[Editorial] A rough start

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea kicked off its presidential primary race Monday with the three-day registration of preliminary candidates. Last week, its supreme council decided not to postpone the process of nominating its candidate for the next presidential election, slated for March 9. The liberal ruling party’s constitution mandates it to choose its presidential contender at least 180 days before Election Day in the absence of a good reason to do otherwise. The decision put an e

June 29, 2021

[Editorial] Consider the self-employed

The labor sector on Thursday revealed their initial demand for 10,800 won ($9.57) per hour as the minimum wage for next year. This is 2,080 won or 23.9 percent more than the minimum wage for this year. Labor representatives on the Minimum Wage Commission disclosed their first demand proposal, but have not submitted it to the commission yet. The panel is set to receive the first proposals from both management and labor representatives on Tuesday. Management representatives have not disclosed th

June 28, 2021

[Editorial] Financial imbalances

The Bank of Korea sounded the alarm on possible risks from the country’s intensifying financial imbalances in a report released earlier this week. The central bank called for vigilance against a steep rise in debts owed by households and companies, and bloated asset prices amid excess liquidity floated to help contain the economic fallout from the prolonged pandemic crisis. The report noted that the vulnerability of the country’s financial system had worsened to its gravest level s

June 25, 2021

[Editorial] Shirking responsibility

The government and Korea Electric Power Corp. on Monday decided to freeze the electricity rate in the third quarter as they did in the second quarter. If they had allowed for the rising costs of oil and other fuels, they should have raised the rates, but they decided not to.　 This is quite a contrast to the government’s recent decision to reduce the rate deduction for households that use a small amount of electricity (200kWh or less a month) and the discount rate for electric vehicle cha

June 24, 2021

[Editorial] Building momentum

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last week suggested that his regime was ready to resume talks with the US. But it has yet to be seen whether the North will actually come to the negotiating table when there is no prospect for gaining significant concessions from the US without taking serious steps toward denuclearization. During a key meeting of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, Kim said that his reclusive state should be ready for both dialogue and confrontation with the US. Though

June 23, 2021

[Editorial] Dividing taxpayers

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Friday finalized its plans to ease the property tax burden on homeowners. During a plenary party meeting, it voted to change the object of comprehensive real estate holding taxation from houses worth 900 million won ($795,000) or more to houses in the top 2 percent in terms of state-assessed value. It decided to extend the transfer tax deduction to homes worth up to 1.2 billion won from the current standard at 900 million won. The party also voted to gra

June 22, 2021

[Editorial] Divisive issue

Korea sees potentially acute generational conflict looming over the issue of whether to raise the legal retirement age currently set at 60. On the opposite sides of the emerging fault line are baby boomers, born in the early 1960s, and what is known as the “MZ generation,” referring to millennials and Generation Z, together including people born from the 1980s to 2010s. A week ago, the trade unions of South Korea’s three major automakers -- Hyundai Motor, Kia Corp. and GM Kore

June 21, 2021

[Editorial] Shameless chief justice

Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su has often deviated from the ethical norms governing public service.　 In early 2018, a dinner was reportedly held at his official residence for his daughter-in-law and her colleagues on a Hanjin Group affiliate’s legal team.　 The dinner, cooked by the residence’s exclusive chef and served with wine, is said to have taken place in the official banquet hall.　 Its dubious timing attracted attention. On Dec. 21, 2017, the Supreme Court found C

June 18, 2021

[Editorial] Unambiguous demand

In a joint communique issued after their summit in Brussels on Monday, the leaders of the US and 29 other member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization reiterated the alliance’s full support for the goal of the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea. They urged the North to eliminate its nuclear, chemical and biological warfare capabilities and ballistic missiles, while calling on other nations to fully implement existing UN sanctions imposed on th

June 17, 2021

[Editorial] Reckless management

The total operating profit of all state-owned enterprises has plunged 69.9 percent under the current administration. The poor performance of seven energy enterprises, including the Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., is largely to blame. The number of public enterprises that posted an operating loss more than tripled to 17 last year, from five in 2016. However, their payroll costs increased about 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) over the same time frame. This was

