[Editorial] Too farfetched

One good way to resolve a bilateral dispute is to leave the issue to the judgement of an independent third party. This could be applied to both individuals and nations. It is against this backdrop that the Seoul government asked the World Trade Organization to look into Japan’s recent decision to impose export curbs on three key industrial materials bound for South Korea. In the same vein, the South Korean government called for a probe by a third-party panel on Japan’s allegations th

July 14, 2019

[Editorial] Missing role

Missing from the scene of an escalating dispute over Japan’s export restrictions against South Korea is the US role in easing tensions between its two key Asian allies.Washington’s prolonged silence is in contrast with its interventions in previous discords between Seoul and Tokyo over historical issues.US President Donald Trump’s administration has stayed out of the latest conflict, which spiked after Japan last week tightened regulations on exports of hi-tech materials to Sou

July 11, 2019

[Editorial] Pro-corporate turn

President Moon Jae-in held a meeting with heads of the country’s top 30 conglomerates on Wednesday to discuss Japan’s restrictions on exports of high-tech materials to South Korea.The meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae -- the third of its kind since he took office in May 2017 -- came days after two top economic policymakers met with local business leaders to discuss ways to cope with Japan’s export curbs.Last week, Japan tightened regulations on exports to Korea of three materials e

July 10, 2019

[Editorial] Stop the madness

The public rage over a South Korean man who has been taken into custody for beating his Vietnamese-born wife should alert government officials and lawmakers on the need to devise measures to protect the rights of marriage-based immigrant women in the country. It is disappointing, however, as very few officials and lawmakers are serious about the case, which generated intense public anger in both Korea and Vietnam after a video clip of the criminal act went viral on the internet and social media.

July 9, 2019

[Editorial] Concerns on NK-US talks

North Korea reportedly told the US that it wants South Korea out of future nuclear talks.This message was delivered to US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun in an informal US-North Korea contact before the surprise meeting of US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Panmunjom late last month.The North Korean message recently conveyed by Biegun to some South Korean ruling party officials has made clear Pyongyang’s intent to supersede Seoul’s

July 8, 2019

[Editorial] Seek diplomatic solution

South Korea and Japan appear poised to escalate tit for tat after Japan tightened its export controls on high-tech materials bound for Korea. The Japanese government has taken a tough stance, saying it has no mind to revoke the measure targeting Korea’s manufacturers of semiconductors and displays.The Korean government condemned the export curbs as unreasonable economic retaliation and vowed to take “corresponding measures” unless Japan retracts them. It also plans to take the

July 7, 2019

[Editorial] Weak point

The dispute involving Japan’s restrictions on exports of key industrial materials to South Korea should be tackled diplomatically, as political motives appear to be behind the move taken by the Tokyo government. But the development should also serve as a reminder to Korean government officials and businesses of the need to reduce the country’s reliance on Japanese technology, materials and component parts. It is condemnable that Japan has tied trade policy to a political issue like t

July 4, 2019

[Editorial] ‘Peace era’ not here yet

President Moon Jae-in said in a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that the meeting between the US and North Korean leaders in the Demilitarized Zone was “a de facto declaration of an end to hostile relations and the beginning of a peace era.”The summit was a meaningful event, but no substantial steps to denuclearize the North have been taken at all.If the hostile relations had ended, North Korea would have scrapped all of its nuclear weapons by now. But North Korea has no intention of doing so

July 3, 2019

[Editorial] Unilateralism hurts

The Japanese government’s politically motivated decision to restrict exports of three key industrial materials to South Korea has set a bad precedent. It may cater to some anti-Korean Japanese voters ahead of parliamentary elections, but will cut into Japan’s own national interests in the long run. The announcement, made by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Monday, targeted three high-tech materials on which Korean firms like Samsung, LG and Sk Hynix rely heavily. They a

July 2, 2019

[Editorial] Brace for extended feud

The US and China called a truce in their trade war on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, last week. US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to restart trade talks, and the US pulled back its threats to impose additional tariffs on Chinese products.Considering the pessimistic outlook for their trade deal during the summit, the truce and agreement to restart talks can be regarded as a good thing. The Korean economy can take a breather now.　However, prospect

