[Editorial] Step backward

South Korea’s Unification Ministry revoked the operation permits of two defector groups Friday for sending anti-North Korea leaflets across the border. The move came 43 days after the ministry undertook the revocation process on June 11 as part of its response to Pyongyang’s anger over Seoul’s failure to stop North Korean defectors here from flying propaganda leaflets into the communist state. The ministry said in a statement that the act of sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets gr

July 20, 2020

[Editorial] Suspicion of leak

Did the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon know before he died by apparent suicide that he had been accused of sexual harassment? If so, who told him? These are important questions in connection with suspicions surrounding his death. The leaking of information about accusations or investigations to an accused person is a serious illegal act when it concerns sexual crimes. It is as good as complicity with the accused sex abuser. In a press conference Monday afternoon after Park’s funeral, L

July 17, 2020

[Editorial] Wage costs

A tripartite commission has set the country’s minimum wage for next year at 8,720 won ($7.27) per hour, a 1.5 percent rise from this year’s figure. The increase, decided Tuesday by the commission comprised of 27 members representing labor, management and the general public by an equal number, is the lowest since the minimum wage was introduced here in 1988. The decision will affect up to 4 million workers, whose current hourly wage is lower than the legal threshold for 2021. Park J

July 16, 2020

[Editorial] Proper recognition

Paik Sun-yup, a Korean War hero and South Korea’s first four-star general, died Friday night and will be buried Wednesday in the national cemetery in Daejeon, in central South Korea. It is regrettable that the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs failed to secure a plot for him in the Seoul National Cemetery, where former presidents, war heroes and other top patriots are laid to rest. It is not right for the government and the ruling party to treat the funeral of a war hero this wa

July 15, 2020

[Editorial] Face reality

President Moon Jae-in said early this month that South Korea would try to broker another summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before the US presidential election in November. Moon and his new national security team, composed of figures known for their accommodative stance on the North, seem to be promoting what is described as “a small deal” in the hope of enabling Trump and Kim to hold a fourth meeting. This refers to a partial lifting of sa

July 14, 2020

[Editorial] Remembering Park

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon’s apparent suicide is truly shocking. No one imagined that he would die this way. He was Seoul’s first elected mayor to serve three terms and one of the potential presidential candidates of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea when current President Moon Jae-in’s term finishes in 2022.　 Park said in a handwritten note that “I am sorry to everyone” but did not hint at all what distressed him to make the tragic choice.　 On Wednesday, a day

July 13, 2020

[Editorial] Risky summit

US President Donald Trump’s latest expression of his intention to hold another meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un does not seem to bode well for the complete denuclearization of the North, which is crucial to building lasting peace on the peninsula. “I would do it if I thought it was going to be helpful,” Trump said Tuesday in an interview with a US news outlet, referring to the possibility of an additional summit with Kim taking place. He went on to say that he had

July 10, 2020

[Editorial] Suspicious big shots

The alleged investment fraud by Optimus Asset Management now being investigated by prosecutors is arousing suspicions of complicity with those in power.　 The private fund operator caused heavy losses to investors by failing to redeem about 500 billion won ($417 million) of deposits. This case looks like a financial crime by a con artist determined to deceive investors. Optimus advertised that it would invest funds in “safe” accounts receivable to be paid to government-affiliated

July 9, 2020

[Editorial] Soaring debt

Heavily indebted government, companies, households complicate difficulties facing Korean economy It is somewhat inevitable for debts owed by governments, companies and households to increase around the world amid their efforts to cope with the deepening economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. South Korea’s economic actors are also saddled with a growing amount of debt. Public- and private-sector debt was growing at an alarming clip before the outbreak of the deadly infectious diseas

July 8, 2020

[Editorial] Disingenuous behavior

President Moon Jae-in’s Chief of Staff Noh Young-min on Thursday strongly urged secretaries and chief secretaries who own two or more houses to dispose of them this month, except for houses where they actually live or will live. In December, Noh made similar recommendations and six months passed. But eight of them were found to possess more than one house in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province as of late last month, according to Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice. The value of their

