Most Popular
-
1
Ador CEO denies allegations, accuses Hybe of mistreating NewJeans
-
2
Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
-
3
[Herald Interview] 'Amid aging population, Korea to invite more young professionals from overseas'
-
4
Nicaragua shuts down Seoul embassy
-
5
Medical reform committee kicks off despite boycott from doctors
-
6
Hybe's multilabel system tested amid conflict with Ador
-
7
SNU profs to suspend treatment for one day
-
8
Rocket engine expert, ex-NASA exec to lead Korea's new space agency
-
9
Over-50s, men, single-person households take up majority of those filing for bankruptcy
-
10
SK hynix pledges W20tr to ramp up DRAM production at home
-
[Editorial] Favors for draftees
As a recent survey indicates, almost eight in 10 Koreans support the Ministry of National Defense’s idea of giving favors in written employment tests to those who have completed active duty. Given this high approval rate, the ministry may be tempted to believe all it needs to do is request the legislature to pass the relevant bill awaiting action.But it is not as simple as it looks. A similar law
May 20, 2011
-
[Editorial] Conflict resolution
The nation has recently experienced severe conflicts between local governments over the location of state-promoted projects such as the science-business belt, an international airport in the southeastern region and the relocation of LH Corp., a state-run property development agency. The sites for these projects have all been chosen but the government needs to tackle the following challenges to pre
May 19, 2011
-
[Editorial] Improved prowess
It is encouraging that Korea’s national competitiveness ranking keeps rising. According to Switzerland-based IMD, Korea placed 22nd among the 59 countries surveyed in the World Competitiveness Yearbook for 2011. That is the highest spot Korea has taken since IMD started to evaluate the competitiveness of major countries in 1997. Korea climbed in the IMD global rankings for the third consecutive ye
May 19, 2011
-
[Editorial] Symbiotic ties
On Monday, the National Tax Service summoned senior officials and regional office heads to a conference at short notice. That was unusual. The usual practice is to hold such a conference annually, at the outset of each year.Even odder was that there was no urgent issue to deal with. Instead, what the participants were told was to refrain from arranging jobs for their retiring colleagues because it
May 18, 2011
-
[Editorial] SMEs as partners
In recent consultations with small and medium-sized businesses, President Lee Myung-bak said the chaebol owner-centered style of management needs to be changed. He stopped short of specifying details of how to do so, but said they should alter their management style to favor co-prosperity with SMEs.But it takes no genius to guess what message Lee wanted to get across to the business tycoons contro
May 18, 2011
-
[Editorial] Military reform row
Forty-three former Navy and Air Force heads collectively turned down an invitation to a Defense Ministry briefing Tuesday on an extensive defense reform plan. They were particularly dissatisfied with the proposed system to place the chief of naval operations and the Air Force chief of staff under the operational control of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Many retired Army generals are al
May 17, 2011
-
[Editorial] Red arrow signal
It is fortunate that National Police Agency chief Cho Hyun-oh officially withdrew a controversial plan to change the traffic signal system by introducing red arrow for “no left turn.” “Global standards” were cited for the change, which the police asserted was conducive to reducing traffic accidents. It took two years for the NPA to prepare for the change after the National Competitiveness Commissi
May 17, 2011
-
[Editorial] Civil disobedience?
