Most Popular
-
1
10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
-
2
Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
-
3
Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
-
4
DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
-
5
First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
-
6
NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
-
7
Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
-
8
Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
-
9
Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
-
10
Ship linked to NK arms shipments to Russia is moored in China: State Dept.
-
[Editorial] Speed up investigations
The presidential office must be on edge as it faces two high-profile investigations at the same time. One concerns the cyberattack last October on the website of the National Election Commission while the other is about illegal surveillance of a civilian.On Monday, an independent counsel started a probe into the NEC website attack that took place on Oct. 26, the day Seoul mayoral by-election was held. A massive distributed denial-of-service attack brought the election watchdog’s website down, ma
March 28, 2012
-
[Editorial] Biggest nuclear threat
The leaders of 53 nations and international bodies met in Seoul for two to reconfirm their shared responsibilities to keep nuclear materials from dangerous hands, but the absence of North Korea and Iran helped the participants of the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit realize where the biggest threats are. One positive outcome for President Lee Myung-bak, host of the second nuclear summit after the first in Washington in 2010, was that he had a great opportunity to convince world leaders of the nature
March 27, 2012
-
[Editorial] English-only lectures
Universities are increasing the number of English-only lectures to “go in step with the globalization trend,” but students and professors are uncomfortable with the plan. They complain that learning efficiency decreases rather than increases in classes where teachers and students are supposed to speak only English.Since the innovative Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology president Suh Nam-pyo declared “all-English” lectures at the state-run university five years ago and the decisio
March 27, 2012
-
[Editorial] Opposition alliance
Park Geun-hye, Han Myeong-sook and Lee Jung-hee. These three women dominate electioneering in the Republic of Korea, each leading a political party. Of them, Lee is the youngest and newest. This baby-faced, smiling woman is also probably most intelligent ― the highest female scorer in the 1987 SAT ― but she is dedicated to the toughest political cause. She wants to be Korea’s first woman president from the working class.Lee Jung-hee, a co-leader of the United Progressive Party, left the parliame
March 26, 2012
-
[Editorial] Obama at DMZ
When U.S. President Barack Obama visited Camp Bonifas near the Panmunjeom truce village on his way to a guard post in the Korean Demilitarized Zone on Sunday, he must have been told whom the U.S. Army facility was named after. It was dedicated to Capt. Arthur Bonifas, one of the two U.S. officers who were killed by axe-wielding North Korean guards while on a work detail from the U.N. Command on Aug. 18, 1976.Time has passed very slowly in the 36 years since the bloody incident and since the sign
March 26, 2012
-
[Editorial] Curbing nuclear terrorism
Leaders of 53 nations and four international organizations have gathered in Seoul for a two-day summit on expanding and deepening international cooperation in thwarting nuclear terrorism. The threat of nuclear terrorism loomed large following the 9/11 attacks on the United States. But global efforts to address it had remained low-key until U.S. President Barak Obama energized them. In a speech in Prague in 2009, Obama presented his vision of a world free of nuclear weapons. One initiative he pro
March 25, 2012
-
[Editorial] Obama’s surprise pick
U.S. President Barak Obama has nominated Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-American who leads Dartmouth College, to become president of the World Bank. Kim, if confirmed by the bank, will become the first Asian-American to head the institution in its 68-year history. The bank has usually been headed by an American, while its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund, has always been led by a European. Kim’s nomination is seen as a move aimed at fending off challenges from developing nations, whi
March 25, 2012
-
[Editorial] Obama’s DMZ visit
Tension is building as Pyongyang escalates its threats of attack against South Korea. The latest among them is a warning that North Korea would regard it as a “declaration of war” if the forthcoming Seoul nuclear security summit adopts a statement condemning its nuclear program.Those remarks were contained in a statement carried by the North’s state-run news agency on Wednesday. It added: “If there is any provocative act such as the issuance of a so-called statement concerning ‘the North’s nucle
March 23, 2012
-
[Editorial] Pension depletion
The government estimates the national pension fund will be depleted by 2060 if no action is taken. But a university professor of statistics, who claims the government is mistaken in its estimation, says the year of depletion will be 2049.The dispute over the year of depletion is no small matter, given that the trust of subscribers to the national pension program is at stake. The pension program will be put in jeopardy if it is shunned by suspecting young people.In a paper submitted to a forum on
March 23, 2012
-
[Editorial] Face the music
