After the death of Kim Jong-il... Is reunification closer to reality? As soon as North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death was announced, speculation began on the implications for South Korea’s relationship with Pyongyang. A major question is how Kim’s death and the transition of power to his youngest son Kim Jong-un will affect the long-held goal of Korean reunification. With the elder Kim gone...

With response to Kim Jong-il’s death reigniting the debate ... Should the National Security Law be abolished? Divisive debate The National Security Law has divided Korean public opinion since its introduction in 1948. To its proponents, more often on the conservative side of politics, the law is a necessary safeguard against North Korea and communist subversion of the state. To its critics, ge...

More than 18 months after its introduction ... Is current teacher evaluation effective? Testing teachers Teacher Evaluation for Professional Development, a system to evaluate the performance of teachers at primary and secondary schools, was introduced in April 2010, after months of planning and debate. Under the system, fellow teachers, parents and students assess teachers using 18 criteria. H...

With many cases causing public outrage ... Is punishment for sex crime too lenient? Scales of justice A series of high-profile sex crime cases in recent years has caused public uproar over perceived leniency in sentencing. Perhaps most controversial of all was the punishment doled out to three teachers at Gwangju Inhwa School for sex crimes against deaf students. Two teachers were sentenced to...

Skyhigh sell-off The President Lee Myung-bak administration proposed a partial privatization of Incheon International Airport in 2008 with a plan to sell off a 49 percent stake, including 15 percent to a foreign airport operator. Lee said the move would improve the competitiveness and efficiency of the country’s main gateway. The plan was ultimately shelved in the face of public antipathy. Last ...

With GNP proposing higher rates on big earners ... Should there be a new tax for the rich? Taxing times Calls for the imposition of a new tax for the nation’s richest have become part of the mainstream political discourse in Korea, echoing similar debate in the U.S. The most recent proposals for a tax on the wealthy have come from a somewhat unlikely source, the conservative Grand National Par...

With the deal finally passed ... Will the Korea-U.S. FTA be good for Korea? Rocky road to ratification After years of bitter dispute, the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement passed the National Assembly on Nov. 22 in dramatic fashion. But opposition to the controversial pact, which is expected to come into effect in January, has far from evaporated. Thousands of protestors have taken to the street...

With the Hanjin dispute finally resolved ... Are Korea’s trade unions too powerful? The influence of organized labor By most measures, Korean trade unionism is at its lowest ebb in two decades. The union participation rate today of 9.8 percent is less than half of what it was in 1989. Among OECD countries, Korean workers’ unionization ranks near bottom. That does not mean that unions do not s...