[Editorial] Keep up sanctions

North Korea and China announced Wednesday that Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping had a summit two days ago. Kim visited Beijing at the invitation of Xi for a closed-door summit Monday. As the specifics of their meeting are not yet known, its effect on the North Korean nuclear issue down the road is hard to predict, but there is a high possibility that it will complicate the matter of denuclearizing the North.　Through his first foreign trip since he took office in 2011, Kim seems to be seeking to mend l

March 28, 2018

[Editorial] New factor

Spring is Coming” is the title of the performances a South Korean art troupe will hold in North Korea early next month. Indeed, the event, which reciprocates a similar visit by a North Korean group, symbolizes that warm spring has come to relations between the two Koreas. The rapid thaw started with the North’s participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics last month. It was accompanied by exchanges of high-level delegates, which led to the agreement to hold an inter-Korean summit next month

March 27, 2018

[Editorial] Brace for trade war

A US-China trade war is brewing. The US administration announced Friday that it would impose tariffs on up to $60 billion in annual imports from China to punish Beijing for what President Donald Trump described as the theft of American technology and Chinese pressure on US companies to hand it over.China hit back. Beijing announced plans for retaliatory tariffs on $3 billion of US imports, though that reaction was technically in response to earlier steel and aluminum tariffs. The list covers 128

March 26, 2018

[Editorial] Imperial presidency

The arrest of former President Lee Myung-bak, while adding to the already shameful history of Korean presidency, should be a reminder of several things. The first is the need to revise the Constitution in order to curb the power of the president.Now locked up in a detention center in Seoul, Lee is the fourth former president to face such a fate. Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo spent time in jail for corruption and mutiny charges in 1995, and Lee’s successor Park Geun-hye has been behind bars for a

March 25, 2018

[Editorial] Pre-emptive responses

Korea’s base rate is now lower than the Federal Reserve’s for the first time in 10 years and seven months. The Fed raised a range of its base rates by a quarter percentage point as expected to 1.5 to 1.75 percent Wednesday. The upper end of the band is 0.25 percentage points higher than the current Korean central bank’s benchmark rate of 1.5 percent. The Fed will likely accelerate its rate hike. It is expected to raise its key interest rates three or four times this year.The Fed’s decisions have

March 23, 2018

[Editorial] All too partisan

The latest developments surrounding constitutional amendment show politicians in this country are prioritizing their own partisan interests over the nation. Blame for the current situation should foremost go to the National Assembly, which has failed to work out a bill after more than one year of discussions. The main opposition Liberty Korea Party should also take the blame as it has opposed the timetable and dragged its feet, ignoring its agreement to put a constitutional revision bill to a na

March 22, 2018

[Editorial] Lee’s fate

It will be a long while before the ultimate legal fate of former President Lee Myung-bak is determined, as the fight between the prosecution and Lee is almost certain to continue to the Supreme Court. 　The first round of the battle is set to start Thursday, when the court arraigns Lee at the prosecution’s request to detain him on a total of 18 charges. The court’s decision may set the tone for the upcoming legal fight between prosecutors and Lee and his defense attorneys. 　Whatever decision the

March 21, 2018

[Editorial] Absolute powers around NK

China and Russia have lurched toward dictatorships of one-man rule, raising concerns about a new Cold War in the 21st century.　Xi Jinping was re-elected unanimously as China’s president on Saturday, and the following day, Russian President Vladimir Putin won another landslide election victory. Earlier, the rubber-stamp Chinese parliament approved a constitutional amendment that lifts presidential term limits, meaning Xi can stay on indefinitely. Putin is starting his fourth nonconsecutive six-ye

March 20, 2018

[Editorial] Dark sides

Former South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung on Monday underwent questioning by prosecutors over allegations of sexual violence against his aides. On Sunday, Lee Yoon-taek, a famous director and playwright, was grilled by police for a second straight day over allegations he habitually committed sexual misconduct against 16 people, including actresses. The public attention given to the cases, and the seemingly never-ending news stories about similar misdeeds by those in power, show that the

March 19, 2018

[Editorial] Don’t rush into revision

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party on Friday unveiled its own road map for a constitutional amendment. The party suggested ruling and opposition parties work out a compromise bill on constitutional amendment by June. According to the road map, the party will seek to revise the Constitution with a focus on delegating much of presidential power to the prime minister.　The guideline reaffirms the party’s rejection of the timeline being pushed by President Moon Jae-in and the ruling party by whi

