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Fri, September 22, 2023 | 21:45
Adopting meritocracy
The government is aggressively pressing ahead with the introduction of a performance-based salary system, presenting both carrots and sticks to public employees.
Debate on tax hikes
Discussions on raising taxes are heating up following the April 13 general election. This is hardly surprising, considering that the opposition parties, which had advocated increasing corporate taxes in the run-up to the election, secured a majority in the legislature.
Nuclear-armed North
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reiterated previous claims during a rare ruling party congress that opened Friday, while showing no signs of change. The young dictator made clear his country has no intention of giving up its nuclear program, saying, “We will boost our self-defensive nuclear force both in quality and quantity as a responsible nuclear weapons state.’’ He advocated a policy of “not using nuclear weapons unless our sovereignty is threatened by another nuclear power and striving for global denuclearization." But his remarks are seen merely as rhetoric, considering their contradic...
NK's abduction threat
There has been anxiety about the safety of overseas Koreans following the discovery on April 30 of the body of a Korean-Chinese Christian pastor in China's border province of Jilin.
Trump fear
Billionaire Donald Trump has become the de facto Republican presidential nominee after his sweeping victory in Indiana's primary pushed the remaining challengers out of the race.
Regrets on holiday
The four-day holiday weekend began Thursday, Children's Day, as the government designated May 6 as a temporary holiday following a recommendation by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Fixing ruling party
The governing Saenuri Party has elected Chung Jin-suk, a newspaper journalist-turned-politician, as its new floor leader. Chung, who became a four-term lawmaker with his election in the April 13 parliamentary polls, easily beat two competitors. His running mate, Rep. Kim Gwang-lim, was elected as the party’s chief policymaker.
Law school admissions
The Ministry of Education has announced the results of its audit into law school admissions over the last three years. The probe found a total of 24 cases in which successful law school applicants disclosed the occupations or the social positions of their parents and relatives in their self-introduction essays. Among them, the ministry found five cases in which the applicants wrote about their parents' jobs in detail so that the law schools could see that their parents were in high-ranking positions.
Dispute over Korean QE
Controversy is heating up over how to raise funds needed to restructure troubled industries such as shipping and shipbuilding. President Park Geun-hye last week called for the Korean version of quantitative easing to recapitalize state-run banks. In response, the Bank of Korea expressed de facto opposition to that, saying there must be a national consensus.
North's party congress
North Korea has set May 6 as the date for opening the seventh congress of the ruling Workers’ Party. The convention will be the first since 1980, when founding leader Kim Il-sung ruled the communist country. Also, it will be the first congress to be held under North Korea's current leader Kim Jong-un.
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