Lee said, “Corporations need high-caliber staff to increase exports and expand investment. Having R&D centers in the capital area would help attract talented researche

Jan. 27, 2011

[Editorial] Growth and prices

Economics textbooks say the market price of a good is determined by its supply and the demand for it. But demand and supply are not the only determinants in Korea. Not mentioned in the textbooks is the brute power of the Korean government, which can also influence prices.According to a weekly survey conducted on Jan. 7, 48 of the 79 daily necessitates gained and 29 declined in price. There was no

Jan. 26, 2011

[Editorial] Abuse in barracks

Two weeks ago, the Korean National Police Agency issued a statement promising to end verbal abuse, beatings and other types of harassment and violence done to recruits and junior combat police. But before the ink was dry, six junior combat police went AWOL, claiming that they had been subjected to all types of abuse in barracks located in Gangwon Province.After deserting the base on the early Sund

Jan. 26, 2011

[Editorial] U.N. on piracy

It may just be a coincidence that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was in Oman last week while the South Korean Navy’s Cheonghae Unit rescued all 21 crewmembers of the cargo ship Samho Jewelry from Somali pirates. Some here speculate that Ban’s meeting with Omani King Qaboos bin Said Al Said may have been conducive to Oman’s support for the operation.Among his many duties as the chief executive

Jan. 25, 2011

[Editorial] Swap with pirates

Lawmakers of the National Assembly Defense Committee suggested in a roundtable with Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin Monday that the government consider exchanging the five Somali pirates captured in the Navy commandos’ raid on the Samho Jewelry Friday with the crew of the Geummi 305 now in captivity in Somalia. Minister Kim said it was a good idea, but we do not think so. Ruling and opposition party

Jan. 25, 2011

[Editorial] Two great Parks

Korea lost two great women writers in less than three years. Park Wan-suh, who died of cancer Friday at the age of 79, will be buried in a Catholic cemetery in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, today. We are doubly saddened by her death as it so quickly followed the departure of Park Kyung-ri in May 2008. The passing away of the two Parks who were loved by their contemporaries not only as the writers of

Jan. 24, 2011

[Editorial] Anti-FTA trip

A group of opposition lawmakers left for Washington, D.C., Monday to stage a campaign against the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement which awaits ratification by the two countries’ legislatures. They are accompanied by some members of the radical Minjunochong (Korean Confederation of Trade Unions), a farmers’ association and a few other civic groups on the trip.These politicians include Rep. Chun Jun

Jan. 24, 2011

[Editorial] Arrest warrants

The court appears to be exercising greater caution in issuing arrest warrants now than before, making it more difficult for prosecutors to detain criminal suspects for an inquiry. That may be a source of frustration or even anger for prosecutors. But it should be welcomed from the viewpoint of human rights protection.On Jan. 13, a Seoul district court turned down a request from a prosecutor for an

Jan. 23, 2011

[Editorial] Why now?

The 1987 constitutional amendment was primarily aimed at putting an end to military-backed dictatorships. With democracy fully restored now, few would dispute that this aim has been attained.But the downside is what many regard as a flawed governance system. It is generally agreed that the president, banned from seeking a second term in office, has no more than three years in which to effectively

Jan. 23, 2011

[Editorial] Wealth tax

Rep. Chung Dong-young, a supreme council member of the main opposition Democratic Party, has added fuel to an escalating debate on welfare reform by calling for wealth taxes to finance the party’s universal welfare scheme.Chung, who was the DP’s candidate for the 2007 presidential election, proposed on Thursday the introduction a wealth tax and a welfare tax. The wealth tax targets the nation’s ri

Jan. 21, 2011

[Editorial] Back to talks

Pushed by the United States and China, the two Koreas are set to resume dialogue. On the heels of the U.S.-China summit in Washington on Wednesday, North Korea proposed that the two sides hold high-ranking military talks to discuss the sinking of the South Korean Navy’s Cheonan warship and the North’s shelling of the South’s Yeonpyeong Island. Seoul accepted to enter talks with the North to see wh

Jan. 21, 2011

[Editorial] Obama, Hu on N.K.

As expected, U.S. President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao addressed two issues concerning North Korea during their summit on Wednesday ― its hostility against South Korea and its nuclear weapons program. They made agreements in broad terms. But their post-summit remarks provided no indication that they agreed to take any concrete steps with regard to the two issues.At a joint

Jan. 20, 2011

[Editorial] Missile talks

South Korea has recently started negotiations with the United States on extending the range of its ballistic missiles beyond the permitted 300 kilometers. The talks, though belated, should be welcomed. Still better, the United States is reportedly more receptive to South Korean demands than in the past.South Korea’s efforts to develop a new generation of ballistic missiles as a deterrent against N

Jan. 20, 2011

[Editorial] Another Sejong debacle?

The government and the ruling Grand National Party are at odds over the location of the planned International Science and Business Belt. The discord is not only creating a new fault line within the ruling camp but fueling friction among local governments keen to host the 3.5 trillion won science hub.The belt is one of the campaign pledges of President Lee Myung-bak. He promised to build the scienc

Jan. 19, 2011

[Editorial] Investment impetus

Korean companies’ facility investment surged in 2010 after sharply dropping for two years due to the global financial crisis. As overseas demand for their products soared, they rushed to invest in plant and equipment to ramp up production. The government’s plan to terminate a tax credit program for corporate investment starting 2011 also prompted many companies to make investment in strategic area

Jan. 19, 2011

[Editorial] Looming crisis

An experts’ report on the future of the nation’s health insurance system offered an extremely grim outlook ― a 16 trillion won ($14 billion) annual deficit by 2020 even if salaried workers steadily increase their insurance premium payments. The long-term estimate by the Health Insurance Policy Institute under the National Health Insurance Corp. sounded like an answer to the opposition Democratic P

Jan. 18, 2011

[Editorial] Desperate North

The downfall and flight of Tunisian President Ben Ali last week sent a warning to autocratic rulers in the Middle East and elsewhere. Kim Jong-il in faraway North Korea is a certain candidate for dethroning by popular revolt and signs of the regime’s desperation can be seen during the first weeks of the New Year.After making pleas to South Korea for the resumption of dialogue almost every other da

Jan. 17, 2011

[Editorial] End of hard lives

Two old women whom the international media had called “former comfort women for the Japanese imperial army” died last week, ending their long hard lives. The deaths of Kim Seon-yi at a hospital in Ulsan on Thursday and Im Jeong-ja in Masan on the same day left 76 women of similar experiences alive. Kim was 83 and Im was 89.Last year, which marked a century since Japan’s annexation of the Joseon Ki

Jan. 17, 2011

[Editorial] Who pays?

On Thursday, the main opposition Democratic Party convened a general meeting of its lawmakers to adopt free child care and halved college tuition fees as part of its platform. The party’s leadership expected the lawmakers to endorse their plans without objection, since they have already approved the proposals for free school meals and free health care.But the DP leaders faced an unexpected backlas

Jan. 16, 2011