March 18, 2018

[Editorial] Effect of job incentives

The government on Thursday unveiled measures to bring down youth unemployment. It plans to offer financial and tax incentives worth about 10 million won ($9,336) a year to each successful applicant of an entry-level job in a small and midsized business over the next three or four years.The incentives include income tax exemptions, four-year low-interest loans of up to 35 million won for the down payment of a house, monthly commute allowances and a 24 million won deposit grant to a new recruit if

March 16, 2018

[Editorial] Same juggernaut

The prosecution has been a target of persistent public criticism, which centered on its possession of excessive power, abuse of the power -- sometimes for the benefit of the government in power -- and sporadic cases of corruption and other misdeeds committed by prosecutors.Political and public calls for addressing those problems have grown whenever a new administration came, and that was no exception with the government of President Moon Jae-in. Moon, who took power in the wake of a massive corr

March 15, 2018

editorial

Focus of summitPeace regime, co-prosperity must not take priority over denuclearizationDenuclearization talks that seemed impossible are about to begin. 　South Korea is to hold its third summit with North Korea late in April, followed by a historic first US-North Korea summit in May. Late last year when war crisis escalated with the US reportedly considering a limited preventive strike against the North, no one could have imagined that this situation would come. It is a relief. It’s undisputed t

March 14, 2018

[Editorial] Don’t give up

As with other major political events, when and how are important in amending the Constitution, which was last revised in 1987 and is outdated in many respects. Last year, there was strong consensus about when to revise the basic law, as seen by the fact that all major presidential candidates for the May election agreed to put an amendment bill to a national referendum alongside local elections on June 13 this year. That reflected the public sentiment that the Constitution, which gives the presid

March 13, 2018

[Editorial] Show all ability

Australia has won a reprieve from the US’ global steel and aluminum tariffs after Canada and Mexico were granted temporary exemptions to them.　South Korea must demonstrate its ability to secure an exemption from the tariffs by March 23 when they will be enforced.　With both positive and negative signs mixed for the present, it is hard to see which way the wind is blowing. Trump signed an order imposing 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent on aluminum on March 8. The legal basis of the order

March 12, 2018

[Editorial] Untrodden path

As President Moon Jae-in aptly described, it will be a historic milestone in the quest for peace on the Korean Peninsula that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump will sit down with each other over the nuclear crisis. It indeed is a drastic turnaround for the two, who until a few months ago traded threats of military strikes and stoked fears of war, agreed to hold face-to-face talks by May. The surprise agreement strengthened the momentum for settling the North Korean cr

March 11, 2018

[Editorial] Least thing to do

As early as next week, former President Lee Myung-bak will be added to the already shamefully long list of former leaders who have been summoned for questioning over allegations of wrongdoings they committed, most them while in office. Lee, who occupied Cheong Wa Dae from 2009-2013, faces an assortment of charges, including bribery and abuse of power. The prosecution which has been digging into Lee and people close to him for months believe -- among other things -- Lee and his associates took il

March 9, 2018

[Editorial] Keep #MeToo alive

The #MeToo movement in Korea, which started on Jan. 29 with female prosecutor Seo Ji-hyun’s revelations of a senior prosecutors’ sexual misconduct, has been spreading like wildfire.It has affected art and culture, academic and religious sectors, and most recently political circles. This demonstrates the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace.　In the movement so far, nothing has been more disturbing than the rape accusations against South Chungcheong G

March 8, 2018

[Editorial] Deeds not words

On the surface, the visit of the South Korean government delegation to North Korea appears to have secured a big success. Statements from both sides suggest that the agreements and discussions they made will help the North improve its relations with both the South and the US and have a positive impact on settling the nuclear crisis.The two sides’ agreement to hold the third inter-Korean summit in late April represents significant progress in the inter-Korean thaw that started with the visits of

March 7, 2018

[Editorial] Lee’s second term

President Moon Jae-in’s reappointment of Lee Ju-yeol as governor of the Bank of Korea last Friday deserves a positive evaluation.The reappointment was an appropriate step to guarantee the independence of the central bank and the continuity of its monetary policy. It is also exceptional, considering that Moon has usually replaced heads of major public institutions named by his predecessor, former President Park Geun-hye. Lee is the first Bank of Korea governor to be reappointed for a second conse

March 6, 2018