[Editorial] Reform the military

One of five North Korean unmanned aerial vehicles that infiltrated South Korean airspace on Dec. 26 was belatedly found to have briefly entered the no-fly zone around the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Jan. 5 that an object presumed to be a small enemy drone appears to have flown through a part of the "northern tip" of the 3.7-kilometer radius zone around the presidential office. The National Intelligence Service said that the drone in que

Jan. 9, 2023

[Editorial] Winter surge of COVID-19

South Korea is strengthening protective measures against the spread of COVID-19 for travelers from China, but stronger measures including a fresh drive to encourage vaccinations for the elderly are needed in order to stem the winter surge of infections linked to a new subvariant. The country added 64,106 new coronavirus cases Thursday, falling for the second consecutive day, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). But the overall level of spread is still high and the

Jan. 6, 2023

[Editorial] Raise nuclear deterrence

US President Joe Biden said “no” when asked by a reporter at the White House on Tuesday if he was currently discussing joint nuclear exercises with South Korea. His reply briefly caused confusion as it could be interpreted as contradicting remarks by his South Korean counterpart. President Yoon Suk-yeol said in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo, published Monday, “The nuclear weapons belong to the United States, but planning, information sharing, exercises and training should b

Jan. 5, 2023

[Editorial] Push for 3 major reforms

In his New Year’s address, President Yoon Suk-yeol reaffirmed his commitment to pushing for labor, education and pension reforms -- three key sectors that have long defied structural reforms despite their critical roles for the future of South Korea. “The Republic of Korea’s future and our future generations’ fate depend upon three major reforms: labor, education and pension,” Yoon said. "These cannot be delayed any longer." Yoon’s priority among the

Jan. 4, 2023

[Editorial] Shadow over economy

The New Year began with gloomy economic news. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Sunday that the country posted a trade deficit of $47.2 billion last year. It was an all-time high in annual terms. The country was in trade deficit for nine straight months. Export decreased for recent three months in a row. The government forecast export to decline 4.5 percent this year. This news on New Year's day reminds South Koreans of highly uncertain and severe economic conditions f

Jan. 3, 2023

[Editorial] Proactive steps needed

Concerns over the safety of soundproof tunnels are mounting after a fire in a highway tunnel in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday left five dead and 41 injured. The blaze that engulfed and gutted the bulk of the 830-meter-long tunnel-shaped structure is reported to have started with a cargo truck, where a fire broke out for unknown reasons. Dozens of cars were trapped under the structure along the road as the fire spread to the soundproof walls and lasted two hours before firefighters put

Jan. 2, 2023

[Editorial] Free money

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration will look into nongovernmental organizations' alleged misuse of government subsidies and opaque accounting practices. Subsidies snowballed each year, but money was being wasted at some of them. The presidential office on Wednesday unveiled the results of a government survey of subsidies distributed to NGOs for the past seven years. Subsidies totaled 31.4 trillion won ($24.7 billion). The annual subsidy amount increased from 3.5 trillion won in 2016 to 5.4 tr

Dec. 30, 2022

[Editorial] NK drone infiltration

The latest infiltration of five North Korean drones into South Korean airspace on Monday sparked heated criticism on the South’s military preparedness and raised many bewildering questions about whether there is an effective way to track and shoot down small uncrewed aerial vehicles at all. On Tuesday, the South Korean military apologized for its apparent failure to properly respond to the North Korean drones that flew over densely populated Seoul and residential areas along the western in

Dec. 29, 2022

[Editorial] Harassment signal

The majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea recently disclosed the identities of prosecutors investigating allegations involving its leader Lee Jae-myung. It is said to have distributed the list of prosecutors to its members and supporters via the internet. The list shows the names, job titles, and photos of 16 prosecutors of Seoul Central District and Suwon District, the allegations they are investigating -- the Daejang-dong land speculation scandal, Ssangbangwool‘s suspicious payme

Dec. 28, 2022

[Editorial] Budget, debt and populism

The National Assembly finally passed the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s budget for 2023, set at 638.7 trillion won ($499.7 billion), on Saturday -- 22 days after its legal deadline of Dec. 2 amid lingering concerns about state debt and populist moves by lawmakers. After fierce wrangling over budget details, lawmakers from the ruling and main opposition parties worked out a compromise that slashed around 310 billion won of the original government budget proposal of 639 trillion won. Not onl

