[Editorial] Screen out pledges

The Moon Jae-in administration’s decision to launch the policy planning and advisory committee which will work as a transition team was appropriate and necessary.　For a government inaugurated without a transition period, it is urgent to set the framework of policies for the next five years as early as possible. 　Also in light of opposition majority in the National Assembly, revising or repealing campaign pledges, many of them requiring legislation, are inevitable. They cannot but go nowhere with

May 14, 2017

[Editorial] Thorough preparation

The Korea-US summit talks are reportedly expected to be held in the US next month. During a Wednesday phone call between the two state leaders, US President Donald Trump said he would officially invite President Moon Jae-in to Washington. Moon said he would send special envoys to the US and hoped that he could visit Washington as soon as possible. The summit talks, if held in June, are late, but very welcomed.Tension has mounted on the Korean peninsula over North Korean threats, but South Korea

May 12, 2017

[Editorial] Political honeymoon

The 19th presidential election in which liberal Moon Jae-in took power marks another evolution of Korean democracy. Most of all, it is the second conservative-to-liberal transition of power. The first such power transfer was nearly two decades ago, when longtime dissident Kim Dae-jung swept into power on the back of the 1997-1998 financial crisis that had battered the conservative government of Kim Young-sam. The first progressive government in decades was succeeded by another liberal, Roh Moo-h

May 11, 2017

[Editorial] Open-minded leadership

President Moon Jae-in asked the Democratic Party of Korea on Tuesday to work with him to accomplish two overarching missions: reform and integration.He vowed to eradicate longstanding evils on his campaign trail. These evils came to the fore through the influence-peddling scandal which led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye and the presidential by-election. Among the prime evils exposed in the scandal were the concentration of power on a few presidential aides and the avoidance

May 10, 2017

[Editorial] Fresh start

Moon Jae-in’s election ended the leadership vacuum caused by the first-ever impeachment of a sitting president and restored liberal government rule after a nine-year absence. The overwhelming victory the former human rights lawyer clinched in his second bid is a crowning moment for him.  But the new president faces such urgent, formidable challenges that there is no time for celebration. The first of multiple challenges is to restore national leadership, which was severely damaged by the scandal

May 9, 2017

[Editorial] Every vote counts

Koreans are going to the polls to elect a new president with the hope the person they choose this time will be different from -- better, to be exact -- those in the past. The abnormality of the election itself -- a by-election to fill the leadership void created by the first-ever impeachment of a sitting president, adds to the importance of selecting the best possible candidate from a list of 13. Most of all, the next president should be less divisive and less confrontational, because one of the

May 8, 2017

[Editorial] US bill on NK

The US House of Representatives approved legislation Thursday to impose the toughest ever US sanctions on North Korea. 　The bill penalizes companies supplying crude oil, natural gas, jet fuel and other refined products to the North, with limited humanitarian exceptions. It also imposes financial sanctions on entities buying coal, iron or iron ore from the reclusive state. 　Goods produced by North Korea’s forced labor would be prohibited from entering the US. Anyone who uses slave labor that the

May 7, 2017

[Editorial] End blackout　

With only three days to go to polling day, the presidential election is in its final stretch, and the candidates are pulling all their resources together to muster support behind their campaign.Voters are also keen to exercise their right to choose the man who will lead the country for five years to come. The high turnout rate in the early voting period Thursday and Friday is a good indication that voters’ participation will be higher than in the past.But voters casting ballots Tuesday will go t

May 5, 2017

[Editorial] Defections to Hong

The recent massive defections from the Bareun Party have emerged as a major factor in the presidential race of the conservative camp.On Tuesday, 13 lawmakers of the party declared they would support presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo and defected to the Liberty Korea Party. They cited as the reason that Yoo Seong-min, presidential candidate of the Bareun Party, had rejected their demands that he make way for the conservative bloc to field a single candidate.Their defections were an inevitable

May 4, 2017

[Editorial] Trump risk

US President Donald Trump’s conflicting remarks on North Korea and the controversy over which side should bear the cost for deploying a US missile shield system in South Korea demonstrate that our national security now faces a new challenge -- dealing with an unpredictable US leader.The challenge comes the fact that Trump keeps throwing out inconsistent remarks on North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un. His “maximum pressure and engagement” policy on the North’s nuclear and missile threats is al

