Most Popular
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
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More med professors to take day off each week while govt. urges them to stay
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South Korea to launch space security center under spy agency
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[Editorial] English divide
Koreans are recognized for their zeal for learning English, though the efficiency of their study methods is often called into question.A report released this week suggested there might be a good reason they have to be so zealous in acquiring a better command of the language.Employees who outscore their colleagues by 100 points on the Test of English for International Communication earn an average 1.7 million won ($1,400) more a year, according to the report by Korea Development Institute, a stat
June 7, 2012
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[Editorial] Lawmakers’ extra income
The 19th National Assembly started its term in office on May 30. But it has yet to hold an opening session, with the rival parties bickering over who will head each of the 18 committees.No one knows when the legislature will start its normal operations. The standoff may last more than a month, if past experience is any indication.Still, each lawmaker will be given, without interruption, a monthly payment of 12.24 million won and access to 200 perks ― ranging from free rides on state-owned means
June 6, 2012
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[Editorial] Threat of EU crisis
As is often said, a crisis that is already known may not be a crisis any longer. Those who perceive themselves to be at the risk of being exposed to a crisis are certain to take all precautions possible for their own protection.But the axiom does not appear to apply to the current sovereign-debt crisis in Europe. The crisis came to a head in 2008 when Ireland was added to the PIGS group of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain to form a new pejorative term ― PIIGS.The crisis, which the European Unio
June 6, 2012
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Diversity in top court
The shortlist of candidates to replace four outgoing Supreme Court justices, which were recommended by Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae to President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday, appears to add to the conservative tendency of the top court rather than altering it.All of the four candidates -- three high-ranking judges and a senior prosecutor – are men in their 50s and thought to be conservative to some extent.The selection naturally drew a negative response from opposition lawmakers and civic group membe
June 6, 2012
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[Editorial] Overeducated workforce
With the entire world contaminated with the eurozone virus, the Korean economy is also beginning to feel the impact of the global slowdown.Government policymakers recently revised down their growth forecast for this year to 3.5 percent from 3.7 percent in the face of shrinking exports coupled with sluggish domestic demand.The effect of their stimulus measures appears to be limited.What if there was a way to boost the growth rate by one extra percentage point without increasing government expendi
June 5, 2012
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[Editorial] Trade with Japan
Korea, a country poor in natural resources, has turned itself into a major exporting powerhouse during the past six decades. It owes its rapid rags-to-riches transformation to huge export earnings.Korea’s prowess as an exporter, however, is nowhere to be found when it comes to trade with Japan. It has recorded no trade surplus ever since its liberation from Japan’s colonial occupation in 1945.At long last, however, Korea sees a possibility of selling more to Japan than buying from it. This possi
June 4, 2012
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[Editorial] No ‘secret fund’
The rumor that former President Roh Moo-hyun kept 2 billion won in borrowed bank accounts is likely to be put to rest, as the prosecutors’ office has made a provisional conclusion that the late president had no such secret fund. The office summoned former National Police Commissioner Cho Hyun-oh on Monday for final questioning on his earlier remarks about the alleged fund.In a 2010 lecture to police officers, Cho, then as chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, claimed Roh took his life i
June 4, 2012
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[Editorial] Blue economy vision
The 6th World Ocean Forum opens today in Busan under the theme of “Vision of the Blue Economy and Ocean Governance.” The three-day conference brings together some 3,000 scholars, government officials and ocean industry leaders from Korea and abroad for discussion on sustainable use and development of the oceans. The term “blue economy” has not gained wide currency in Korea yet. It is being introduced to the public through the forum and the ongoing international exposition in Yeosu, whose theme i
June 3, 2012
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[Editorial] True picture of debt
Korea’s national debt totaled 774 trillion won as of the end of last year, according to a report submitted to the National Assembly by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.The figure is about 354 trillion won higher than the 420 trillion won estimated by the ministry last month. The difference was caused by a shift in accounting method. Previously the government calculated national debt based on cash accounting, a method that recognizes expenses at the time when cash is paid. Under this approach
June 3, 2012
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[Editorial] Resignation or explusion
Two lawmakers elected through the United Progressive Party’s proportional representation list will have to resign on their own if they wish to avoid the humiliation of being expelled from the National Assembly. Both the ruling Saenuri Party and the opposition Democratic United Party are already moving to force them out of the National Assembly.At issue are the ideology that Rep. Lee Seog-gi and Rep. Kim Jae-yeon of the divided leftist party are alleged to espouse and the process of putting them
