[ed] Changing circumstances? North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns dispatch of a top military official to China on Wednesday raised hopes that significant changes could take place on the Korean Peninsula. Choe Ryong-hae, director of the General Political Bureau of the (North) Kor..
[ed] Normalizing wage system Employment and Labor Minister Bang Ha-nam Monday called for the labor and management to hold a tripartite meeting to discuss wage issues. It was a timely, meaningful proposal, given the attention this matter is receiving from investors at home and ..
[ed] End of tip-off politics One document after another shows former President Lee Myung-bak used the National Intelligence Service mainly for the security of his administration rather than that of the nation.
[ed] Admission fraud A month-long special audit by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SOME) has shown that two international middle schools in Seoul - Younghoon and Daewon - are a hotbed of corruption and irregularities. Younghoon, in particular, shocked the n..
[ed] Inter-Korean impasse One point that distinguishes the Park Geun-hye administration from its predecessor is a more flexible policy toward North Korea. But whatever the reason may be, inter-Korean relations have become worse, not better, since Park was elected five month..
[ed] Conflict in Miryang The Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) resumed construction of high-voltage transmission cable towers in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, Monday, nearly eight months after work on them was suspended due to fierce opposition from residents.
[ed] Sullying noble sacrifices It was good to see a sitting President honor the May 1980 democracy movement in Gwangju, for the first time in five years Saturday. It was bad to find no bereaved families of the deceased fighters in the ceremony, however.
[ed] Marital rape is a crime The Supreme Court Thursday ruled marital rape is a crime even between normal couples, reversing its own judgment 43 years ago. Although civil laws call for married couples to share sex lives, it cannot mean the individuals abandonment of sex..
[ed] Japan's mistaken move Japanese Prime Minister Shinjo Abes special adviser Isao Iijima received a warm welcome in North Korea when he arrived on Tuesday. On Thursday, Pyongyangs nominal head of state Kim Yong-nam greeted him in a surprise move. Iijima had been initia..
[ed] Online portal's tyranny When it comes to online search engines, Korea is among just a few countries in the world that are not dominated by Google, the global search engine leader, and this "small miracle" has been made possible by the presence of Naver, the nation's bigge..
[ed] Second boom or bubble? Corporate Korea has wondered how the Park Geun-hye administration will turn its rather abstract goal of a "creative economy" into reality. The government came up with an answer Wednesday: by creating a "second venture boom."
[ed] Yen's assault The Korean economy staggered previously when the Japanese currency remained weak, but the yens recent slide is making Korean manufacturers and exporters experience more pain. Thats because the currency shock has come amid the global economic sl..
[ed] Cleanup of mess After President Park Geun-hye apologized for her main spokesmans alleged sexual assault in the United States, public uproar has somewhat subsided. Cheong Wa Dae has asked the Washington police to expedite the investigation into the case of Yoon C..
[ed] Time to accept talks The Unification Ministry proposed working-level inter-Korean talks Tuesday to discuss recovering finished products and raw materials from the suspended Gaeseong Industrial Complex, at the instruction of President Park Geun-hye.
[ed] Gaffe or conviction? Politicians in Japan make gaffes so frequently that its Asian neighbors no longer feel it necessary to respond to them one by one. Yet the latest remark on wartime sex slavery made by the leader of Japans third largest political group apparently ..
[ed] N. Korea's military shakeup North Korea has replaced its hard-line armed forces minister with a relatively young and little-known field commander in what appears to be a move by leader Kim Jong-un to tighten his grip on the powerful military.
[ed] No more apologies President Park Geun-hye apologized Monday over an allegation of sexual harassment made against her spokesman during a visit to the United States last week. She was right to offer an apology because of the shock that the female student and her paren..
