[Editorial] No optimism

It is normal to expect rough sailing and uncertainty when one deals with North Korea. But the recent developments surrounding efforts to denuclearize the country are cause for concern. One big problem is that the US and North Korea seem to have lost the momentum generated by President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Pyongyang last month. Moon’s North Korean visit, the first in 11 years by a South Korean president, was followed by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to the North Korean capital. Sinc

Oct. 24, 2018

[Editorial] Inspect quickly

Suspicion of nepotism raised in Seoul Metro during the parliamentary inspection of the government is spreading to other public institutions.Seoul Metro, which operates eight subway lines in the capital, hired 109 relatives of regular staff as indefinite-term contract workers, then turned them into regular staff.Korea Gas Corp. decided to turn 1,203 irregular workers into regular employees and 25 of them were found to be parents, spouses, siblings and cousins of regular workers.Daejeon City Corp.

Oct. 23, 2018

[Editorial] Half success

President Moon Jae-in returned home Sunday after a nine-day trip to Europe, where he had two major diplomatic objectives -- arranging a visit to North Korea by Pope Francis and persuading European leaders to ease sanctions on North. He scored a half-success. Moon’s visit to five European capitals had been arranged in time for the biennial Asia-Europe Meeting that brought together 21 Asian and 30 European leaders to Brussels.He also visited Copenhagen to attend the inaugural meeting of the Partne

Oct. 22, 2018

[Editorial] Gain trust

GM Korea approved a plan to turn its R&D divisions into a new corporation at a shareholders meeting Friday.The plan was approved, reportedly in the absence of a proxy representing the bank -- the company’s second-largest shareholder -- because of a blockade by members of the GM Korea union that made it impossible to enter the venue.The bank said it will file a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the approval of the plan. KDB says it has the right to veto decisions having to do with withdrawal from Sou

Oct. 21, 2018

[Editorial] Suspicious hiring

Seoul Metro, which operates eight subway lines in the capital, turned 1,285 indefinite-term contract workers into regular employees in March.In terms of working hours, there is little difference between the two categories of workers, but indefinite-term contract workers are usually paid about 50 to 60 percent of what regular employees receive.　According to parliamentary inspection data provided by Seoul Metro to Rep. Yoo Min-bong of the opposition Liberty Korea Party, 108 of the contract-turned-

Oct. 18, 2018

[Editorial] Too hasty

Despite the ups and downs, it is good the Korean peace process has abated fears of war on the peninsula and brightened prospects for resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis peacefully. But this should not create an illusion that permanent peace is at hand. It is true that following the hectic summitry involving leaders of the two Koreas and the US, few now talk of the situation reverting to that of last year when the North and US exchanged verbal threats of war over Pyongyang’s nuclear and mis

Oct. 17, 2018

[Editorial] Perilous peace

Concerns over the inter-Korean military agreement adopted in Pyongyang on Sept. 19 have not eased much.The clause to establish a no-fly zone is probably the most risky.Due to the zone over the military demarcation line, unmanned aerial vehicles that South Korea planned to deploy near the line will become useless. Their detection distance is a few kilometers, while the zone stretches 10 or 15 kilometers from the line in either a southern or northern direction.Drones capable of reconnaissance from

Oct. 16, 2018

[Editorial] How to rebuild

About four months after its record defeat in the local elections, the Liberty Korea Party’s efforts to rebuild itself – and the conservative forces as a whole – are being put into higher gear. Overall, its strategy seems well-advised. First, the party is moving to undertake a sweeping replacement of the heads of the 253 parliamentary electoral districts across the country. The party’s district chapters are headed by either incumbent lawmakers or those who hope to run in the next general election

Oct. 15, 2018

[Editorial] Unusual warning

The US Treasury Department was known to have asked South Korean banks last month to comply with sanctions against North Korea.　US Treasury officials had conference calls with them on Sept. 20 and 21, Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Yoon Suk-heun said during a parliamentary audit Friday.The US officials reportedly asked the banks whether they had business plans involving North Korea, emphasized that US sanctions against the North are still valid, and expressed hopes that the banks would not vi

Oct. 14, 2018

[Editorial] Holy message

President Moon Jae-in takes pride in brokering the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. As leaders of the formerly antagonistic states prepare for a second meeting, Moon is working on another historic mission: realizing Pope Francis’ visit to North Korea. Moon’s spokesman said that Moon, who will embark on a nine-day European tour Saturday, will pay a call to the pope on Oct. 18 at the Vatican and discuss the proposal. According to the spokesman,

