Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?
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S. Korea lowers COVID-19 warning level, lifts last-remaining antivirus mandates
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[Editorial] Shirking responsibility
The government and Korea Electric Power Corp. on Monday decided to freeze the electricity rate in the third quarter as they did in the second quarter. If they had allowed for the rising costs of oil and other fuels, they should have raised the rates, but they decided not to. This is quite a contrast to the government’s recent decision to reduce the rate deduction for households that use a small amount of electricity (200kWh or less a month) and the discount rate for electric vehicle cha
June 24, 2021
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[Editorial] Building momentum
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last week suggested that his regime was ready to resume talks with the US. But it has yet to be seen whether the North will actually come to the negotiating table when there is no prospect for gaining significant concessions from the US without taking serious steps toward denuclearization. During a key meeting of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, Kim said that his reclusive state should be ready for both dialogue and confrontation with the US. Though
June 23, 2021
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[Editorial] Dividing taxpayers
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Friday finalized its plans to ease the property tax burden on homeowners. During a plenary party meeting, it voted to change the object of comprehensive real estate holding taxation from houses worth 900 million won ($795,000) or more to houses in the top 2 percent in terms of state-assessed value. It decided to extend the transfer tax deduction to homes worth up to 1.2 billion won from the current standard at 900 million won. The party also voted to gra
June 22, 2021
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[Editorial] Divisive issue
Korea sees potentially acute generational conflict looming over the issue of whether to raise the legal retirement age currently set at 60. On the opposite sides of the emerging fault line are baby boomers, born in the early 1960s, and what is known as the “MZ generation,” referring to millennials and Generation Z, together including people born from the 1980s to 2010s. A week ago, the trade unions of South Korea’s three major automakers -- Hyundai Motor, Kia Corp. and GM Kore
June 21, 2021
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[Editorial] Shameless chief justice
Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su has often deviated from the ethical norms governing public service. In early 2018, a dinner was reportedly held at his official residence for his daughter-in-law and her colleagues on a Hanjin Group affiliate’s legal team. The dinner, cooked by the residence’s exclusive chef and served with wine, is said to have taken place in the official banquet hall. Its dubious timing attracted attention. On Dec. 21, 2017, the Supreme Court found C
June 18, 2021
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[Editorial] Unambiguous demand
In a joint communique issued after their summit in Brussels on Monday, the leaders of the US and 29 other member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization reiterated the alliance’s full support for the goal of the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea. They urged the North to eliminate its nuclear, chemical and biological warfare capabilities and ballistic missiles, while calling on other nations to fully implement existing UN sanctions imposed on th
June 17, 2021
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[Editorial] Reckless management
The total operating profit of all state-owned enterprises has plunged 69.9 percent under the current administration. The poor performance of seven energy enterprises, including the Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., is largely to blame. The number of public enterprises that posted an operating loss more than tripled to 17 last year, from five in 2016. However, their payroll costs increased about 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) over the same time frame. This was
June 16, 2021
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[Editorial] Monetary policy shift
Since last month, the Bank of Korea has repeatedly sent a signal that it will move to tighten its easy monetary policy to preempt possible risks from excess liquidity and rising inflationary pressure. Lee Ju-yeol, the governor of the central bank, said Friday that the current easing of monetary policy should be normalized in an orderly manner starting from an appropriate time, if the country’s economy continued to recover at a solid pace. The remarks, made at a meeting commemorating the 7
June 15, 2021
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[Editorial] Winds of change
The emergence of a politician in his 30s as the leader of a major party, despite his never even having been a lawmaker, heralds an upheaval in national politics. Lee Jun-seok, 36, was elected chairperson of the People Power Party on Friday. It is the first time in South Korea’s modern history that a 30-something politician has led a party large enough to have legislative bargaining power in the National Assembly. He trailed his closest rival in a ballot for party members but beat her over
June 14, 2021
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[Editorial] Beyond pride
President Moon Jae-in leaves for the UK on Friday to attend the Group of Seven summit over the weekend, the first major in-person multilateral diplomatic event since the coronavirus pandemic began sweeping the world early last year. South Korea is not a member of the club encompassing the world’s richest nations, but Moon has been invited to this year’s summit as a guest along with the leaders of Australia, India and South Africa. During a Cabinet meeting earlier this week, Moon sa
June 11, 2021
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[Editorial] Thorough probe required
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea decided Tuesday to recommend voluntary departure from the party to 12 of its lawmakers, who are suspected of involvement in illegal real estate dealings. It decided to expel two of the lawmakers, who were elected by proportional representation. In doing so, it effectively let them off. If proportional representatives leave their parties, they lose their parliamentary seats. But if they are expelled, they can maintain their seats as unaffiliated lawmakers. T
June 10, 2021
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[Editorial] Last straw
South Korea’s 52-hour workweek system is set to be applied to small businesses hiring between five and 49 workers starting July 1, adding to the growing difficulties they face. The country’s Labor Standards Act was revised in February 2018 to cut the maximum weekly working hours from 68 to 52. The reduced workweek came into force for companies with 300 or more employees in July 2019. At the outset of 2020, it was applied to small and medium-sized enterprises with 50 to 299 workers.
