[Editorial] Adhere to principle

A vote by truckers to call off their strike and return to work can be attributed to the government's strict adherence to the law and principles in responding to their walkout. Cargo Truckers Solidarity, a division of the Korean Public Service and Transportation Workers Union affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, withdrew its strike Friday. The withdrawal came 16 days after the strike began Nov. 24, demanding the abolition of the sunset provision of the "Freight Ra

Dec. 12, 2022

[Editorial] Meddling in the financial market

When President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in May, he vowed to promote free market principles, unlike his predecessor. In mid-October, Yoon publicly reaffirmed his stance that he is “a believer in a free market economy that respects the freedom and creativity of businesses.” But in a country where the government’s heavy intervention in the private as well as financial sectors had long been a norm, Yoon has yet to put his money where his mouth is. The problem is that Yoon may find

Dec. 9, 2022

[Editorial] Indoor mask mandate

A debate has been reignited over lifting indoor mask mandates as cautious attitudes toward COVID-19 infection is steadily being replaced by public complacency, but authorities and experts have offer mixed views about easing mandatory masking. The municipal government of Daejeon sent an official notification to the government’s COVID-19 response headquarters Sunday, saying it will lift the indoor mask mandates from next year through its own administrative order unless the central government

Dec. 7, 2022

[Editorial] No sanctuary in probe

Suh Hoon, former director of the National Security Office at Cheong Wa Dae, was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of “covering up the case of a fisheries official killed by North Korean troops in September 2020.” After media broke news that Lee Dae-jun, an official of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, was killed by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea after falling overboard a fisheries guidance boat and floating into North Korean waters, Suh jumped to the conclusion that Lee wa

Dec. 6, 2022

[Editorial] Neutrality matters

Few expect South Korean public broadcasters such as KBS, MBC and EBS to stay politically neutral, largely because their journalistic narratives have long been twisted and distorted to portray the views of the ruling party of the moment in a positive light. Some critics claim that public broadcasters are responsible themselves for making not-so-neutral TV programs and news reports, as if they exist only to serve the current administration and reflect the voices of ruling parties, while ignoring o

Dec. 5, 2022

[Editorial] Labor rule of law

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration's back-to-work order to drivers of bulk cement trailers carries significant meaning beyond its response to their strike. The order given for the first time ever on Wednesday was inevitable. Shipment of cement is said to have shrunken to a level of about 10 percent than usual. Works on more than half of construction sites across the country hit a snag. Past governments were swayed by militant labor unions, particularly those affiliated with the Korean Confede

Dec. 2, 2022

[Editorial] Guidelines for metaverse

The South Korean government this week unveiled a set of ethical guidelines for the fast-growing metaverse ecosystem, in a bid to deal with a growing number of problematic issues in virtual space. The Ministry of Science and ICT on Monday announced the nonbinding guidelines based on three core values -- sincere identity, safe experience and sustainable prosperity. The broad core values are designed to make sure users can develop their identity in a safe and sustainable virtual world. Under the

Dec. 1, 2022

[Editorial] Under the cloak of journalism

A group of reporters with citizen media outlet "The Tamsa TV," a YouTube channel, flocked to the door of the apartment where Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon lives in southern Seoul on Sunday afternoon. Waiting outside the front door, they rang the doorbell, demanded an interview with Han and looked at a package sitting there. They even pressed keys on the door lock pad, apparently trying to unlock it. All the while filming this situation and then broadcasting the video live on their cha

Nov. 30, 2022

[Editorial] Dispute over Wemix delisting

Another setback caught the South Korean digital currency market off guard last week, sending jitters through investors amid deepening worries over the reliability and security of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies. The shock wave was sparked by the country’s major crypto exchanges’ decision to delist the Wemix token issued by Wemade’s blockchain platform. On Thursday, the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance, known as DAXA, representing leading crypto exchanges here, decided to halt

Nov. 29, 2022

[Editorial] Crooked behavior

The allegations raised by Kim Eui-kyeom, a National Assembly member of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, that President Yoon Suk-yeol drank with Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon in a bar in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul proved false. A female cellist said to be the source of the allegations confessed to the police on Thursday that she lied to deceive her boyfriend. Kim revealed in the National Assembly on Oct. 24 that Yoon and Han drank with about 30 lawyers of Kim & Chang in a C