July 1, 2019

[Editorial] Trump in DMZ

It is always symbolic for a visiting US president to go to the inter-Korean border which was fortified at the end of the Korean War in which American troops fought alongside South Korean soldiers against North Korean and Chinese forces. The most common message the US leaders sent out there was about the South Korea-US alliance and maintaining a strong deterrence.Then it is historic for a US leader to meet the leader of North Korea in the demilitarized zone, which was created by an armistice agre

June 30, 2019

[Editorial] Aborted summit

The relationship between South Korea and Japan has deteriorated to the point that their leaders may skip a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit to be held in Osaka, Japan, on Friday and Saturday.The drawn-out discord between the neighboring countries over their unfortunate shared history is now leading the two sides to antagonize each other in undiplomatic ways.South Korea was ready to meet, but Japan did not seem to be in the same state of mind, a Cheong Wa Dae official

June 27, 2019

[Editorial] Falling nuclear industry

The government policy to phase out nuclear energy is acting as a drag on national interests.South Korea failed to win an exclusive long-term maintenance service contract for a nuclear power station in the United Arab Emirates. As it has been building reactors of the Barakah nuclear power plant with its proprietary technology, Korea looked forward to a 10- or 15-year contract, but the UAE awarded only a five-year deal.The leadership of maintenance work will be retained by Nawah Energy, a UAE comp

June 26, 2019

[Editorial] No more vanity

The recent exchange of personal letters between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and other positive developments have brightened prospects for the resumption of denuclearization talks between the two countries. But one needs to guard against too much optimism, especially considering the two leaders’ tendency to put rhetoric and showy events ahead of substance. As things stand, a favorable atmosphere has been building up toward the reopening of nuclear talks bet

June 25, 2019

[Editorial] A new approach

The government is likely to lower its 2019 growth target when it unveils economic management plans for the second half of the year early next month.So far, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has been expecting South Korea’s economy to expand between 2.5 percent and 2.6 percent this year.Ministry officials now seem set to cut the growth target range by 0.1 percentage point or slightly more in the face of a delayed rebound in the prices of chips, a major export item for the country, and the

June 24, 2019

[Editorial] Clear suspicions

Suspicions over the arrival of a North Korean fishing boat at a South Korean port for defection are getting amplified.Four North Koreans aboard a small wooden boat allegedly left Gyeongseong in North Hamgyeong Province on June 9, crossed the maritime border with South Korea and docked the boat at Samcheok, Gangwon Province, a port 130 kilometers south of the border.Neither the South Korean Navy nor the Coast Guard knew about it until a civilian reported the boat via an emergency hotline to the p

June 23, 2019

[Editorial] Matter of ethics

The state prosecution’s indictment this week of Rep. Sohn Hye-won for corruption charges should renew the call to legislate a tough law to punish public officials involved in conflicts of interest. The key element of the indictment is that Sohn is suspected of using information about an urban regeneration plan she obtained as an elected public official for her personal gain. This is a typical case of conflict of interest, but in the absence of a relevant law, the prosecution indicted her f

June 20, 2019

[Editorial] Xi in Pyongyang

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s two-day visit to North Korea, which starts Thursday, is seen to be aimed at strengthening China’s leverage against the US in the escalating standoff between the two superpowers over a broadening range of issues.Xi’s trip to Pyongyang, his first as China’s leader, comes a week before he meets with US President Donald Trump during the Group of 20 summit set to be held in Osaka, Japan, on June 28-29.By staging yet another scene of amicable talk

June 19, 2019

[Editorial] Mediate conflicts

Two years ago, Naver, often referred to as the Google of South Korea, announced a plan to construct a massive data center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, just south of Seoul. Last week it withdrew the project worth 540 billion won ($455 million).Some of the residents living near the site of the center opposed the plan vehemently. They argued a high-voltage transmission line would generate a harmful amount of electromagnetic waves. Some of them were concerned that cooling water would contaminate th

June 18, 2019

[Editorial] Kim should respond

President Moon Jae-in, who returned home from a tour of three Nordic countries on Sunday, apparently wanted the visit to highlight his efforts to get the stalled North Korean denuclearization talks back on track. In a series of speeches and remarks during the eight-day visit to Finland, Norway and Sweden, he emphasized the need for the North to restart negotiations with the US. He also urged Pyongyang to engage in other bilateral and multilateral dialogues to earn the international community&rsq

June 17, 2019