Opinion - The Korea Times

ED Urgent pension reform

Open up data, show the way, and then sell hardOne of the problems modern welfare states must tackle is defusing the pension time bomb.And nowhere is this more urgent than in Korea, with the fastest aging population and steepest decline in birth rate worldwide. Moreover, thanks to accumulated funds, Korean retirees receive considerably more than they contributed. It contrasts with the pay-as-you-go-type schemes of some countries.That cannot go on because of the nation's demographic structure.Someone must persuade Koreans to get less ― or at least not more ― than they chipped in. However, the previous Moon Jae-in administration avoided that politically unpopular job. It was a dereliction of duty. We hope the incumbent government will be different. Pension reform is also one of President Yoon Suk Yeol's three major reform tasks. Yoon vowed to complete the job “no matter how unpopular we may become.” Will the already unpopular president accomplish what his more popular predecessor could not? Koreans will see in years to come.The first test for the Yoon administration will com

Sep 10, 2023

ED Perilous peninsula

Seoul must engage in diplomacy to lower tensionsIf media reports are correct, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet early next week.The diplomatic calculus is just right for the first summit between the two authoritarian leaders in four-and-a-half years. Russia badly needs North Korea's artillery shells and missiles for its protracted war in Ukraine. Pyongyang wants Moscow's technology for spy satellites, nuclear-powered submarines and economic aid, including food.Such transactions, if materialized, are morally and legally unacceptable.By providing lethal weapons for the unjustifiable war initiated by Russia, the North will worsen and prolong the Ukrainian people's plight. Russia, a standing member of the U.N. Security Council, will violate the council's resolutions by helping Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.So, it was natural that Washington warned that Pyongyang would “pay a price” if it reached any arms deal with Russia. Seoul also urged Moscow to stop military cooperation with Pyongyang immediately.However, these warnings m

Sep 7, 2023

ED Era of minilateralism

Korea should play more roles in new global orderBy Kim Won-soo Korea must do well as a bridge-builder in this fragmented yet entangled world.The order among nations is weakening as the world of nations splits into clusters. Big power rivalry is heating up and smaller nations are trying to decide on which side of the fault line they must stand.Bloc politics has given rise to three worlds, the first one led by the United States, the second led by China and the third consisting of fence-sitting countries similar to the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War. Such fragmentation is putting multilateralism under a serious test. Multilateralism is a major tool that has helped to maintain the liberal international order following the end of World War II. The United Nations and the World Trade Organization are both important products of universal multilateralism. Multilateralism prospered in the 1990s after the end of the Cold War. But that period was rather short-lived due to the return of big power rivalry in the beginning of the 21st century. A prime symptom of multilateral fatigue is th

Sep 6, 2023

ED Collapse of classroom

Deaths of teachers indicate demise of educationOne after another, teachers are dying.Following the suicide of an elementary school teacher in Seoul around 50 days ago, three more have since followed in her footsteps, last week, across the nation.Tens of thousands of teachers staged a rally wearing black clothing near the National Assembly on Monday. They mourned their colleagues' deaths and the school system's demise on the day that public education came to a halt. A recent survey of teachers makes for hard reading.It showed that 99 percent of respondents experienced infringements on their authority by overbearing parents and disorderly students. Some 93 percent fear being reported ― or sued ― for child abuse despite meting out legitimate punitive measures. Eighty-seven percent have already thought of quitting in the past year, and 27 percent have received psychiatric treatment.The Ministry of Education vowed to move swiftly to accept the demands put forward by teachers. And the ministry, primarily responsible for the dismal reality, withdrew its threat of “stern measures&rdquo

Sep 5, 2023

ED Price of ignoring history

Scrap plan to relocate bust of freedom fighter Hong Beom-doAn ideological controversy is intensifying over the current government's decision to relocate the bust of independence fighter Hong Beom-do outside of the Korea Military Academy. Former President Moon Jae-in threw his hat in the ring by lambasting the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's move. “It is equivalent to distorting history and undermining the integrity of the ROK's armed forces. I urge the presidential office to immediately withdraw the relocation plan,” Moon said on his Facebook account, Sunday.Moon's attack, using scathing words, has drawn attention as it came amid fresh ideological feuding waged by the conservative ruling camp led by Yoon. Moon had abstained from commenting on current issues barring the one related to Japan's recent release of wastewater from Fukushima's crippled nuclear plant.Earlier, the KMA received some flak after announcing the plan to relocate Hong's bust and moving those of other independence fighters to a different section of the academy. It cited, among others, Hong's stint as a fo

