[Editorial] Special counsel bill

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday vetoed a special counsel bill to investigate allegations that his office or others exerted undue influence on an inquiry into the death of a Marine last year. "The special prosecutor system is an exceptional measure that can only be introduced supplementarily when the investigation by law enforcement agencies is inadequate or when the fairness or objectivity of the investigation is in doubt, but investigations by police and the CIO are currently underway,&

May 22, 2024

[Editorial] Cross-border trade

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s embarrassing backtracking of its hastily formulated policy plan to block consumers from directly buying cross-border items -- mostly from China -- has sparked a wave of criticism, raising questions about its administrative capabilities, as well as its ulterior motives regarding the country’s safety certification system, which is saddled with some critical issues. On Sunday, Lee Jeong-won, second vice minister of the Office for Government Policy Coor

May 21, 2024

[Editorial] Doctors' self-isolation

The Seoul High Court on Thursday rejected a request from trainee doctors, medical professors and medical students to stop the government from increasing the medical school enrollment by 2,000 starting next year from the current cap of 3,058. While the planned increase could infringe on medical students’ right to learn, suspending it could have a severe impact on the public welfare promoted by the medical reform, the court said in its ruling. The court judged that the latter was more import

May 20, 2024

[Editorial] Start working on AI bill

OpenAI, a frontrunner in generative AI technology, unveiled ChatGPT-4o, a faster and more powerful iteration of its popular chatbot, on Monday, heralding a new chapter in the fast-evolving sector that is reshaping the way people work, study and communicate. Unfortunately, South Korea is lagging behind in the rapidly shifting global AI trend, with government officials and lawmakers stuck in a wasteful stalemate. The updated model of OpenAI is not only “much faster” but also capable of

May 17, 2024

[Editorial] Korea-China relations

South Korea and China expressed a wish to improve ties in their first foreign ministerial talks in seven months. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on Monday, marking the first visit by South Korea’s top diplomat to the Chinese capital in more than six years. It is not without meaning that the two top diplomats expressed their goodwill to improve the countries’ strategic cooperative partnership. Bilateral ties had soured after South Korea

May 16, 2024

[Editorial] NK cyberattack threat

In what appears to be one of the biggest hacking attacks in recent years, it was belatedly known that a North Korean hacking group had continued to steal a massive amount of personal data from a South Korean court computer network over two years. The hackers, presumed to be from the notorious Lazarus Group, stole a staggering 1,014 gigabytes of data and legal documents from a Seoul court's computer network, according to the police, the prosecution and the National Intelligence Service on Sa

May 15, 2024

[Editorial] Dating violence

A gruesome murder of a young woman by her boyfriend shocked the nation last week. The assailant, a medical student in his 20s, stabbed her multiple times on the rooftop of a building in Seoul. In March, another man named Kim Re-ah in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, murdered his girlfriend after she expressed her wish to break up with him, and hurt her mother as well. In Incheon, a man in his 30s who was under a restraining order after physically attacking and stalking his ex-girlfriend killed her i

May 14, 2024

[Editorial] Simplify property taxes

In South Korea, property tax is one of the most controversial and sensitive topics for both politicians and citizens. Since real estate prices and related taxes involve the bulk of individual assets, even a slight policy change, especially regarding taxation, tends to touch off heated disputes. In particular, the comprehensive real estate holding tax -- an additional tax burden imposed on owners of pricey houses -- is a hot-button issue, since major parties have long exchanged attacks at each ot

May 13, 2024

[Editorial] Yoon's press conference

President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized Thursday for his wife’s “unwise behavior” regarding her alleged acceptance of a luxury bag in 2022 after his inauguration. "I apologize for causing concern to the people with the unwise conduct of my wife," he said during a press conference marking the second anniversary of his presidency. Yoon said he would refrain from commenting further, however, as his remarks could be misconstrued as trying to influence the prosecution's on

May 10, 2024

[Editorial] Negligence of duty

With about three weeks left before the 21st National Assembly closes on May 29, a significant number of lawmakers from both the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea have gone on overseas trips -- or plan to do so -- while failing to work on piles of pending bills. Of course, not all lawmakers of the current session are eager to travel abroad to exploit their privilege and spend taxpayer money for their own leisure. And not all trips are meaningless, as &ldq

