[Editorial] Trump’s reelection odds

The attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump on Saturday sent shock waves throughout the world, generating a torrent of reactions, analyses and predictions about its political impacts in the US and elsewhere. The powerful photograph capturing Trump with his fist in the air and blood streaking down his cheek, surrounded by Secret Service agents with an American flag hanging at an odd angle set in the background immediately stole the first page of newspapers and hit social media

July 17, 2024

[Editorial] Longer working life

The number of Korean people still working at 70 and above increased by 150,000 in the first half of this year from a year earlier. It was the largest increase since related statistics began to be compiled in 2018, according to Statistics Korea. The population of employees aged 15 years and over expanded by 220,000, largely led by senior workers. Workers in their 60s and above increased by 282,000, posting the sharpest increase among age groups. Considering Korea’s working-age population is

July 16, 2024

[Editorial] Reform wage commission

South Korea has finalized the minimum wage for 2025 at 10,030 won ($7.3) per hour, marking the first time the compulsory hourly minimum wage has surpassed 10,000 won. The tripartite Minimum Wage Commission, which is composed of nine members each from labor, business and the public sector, opted for an increase of 170 won, or 1.7 percent, from last year’s rate of 9,860 won. It is the second-lowest increase on record, in percentage terms. The new rate translates as 2.1 million won per month,

July 15, 2024

[Editorial] Health insurance deficit

South Korea’s public health system is still mired in a protracted dispute between the government and doctors over the medical school enrollment quota. On top of the current debacle, there is a potentially devastating problem that needs more attention from policymakers: the growth of the country’s health insurance deficit. According to research submitted to the Korean Association of Health Economics and Policy, the accumulated deficit of Korea’s health insurance will top 563 tri

July 12, 2024

[Editorial] Watch CIO probe

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday vetoed a bill mandating a special counsel investigation into alleged external pressure on the military response to a Marine’s death. It is a reasonable veto. A bill for a special counsel probe of the case was first proposed by the main opposition party and passed the previous National Assembly, but Yoon sent it back to the Assembly on May 21. It failed to pass an Assembly re-vote on May 28. The Democratic Party of Korea proposed a modified version of the

July 11, 2024

[Editorial] Tighten loan conditions

South Korea’s household loans surged at an embarrassing pace last week, ringing alarm bells for financial authorities over local home buyers rushing to take out mortgage loans from banks, often beyond their repayment capacity, in a bid to ride a recovery period in the housing market. The combined household loans from the country's five major banks -- KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, Woori Bank and NongHyup Bank -- climbed by around 2.2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in the first

July 10, 2024

[Editorial] Impeachment right abuse

The main opposition party’s recent move to impeach prosecutors is hard to accept from a common-sense point of view. It seems ill-founded and threatens to undermine the rule of law. The Democratic Party of Korea proposed a motion last week to impeach four prosecutors, three of whom either investigated or commanded investigations of allegations linked to its former leader, Rep. Lee Jae-myung. The complaints include concerns about development projects and Ssangbangwool Group’s illegal c

July 9, 2024

[Editorial] Samsung’s surprise earnings

Samsung Electronics, the indisputable market bellwether in South Korea, tends to affect investor sentiment strongly. This fact was well demonstrated Friday when its better-than-expected second-quarter earnings prompted investors to cheer, which in turn helped the Kospi close higher. Samsung said in a regulatory filing Friday that it expects operating profit for the April-June period to reach 10.4 trillion won ($7.5 billion), up 1,452 percent from 670 billion won a year ago, helped by the recover

July 8, 2024

[Editorial] Rift over media control

The Korea Communications Commission has gone through a fast-paced reshuffle of the top position this week, touching off a dispute over the broadcasting watchdog’s irregular and unilateral decision-making structure, amid concerns about its failure to stay independent and process regulatory policies based on a consensus-based system. On Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol accepted the voluntary resignation of KCC Chairman Kim Hong-il in the face of an impeachment vote in the National Assembly,

July 5, 2024

[Editorial] Unavoidable path

In South Korea, those who were born between 1964 and 1974, which is a period when the country’s economic development began in earnest, are called the second baby-boom generation. They number 9.54 million, accounting for 18.6 percent of the country’s total population and as much as 33 percent of 28.91 million Koreans who are in some form of employment. Also, their population is 35.3 percent larger than 7.05 million first-generation boomers born between 1955 and 1963. Beginning in 2015

