[Editorial] Bright path

You should never let your guard down when you deal with North Korea. Yet, recent developments raise hope for fruitful discussions at the summit talks its leader Kim Jong-un will hold with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump. Despite the dramatic arrangement of the Moon-Kim talks, which will be followed by the Trump-Kim meeting, there had been some uncertainties, especially regarding the latter meeting. Those with the most skeptical view had opined that a Trump-Kim me

April 20, 2018

[Editorial] Stop vicious cycle

It is regrettable that Posco Chairman Kwon Oh-joon failed to serve out his term, as all his predecessors had similarly failed. He offered to resign Wednesday two years before the end of his term for dubious reasons. 　He said he would step down voluntarily for the future of Posco. The steel mill dismisses suspicions of government intervention and notes that Kwon himself has mentioned nothing whatever to that effect.But few would accept such an explanation at face value.Until recently, Kwon had sh

April 19, 2018

[Editorial] Continued fiasco

The political debacle that resulted in the exit of the chief financial regulator and the potentially explosive online opinion rigging scandal involving a key ruling party lawmaker expose serious problems with the way the Moon Jae-in administration appoints senior government officials. 　First, the resignation of Kim Ki-sik as governor of the Financial Supervisory Service should raise many questions about the way Cheong Wa Dae vets candidates for high-level government positions. It is easy to imag

April 18, 2018

[Editorial] Mounting suspicions

A scandal involving the manipulation of online public opinion is engulfing the political arena, with suspicions snowballing over who masterminded it. 　The scandal began in January with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea requesting police investigate a remarkable surge in the number of recommendations for an article critical of the government on a popular portal site. 　Two months later, three people were arrested. Unexpectedly, they turned out to be members of the ruling party. Both ruling and

April 17, 2018

[Editorial] A confident Xi

China is a big country. It has the world’s second-largest economy, a mighty military and huge population, and what and how China does matters. One recent case gave a good illustration of how easily a Chinese decision could affect people’s lives here in Korea: China’s decision to ban imports of plastic waste led local recyclers to refuse to collect plastic bags, which resulted in heaps of waste lying here and there. So it is important what kind of leadership a country with such tremendous influen

April 16, 2018

[Editorial] Abusive heiress

The second daughter of the chairman of Korean Air has scandalized the nation by throwing a tantrum at a less powerful person, just as her elder sister did to her subordinate three years ago.　Cho Hyun-min, a senior vice president of Korean Air, is said to have yelled in anger and hurled a cup of water at the face of a manager of an advertising agency during a business meeting last month. She is said to have done so because the agency employee failed to answer her questions on the UK properly duri

April 15, 2018

[Editorial] Change course

South Korea’s unemployment rate rose to a 17-year high of 4.5 percent in March, according to Statistics Korea. The youth jobless rate was as high as 11.6 percent. As the global economy began to recover, the US unemployment rate stood at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent for the sixth consecutive month in March, and that of Japan amounted to 2.5 percent in February. Compared with the US and Japan, the surge of Korea’s jobless rate is to some extent attributable to domestic problems.Employment increase

April 13, 2018

[Editorial] Play it safe

The Ministry of Employment and Labor is at the center of a controversy over its decision to disclose reports on the working environments of Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display factories.　According to the decision, what the companies deem as critical information in the reports they have regularly submitted to the ministry -- such as the layout of semiconductor production facilities and chemicals used at each stage of the manufacturing process -- can be released to the public. However, they fe

April 12, 2018

[Editorial] Stock debacle

Samsung Securities’ erroneous dividend payment on April 6 is a preposterous accident that has left a big mark on investors’ confidence in the Korean stock market.　The company wrongly issued 2.8 billion shares, when it was supposed to pay dividends worth 2.8 billion won ($2.62 million) to employees under a stock ownership plan. This accident was caused by an incorrect input into its stock trading network. It should have input the dividend payment of 1,000 won per employee share, but it erroneousl

April 11, 2018

[Editorial] Heed criticisms

With controversies simmering over the appointment of Kim Ki-sik as governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, Cheong Wa Dae shows characteristic intransigence again, as is often the case with its personnel decisions.　Opposition parties have raised pressure on Kim to resign voluntarily and on Cheong Wa Dae to withdraw its appointment, saying he is ethically unqualified for the job. Local news media is seeking answers from him regarding the questionable purposes of his overseas trips sponsored

