The catastrophe that has happened in Japan over the past few days will not prevent the Japanese people from recovering. It will take a bit longer in comparison to the Kobe earthquake of 1995, but recover they will. Japan is unfortunate to be situated in an area that is prone to natural disasters whether they be earthquakes or tsunamis. The fact that tsunami is a Japanese word is testimony to the f

Viewpoints March 18, 2011

The disabling of a nuclear power plant in Japan after an earthquake struck is certain to bring new thinking on the issue. This has been flagged by the extreme measures the Japanese authorities have used at the Fukushima Daiichi plant ― pumping in impure sea water that will ruin the reactor core so as to reduce heat buildup and prevent a meltdown. Although this reactor, which dates back 40 years, w

Viewpoints March 18, 2011

New jobs are being added as the nation’s economy gains momentum. Last month, the number of people with a job was at 23,336,000, up 469,000 from a year ago. It was the largest monthly gain since July last year. But the government has a long way to go before the jobless rate falls to a tolerable level.According to a report from Statistics Korea, the employment rate, as a percentage of the working po

Editorial March 17, 2011

When the main opposition Democratic Party proposed to rein in rising rent prices by capping their increases in January, the ruling Grand National Party accused its adversary of pushing for an irrational populist idea. In an about-face, the ruling party is now moving to adopt the proposal as its policy. Now what will the GNP say about itself?On Wednesday, the ruling party’s task force, working on a

Editorial March 17, 2011

It seems that Seoul Education Superintendent Kwak Noh-hyun has felt an acute need to use an official residence since his election last June. This week, the Seoul Metropolitan Education Office proposed the revision of a decree on official properties to enable the acquisition of official residences for the education superintendent and vice superintendent. The office offered two reasons: First, the e

Editorial March 15, 2011

Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun came out in support of former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan in the ongoing debate on “profit sharing” between conglomerates and their subcontractors. The government’s chief economic policymaker told a National Assembly committee on Monday that he believed Chung’s idea should be given support. Yoon’s sympathizing with Chung was particularly noteworthy, as he was reto

Editorial March 15, 2011

Damage beyond imagination is unfolding in the wake of the massive earthquake that hit Japan on March 11. More than 5,000 people are confirmed dead or missing, and the death toll is expected to reach into the tens of thousands. In the Miyagi Prefecture town of Minami Sanriku alone, around 10,000 people are unaccounted for.The quake, whose magnitude was upgraded by the Meteorological Agency from the

Viewpoints March 15, 2011

The debate over Libya this week in Washington isn’t about what the U.S. goal should be. President Obama settled that question last week when he declared: “It’s time for Gadhafi to go.” He’s reaffirmed that message several times, and leaders of the most important U.S. allies in Europe ― Britain, Germany and France ― have made similar statements.Instead, the question is what role the United States a

Viewpoints March 14, 2011

It is ironical that President Lee Myung-bak attended the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday for a multibillion dollar nuclear power plant Korea is to build in the United Arab Emirates while world attention is directed at nuclear power stations on the northeastern coast of Japan, which was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami Friday afternoon.Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan told President Lee,

Editorial March 14, 2011