June 9, 2021
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[Editorial] Eliminate cover-ups
The suicide of an Air Force female master sergeant who was sexually harassed reveals again the backward military culture where concealment and conciliation have taken deep root. The victim reported the matter to her immediate superiors a day after the incident in early March, but they attempted to persuade her to reach a settlement with the perpetrator of the same rank. Eventually, the matter was reported to military police, but they procrastinated, putting off investigations. The suspect was
June 8, 2021
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[Editorial] An unsustainable gap
Data released last week showed that the country’s unemployment problem had worsened despite a steep rise in exports. South Korea saw its exports jump 45.6 percent on-year to $50.7 billion in May, extending its winning streak to a seventh consecutive month, according to figures from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Outbound shipments from Asia’s fourth-largest economy grew more than 40 percent for two straight months in April and May on the back of a global economic reboun
June 7, 2021
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[Editorial] Half-baked apology
Song Young-gil, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Wednesday apologized to young people for the “Cho Kuk scandal,” which starkly illustrated the hypocrisy of leftists. But sincerity was lacking in parts of his apology. Song said that parents of high social standing help one another through personal connections and that in that vein they exchange internship opportunities for their children. He continued that while that mutual help does not go against the law, it frus
June 4, 2021
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[Editorial] Addicted to spending
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is pushing to pass yet another supplementary budget worth up to 30 trillion won ($27 billion) as early as in July, deepening concerns over the country’s deteriorating fiscal soundness. The party’s floor leader, Rep. Yun Ho-jung, said Tuesday that an extra budget was urgently needed not only to help those hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic but to give relief cash handouts to all people. He said consultations with the administration had yet to
June 3, 2021
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[Editorial] Suspicious error
A satellite image of Pyongyang, North Korea, was mistakenly used in the opening video for the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit, which got underway Sunday. The error was discovered belatedly when local media reported on it. P4G stands for Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030, and the video preceded President Moon Jae-in’s opening address. The video’s purpose was to promote the host city, and it featured panoramic views of Namsan, an ancient palace and the Han River, one by one
June 2, 2021
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[Editorial] Ironclad alliance
South Korea and the US have recently struck a different cord on whether to resume their joint outdoor military drills, though last month’s meeting between the leaders of the two countries was seen as contributing to further bolstering the seven-decade alliance. The allies canceled or reduced their combined exercises following the 2018 summit between then-US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to help carry forward negotiations on denuclearizing the North. Scaled-dow
June 1, 2021
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[Editorial] More cry than wool
After a crushing defeat in the April 7 by-elections mostly due to popular fury over real estate policy failures that drove up housing prices, the ruling party vowed to ease tax burdens and launched a special committee on real estate issues. But its result was disappointingly small. To reduce property tax a bit only for houses in a certain price range was all it decided to do to lessen the tax burden. Song Young-gil, Democratic Party of Korea leader, and Kim Jin-pyo, the chair of the committee,
May 31, 2021
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[Editorial] A step forward
A joint statement issued after last week’s summit between the leaders of South Korea and the US said they agreed on the “fundamental importance” of trilateral cooperation involving Japan to deal with North Korea and bolster the rules-based international order. This shared understanding between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden heightens the likelihood that they will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for three-way talks during next mon
May 28, 2021