[Editorial] Sustain friendly ties

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is set to retire at the end of this month, returned to Japan Saturday after wrapping up a two-day trip to South Korea for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol. The summit was significant in that the leaders affirmed the possibility of sustaining "shuttle diplomacy" between Korea and Japan. The bilateral ties of the two countries were tense under former President Moon Jae-in, then Yoon restored them considerably by resolving a historical issue

Sept. 10, 2024

[Editorial] Seek breakthrough

The South Korean government now holds the position that it can discuss the option of adjusting the medical school admissions quota for 2026, a desperate move aimed at getting interns and residents back to hospitals, many of which are struggling with severe staff shortages. The deepening medical service crisis was sparked in February by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s plan to increase the medical school admission quota as part of its overall medical reform plan. The quota increase result

Sept. 9, 2024

[Editorial] A bitter pill

The government's national pension reform plan unveiled Wednesday is focused more on the financial stability of the pension fund than on retirees' welfare. The point of the plan is increasing pension contribution and income replacement rates simultaneously. Employees contribute part of their wages to the national pension fund, with their employers bearing the cost of half of their contributions. Upon retirement, retired workers then receive a certain percentage of their preretirement in

Sept. 6, 2024

[Editorial] Keep inflation low

It is fortunate for South Korea to see inflation fall to its intended level last month. The consumer price index, a broad-based measure of prices for goods and services, rose 2 percent on-year in August, according to Statistics Korea, Tuesday. It was the lowest increase in 41 months since March 2021 when it edged up 1.9 percent. The Bank of Korea finally met its inflation target of 2 percent. Above all, it is encouraging that Korea reached the 2-percent mark earlier than the US and eurozone, who

Sept. 5, 2024

[Editorial] Electricity supply

Electrical grids, which deliver power to households, businesses and industrial sectors, are becoming increasingly important in recent years. Grids are having greater demand placed on them not only for the transition to green energy, but also for cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence. But the global push for green energy and advanced technology has been mired in delays as a result of bottlenecks linked to grid facilities. According to a recent report by Kepco Management Resear

Sept. 4, 2024

[Editorial] Keep dialogue going

People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon and Democratic Party of Korea Chair Lee Jae-myung took the first step toward cooperation in supporting public livelihoods through their meeting in the National Assembly on Sunday. It was the first official talks between the leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties in about 11 years. The interval indicates that confrontational politics has lasted a long time in Korea. However, with signs of legislative normalization emerging recently after both part

Sept. 3, 2024

[Editorial] Discrepancy in views

President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a televised briefing Thursday on state affairs that the South Korean economy is on a clear path for recovery and is set to take off in a big way in the future, painting a rosy picture. The next day, however, Statistics Korea data showed that the country’s industrial output dropped for the third-straight month in July. The reason was the shrinking production in the country’s mainstay industries of semiconductors and automobiles. Industrial output fell 0

Sept. 2, 2024

[Editorial] 2025 Budget

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration has revealed its determination to keep a tight budget to “normalize” public spending in the face of a growing tax revenue shortfall, but there are voices that any belt-tightening should be more selective and strategic in a way that benefits the public. The Finance Ministry on Tuesday announced that the budget for 2025 has been set at 677.4 trillion won ($507.7 billion). The figure marks a 3.2 percent on-year increase, which is higher than 2.8 percent

Aug. 30, 2024

[Editorial] Uproot sexual deepfakes

Making deepfake images or videos by combining facial photos of innocent persons with pornography, as well as their distribution, is undoubtedly criminal. It is punishable under the Sexual Violence Prevention and Victims Protection Act. It is a heinous crime that abuses the anonymity of social media and computer technology. Deepfake sexual material is spreading fast and indiscriminately. Police recently arrested the operator of a Telegram chatroom where users shared deepfake sexual content crea

Aug. 29, 2024

[Editorial] Tackle debt crisis

A clear warning sign for policymakers is on the horizon: surging debt -- not only in the South Korean government, but also among households. According to data from the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Korea, the combined debt of the South Korean government and households has surpassed 3,000 trillion won ($2.26 trillion) for the first time. In detail, the country’s combined national debt and household debt came in at 3,042 trillion won at the end of the second quarter this year. This negati