May 3, 2017

[Editorial] FTA renegotiation

Renegotiation of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement is inching toward reality.US President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order directing a review of 20 trade agreements for possible abuses, including the one with South Korea. The order gives Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross 180 days to conduct the review. Trump earlier signed another executive order for a 90-day review of the causes of massive US trade deficits. The review focuses on 16 countries including South Korea.Trump said of the

May 2, 2017

[Editorial] Sharing power

It is not rare for presidential candidates to unify their candidacies to strengthen chances of victory or catch up with stronger rivals. There is less possibility of this happening in this election, however, as all the major five candidates reject the idea. But it does not mean that they are shunning efforts to broaden their support base. This time, candidates put forward “cooperative governance” as a means to attract voters beyond their turf. Leading candidates now say that if elected, they wil

May 1, 2017

[Editorial] THAAD cost

US President Donald Trump’s insistence that South Korea should pay for a newly deployed US anti-missile system threatens to overturn agreements and breaks faith between the two countries. Trump said in an interview with the Washington Times on Friday, “Why should we pay for it? … I respectfully say that I think it would be appropriate if they paid for it.”　His remark came a day after he made similar comments for the first time in another interview with Reuters. “I informed South Korea it would b

April 30, 2017

[Editorial] US policy on NK

The recently unveiled US policy on North Korea centers on economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure.　US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats made it clear in their joint statement Wednesday that North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is “an urgent national security threat” and “top foreign policy priority.”“The president’s approach aims to pressure North Korea into dismantling its nuclear, ballistic missile and prolifer

April 28, 2017

[Editorial] Spring in economy?

It appears that the Korean economy is gaining momentum for recovery. It is encouraging to see such signs amid the crisis involving North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and the power vacuum created by the removal of Park Geun-hye as president. The most telltale signs include the bullish performance of the stock market, with the benchmark index hitting its highest mark in six years. The stock market boom also comes with a notable improvement in consumer sentiment. The Bank of Korea said Korea

April 27, 2017

[Editorial] What’s really wrong

The controversy over South Korea’s decision to abstain from voting on a 2007 UN resolution on North Korea’s human rights abuses raises a few fundamental questions. First, the case should raise questions about South Koreans who tend to ignore human rights issues in the North. Most of all, it should serve as a reminder of how negligent self-claimed progressives and liberals in this country can be about the human rights infringements perpetrated by the totalitarian regime in Pyongyang against its o

April 26, 2017

[Editorial] New China?

No one knows how the current crisis involving North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats will play out. But there is one thing clear: China is taking pains to put unprecedented pressure on the North. As usual, signs of changes in Beijing’s position on the North come from its state-controlled media. One such media outlet, the Global Times, ran an editorial last week which must have grabbed the attention of all parties concerned -- not least North Korea. It suggested the possibility of Beijing cond

April 25, 2017

[Editorial] Denuclearization plan

Moon Jae-in, candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea and front-runner in the presidential race, on Sunday unveiled his plan to make the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free.He said South Korea should lead the international community’s efforts to denuclearize the peninsula. In principle, the direction of denuclearization is right, but in practice, South Korea’s ability to lead denuclearization is doubtful. The particulars of his idea are loose, with some of them risky and questionable.“I will persuad

April 24, 2017

[Editorial] Decision on NK

A Cheong Wa Dae decision made a decade ago has emerged as the top issue of the presidential election. 　It was about whether the presidential office asked the North Korean authorities for their opinion on a UN resolution condemning the country’s human rights abuse of its residents. Former Foreign Minister Song Min-soon had made public a document that indicates Cheong Wa Dae asked Pyongyang for its position before it decided to abstain from the resolution.　Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate o

April 23, 2017

[Editorial] Dangerous view on history

Chinese President Xi Jinping was belatedly reported to have said during his summit talks with US President Donald Trump, “Korea actually used to be a part of China.”His remark was revealed by Trump in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, but what Xi said precisely has so far not been confirmed. It is also unclear in what context he made the remark.　But if he actually said so, his words show how the Chinese leadership perceives Korea and its history. When asked by reporters about Xi’s utter

April 21, 2017