April 10, 2018

[Editorial] Close the back door

China apparently began to relax UN sanctions against North Korea after their summit on March 26.Radio Free Asia, quoting an ethnic Korean living in Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture in Jinlin province, China, reported Wednesday that on April 2, around 400 female North Korean workers were sent to Helong, a city in the prefecture. Voice of America reported that a source in China saw an influx of hundreds of North Korean women arriving in Helong on April 2 to work at electronics manufacturing factories

April 9, 2018

[Editorial] History repeats itself

Koreans have got accustomed to seeing former leaders stand trial for wrongdoings they committed while in office. Nevertheless, the verdict on former President Park Geun-hye made many shudder again with despair and anger over their disgraced leader. It will take a while before the case is closed at the Supreme Court, but the heavy punishment meted out by the lower court verifies the gravity of Park’s misdeeds. In one sense, it also justified the candlelight vigil movement and the decision of the

April 8, 2018

[Editorial] Weathering storm

Trade tensions between the US and China are escalating, although it is still early to determine if it will become a full-scale economic war between the world’s two biggest powers. In the latest in a series of tit-for-tat actions, US President Donald Trump has instructed the US trade representative to consider imposing tariffs on an additional $100 billion worth of products from China. Trump gave the instruction after China announced plans to slap major US exports of $50 billion, including soybea

April 6, 2018

[Editorial] Focus on key issues

Ten days have passed since President Moon Jae-in proposed to the National Assembly a bill for a constitutional amendment on March 26, but parliamentary negotiations have been in a deadlock from the beginning. Floor leaders of four parties discussed the issue Wednesday, but have failed to narrow their differences.In the meeting, Rep. Kim Sung-tae of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party argued that Moon as the bill proponent needs to come out to negotiations with the floor leaders. Rep. Woo Won

April 5, 2018

[Editorial] Time running out

A reconciliatory mood is growing fast between the two Koreas, raising hopes that it will have a positive effect on the upcoming series of high-level talks on denuclearizing North Korea. The mood, which is expected to continue at least until the summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on April 27, was highlighted by a South Korean art troupe’s visit to the North. The 160-member troupe, which returned home Wednesday, held two concerts in Pyongyang, marking the firs

April 4, 2018

[Editorial] Plastic waste chaos

Signs of chaos looming over waste pileup in the Seoul area have disappeared under the surface -- for now.Recycling companies on Monday decided to overturn their previous decision to not collect plastic bags, plastic bottles and polystyrene foam or Styrofoam from Sunday.　Startled at the prospect of a bigger crisis over waste buildup and an outpouring of complaints and criticism, the government hurriedly contacted the companies and persuaded them to resume collection.　But their refusal of collecti

April 3, 2018

[Editorial] Beyond steel

Posco, one of the Korean companies whose growth over the past decades is synonymous with what the world admires as the “Miracle on the Han River” celebrated its 50th anniversary on Monday. The anniversary provides some food for thought. Most of all, the steel company as we see it now shows how important having good and strong leadership is to build a nation and modernize its economy. As is well known, late President Park Chung-hee wanted to build a steel mill to spearhead the nation’s economic g

April 2, 2018

[Editorial] Risky ‘phased’ approach

Ahead of summits between South and North Korea and between the US and the North, a war of nerves over how to denuclearize the North seems to be accelerating after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un offered a “phased” approach.His step-by-step method unveiled during his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 26 runs counter to a Libya-style approach hard-liners in Washington reportedly consider, which calls for the dismantlement of a nuclear program before compensating for it.US President

April 1, 2018

[Editorial] Perennial fine dust

Although thick fine dust blanketed most of the country for nearly a week, government measures to reduce it have not been so effective. Fortunately, it is forecast to recede this weekend, but it is predicted to come over the Korean Peninsula often through May or June, sometimes mixed with yellow sand blown from China. Fine dust has become a perennial problem.　Of course, the government is well aware of the seriousness of the problem and has enforced emergency measures in the public sector four tim

March 30, 2018

[Editorial] Neutrality is key

The ugly fight raging between the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and the local police in the southeastern city of Ulsan exposes a negative aspect of the relationship between politics and law-enforcement authorities. The controversy started when police investigators armed with a court-issued search and seizure warrant raided Ulsan City Hall on March 16 in connection with corruption and influence-peddling cases. They targeted the offices of the chief of staff to Mayor Kim Gi-hyeon and another

March 29, 2018