May 9, 2024

[Editorial] Naked short selling

The nation’s financial regulator said it has found suspected cases of illegal naked stock short selling at five more global investment banks, bringing the total number of suspected institutions to nine. The Financial Supervisory Service has been inspecting 14 global investment banks with the largest short selling transactions here after it found last year that BNP Paribas and HSBC had placed naked stock short selling orders worth 55.6 billion won ($40.3 million) between 2021 and 2022. The

May 8, 2024

[Editorial] Data leak disclosure

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety on Sunday admitted that more than 1200 civil documents were erroneously issued to the wrong applicants last month, resulting in the exposure of sensitive private information -- a major cybersecurity breach that illustrates the weakness of a public online service and the poor handling of such incidents by a government agency. The breach at Government24 (gov.kr), the government’s civil service portal that provides certification issuances and other docu

May 7, 2024

[Editorial] Face up to Trump

Former US President Donald Trump suggested that should he be reelected, the US could withdraw its forces from South Korea if it does not pay more to support US troops stationed here. “I want South Korea to treat us properly. As you know, I got them to -- I had negotiations, because they were paying virtually nothing for 40,000 troops that we had there,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said in a recent interview with Time magazine. The number is actually 28,500. &ldquo

May 3, 2024

[Editorial] Mixed signals on trade front

Defying some pessimistic outlooks early this year, South Korea’s exports appear to be on a recovery path in recent months, helped by solid demand for semiconductors and automobiles. But the country’s economy is not out of the woods yet, as new roadblocks such as the volatile exchange rate and from US-China trade relations continue to pop up. On the export front, government officials have enough reasons to be upbeat. Korea’s exports posted on-year growth for the seventh consecut

May 2, 2024

[Editorial] EVs need policy focus

The Beijing Motor Show, otherwise known as Auto China, kicked off on April 25, showcasing new electric vehicle models armed with advanced digital solutions. The show features a wide range of global automakers including Hyundai and Kia, but it is the Chinese EV manufacturers that are attracting the most attention. The strength of Chinese automakers at the industry exhibition reflects their rising market position. China became the world’s biggest car exporter in 2023, shipping a total of 4.9

May 1, 2024

[Editorial] Partners in state affairs

President Yoon Suk Yeol and main opposition Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung sat down for talks on Monday for the first time since Yoon took office two years ago. Lee began the meeting by listing a number of proposals including implementing his election pledge to give 250,000 won ($182) to every South Korean and accepting a special counsel investigation into suspicions surrounding a Marine's death. "I ask that you consider the emergency measure to restore people's

April 30, 2024

[Editorial] Japan’s pressure on Naver

The Japanese government is stepping up pressure on South Korean portal giant Naver to sell off its stake in a joint venture that runs Line, the dominant messaging app in Japan, citing a data leak -- a controversial move that has sparked a wave of critical responses in Korea and is likely to complicate already complex bilateral ties between the two nations. Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has issued administrative guidance twice -- on March 5 and April 16 -- in what

April 29, 2024

[Editorial] Yoon-Lee meeting

The presidential office and the Democratic Party of Korea are having difficulties agreeing on the agenda for the first-ever meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and the main opposition party's leader Lee Jae-myung. The two sides held their second working-level meeting on Thursday, but the presidential office did not provide any specific feedback on suggestions the Democratic Party had made Tuesday, according to Lee's aide. The presidential office proposed that Yoon and Lee meet at t

April 26, 2024

[Editorial] W100m childbirth incentive

The South Korean government has taken a variety of policy steps to bolster the declining birth rate, which is accelerating during the much-dreaded demographic crisis. This time, a state-run agency is exploring the feasibility of a drastic proposal: a handout of 100 million won ($72,500) in cash for each baby born. The Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission started an online survey on April 17 in order to re-evaluate the country’s birth promotion policies. The survey is set to run th

April 25, 2024

[Editorial] Pension reform

As South Korea rapidly ages, the national pension fund is expected to be drained by 2055 if no changes are made to its structure. The special parliamentary committee for pension reform is currently reviewing two reform plans. Plan A is about paying more in premiums and receiving a greater pension. It calls for raising the premium rate from the current 9 percent to 13 percent, and the income replacement ratio from 40 percent to 50 percent. Under Plan A, the national pension fund will be depleted

April 24, 2024