Sep 4, 2023

ED Danger of extinction

Population policy failure is national failureThe Republic of Korea is a country of extreme ambivalence. Through the eyes of many outsiders, this may look like a rich and attractive country. The nation's per capita income has long since surpassed $30,000, and its culture ― to include music, films, dramas and, more recently, food ― draws global fans. However, for too many of its citizens it is a hell. One cannot explain the world's highest suicide rate and lowest birthrate here otherwise.A report last week showed the continuation of these trends. In the second quarter, newborns numbered 56,087, down 6.8 percent from a year ago. The fertility rate dropped to 0.7, far less than half the OECD average of 1.59. A foreign expert was recently reported as saying Korea will be the first country to face demographic extinction.Until recently, Koreans thought young women had gone on a “baby strike.” Now, men seem to have joined in as well. In a survey, one-third of young people did not feel positively about marriage. Half of the respondents said they would not have children after marri

Sep 3, 2023

ED Ultra-tight budget

What good is fiscal health if it weakens economy?President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared proud and resolute after his administration proposed the most austere budget in nearly two decades on Tuesday.“We have shifted from the previous government's 'spending-solves-all' mentality to restoring fiscal health,” Yoon told a Cabinet meeting. The conservative leader accused his progressive predecessor of “reckless spending leading to snowballing debt.”The Yoon administration's 657 trillion won ($495 billion) proposal for FY 2024 marks 2.8 percent growth from this year's 639 trillion won, the lowest in 18 years. It can be called an “ultra-tight” budget, compared to a 5.1 percent rise this year and the 9-10 percent annual growth witnessed during the Moon Jae-in government. Few can oppose financial soundness, especially when major governments are “living in a fiscal fantasyland,” as the London-based The Economist put it recently. The problem is whether fiscal retrenchment is suitable here and now.Korea's economy has been struggling, with its growth rate

Aug 31, 2023

ED Seoul's terrible new slogan Part 2

'Find Your Seoul' can be alternative to banal sloganBy John BurtonIn 2015, I wrote a column for the Korea Times that was headlined, “Seoul's terrible new slogan,” which criticized the selection of “I.Seoul.U” as the city's new brand. It was one of the most commented-upon columns I ever wrote and as I re-read it now, it repeats almost verbatim my thoughts about the new slogan and logo that Seoul has just launched: “Seoul, my soul.” My objection to “I.Seoul,U” was that it didn't make much sense to an international audience. It had traces of Konglish. The two final alternative slogans weren't any better: “SEOULing” and “Seoulmate.”This time around what I object to is that “Seoul, my soul” is banal and insipid in its appeal and is based on the rather tired premise of playing on the word “soul” and the city's name. The city government claims that it depicts Seoul as a city of warmth, freedom and passion that can fill the soul. As for the logo, it is at least colorful and eye-catching, although

Aug 30, 2023

ED Anachronistic McCarthyism

Revising history requires national consensusHong Beom-do is one of the most famous Korean generals who led the independence fight against Japanese colonialists in the 1920s and '30s.In 2018, the Moon Jae-in administration set up the busts of General Hong and four other resistance leaders at the Korean Military Academy (KMA). They are the founding fathers of the Korean military and the Republic of Korea.So, most Koreans were puzzled days ago when the KMA said it considered relocating Hong's bust somewhere else. It cited his record of collaborating with Soviet communist forces.However, one must not judge historical figures by today's standards.In the early 20th century, leftists led the armed fight against the Japanese Imperial Army in Manchuria with the help of China and Russia. The U.S. had condoned Japan's occupation of Korea until Pearl Harbor. Hong died in 1943 before Korea was liberated. He did not know his country would be divided into two and who would rule its northern half.All this explains why former President Park Chung-hee, a staunch anti-communist, posthumously decorated

Aug 29, 2023

ED Opposition in tatters

DPK will face grave crisis without complete overhaul Rep. Lee Jae-myung marked the first anniversary of his inauguration as chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Monday. He has just passed the mid-point of his two-year term. Lee has clung on to the DPK's key leadership position in the face of brewing disputes, still fresh from his defeat in the presidential election only six months ago. However, Lee has mostly disappointed the public, having failed to effectively lead over the past year the gigantic majority party.Under Lee's leadership, the DPK has failed to provide substantial policies that are appealing enough to earn people's support. To the contrary, the party has been bogged down by in-house conflicts, unable to find a solution for a much-needed revamp following the presidential poll. The party faced a serious setback as many of its members were found to have received slush money during the national convention in 2021. Rep. Kim Nam-guk also dealt a blow to the DPK due to his alleged possession and trading of a huge sum of cryptocurrencies. Such case

Aug 28, 2023

Editorial