Nov. 28, 2022

[Editorial] Fixing flawed tax system

There is no doubt adjusting tax rates is a tricky task. If the rates are too high, the burden on companies and households will increase disproportionately in a way that can undermine economic activity. If the rates are too low, the government may struggle to secure enough funds for welfare and other essential state projects. As for South Korea’s tax system, taxes are too high on both companies and households. In particular, a growing number of middle-class households are hit by burdensome

Nov. 25, 2022

[Editorial] Not the time to strike

Trade unions are going on the offensive, fanning concerns over a dismal outlook for the Korean economy and its weakening growth momentum. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions announced on Tuesday that it will go on a general strike. Its demands to the government and the National Assembly are wide. They include the legislation of a special law on construction safety to root out fatal accidents on construction sites, the perpetuation and expansion of the "safe truck freight rates" sy

Nov. 24, 2022

[Editorial] Startups and regulations

At a time when a solid startup ecosystem is playing a greater role in introducing new technologies and innovating services, South Korea still remains a tough market saddled with regulations even for local ventures, a recent report showed. On the surface, official figures regarding the Korean startup market don't look so bad. After all, the country runs the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, a state agency fully dedicated to nurturing startups in a way that helps the broader economy find a fresh

Nov. 23, 2022

[Editorial] Probe heading for Lee

Jeong Jin-sang, a vice chief of staff to the Democratic Party of Korea chairman Lee Jae-myung who is regarded as one of Lee's alleged two closest confidants, was detained by the prosecution Saturday. He is suspected of accepting 140 million won ($103,000) in bribes on six occasions from February 2013 to October 2020 from a small party of speculators including Kim Man-bae and Nam Wook in return for giving them an array of favors that enabled them to make astronomical returns from investing i

Nov. 22, 2022

[Editorial] NK’s ICBM tests

North Korea on Saturday released photos of its leader Kim Jong-un conducting an on-site inspection of the regime’s test-firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile, revealing new details about its dangerous missile game that continues to heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula. According to Pyongyang’s state media Korean Central News Agency, the missile was launched from Pyongyang International Airport on Friday. The missile flew 999.2 kilometers in one hour, eight mi

Nov. 21, 2022

[Editorial] Majority party's tyranny

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration proposed a total of 77 bills in the six months since its inauguration on May 10. None of them have passed the National Assembly. The opposition Democratic Party of Korea, with its 169-seat majority in the 300-seat National Assembly has put a brake on them. This is a legislative tyranny. The Yoon administration revised 19 tax codes to reduce the tax burden on the people and invigorate the private economy, and submitted them to the Assembly. But the Democratic Part

Nov. 18, 2022

[Editorial] Disclosing the list of victims

Disputes have intensified over the disclosure of the list of Itaewon tragedy victims, with related media outlets, Catholic priest groups and political parties engaged in politicizing the Oct. 29 crowd crush that killed at least 158. The controversy was sparked when two progressive online media outlets released a list of 155 people who died in the tragedy on their websites Monday. The names of 10 victims were removed after their families sent complaints to the outlets in question. It is deeply re

Nov. 17, 2022

[Editorial] Grant abuse

Government grants towards the recovery of Ansan City from the shock of the Sewol ferry sinking were found to have been abused. According to data submitted Saturday by the city government to Suh Bum-soo, a National Assembly member of the ruling People Power Party, Ansan received 1 billion won ($759,000) to 2 billion won in “Sewol ferry tragedy grants” annually for six years, from 2017 to this year. The grants came from central and local governments under the special act regarding th

Nov. 16, 2022

[Editorial] Joint efforts to deter NK

It is meaningful that the leaders of South Korea, the US and Japan confirmed they share the same view on North Korea’s continued missile launches that threaten security on the Korean Peninsula and destabilize geopolitics in the East Asian region. President Yoon Suk-yeol, while on his two-nation tour, met with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Phnom Penh on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Cambodia on Sunday and issued a joint statement pledging to step

Nov. 15, 2022

[Editorial] False quotes

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea apologized for distorting a foreign envoy’s remarks. Its chairman Lee Jae-myung and European Union Ambassador to South Korea Maria Castillo Fernandez held a closed-door meeting in his office in the National Assembly on Tuesday. In a back briefing after the meeting, party spokesperson, Kim Eui-kyeom, said Fernandez said that there seems to be a limit to the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's response to North Korea's escalating provocation

Nov. 14, 2022