June 16, 2021

[Editorial] Monetary policy shift

Since last month, the Bank of Korea has repeatedly sent a signal that it will move to tighten its easy monetary policy to preempt possible risks from excess liquidity and rising inflationary pressure. Lee Ju-yeol, the governor of the central bank, said Friday that the current easing of monetary policy should be normalized in an orderly manner starting from an appropriate time, if the country’s economy continued to recover at a solid pace. The remarks, made at a meeting commemorating the 7

June 15, 2021

[Editorial] Winds of change

The emergence of a politician in his 30s as the leader of a major party, despite his never even having been a lawmaker, heralds an upheaval in national politics. Lee Jun-seok, 36, was elected chairperson of the People Power Party on Friday. It is the first time in South Korea’s modern history that a 30-something politician has led a party large enough to have legislative bargaining power in the National Assembly. He trailed his closest rival in a ballot for party members but beat her over

June 14, 2021

[Editorial] Beyond pride

President Moon Jae-in leaves for the UK on Friday to attend the Group of Seven summit over the weekend, the first major in-person multilateral diplomatic event since the coronavirus pandemic began sweeping the world early last year. South Korea is not a member of the club encompassing the world’s richest nations, but Moon has been invited to this year’s summit as a guest along with the leaders of Australia, India and South Africa. During a Cabinet meeting earlier this week, Moon sa

June 11, 2021

[Editorial] Thorough probe required

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea decided Tuesday to recommend voluntary departure from the party to 12 of its lawmakers, who are suspected of involvement in illegal real estate dealings. It decided to expel two of the lawmakers, who were elected by proportional representation. In doing so, it effectively let them off. If proportional representatives leave their parties, they lose their parliamentary seats. But if they are expelled, they can maintain their seats as unaffiliated lawmakers. T

June 10, 2021

[Editorial] Last straw

South Korea’s 52-hour workweek system is set to be applied to small businesses hiring between five and 49 workers starting July 1, adding to the growing difficulties they face. The country’s Labor Standards Act was revised in February 2018 to cut the maximum weekly working hours from 68 to 52. The reduced workweek came into force for companies with 300 or more employees in July 2019. At the outset of 2020, it was applied to small and medium-sized enterprises with 50 to 299 workers.

June 9, 2021

[Editorial] Eliminate cover-ups

The suicide of an Air Force female master sergeant who was sexually harassed reveals again the backward military culture where concealment and conciliation have taken deep root.　 The victim reported the matter to her immediate superiors a day after the incident in early March, but they attempted to persuade her to reach a settlement with the perpetrator of the same rank. Eventually, the matter was reported to military police, but they procrastinated, putting off investigations. The suspect was

June 8, 2021

[Editorial] An unsustainable gap

Data released last week showed that the country’s unemployment problem had worsened despite a steep rise in exports. South Korea saw its exports jump 45.6 percent on-year to $50.7 billion in May, extending its winning streak to a seventh consecutive month, according to figures from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Outbound shipments from Asia’s fourth-largest economy grew more than 40 percent for two straight months in April and May on the back of a global economic reboun

June 7, 2021

[Editorial] Half-baked apology

Song Young-gil, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Wednesday apologized to young people for the “Cho Kuk scandal,” which starkly illustrated the hypocrisy of leftists. But sincerity was lacking in parts of his apology.　 Song said that parents of high social standing help one another through personal connections and that in that vein they exchange internship opportunities for their children. He continued that while that mutual help does not go against the law, it frus

June 4, 2021

[Editorial] Addicted to spending

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is pushing to pass yet another supplementary budget worth up to 30 trillion won ($27 billion) as early as in July, deepening concerns over the country’s deteriorating fiscal soundness. The party’s floor leader, Rep. Yun Ho-jung, said Tuesday that an extra budget was urgently needed not only to help those hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic but to give relief cash handouts to all people. He said consultations with the administration had yet to

June 3, 2021

[Editorial] Suspicious error

A satellite image of Pyongyang, North Korea, was mistakenly used in the opening video for the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit, which got underway Sunday. The error was discovered belatedly when local media reported on it. P4G stands for Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030, and the video preceded President Moon Jae-in’s opening address. The video’s purpose was to promote the host city, and it featured panoramic views of Namsan, an ancient palace and the Han River, one by one

June 2, 2021