June 1, 2012
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[Editorial] Power-saving campaign
An annual electricity-saving campaign started on the first day of June ― one month ahead of time. The early launch of the government-initiated promotion reflects a deep concern about power shortages that may cause nationwide blackouts in summer.Nationwide blackouts are not just a remote possibility. They are an imminent threat to the nation, which experienced rolling blackouts last year ― successive blackouts in small areas that were designed to conserve electricity when supply fell to a dangero
June 1, 2012
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[Editorial] Arbitrary detention
In the first move of its kind, a U.N. working group recently concluded that Pyongyang has forcibly detained the wife and two daughters left behind by a South Korean man who escaped North Korea in 1986 a year after defecting there with his family.Their continued detention since 1987 “has been and is arbitrary,” said the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in a statement adopted at its session last month, which was made public by a Seoul-based rights group Tuesday.It also requested that Nort
May 31, 2012
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[Editorial] Plummeting savings rate
It has been a long time since Koreans ceased to be recognized for their passion for saving.A recent report confirmed they have lost that passion more rapidly than people in other major economies over the past decade.According to the report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea’s household savings rate ― the ratio of savings to total disposable income ― declined from 23.2 percent in 1998 to 3.1 percent last year. The decrease of 20.1 percentage points over the cited
May 31, 2012
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[Editorial] Priorities for Assembly
The curtain has been raised on the 19th National Assembly. The public has high expectations for the new parliament as the legislative procedure for contentious bills has been changed to promote inter-party compromise and prevent unsavory brawls among lawmakers.Yet the behavior of the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party apparently has not changed much. They are reenacting the familiar haggling over the distribution of the chairmanships of the Assembly’s 18 standin
May 30, 2012
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[Editorial] Fighting corruption
Not a day passes these days without corruption scandals grabbing headlines. On a daily basis, the media reports on corruption allegations involving presidential confidants, government officials, savings bank owners, police officers, etc. So much so that we are getting numb to corruption.For many years, Korea has been committed to fighting corruption. Successive governments have made earnest efforts to crack down on it. As a result of a continued anti-corruption drive, Korean society has become m
May 30, 2012
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[Editorial] Growth and jobs
Official figures paint a picture of the Korean job market that is far from bleak. On the contrary, Korea appears to be near “full employment,” given the 3.5 percent April jobless rate ― somewhere near an acceptable level of unemployment.But President Lee Myung-bak’s administration is desperate to create jobs by boosting growth. That points to a problem that cannot be described by the official jobless figures alone. Lying at the core of the problem is hidden unemployment. In other words, so many
May 29, 2012
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[Editorial] Court ruling on KCC
One of the serious mistakes made by President Lee Myung-bak’s administration was to issue licenses to four new “general programming” cable television channels and one news-only channel last year. This is shown by their abysmal ratings, which reveal an average viewer share of less than 1 percent.One of the questions raised is why four general programming channels were allowed to operate when it was widely believed that, given the market size, two would be more than enough. Moreover, the advertisi
May 29, 2012
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[Editorial] DUP leadership race
Moon Jae-in, a lawmaker-elect for the main opposition Democratic United Party, recently wrote a tweet suggesting how burdened and frustrated he felt about obstacles to his presidential challenge.The feeling was apparently exacerbated by the backlash against his alliance with two senior DUP members, which he had probably hoped would help lay the groundwork for his presidential bid.In return for their support, Moon appeared to have promised to throw his weight behind Rep. Park Jie-won and former P
May 28, 2012
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[Editorial] Helping irregular workers
The ruling Saenuri Party is planning to submit a dozen bills related to people’s livelihoods as soon as the new National Assembly begins its four-year term Wednesday.At the top of the list, which is scheduled to be finalized at a meeting of party policymakers Tuesday, will likely be a set of measures aimed at banning discrimination against irregular workers.Under the measures, which the ruling party wants to enact into law along with other priority bills within the first 100 days of the new parl
May 28, 2012
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[Editoral] Landmark verdict
The Supreme Court has rendered a landmark verdict for Koreans who have been seeking compensation from Japanese companies for their forced labor during the colonial period (1910-45). In two suits filed by 11 Koreans against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Nippon Steel Corp., the highest court ruled that the two Japanese enterprises should pay their former Korean employees unpaid wages and compensation for their suffering. The verdict carries deep legal, historical and political implications,
May 27, 2012