Balanced regional development has been a key objective in national administration for decades. But each time the government makes a decision on the location of any major state project, competition among candidate cities and provinces become so severe that it looks like the nation is just falling apart.As the central city of Daejeon has been selected as the location for a “science-business belt,” a
May 16, 2011
-
[Editorial] IMF chief’s case
An individual’s sexual misdeeds have never caused a greater shock and disappointment in living memory than the alleged sexual assault attributed to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the French managing director of the International Monetary Fund who is under arrest in New York after a hotel maid reported to police a case of attempted rape Sunday. Bill Clinton managed to survive the Monica Lewinsky scandal w
May 16, 2011
-
[Editorial] New floor leaders
Rep. Kim Jin-pyo, new floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, vows to drub the ruling party in the parliamentary elections scheduled for next April. But he has much work to do with his counterpart from the ruling party before going on the stump together with Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu, the leader of his party. On being elected floor leader on Friday, Kim, a second-term lawmaker from Suwon, Gy
May 15, 2011
-
[Editorial] Coup anniversary
On Monday 50 years ago, a group of Army officers, led by Maj. Gen. Park Chung-hee, toppled the government and took power in a coup. Park ruled the nation for the next 18 years ― first as the coup leader and later as an authoritarian president ― before being assassinated by his intelligence chief.The anniversary is certain to rekindle a debate on the event’s historical meaning. The government ouste
May 15, 2011
-
[Editorial] Misguided merger plan
The government appears to be promoting a merger between Woori Finance Holdings Co. and KDB Financial Group to create a “mega bank” with assets exceeding 500 trillion won ($458 billion), roughly half of the nation’s gross domestic product.The Public Fund Oversight Committee, which is tasked with recouping taxpayers’ money used to bail out distressed companies, will convene on May 17 to restart the
May 13, 2011
-
[Editorial] KTX safety checks
Korea Railroad Corp. has finally addressed growing public concern about the safety of its accident-prone KTX bullet trains. KORAIL said Thursday it would reduce operations of its high-speed trains for a comprehensive safety check. A day earlier, it ordered Hyundai Rotem to recall all of the 19 KTX-Sancheon trains in operation for thorough inspection. The recall order came after inspectors found de
May 13, 2011
-
[Editorial] Losses on savings
The Monetary Policy Committee is holding its monthly meeting Friday to determine whether or not to keep the central bank’s benchmark rate intact. Among the things that must be taken into consideration is the real interest rate, which has remained below zero for the past five months.A key real rate, the nominal yield on three-year government bonds less the consumer price index, was minus 0.5 percen
May 12, 2011
-
[Editorial] Party in turmoil
Rival factions in the ruling Grand National Party have papered over their disagreements on who should represent the party now ― the floor leader or the chairman of the emergency committee on reform. But a similar conflict may surface anytime, as the power struggle, triggered by the party’s defeat in the April 27 parliamentary by-elections, is most likely to intensify in the months ahead.In the wak
May 12, 2011
-
[Editorial] Ineffectual CEOs
Incheon Transit Corporation has invested 85.3 billion won to build a monorail system linking the major sightseeing spots in Incheon. The project, touted as the nation’s first urban sightseeing light rail, was completed last year but is still not open for public use. The main reason is that serious safety problems were found during trial operations. The system is now under scrutiny by an independen
May 11, 2011
-
[Editorial] Tax cut debate
The divisive debate on tax cuts has resurfaced in the ruling Grand National Party following the election on Friday of Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, a neutral four-term lawmaker, as the party’s new floor leader. Hwang pledged to scrap the planned tax cuts for the companies and individuals in the highest corporate and personal income tax brackets, saying he would use the money for low-income people who suffer
May 11, 2011
-
[Editorial] Parties in flux
The nation’s political parties are in a state of flux. Party leaderships are in serious disarray and analysts see the possibility of a major regrouping when parliamentary and presidential votes draw near. Popularity ratings fluctuate wildly while President Lee Myung-bak’s approval rate keeps sliding. The ruling Grand National Party’s by-election loss last month in Bundang, long considered a conser
May 10, 2011
-
[Editorial] Hollow proposal
While there is a near zero possibility that Kim Jong-il will accept President Lee’s offer of inviting the North Korean leader to the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul next March, which carries heavy preconditions, the gesture shows the government’s sincerity to bring the rogue regime to the international arena. President Lee also reminded Pyongyang of what it can expect from the international socie
May 10, 2011
-
[Editorial] Lee’s Europe tour
President Lee Myung-bak began his European tour meeting with German leaders Monday. With few pressing issues on hand, other than how to increase economic cooperation using the just-ratified Korea-European Union Free Trade Agreement, Lee’s week-long trip through Germany, Denmark and France will be a respite from the headaches at home complicated by a by-election defeat, falling approval ratings and
May 9, 2011