Aug. 28, 2024

[Editorial] R&D bang for buck

The world’s leading science journal Nature reported in its Aug. 21 supplement on South Korea that the country invests heavily in science, but that its "bang for the buck" -- judged by pitting research spending against output in the Nature Index -- is surprisingly low. The Nature Index tracks the affiliations of high-quality scientific articles. Updated monthly, it presents research outputs by institution and country. Korea's research and development spending at 5.2 percent o

Aug. 27, 2024

[Editorial] Prolonged disruptions

Last week, a pregnant woman gave birth inside an ambulance. The disheartening incident came as four hospitals had refused her, citing a lack of medical staff or beds in their emergency rooms, according to rescue officials in North Chungcheong Province. It is widely feared that such dire situations involving patients in emergency and critical conditions may occur across the nation more frequently unless the government tackles the escalating medical service disruptions started by its plan to incre

Aug. 26, 2024

[Editorial] Debt and property market

In June, the Financial Services Commission announced that the tougher rules on household loans would be applied from September, instead of July -- a sudden schedule change that was feared to send wrong signals to the markets. South Korea’s top financial regulator intended to guide the real estate project financing market to a soft landing by delaying the implementation of the second phase for the stress debt service ratio, or DSR -- a tool that serves as a ceiling on aggregate lending. As

Aug. 23, 2024

[Editorial] Shock of climate crisis

In March, South Korean consumers were taken aback at sky-high apple prices. Apples, popular among Koreans, topped the list of fruit the prices of which had surged from a year earlier. Apple prices had risen 88.2 percent, the steepest since 1980 when related data began to be compiled. This price spike was caused by decreased apple production affected by abnormal weather. North Gyeongsang Province is traditionally famous for apples, and the Jeolla Provinces for pears, another Korean favorite fruit

Aug. 22, 2024

[Editorial] Time to refocus

After months of partisan wrangling that has paralyzed the legislative procedures for passing bills, South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties are finally set to explore ways to work together. The momentum comes with both parties having elected new leaders, but there are concerns that the same old political play might be repeated. On Sunday, Rep. Lee Jae-myung was reelected to lead the Democratic Party of Korea, which currently dominates the National Assembly. Lee won 85.4 percent of the

Aug. 21, 2024

[Editorial] Keep up cooperation

The leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Sunday issued a joint statement praising the achievements of their cooperation since their historic Camp David summit a year ago and vowed to bolster it. In August last year, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held their summit at the US presidential retreat, where they adopted the Camp David Principles, a comprehensive framework for guiding trilateral cooperation. Their

Aug. 20, 2024

[Editorial] Conflicting conclusions

The latest view of the South Korean government on the country’s economic recovery appears largely optimistic, which is in contrast with the projections of research institutes both at home and abroad, reminding observers of the old parable of the blind men and the elephant. Government officials and economic researchers are not exactly blind to the specific twists and turns in the country’s economy, but the way they analyze the current state -- based on the facts they pick and choose -

Aug. 19, 2024

[Editorial] Another setback for Kakao

Kakao, the South Korean tech heavyweight known for its popular messenger, has suffered another setback as its mobile payments unit, Kakao Pay, allegedly shared the credit and personal data of some 40 million customers with Chinese fintech firm Alipay without their consent, touching off a firestorm of public criticism. On Tuesday, the Financial Supervisory Service revealed that Kakao Pay had provided extensive information on all its users, including usernames, phone numbers, email addresses, bala

Aug. 16, 2024

[Editorial] Establish principles

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday approved the reinstatement of former South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo. Yoon's move to reinstate the rights of Kim came as part of his decision to grant special pardons for 1,219 convicts on the occasion of Liberation Day which falls on Aug. 15. Kim’s reinstatement was a contentious issue even before Yoon’s approval. Han Dong-hoon, chair of the ruling People Power Party, opposed Kim’s reinstatement on the grounds that he refuses to adm

Aug. 15, 2024

[Editorial] Summer surge

The number of positive COVID-19 tests is shooting up in South Korea and elsewhere, a summertime surge that warrants attention from both the health authorities and the public, especially older people and those with chronic diseases. A spike in the number of COVID-19 patients during the summer period seems to be settling as a seasonal trend. Although most confirmed cases tend to be mild compared to those during the early pandemic period, it is still a serious matter for those high-risk groups who

Aug. 14, 2024