President Park Geun-hye is expected to convene a Cabinet meeting Thursday to finalize the scope of the special pardons to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule. A committee under the Justice Ministry is to draw up a preliminary list of people to be granted the presidential pardon during its meeting Monday. [번역] 박근혜 대통령이 광복 70주년 특별사면의 범위를 최종 확정하기 위해 목요일 국무회의를...

President Park Geun-hye addressed the nation yesterday, asking for the people’s support for the administration’s reform drive. Her nationally televised address, the first since May last year following the Sewol ferry sinking, and fourth since assuming office, came near the halfway point of her five-year presidency. [번역] 박근혜 대통령이 어제 대국민 담화를 갖고 정부의 개혁 드라이브에 대한 국민들의 지지를 부탁했다. 그녀의 대국민 담화는 5년 임기 중 절...

The Korean society, like elsewhere in the world, often witnesses sex scandals involving politicians, government officials, professors, teachers and celebrities. But the latest two cases -- one involving a member of the National Assembly and the other involving five teachers in the same high school -- should be a cause for big concern. [번역] 한국 사회도 세계의 여느 곳처럼 정치인, 정부 관료, 교수, 교사, 연예인들이 연루된 성 스캔들이 ...

Members on the parliamentary special committee on political reform have been sitting on their hands over the work to establish guidelines for redrawing electoral districts across the country. [번역] 국회 정치개혁특별위원회가 전국 선거구 획정 가이드라인 마련 작업을 수수방관하고 있다. [/번역] Irritated by the snail-paced progress, the head of an independent panel tasked with rezoning constituencies asked the committee last week to sug...

It is a story that is familiar to Korean drama viewers. Scions of an imaginary chaebol family fight a bitter battle over control of the company that the father or the grandfather had founded. Lots of backstabbing, behind-the-door conspiracies and boardroom intrigues characterize such dramas. [번역] 한국 드라마 시청자들에게 익숙한 스토리다. 가상의 재벌가 자손들이 아버지나 조부가 세운 회사의 경영권을 놓고 치열한 싸움을 벌인다. 수많은 뒤통수 치기, 막후 음모, 이사회의 음...

During the past authoritarian governments, state prosecution was often exploited as a tool for suppressing the president’s opponents and critics. Businesses also fell victim to investigation by prosecutors acting under the command of the president. The prosecution is not entirely free from this shameful legacy. It is still widely believed that prosecutors engage in investigations with political m...

Former first lady Lee Hee-ho is scheduled to visit Pyongyang Aug. 5-8, an opportunity the government could use to engage North Korea. Although her final itinerary has not been confirmed, Lee is expected to visit a child care center, a maternity hospital and a children’s hospital as well as Mount Myohyangsan, the purpose of her visit being to deliver medical supplies and goods for children. It is ...

The main opposition party’s proposal to increase the number of lawmakers has come under strong public criticism. It deserves scolding for, among other things, ignoring the prevailing public belief that the National Assembly is not doing its job well. [번역] 국회의원 수를 늘리자는 제1야당의 제안이 국민들의 거센 비난을 받고 있다. 국회가 일을 잘 하지 못하고 있다는 무엇보다 국민들의 일반적 생각을 무시하는 것에 대해 비판 받아 마땅하다. [/번역] The proposal, made by the New ...

The government and the ruling party have set labor reform as their top priority in the second half of this year. Under the agreement, the Saenuri Party has formed an ad-hoc committee to push the reform program. There is no doubt that without reforming the notoriously rigid labor market, Korea will be unable to overcome the low-growth trap and the worsening unemployment problems. [번역] 정부와 여당이 노동...

Last Friday’s Blue House luncheon attended by 17 business leaders and heads of Centers for Creative Economy and Innovation supported by their companies was an occasion for the corporate top brass to talk directly with President Park Geun-hye. [번역] 지난 금요일, 대기업 총수 17명과 이들의 기업들이 지원하는 창조경제혁신센터의 장들이 참석한 청와대 오찬은 기업 간부들이 박근혜 대통령과 직접 이야기를 나눌 기회였다. [/번역] The luncheon meeting, held to celebrate the rec...

Japan’s Mitsubishi Materials Corp., after the unprecedented move of apologizing to the American prisoners of war who were used as slave labor during World War II, now says it hopes to apologize to former British, Dutch and Australian World War II POWs who were used as slave labor. [번역] 일본의 미쓰비시 머티리얼이 제2차 세계대전 당시 강제노동에 징용된 미국 전쟁포로들에게 이례적으로 사과한 후, 이제 강제징용 당한 영국, 네덜란드, 호주 전쟁포로들에게도 사과하고 싶다고 말하고 있다....

The number of urban households moving to rural areas increased by a whopping 36 times over the past decade to 44,692 last year, according to government data. [번역] 정부 통계에 따르면 귀농 가구는 지난 해 4만4천692가구로 지난 10년 간 무려 36배 늘었다. [/번역] This phenomenon is ascribed mainly to a rising flood of retirees who want to seek a second life in the countryside. Returning to farming seems increasingly attractive to m...

The shipbuilding industry, once a major source of pride for Korea Inc., is sailing through rough waters. While the sluggish global economy is primarily to blame for the current situation, there is a bigger cause for concern. [번역] 한때 한국의 자긍심의 원천이던 조선업이 곤경에 빠졌다. 글로벌 경제 침체가 현 상황에 주요 원인이긴 하지만 우려해야 할 더 큰 원인이 있다. [/번역] A simple look at figures shows how bad the situation is. Hyundai Heavy Industrie...

The Supreme Court recently unveiled a list of 27 candidates to succeed a justice who is to retire in September. It is the first time the top court has made public the list of justice candidates before a recommendation committee begins its screening process. [번역] 최근 대법원이 9월에 은퇴하는 대법관의 뒤를 이을 후보 27명의 명단을 공개했다. 추천위원회가 심사를 시작하기 전에 대법원이 명단을 공개한 것은 처음이다. [/번역] Individuals and organizations are allow...

The nation’s top intelligence agency has denied using a hacking program purchased from an Italian company to monitor South Korean citizens. [번역] 국정원이 국민들을 감시하기 위해 이탈리아 업체로부터 해킹 구입한 해킹 프로그램을 사용했음을 부정했다. [/번역] At a closed-door meeting with lawmakers Tuesday, the head of the National Intelligence Service insisted the agency had bought Remote Control System software to boost Seoul’s cyberwarfare ...