July 7, 2020

[Editorial] New lineup

President Moon Jae-in’s reshuffle of his national security team last week shows his intention to make continuous efforts to enhance inter-Korean reconciliation while seeking to reassume a role as mediator between the US and North Korea. He filled key posts in charge of handling security and North Korean affairs with figures who have been deeply involved in cutting deals with the North or have been known for their accommodative stance on the recalcitrant regime. The move apparently reflec

July 6, 2020

[Editorial] Suspicions on Eastar

Suspicions are swirling around Rep. Lee Sang-jik of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, who founded Eastar Jet.　 The budget airline has not paid wages it owes amounting to 24 billion won ($19.9 million). This issue is one of the stumbling blocks that stalled its sell-off negotiations with Jeju Air, which is seeking to purchase it. Eastar Jet said on June 29 that Lee’s family members would donate their entire stake in the budget air carrier in a move to bring the negotiations back on tra

July 3, 2020

[Editorial] Reckless deliberation

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is pushing to pass a supplementary budget bill worth 35.3 trillion won ($29.4 billion) during the ongoing session of the National Assembly, which ends Friday. Parliamentary standing committees completed deliberation on the additional spending plan, the third of its kind this year, Tuesday, just a day after they were formed unilaterally by the ruling party with a dominant majority in the 300-member legislature. President Moon Jae-in and Finance Ministry offi

July 2, 2020

[Editorial] Fairness matters

Incheon International Airport faces mounting controversy over its plan to transition current airport security inspectors to full-time positions. Security inspectors eligible to be hired by the corporation are those employed by contractors as non-regular workers.　 The corporation has been voted the most favored state-owned enterprise to work for by fresh college and university graduates for the past three years. Gaining regular employment status at the coveted firm just because they were non

July 1, 2020

[Editorial] Balanced acts

The government plans to submit a motion to the parliament early next month for the ratification of three key International Labor Organization conventions. In a related move, the Cabinet last week approved bills on revising labor acts, which will be sent to the National Assembly along with the planned ratification motion. President Moon Jae-in, who presided over last week’s Cabinet meeting, was quoted by his spokesperson as saying “each of the bills is very important” not just

June 30, 2020

[Editorial] Shaking Yoon

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae hurled criticism at Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl with harsh words. “Yoon brushed off half of my instructions,” she said Thursday, “If he had followed my orders humbly, things would have passed through calmly, but he bungled because of his petty pride of his authority to command investigations.” Choo also said few justice ministers may have worked with a prosecutor general “as naughty as Yoon.” Her remarks give the impressio

June 29, 2020

[Editorial] Premeditated about-face

In what appears to be yet another premeditated move, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a decision Tuesday to put on hold plans for military actions against South Korea. The decision, made during a preliminary meeting of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party, came as the commission was poised to endorse a set of actions that Pyongyang has threatened to take in anger over Seoul’s failure to prevent North Korean defectors here from sending anti-Kim leaflets ac

June 26, 2020

[Editorial] Open hearing

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea seeks to legislate closed-door confirmation hearing regarding ethical issues related to nominees to senior public offices.　 Rep. Hong Young-pyo proposed a confirmation hearing amendment bill Monday that will split hearings into two parts -- one dealing with ethics and the other scrutinizing competence. The bill requires the part on ethics to be conducted behind closed doors. The United Future Party and other opposition parties are reacting strongly against

June 25, 2020

[Editorial] Discarded reform

Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo said last week that the government has no plan to make new proposals for reforming the national pension system during the remainder of President Moon Jae-in’s five-year term that ends in 2022. At a meeting with reporters, he also ruled out the possibility of the administration singling out an option to facilitate parliamentary deliberation on pension reform. In December 2018, the Health and Welfare Ministry submitted a set of reform proposals t

June 24, 2020

[Editorial] Respond resolutely

North Korea said it will send “retaliatory leaflets” to South Korea across the border. The North’s United Front Department ignored the South’s call for an immediate withdrawal of the plan and vowed to carry it out. This is an extension of Pyongyang’s wayward show of force following its blowup of a joint liaison office for inter-Korean talks and the announcement that it would redeploy its troops to the mountain Kumgangsan and the closed Kaesong industrial park. A s

June 23, 2020