[Editorial] Extreme weather

The scorching summer heat wave persisted until the end of Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) holidays Sept. 16-18, usually a time when the weather stars to cool. Just two days after the holidays ended, record heavy rains began to batter the nation, particularly its southern regions. Daily precipitation records for September were broken in many sites. Hourly rainfall rose to a high of 112.2 millimeters in Jindo, South Jeolla Province. Precipitation at the Yeosu Industrial Complex in the province Sept.

Sept. 24, 2024

[Editorial] Aging workforce

The number of South Korean workers aged 65 and older has overtaken that of those aged 15 to 29 for the first time, pointing to a host of troubling issues for the country where the fast-aging population confronts a lack of post-retirement support. According to Statistics Korea, the average number of employed elderly workers reached 3.94 million in the second quarter of this year, surpassing the 3.8 million employed young adults during the same period. Those aged 65 and older secured 231,000 jobs

Sept. 23, 2024

[Editorial] ER crisis averted

South Korea’s government officials will have been duly relieved to see the result of the five-day Chuseok holiday. Defying dire predictions, the country’s emergency care services continued without massive and paralyzing disruptions. The Health Ministry said the average number of patients who visited emergency rooms across the nation stood at 27,505 per day, down 31 percent from 39,911 last year. In addition, the latest figure is 25 percent down from the lunar New Year holiday period.

Sept. 20, 2024

[Editorial] Nuclear comeback

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration has ushered in a nuclear energy renaissance as it permitted the long-suspended construction of two nuclear reactors last week. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission approved the building of Shin Hanul reactors No. 3 and 4 in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. They are the first new nuclear power plants to be authorized in the country since the Saeul (formerly Shin Kori) Units 5 and 6 in June 2016, even though Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., the

Sept. 19, 2024

[Editorial] Prepare against threats

North Korea has been ratcheting up its threatening moves in recent weeks, a development that should alarm South Korea’s officials in charge of security, defense and inter-Korean relations. On Thursday, the North fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The missiles were launched from the Pyongyang area at 7:10 a.m., but other details were not disclosed. South Korea’s military condemned the latest launch, which tested m

Sept. 13, 2024

[Editorial] Outdated custom

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Tuesday the interim results of its ongoing investigation into the operation of the Badminton Korea Association. The probe was prompted by a severe criticism by An Se-young in an interview with reporters after winning a gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Some management practices and regulations of the association are found to be outdated or opaque. Many regulation violations were also uncovered. A regulation bans players from partici

Sept. 12, 2024

[Editorial] Dispute-laden tax scheme

The “Korea discount” generally refers to the idea that South Korean stocks remain undervalued. This perception is universally shared among both policymakers and investors, but identifying the reasons behind the lower-than-expected stock performances is tricky largely because individuals point to different factors. In recent weeks, however, there seems to be a consensus about one of the factors that strongly resonate among government officials, ruling party members and some members of

Sept. 11, 2024

[Editorial] Sustain friendly ties

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is set to retire at the end of this month, returned to Japan Saturday after wrapping up a two-day trip to South Korea for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol. The summit was significant in that the leaders affirmed the possibility of sustaining "shuttle diplomacy" between Korea and Japan. The bilateral ties of the two countries were tense under former President Moon Jae-in, then Yoon restored them considerably by resolving a historical issue

Sept. 10, 2024

[Editorial] Seek breakthrough

The South Korean government now holds the position that it can discuss the option of adjusting the medical school admissions quota for 2026, a desperate move aimed at getting interns and residents back to hospitals, many of which are struggling with severe staff shortages. The deepening medical service crisis was sparked in February by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s plan to increase the medical school admission quota as part of its overall medical reform plan. The quota increase result

Sept. 9, 2024

[Editorial] A bitter pill

The government's national pension reform plan unveiled Wednesday is focused more on the financial stability of the pension fund than on retirees' welfare. The point of the plan is increasing pension contribution and income replacement rates simultaneously. Employees contribute part of their wages to the national pension fund, with their employers bearing the cost of half of their contributions. Upon retirement, retired workers then receive a certain percentage of their preretirement in

