[Editorial] Build strength

Pause of military aid to Ukraine, comment on Taiwan hint at Trump's 'deal-making' US President Donald Trump reportedly ordered a pause to all US military aid to Ukraine. The move comes just days after an argument at the Oval Office meeting in which Trump and US Vice President JD Vance upbraided Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for being insufficiently grateful for Washington's backing. Pausing aid is a step to pressure Zelenskyy into accepting Trump's plan to end the Ukraine war through pea

March 6, 2025

[Editorial] Division exacerbates crisis

Rival parties stuck with wasteful wrangling amid ongoing political turmoil, economic woes The March extraordinary session of the National Assembly is set to begin Wednesday, but concerns are mounting over whether the ruling and opposition parties can handle urgent bills including a supplementary budget due to the intensifying partisan strife that has regrettably aligned with street protests over impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. Since Yoon's Dec. 3 botched martial law declaration, South Korea h

March 5, 2025

[Editorial] Blind spot

Employment irregularities found in election commissions; inspection ruled unconstitutional The presidential audit agency said Thursday that it found irregularities in every instance of career staff recruitment conducted by Korea's election commissions for 10 years from 2013. During the 10-year period, the commissions hired experienced workers 291 times. The Board of Audit and Inspection detected 878 cases of corruption in these periodic recruitments. None of them were clean. A wide array of offi

March 4, 2025

[Editorial] Fix safety loopholes

A collapsed bridge and other disasters show the cost of inaction for Korea's safety oversight A bridge collapse at a highway construction site in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, has once again exposed the nation’s persistent safety failures. On Tuesday morning, several slabs fell from a bridge under construction on the Seoul-Sejong expressway, killing four workers and injuring six others. Emergency personnel rushed to the scene within minutes, mobilizing helicopters, fire trucks and more than 140 fi

Feb. 28, 2025

[Editorial] Veto inevitable

Democratic Party pushing Commercial Act revision that businesses adamantly oppose The ruling People Power Party will ask acting President Choi Sang-mok to veto the Commercial Act amendment that opposition parties are pushing unilaterally. Floor leader Kweon Seong-dong said the bill is anti-corporate and poses a serious threat to business management activity. Kweon urged Lee Jae-myung, chair of the Democratic Party of Korea, to scrap the market-distorting law first if he wants to lead a party for

Feb. 27, 2025

[Editorial] Beyond rate cuts

Bank of Korea cuts key rate, but more steps are needed to prop up slowing economy The Bank of Korea on Tuesday cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.7 percent to prop up the slowing economy saddled with sluggish domestic demand and a growing list of obstacles in exports due to new US tariff policies. The central bank’s move came after it froze the rate in January to gauge the impact of the two rate cuts made in October and November last year. The one-month pause also

Feb. 26, 2025

[Editorial] Vanishing tech lead

Survey finds S. Korea overtaken by China in semiconductor technologies South Korea's semiconductor technology level was overtaken by China's in two years, a survey of experts has found. The results of the survey are contained in a report by the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning, titled "an in-depth analysis of technology levels in three major fields." The state-run think tank on South Korea's science and technology capabilities is said to have surveyed 39 domestic semiconductor expe

Feb. 25, 2025

[Editorial] Crucial time for economy

With GDP growth revised down for 2025, Korea needs to speed up extra budget plan With South Korea’s economic growth forecast to weaken to as low as 1 percent, policymakers are urged to work on the extra budget proposal to boost the economy, while passing urgent business-related bills and setting up robust policy steps against a looming global trade war. Concerns about the country’s slowing growth are mounting. On Feb. 19, British research firm Capital Economics, for instance, projected that Kore

Feb. 24, 2025

[Editorial] Concerted steps needed

Korea needs to refine strategy to handle US tariffs on cars, chips, pharmaceuticals As US President Donald Trump hints at heavy tariffs on South Korea’s key export items, government officials and business executives are scrambling to seek fresh opportunities and minimize the impact, a move in the right direction amid growing uncertainties. On Tuesday, Trump told reporters that auto tariffs would be “in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” and that duties on chips and pharmaceutical imports would sta

Feb. 21, 2025

[Editorial] Back to square one

Semiconductor bill in crisis; Opposition leader changes stance A bill to strengthen the competitiveness of the nation's semiconductor industry is in crisis over a clause that exempts R&D workers in the industry from the 52-hour workweek. Lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties discussed the clause in a subcommittee meeting of the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee on Monday, but failed to agree on it. The ruling People Power Party is clinging to the p

Feb. 20, 2025

[Editorial] Stop medical standoff

Government, doctors must return to dialogue and negotiate medical school quota for 2026 South Korea’s medical care crisis shows no sign of abating. The majority of junior doctors are yet to return to their workplaces. Emergency room care continues to struggle with staff shortages. Doctors are overworked, and patients are also forced to live with delays or cancellations of surgeries. It is time to end the protracted medical crisis sparked by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s policy initiative to expand

Feb. 19, 2025

[Editorial] Lee's self-contradiction

DP leader vows to lessen inheritance tax, refuses to lower tax on business bequests Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chair of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, has vowed to try to lessen the tax burden on those who inherit a house. Lee said last Saturday that he will seek to ensure that surviving spouses and children can keep living in their homes and not have to sell them to pay inheritance tax. Current inheritance tax rates range from 10 to 50 percent, with 500 million won ($346,000) deducted

Feb. 18, 2025

[Editorial] Tackle ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

US plans for new tariffs on trading partners will pose greater challenges for South Korea The United States plans to map out new tariff levels for its trading partners based on these other countries' tariffs, nontariff barriers and other trade-related policies in a way that will effectively break the established global trade rules, and South Korea is likely to face an uphill battle in securing a better position in its new trade relations with the US. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump asked

Feb. 17, 2025

[Editorial] Improve safety in schools

Korea needs strong, preventive safety measures for both students and teachers Schools are supposed to be the safest place to be for both students and teachers. But the fatal stabbing of an 8-year-old student by a teacher has put that assumption in question in a way that has shocked, terrified and weighed heavily on people across the nation. Kim Ha-neul was stabbed to death by a teacher in her 40s at an elementary school in Daejeon on Monday. Police said the child died from multiple wounds from a

Feb. 14, 2025

[Editorial] Shadow over economy

KDI cuts growth outlook; Seoul should weather US tariff crisis through deals The Korea Development Institute, a state-run economic think tank, slashed its growth outlook for the South Korean economy this year on Tuesday to 1.6 percent, down 0.4 percentage point from its previous projection three months ago. It said in its latest report that domestically, political instability has weakened economic sentiment, while externally, policy shifts in the US have worsened trade conditions. It expected ex

Feb. 13, 2025