Opinion - The Korea Times

ED Protect victims first

Strengthened anti-stalking measures still in doubt The Ministry of Justice has announced amendment bills to the Stalking Punishment Act and the Electronic Device Attachment Act, alarmed by the shocking murder of a subway worker by her former coworker at Sindang Station in Seoul. The amendments come in response to a public outcry over the government's failure to properly address stalking crimes and violence against women.Among other things, the amendment to the anti-stalking law envisions abolishing a provision stipulating that a perpetrator cannot be prosecuted without the explicit consent of the victim. This provision has been strongly criticized for leaving victims vulnerable to pressure from offenders to withdraw claims under threat of retaliation. Stalking suspects will also be obliged to wear an electronic anklet even before court sentencing in consideration of the urgent need to prevent access of the suspects to their victims.Women's organizations and experts have strongly been demanding the adoption of these measures. However, the government has come up with them belatedly onl

Oct 24, 2022

ED Return to one-man rule

Xi's unchecked power poses challenges to worldChinese President Xi Jinping has emerged stronger as he grabbed a historic third term as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Sunday for another five-year stay in power. Xi was named again as the head of the Central Military Commission in charge of the People's Liberation Army. Xi managed to consolidate his power by filling the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, the party's apex of power, with his loyalists.They include Li Qiang, the party chief of Shanghai, who was tapped as the No. 2 man and Zhao Leji, already a committee member, as the No. 3 leader. This indicates the advent of a one-man rule by Xi, putting an end to the decades-long power sharing among the political elite. Xi is likely to seek to stay in power for life beyond CCP founder Mao Zedong's 15-year reign as he already abolished the presidential two-term limit in 2018, laying the groundwork to govern indefinitely.The rise of such an “unchecked” stalwart regime in China, equipped with formidable military and economic prowess, will likel

Oct 24, 2022

ED Deepening financial pinch

Fears grow over chain reaction of defaultsThe domestic money market has suddenly been thrown into a panic, making it ever more difficult for businesses, particularly construction companies and brokerages, to raise funds. This has created a financial pinch, deepening fears about chain reaction of corporate bankruptcies and a subsequent financial crisis.The situation has been aggravated by a default on provincial government-guaranteed debt worth 205 billion won ($143 million) raised to finance the construction of a Legoland Korea amusement park in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. Market jitters were running high as the province refused to honor its payment guarantee and triggered a default on the debt.The incident has forced investors to withhold their purchase of corporate bonds and other asset-backed securities on mounting fears of debt defaults. It is natural for investors to lose their confidence in the money market when the Legoland debt, known as asset backed commercial paper (ABCP) with a relatively high rating of “A-plus,” went sour.More underlying causes of the worseni

Oct 23, 2022

ED Material, parts and equipment

Work out detailed strategy to boost intermediate goods sectorsThe Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has announced the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's material, parts, and equipment industrial policy direction. The five-year plan calls for, among others, expanding the number of core strategic technologies in relevant industries from 100 to 150. The ministry changed its previous focus to reorganize the supply chain and respond to the future industrial demands in developing the material, parts, and equipment sectors over the next five years. The government's strategic shift reflects the prolonging of Russia's war in Ukraine and the U.S.-China struggle for technological hegemony. So far, Korea's strategy in these sectors has targeted effectively responding to Japan's export restriction and efficiently supporting flagship industries. The revised strategy calls for strengthening core technologies in the semiconductor, display, and electrical and electronic fields, adding the bio-industry and diversifying target items. Material, parts, and equipment industries still constitute the found

Oct 23, 2022

ED Let probes go on

Parties should avoid head-on collisionsPolitical tensions are escalating as prosecutors gear up to investigate a “slush fund” allegedly spent on main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Jae-myung's presidential campaign. Prosecutors raided the DPK's headquarters Thursday to seize evidence of the illicit money, but to no avail due to fierce resistance from party members. The DPK threatened to quit the ongoing National Assembly audit of state affairs to protest the search attempt. On Friday, prosecutors sought arrest warrants for Kim Yong, deputy head of the DPK's think tank, the Institute for Democracy, on charges of violating the election campaign fund act. Prosecutors suspect Kim illegally received 847 million won ($588,700) from lawyer Nam Wook and other companies in the Wirye and Daejang-dong land development projects in Seongnam city, Gyeonggi Province, to help Lee's presidential campaign. In response, Lee called for the introduction of a special attorney for investigations into the Daejang-dong project. During a press conference on Friday, Lee cit