Dec. 27, 2022

[Editorial] A deplorable ride

The act of using the deadly Oct. 29 Itaewon crowd surge for political gain deserves condemnation. Investigation is underway and the National Assembly launched a probe to uncover the truth and figure out ways to prevent similar disasters. In this respect, the belatedly revealed act of Shin Hyun-young, a National Assembly member of the majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea, is not only deplorable, but also needs to be investigated. Shin resigned Tuesday as a member of the special Assembl

Dec. 26, 2022

[Editorial] New Year’s press conference

President Yoon Suk-yeol may not hold his first New Year’s press conference as the presidential office is said to be skipping the crucial and customary event. However, Yoon is encouraged to go for the press conference, not only for clarifying his stance on various national issues, but also for making good on his pledge to better communicate with the public through the media. According to media reports, the presidential office decided to skip the presidential conference next year for mainly

Dec. 23, 2022

[Editorial] Opaque accounting

Budget execution by two labor groups -- the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions -- and government subsidies to the two groups are on the chopping block as the government began to take issue with opaque accounting practices of labor unions. The Office for Government Policy Coordination, under the Prime Minister's Secretariat, is said to have instructed the Ministry of Employment and Labor and other related ministries on Monday to grasp the scale o

Dec. 22, 2022

[Editorial] Economic headwinds ahead

South Korea is expected to confront tough economic conditions in 2023, as weakening exports, coupled with global recession woes, could undercut the country’s growth momentum, even as prices are forecast to increase at a slower pace. Major economic agencies at home and abroad predicted the country’s economic growth rate will be limited to the 1 percent range next year, raising concerns about an economic slowdown. The underlying reasons for a gloomy outlook involve stubbornly high infl

Dec. 21, 2022

[Editorial] No shaking basis of policy

The Board of Audit and Inspection is speeding up its audit of allegations that important national statistics were distorted under the Moon Jae-in administration. The audit of the national statistics system started in September. The board called in Statistics Korea officials for investigation, followed by its two ex-commissioners under Moon -- Hwang Soo-kyung and her successor Kang Shin-wook. The audit seems to be near its end. Hong Jang-pyo, Moon's former senior secretary on economic affa

Dec. 20, 2022

[Editorial] Japan's rearmament

As expected, Japan finalized the revisions to its three key security documents Friday, adopting a new security strategy that includes the possession of “counterstrike capability.” It will double its defense spending to about 2 percent of gross domestic product. It may be too early to say that Japan’s adoption of a new security change will be limited to purely defend itself against possible attacks from China, North Korea and Russia. What’s certain, though, is that given J

Dec. 19, 2022

[Editorial] A new leap forward

A ceremony to mark the completion of the first unit of the Shin Hanul nuclear power plant in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday has more meaning than merely adding a nuclear reactor to the country. It is the nation's 27th nuclear reactor and the first completed under the pro-nuclear administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol. Its reactor "APR1400" is the first domestically designed model to adopt two fully localized core parts -- a human-machine interface system and r

Dec. 16, 2022

[Editorial] Labor market flexibility

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday the government will finalize its position on labor reform recommendations and push ahead with measures to protect the vulnerable in the labor market. Yoon referred to recommendations that the Future Labor Research Council, a state-led expert group, presented Monday -- a set of reform proposals aimed at overhauling a South Korean labor market saddled with rigid practices that has long undermined productivity growth. At the heart of the reform proposals are sub

Dec. 15, 2022

[Editorial] Impromptu voting

An absurd thing happened in the National Assembly. Ruling and opposition parties passed a bill in standing and legislation committees then voted it down in the plenary session of the National Assembly. Then, a day after it was thrown out, they agreed to process it again. The bill in question is an amendment to the Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) Act that will increase the issue limit of its debentures. Kepco has suffered a severe shortage of funds due to the previous administration's p

Dec. 14, 2022

[Editorial] Wrangling at National Assembly

South Korea’s political landscape has long been mired in wasteful wrangling at the National Assembly, where ruling and opposition party members clash with each other for partisan purposes while ignoring pressing issues for the country. The familiar pattern of partisan fighting is playing out again, threatening to derail and freeze the parliamentary process to handle key legislative tasks, including the budget for next year, as the opposition-controlled National Assembly passed a motion Sun

Dec. 13, 2022