South Korea’s economy involving the capital market averted shocks in September as the Federal Reserve again delayed its policy to raise the key interest rate. But the US monetary issue still remains a big uncertainty for the local market.Further, two more external factors are aggravating uncertainty at the start of the fourth quarter: the crude oil issue centered on production in the Middle East and the Deutsche Bank woes in Europe.Earlier this week, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Count

Editorial Sept. 30, 2016

Aside from lending from the first-tier banks and secondary financial firms, the loan issuance balance from private moneylenders is rapidly increasing. This indicates that South Korea has become a “debtor republic.”According to the Financial Services Commission, the outstanding loans issued by the third-tier lenders came to 13.2 trillion won ($11.9 billion) at the end of 2015. This marked a 7.3 percent increase from 12.3 trillion won at the end of June 2015.Considering the lending rate charged by

Editorial Sept. 26, 2016

Ruthless North Korean leader Kim Jung-un is continuing his bloody reign of terror. The South Korean government confirmed Wednesday that the North recently executed a vice premier and sent two other senior officials to rural farms for re-education on the revolutionary spirit.The executed official was Kim Yong-jin, 63, an expert in educational administration. According to the South’s Unification Ministry, Kim was initially investigated by the North’s intelligence agency for his bad sitting posture

Editorial Sept. 2, 2016

The public’s confidence in the nation’s justice system was further eroded Thursday when an incumbent senior judge was arrested over allegations he received bribes from a disgraced businessman.Kim Su-cheon, a judge of the Incheon District Court, is suspected of having received 170 million won ($152,000) from Jung Woon-ho, the former head of cosmetics company Nature Republic who is serving time for illegal gambling overseas.Kim is alleged to have acquired an imported vehicle from Jung at a giveawa

Editorial Sept. 2, 2016

A private think tank aspiring to become Korea’s answer to the Brookings Institution of the United States has been launched. 　The Future Consensus Institute was founded by Cho Chang-geol, the founder and honorary chairman of Hanssem Co., Korea’s leading interior company that provides furniture, appliances and household accessories.　Cho has promised to contribute 400 billion won ($357 million) worth of his shareholdings in Hanssem to the institute to ensure its financial independence. In March las

Editorial Aug. 21, 2016

The row over Woo Byung-woo, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs who is dogged by accusations of corruption, has taken a new turn as the powerful presidential aide was referred to the prosecution for investigation last week.　Lee Seok-su, the special inspector general who has inspected Woo for a month, wrapped up his inspection Thursday, filing with the prosecution a request for a formal probe into the presidential secretary, who oversees law enforcement agencies, including the prosecu

Editorial Aug. 21, 2016

President Park Geun-hye is trying to reach a compromise with angry residents in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, over the U.S.’s plan to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery in the county by next year.Park has said the administration is willing to change the site where the THAAD will be stationed if there are other locations the county can recommend. But she has clarified that the new location should be within Seongju.Seongju residents, including lawmakers from the Daegu-North

Editorial Aug. 5, 2016

The Corporate Vitality Enhancement Act will take effect in about a week. The law, which was legislated in February, is designed to revitalize ailing industries, such as shipbuilding and steelmaking, which have been suffering from a glut among global competitors.Policymakers say that the law -- which is better known as the “one-shot” law -- would provide conglomerates with decent opportunities to streamline ailing business segments by merging units with similar functions.The special law is drawin

Editorial Aug. 5, 2016

Korea is not the only country where corruption in sports often becomes a hot social issue. But match-fixing scandals that hit the nation’s professional sports intermittently show that the issue requires greater attention from law-enforcement authorities, sports governing bodies and managers of pro clubs. The first major match-fixing scandal erupted in soccer in 2011, which resulted in the indictment of 37 players. Since then, similar cases continued to strike professional sports like baseball, b

Editorial July 24, 2016

Every U.S. presidential election matters to the world. This year’s election matters much more than any previous election – due mainly to a man who is calling for drastic changes to American policies, not least those on security and free trade. By now, the whole world knows that the “America First” slogan of Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, is a euphemism for neo-isolationism and protectionism. The populist tycoon-turned-politician firmly believes that the U.S. loses more than it gains in

Editorial July 24, 2016

The ruling Saenuri Party can hardly be seen as a respecter of the law, as its leaders are turning a blind eye to allegations that close aides to President Park Geun-hye illegally intervened in candidate nomination for the April 13 general election.Earlier this week, a local news outlet revealed transcripts of conversations between Kim Sung-hoi, a Saenuri candidate for the Hwaseong C district of Gyeonggi Province, and Reps. Yoon Sang-hyun and Choi Kyung-hwan, who are close aides to Park.  It also

Editorial July 22, 2016

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has come up with a new set of measures to promote Korea’s slumping game industry.Dubbed “A Five-Year Plan to Enhance the Gaming Culture,” the new measures focus more on creating a healthy gaming culture than supporting game developers. The policy shift is based on the realization that the game industry cannot prosper unless people’s negative perceptions toward online games change.The government’s policy toward the game industry has been contradictory.

Editorial July 22, 2016

Koreans are accustomed to encountering misdeeds committed by public officials — both elected and appointed. But the seemingly endless cases of alleged nepotism involving Rep. Seo Yeong-gyo certainly goes beyond a tolerable level. In short, Seo, a two-term lawmaker from The Minjoo Party of Korea, is quite good at misusing her public office to provide benefits to her own family members.   She has been involved in a long list of cases of notorious nepotism. Three years ago, the lawmaker hired her o

Editorial June 24, 2016

The latest developments surrounding a group of 13 North Korean defectors who recently resettled in South Korea gives us several things to think about. First, the case reminds us of the Cold War-era past in which the two Koreas were engaged in a fierce publicity war about which was the better place to live. During that time, the two Koreas took full advantage of defectors from either side — to be fair, those from the North far outnumbered those from the South — to blow their own trumpet. Official

Editorial June 24, 2016