Oct. 11, 2018

[Editorial] Dubious probe

It came out recently that 16 ministries, provincial governments and police departments had been asked to investigate the activities of all 61 member trade associations of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise.The Ministry of SMEs and Startups requested the investigation May 31, according to information provided by the ministry to Rep. Um Yong-soo of the opposition Liberty Korea Party at his request. The Korea Police Agency, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of the Interior and

Oct. 10, 2018

[Editorial] Northern alliance

The dynamics of diplomacy in Northeast Asia are fast evolving in relation to the North Korean nuclear problem. The past week alone witnessed a flurry of visits and meetings focused on denuclearization. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo led the hectic diplomatic schedules, making a swing of the region. He met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe before making his fourth trip to North Korea to reinvigorate the denuclearization process. Then he had a debriefing session with President Moon Jae-in in S

Oct. 9, 2018

[Editorial] Inventory still unknown

The fourth meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on Sunday kick-started the process toward a new US-North Korea summit, but it is unknown if they discussed whether the North would declare its nuclear inventory.After the trip, Pompeo met with President Moon Jae-in and said the US and North Korea agreed to hold their second summit as early as possible.The two sides will hold working-level talks to set the details of the planned meeting.

Oct. 8, 2018

[Editorial] Another shameful mark

The court ruling that found former President Lee Myung-bak guilty of seven charges manifests the assortment of problems ingrained in Korean politics. Most of all, the lower court’s ruling that sentenced Lee to 15 years in jail -- he was also ordered to pay 13 billion won ($11.5 million) in fines and forfeit 8.2 billion won -- is further evidence the Korean presidency is highly vulnerable to corruption and abuses of power. The 77-year-old Lee, who was in office from 2008-2013, is the fourth presi

Oct. 7, 2018

[Editorial] Redraw blueprint

Corporate facility investment decreased 1.4 percent month-on-month in August, according to Statistics Korea, sliding six months in a row from March.It is the longest successive descent in 20 years, following a 10-month streak from September 1997 to June 1998. At that time, Korea received a bailout from the International Monetary Fund to recover from its financial crisis. Investment is a barometer of future industrial competitiveness, and also directly related to employment. In this regard, its c

Oct. 4, 2018

[Editorial] First step

South Korea and North Korea have begun work to remove land mines in the Joint Security Area and a mountainous area inside the Demilitarized Zone. The land mines to be taken away from the two areas would be only a small portion of the 1 million believed to have been buried along the border, but the work should be seen as a big step. 　The mine-removing work is being undertaken in line with an agreement between the two Koreas’ militaries to reduce tensions and prevent accidental clashes by halting

Oct. 3, 2018

[Editorial] Judiciary in crisis

Prosecutors on Sunday searched the car of a former Supreme Court chief justice, and the homes and offices of three ex-justices. During one search, a USB flash drive was seized from the study of former chief justice Yang Sung-tae. It is the first time in the nation’s 70-year constitutional history that search warrants have been issued and executed for a former head of the judiciary. This is a disgrace.The former justices are accused of abusing their power by interfering with court rulings in orde

Oct. 2, 2018

[Editorial] Japan never learns

An international naval fleet review to be held on Jeju Island next week has become the subject of dispute between Korea and Japan, as Tokyo spurned Seoul’s request that its naval vessel refrain from flying a flag that many Asians associate with Japan’s imperialist aggression. It is not the first time that the use of the Rising Sun flag by a visiting Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel has become a bone of contention between the two countries. But the issue is aggravating another dispute

Oct. 1, 2018

[Editorial] Use same yardstick

Debate is mounting over the disclosure of “unauthorized” data on Cheong Wa Dae’s use of official expenses.Shim Jae-cheol, a lawmaker of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, revealed Friday that Cheong Wa Dae used official expenses to pay its officials an allowance of 100,000 won ($90) to 250,000 won per session, even for attending staff meetings from June last year to February this year.Shim said he found this out by analyzing official expenses of government agencies that his aides had downl

Sept. 30, 2018

[Editorial] Beyond trade

South Korea and the US signed a revised version of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement earlier this week. The signing, hailed by leaders of the two countries, is welcome in many respects. Most of all, the conclusion of the negotiations to amend the 6-year-old trade agreement that had been persistently challenged by US President Donald Trump put an end to uncertainty as to its fate. Another good point is that the two sides sealed a major bilateral dispute at a time when they need a seamless joint s

Sept. 27, 2018