Sept. 6, 2024

[Editorial] Keep inflation low

It is fortunate for South Korea to see inflation fall to its intended level last month. The consumer price index, a broad-based measure of prices for goods and services, rose 2 percent on-year in August, according to Statistics Korea, Tuesday. It was the lowest increase in 41 months since March 2021 when it edged up 1.9 percent. The Bank of Korea finally met its inflation target of 2 percent. Above all, it is encouraging that Korea reached the 2-percent mark earlier than the US and eurozone, who

Sept. 5, 2024

[Editorial] Electricity supply

Electrical grids, which deliver power to households, businesses and industrial sectors, are becoming increasingly important in recent years. Grids are having greater demand placed on them not only for the transition to green energy, but also for cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence. But the global push for green energy and advanced technology has been mired in delays as a result of bottlenecks linked to grid facilities. According to a recent report by Kepco Management Resear

Sept. 4, 2024

[Editorial] Keep dialogue going

People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon and Democratic Party of Korea Chair Lee Jae-myung took the first step toward cooperation in supporting public livelihoods through their meeting in the National Assembly on Sunday. It was the first official talks between the leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties in about 11 years. The interval indicates that confrontational politics has lasted a long time in Korea. However, with signs of legislative normalization emerging recently after both part

Sept. 3, 2024

[Editorial] Discrepancy in views

President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a televised briefing Thursday on state affairs that the South Korean economy is on a clear path for recovery and is set to take off in a big way in the future, painting a rosy picture. The next day, however, Statistics Korea data showed that the country’s industrial output dropped for the third-straight month in July. The reason was the shrinking production in the country’s mainstay industries of semiconductors and automobiles. Industrial output fell 0

Sept. 2, 2024

[Editorial] 2025 Budget

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration has revealed its determination to keep a tight budget to “normalize” public spending in the face of a growing tax revenue shortfall, but there are voices that any belt-tightening should be more selective and strategic in a way that benefits the public. The Finance Ministry on Tuesday announced that the budget for 2025 has been set at 677.4 trillion won ($507.7 billion). The figure marks a 3.2 percent on-year increase, which is higher than 2.8 percent

Aug. 30, 2024

[Editorial] Uproot sexual deepfakes

Making deepfake images or videos by combining facial photos of innocent persons with pornography, as well as their distribution, is undoubtedly criminal. It is punishable under the Sexual Violence Prevention and Victims Protection Act. It is a heinous crime that abuses the anonymity of social media and computer technology. Deepfake sexual material is spreading fast and indiscriminately. Police recently arrested the operator of a Telegram chatroom where users shared deepfake sexual content crea

Aug. 29, 2024

[Editorial] Tackle debt crisis

A clear warning sign for policymakers is on the horizon: surging debt -- not only in the South Korean government, but also among households. According to data from the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Korea, the combined debt of the South Korean government and households has surpassed 3,000 trillion won ($2.26 trillion) for the first time. In detail, the country’s combined national debt and household debt came in at 3,042 trillion won at the end of the second quarter this year. This negati

Aug. 28, 2024

[Editorial] R&D bang for buck

The world’s leading science journal Nature reported in its Aug. 21 supplement on South Korea that the country invests heavily in science, but that its "bang for the buck" -- judged by pitting research spending against output in the Nature Index -- is surprisingly low. The Nature Index tracks the affiliations of high-quality scientific articles. Updated monthly, it presents research outputs by institution and country. Korea's research and development spending at 5.2 percent o

Aug. 27, 2024

[Editorial] Prolonged disruptions

Last week, a pregnant woman gave birth inside an ambulance. The disheartening incident came as four hospitals had refused her, citing a lack of medical staff or beds in their emergency rooms, according to rescue officials in North Chungcheong Province. It is widely feared that such dire situations involving patients in emergency and critical conditions may occur across the nation more frequently unless the government tackles the escalating medical service disruptions started by its plan to incre

Aug. 26, 2024

[Editorial] Debt and property market

In June, the Financial Services Commission announced that the tougher rules on household loans would be applied from September, instead of July -- a sudden schedule change that was feared to send wrong signals to the markets. South Korea’s top financial regulator intended to guide the real estate project financing market to a soft landing by delaying the implementation of the second phase for the stress debt service ratio, or DSR -- a tool that serves as a ceiling on aggregate lending. As

Aug. 23, 2024