The Korea Times - Home

Site Map PDF Subscription Register LogIn
Site Map PDF Subscription Register LogIn

Thu, July 20, 2017 | 21:41

Opinion > Editorial >

Crackdown on franchisers

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has announced a set of measures aimed at uprooting predatory business practices by franchise companies. The measures are intended to level the playing field that has been against franchisees unilaterally.

Editorial | 2017-07-20 16:53

Moon's policy roadmap

The Moon Jae-in administration unveiled a five-year roadmap for sweeping reforms in politics, the economy and welfare during a briefing by the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. It seems the committee did not do a very good job in thoroughly examining the feasibility of the President’s key election pledges and readjusting those that are likely to impose an additional burden on taxpayers.

Editorial | 2017-07-20 16:25

'Hell Joseon' discourse

Facebook is abuzz with a for-and-against discourse over “Hell Joseon,” a nickname for Korea used by its young people lamenting a lack of opportunities, a tight job market and no hope of social mobility. It was triggered by KAIST professor Lee Byung-tae, who departed from the usual apologetic tone of parents and on Facebook scolded the younger generation for whining while having achieved nothing on their own.

Editorial | 2017-07-19 17:28

Anti-corruption drive

President Moon Jae-in has ordered the restoration of a trans-government consultative body as an anti-corruption control tower. The so-called Council of State Agencies Against Corruption was formed in 2004 under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration, but it was abolished under the ensuing Lee Myung-bak government. Moon will chair the council comprised of chiefs of the National Intelligence Service, the prosecution, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) and other key government organs.

Editorial | 2017-07-19 16:31

Seoul's offer for talks

The Moon Jae-in administration has set in motion inter-Korean dialogue. On Monday, the Ministry of National Defense offered to hold military talks with North Korea Friday. The South’s Red Cross also proposed a separate meeting on Aug. 1 to discuss the reunion of separated families. Seoul’s offer for talks is a follow-up measure to the peace overture President Moon Jae-in proposed in his speech in Berlin earlier this month.

Editorial | 2017-07-18 17:24

Starting constitutional reform

National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun presented a roadmap for constitutional revision during a speech Monday to mark the 69th Constitution Day. Chung urged the parties to come up with a joint proposal by the end of the year, put it to a parliamentary vote in May 2018 and hold a referendum on it alongside the June 13 local elections.

Editorial | 2017-07-18 17:10

Fuss over Xi's word

More than a week after the July 6 Korea-China summit in Germany, a fuss has been made over a word allegedly used by Chinese President Xi Jinping. To sum it up, it is much ado about nothing, but shows how ham-fisted the current government is in dealing with foreign affairs. The fuss is two-tiered: whether Xi used the phrase “blood-sealed ally” to describe its relationship with North Korea and if he did, how he meant it.

Editorial | 2017-07-17 16:42

Malfunctioning choppers

The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) has found the nation’s transport utility helicopter Surion has various defects that make it unreliable.

Editorial | 2017-07-17 16:41

[Ed] Death of China's conscience

The death of Chinese dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo in the government’s custody should force the world to confront what this industrial behemoth under control of a single party is all about. It is a brutal regime that pays little attention to human rights and cannot be trusted as a world leader. So far the world has looked away for fear of retaliation. In 2010 the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the prize to the imprisoned Liu and conducted an award ceremony with his seat vacant because Beijing did not let him attend. In return, then-Chinese leader Hu Jintao slapped a vi...

Editorial | 2017-07-16 16:05

New minimum wage

Next year’s minimum wage has been set at 7,530 won ($6.64), up 1,060 won or 16.4 percent from this year. Using the new hourly wage, one can expect to earn 1.57 million won a month for working eight hours a day, 40 hours a week. Government measures are expected to ease the concerns facing small-time employers significantly. It is good news for hundreds of thousands of people who rely on part-time jobs for their livelihoods. There have been claims that a big rise in wages could backfire because employers, often small-time operations like convenience stores, would feel so squeezed that they wou...

Editorial | 2017-07-16 15:59

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Park's impeachment