Oct 21, 2022

ED Specter of Asian crisis

Worries grow over weaker yen, yuanThe Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan have remained weak against the U.S. dollar, deepening concerns about capital outflows from Asia and raising the specter of a region-wide financial crisis. The falling value of the currencies of the two economic giants has also put downward pressure on other Asian currencies, including the Korean won, amid the dollar’s strength.It seems inevitable for Asian currencies to lose ground further against the greenback as the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to continue its aggressive monetary tightening. The direct cause of the weakness of the yen and the yuan was the Fed’s hawkish move to raise its key interest rates to tame inflation.The Chinese yuan has dropped around 12 percent against the dollar so far this year. The offshore yuan briefly plunged to a record low of 7.2790 per dollar Thursday. The slide also reflected a gloomy outlook for the Chinese economy which grew 0.4 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, far lower than 4.8 percent in the first quarter. The world’s second-largest economy

Oct 20, 2022

ED Contradictions at shipyards

Narrow gap between contractors and subcontractorsThe government unveiled measures Wednesday to narrow the gap among shipbuilding workers and improve the dual structure of main contractors and subcontractors. The dual labor structure refers to the gap in wages and working conditions between workers at main contractors and subcontractors. It has been a chronic problem in the industry over the past three decades. In short, workers at subcontractors receive 50-70 percent of the wages earned by those at main contractors while working 50 percent more than the latter.The keyword in the latest government measures is “autonomy.” If the main contractor and subcontractor at a shipyard “autonomously” work out a win-win plan, the government will provide positive support to turn it into reality. It then told major shipbuilders to come up with such plans by early next year. However, one can hardly give a good mark to the government's plan because the structural problem is too deep-rooted to be solved by such a naive idea. Now is the time for the government carefully to grasp

Oct 20, 2022

ED Revealing the truth

Probes gain momentum over 'defection' caseProsecutors sought arrest warrants Tuesday for former Defense Minister Suh Wook and former Coast Guard Commissioner General Kim Hong-hee over the previous administration's alleged mishandling of the killing of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korean soldiers in September 2020. Suh and Kim face diverse charges, such as abuse of power, dereliction of duty and fabrication of official documents apparently to extract a false conclusion that the official, Lee Dae-jun, was shot to death in the West Sea while attempting to defect to the North.The Moon Jae-in government has taken flak for having covered up the case to curry favor with North Korea. Suh is suspected of instructing ministry officials to delete military intelligence from the Military Information Management System (MIMS) suggesting that Lee had no intention to defect. Kim is suspected of ordering the Coast Guard to release a false report that Lee attempted to defect due to a huge gambling debt.The prosecution's move is in line with the Board of Audit and Inspection's (BAI) recent

Oct 19, 2022

ED Dangers of monopolies

Measures needed to regulate platform behemoths The breakdown of Kakao services has wreaked unprecedented havoc on Korean society and laid bare the problems with the online platform behemoth. It has disrupted payment, mobility and portal services as well as a messenger app that has some 43 million users. On Tuesday, Kakao Corp. said it normalized most of its operations and is offering services almost in full swing, except for a partially unavailable mailing service. The service stoppage has raised the need to put gigantic platforms under better supervision. The presidential office has decided to set up a task force to tackle the devastating consequences that such disruptions will cause to the nation's communication infrastructure and even national security. President Yoon Suk-yeol has also vowed to take necessary measures to prevent a recurrence of such a mishap. “Although a network is operated by a private company, it is tantamount to a key national communication infrastructure,” Yoon said in a brief meeting with the press.Kakao cannot deflect criticism for having failed

Oct 18, 2022

ED A baker's death

Time to get tougher with workplace safety violatorsLast Saturday, an employee in her 20s died at a factory affiliated with SPC Group, known for the Paris Baguette bakery chain, after her upper body was caught in a sauce mixer. The victim, who majored in baking in high school, had worked hard, dreaming of opening her own bakery. Many people are grieving her death and are also outraged by the apparent lack of concern the company showed for the safety of its workers.In the factory, only two of nine mixers had automatic protective devices, or interlocks, which cause the machine to stop when the cover is opened. Proving how essential these devices are for safety, 15 out of 37 accidents over the past five years ― or 40.5 percent ― involved workers getting caught in a machine. The company could have easily prevented these horrific accidents if it had installed interlocks on all mixers. Money seems to be why the nation's No. 1 baking company failed to invest in facilities. The group put profits far ahead of workers' lives and safety. Citing the fact that the Ministry of Employment and Labor