Cheong Wa Dae is under snowballing pressure to come clean on its role in the alleged attempt to cover up the illegal surveillance of a civilian by officials of the Prime Minister’s Office in 2008. Opposition parties are zeroing in on President Lee Myung-bak. Defining the case as a Korean version of the Watergate scandal that ousted U.S. President Richard Nixon, they urged Lee to clear up the suspicions that some of his former top aides had been involved in a systematic cover-up. The suspicions s
March 22, 2012
-
[Editorial] Nuclear safety culture
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission has concluded that the power outage at the Gori-1 reactor on Feb. 9 had been caused by a combination of a worker’s mistake, a defect in the emergency diesel power generator and a weak safety culture.According to the commission, external power supply to the Gori-1 reactor was suspended while a worker tested the protection system for the back-up diesel power generator. He was found to have not followed the instructions of his supervisor.The emergency powe
March 22, 2012
-
[Editorial] Taxing clergy
All taxable incomes must be taxed. But there have been unwarranted exceptions ― those accrued to Protestant priests, Buddhist monks and other clergy members. Permitting such an exception goes against the Constitution, which reads in part: “All citizens have the duty to pay taxes under the conditions as prescribed by law.”Now the government belatedly says it will seriously consider taxing all people holding religious office. Finance Minister Bark Jae-wan says he finds it difficult to continue to
March 21, 2012
-
[Editorial] Official campaigns
Nominees running in the parliamentary elections start their formal campaigns when they register as candidates on Thursday or Friday. Their competition is set to heat up, with all pre-registration campaign restrictions lifted.Surrounded by their campaign workers, candidates will crisscross districts, seeking to win voter support at subway stations, markets and other crowded places. Their campaign vehicles will roam the streets, with loudspeakers mounted on them blaring slogans and jingles.But the
March 21, 2012
-
[Editorial] ‘Ocean-going navy’
“If a crow-tit walks like a stork, he only breaks his legs.” This old saying is often quoted in debates these days on the role and mission of the Republic of Korea Navy. At present, the proverb that warns against over-ambitiousness in setting a vision for the future is used by those who are opposing the construction of a naval base on the southern coast of Jeju Island and the Navy’s vision of its ocean-going operations.“Ocean-going navy” has been an on-and-off catchphrase of the ROK Navy over th
March 20, 2012
-
[Editorial] Projectile politics
Even after announcing their plan to launch a “satellite” into space on the back of a rocket, which the international community determined as the test-firing of a missile, North Korean leaders seem to be still hoping that they will receive food aid from the United States under an agreement last February. North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Li Yong-ho said in Beijing that the plan to launch “Bright Star-3” between April 12 and 16 is a “separate issue” from the U.S.-North agreement on the suspension
March 20, 2012
-
[Editorial] Crisis at KBS orchestra
The KBS Symphony Orchestra, the older of Korea’s two leading orchestras, is embroiled in a crisis, the worst since its founding 56 years ago. The problems facing the orchestra, currently under the management of the state-run Korea Broadcasting System, are deep and complex and in a sense epitomize maladies that strike many social institutions of present Korea and the cultural community in particular.The cancellation of the 666th regular monthly concert, which was scheduled for March 8-9 at the Se
March 19, 2012
-
[Editorial] City Hall assessment
As the new City Hall building is nearing completion in May, the 10 million residents of the capital city are watching the peculiarly-shaped glass and steel structure, wondering how their lives will be affected by a liberal mayor who is applying his political ideology to administrative measures one after the other. For the past five months since his election last October, Mayor Park Won-soon was more proactive in halting the projects pushed by his predecessor Oh Se-hoon than introducing his own.
March 19, 2012
-
[Editorial] No magic wand
The main opposition Democratic United Party drew ardent support from young voters several months ago when it made an election promise to cut university tuition fees by half. Now it has taken one step further by promising to pay 12 million won in subsidy to students fresh out of high school if they forfeit the tuition benefit by not being admitted to university. The 12 million won subsidy is just one of a wide array of generous welfare projects to which the opposition party commits itself ahead o
March 18, 2012
-
[Editorial] Missile or satellite?
When a satellite is sent into space on the back of a long-range missile, is it a satellite launch or a missile launch? This question is being raised at a time when North Korea is preparing “to launch a working satellite, Kwangmyongsong-3, manufactured by itself with indigenous technology to mark the 100th birth anniversary of President Kim Il-sung,” as it announced on Friday. But it is not an either/or question. It is a missile launch and a satellite launch put together. Nonetheless, North Korea
March 18, 2012
-
[Editorial] Irritating turf war
Prosecutors and police are at each other’s throats again, this time over the investigation of a prosecutor who was accused of verbal assault and abuse of power by a police officer.The case involves a police officer in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, who filed a complaint in January against a prosecutor in Changwon, the seat of the provincial government, for insulting him and abusing his power in directing and supervising the investigation of a private waste treatment company.The police offic
March 16, 2012