July 4, 2024

[Editorial] Tax revenue shortfall

Disputes are heating up in South Korea over whether the Yoon Suk Yeol administration should go ahead with its controversial tax-reduction initiatives even though revenue is forecast to decline this year as a result of sluggish corporate earnings. The country’s tax revenue stood at 151 trillion won ($108.6 billion) during the first five months of this year, down 9.1 trillion won, or 5.7 percent, from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The main culprit was a sh

July 3, 2024

[Editorial] Change the course

These days, the ruling and opposition parties are caught in a spiral of political strife on almost every issue. However, when it comes to supporting the semiconductors industry, they are showing there is a possibility of cooperation. While foreign countries have striven to enhance international competitiveness of their industries, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has been negative on government plans to support Korean chipmakers, condemning them as “special favors for large co

July 2, 2024

[Editorial] Disparity in outlook

South Korea’s industrial output, retail sales and facility investment all fell simultaneously in May from a month earlier, marking the first “triple minus” in 10 months. Exports continued to stay firm, but domestic indicators such as weak consumption indicate a slower recovery than the government’s upbeat outlook. The government’s official view is that the country’s economy is on a recovery path on the strength of robust exports. But the negative turn of all t

July 1, 2024

[Editorial] Predictability matters

The Financial Services Commission, South Korea’s top financial regulator, has suddenly delayed the planned implementation of the second phase for tighter debt service ratio limits. But the delay is feared to send misleading signals to the financial and real estate markets. The FSC announced Tuesday that tougher rules on household loans will be applied from the beginning of September, instead of July. The decision for the two-month delay came less than a week before the new rules were to be

June 28, 2024

[Editorial] Youth job blues

The number of young working-age people who are unemployed and yet refuse to look for jobs has begun to increase again after falling for nine months. A Statistics Korea survey released Sunday found that 398,000 people aged 15 to 29 “just rested” at home last month doing nothing to make money or search for jobs. The figure was up 13,000 from a year earlier. Most unemployed people look for jobs, but these people do not. They give up seeking jobs and just take a rest though they have no

June 27, 2024

[Editorial] Improve safety standards

A massive fire broke out at a lithium battery plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, leaving 23 people dead and eight injured. As one of the worst chemical plant accidents in South Korea, it raises questions about the cause of the fire and the lack of safety measures. All the deceased victims were found on the second floor of the gutted warehouse at the plant of lithium battery maker Aricell, where the fire started at 10:31 a.m. Monday. Firefighters rushed to the three-story, reinforced c

June 26, 2024

[Editorial] Food prices too high

Food is 56 percent more expensive in Korea than in member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a Bank of Korea report last week. Prices of clothing and shoes were 61 percent higher than the OECD average last year. Housing was 23 percent more expensive. On the other hand, electricity, natural gas and water bills were 36 percent cheaper than the OECD average. This is largely because the government suppresses the prices artificially for political reas

June 25, 2024

[Editorial] Turning point

The abrasive confrontation between the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and doctors over the increase in the medical school enrollment quota faces a turning point after medical professors at the hospitals affiliated with Seoul National University decided to end their collective action and a new body representing more doctors was launched. Medical professors who serve as senior doctors at Seoul National University Hospital announced Friday that they would end an indefinite walkout amid mounting conce

June 24, 2024

[Editorial] Dangerous cooperation

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new “comprehensive strategic partnership” treaty in Pyongyang on Wednesday, a development that has triggered concerns about heightened geopolitical tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Under the comprehensive strategic partnership, North Korea and Russia agreed to offer military assistance “without delay” by mobilizing all means possible if either is attacked, according to the full text of the trea

June 21, 2024

[Editorial] Party for one person

Last week, the prosecution indicted Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, without detention on suspicion of being involved in Ssangbangwool’s illegal payment of money to North Korea. It came days after the first-trial court had sentenced Lee Hwa-young, former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province, to nine years and six months in connection with the case. The case concerns allegations that Kim Sung-tae paid North Korea a total of $8 million at Lee Hwa-young&rs

June 20, 2024