Officials from banking and other financial institutions were at stations and bus terminals across Seoul over the weekend to hand out brochures promoting various savings products to citizens heading for their hometowns to spend the Lunar New Year holidays.It was the first savings campaign in more than three decades. Considering the country’s savings rate has remained at the lowest level among the world’s major economies, the campaign should have come earlier. But most of the people approached by

Momentum is building for discussing changes in the Constitution, which was last amended in 1987. In his parliamentary speech last week, the floor leader of the main opposition Democratic United Party called for a bipartisan committee to handle the issue of rewriting the basic law. A spokesman for the ruling Saenuri Party responded positively to the proposal.Rep. Park Ki-choon, the DUP whip, suggested changing the Constitution to disperse powers concentrated on the president, which he said were “

Shortly before the Dec. 19 presidential election, the main opposition Democratic United Party claimed that the National Intelligence Service had been running a clandestine campaign against its candidate, Moon Jae-in. The allegation was based on suspicions that an intelligence official had been slandering Moon on the Internet.In denying the charges, the spy agency denounced the opposition party for engaging in what it called “malicious propaganda.” It claimed it was mistakenly accused of breachin

Mom-and-pop stores in front of elementary schools, small eateries in rundown residential areas and other types of family-run businesses in back alleys are under the constant threat of being wiped out by large enterprises expanding into their traditional territory. Their only recourse for survival may lie in the deep nostalgia the general public holds for them.Self-employed people and those running small- and medium-sized enterprises are appealing to this public sentiment when they put pressure o

The National Assembly has started deliberation on President-elect Park Geun-hye’s proposal for a sweeping government overhaul. The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party have agreed to handle the government reorganization bill by Feb. 14. The proposal is of vital importance for Park as it is much more than a simple plan for government rearrangement. It embodies her grand vision for reshaping the nation by reforming Korean society and restructuring the polarized econ

Physicians have declared for the first time that they will not accept any money, directly or indirectly, from pharmaceutical companies. In a joint news conference on Monday, the Korean Medical Association and the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences said they would stamp out the deeply entrenched practice of doctors taking kickbacks from drug companies in return for prescribing their products.The two organizations pledged to create a code of ethics to strengthen disciplinary measures against membe

The possibility looms large that President-elect Park Geun-hye will be unable to set up her Cabinet well into the opening days of her presidency. With less than three weeks to go until her inauguration on Feb. 25, she has yet to make personnel selections for all key posts in the Cabinet and the presidential secretariat.The resignation of her first prime minister nominee amid allegations of ethical lapses last week has derailed her timetable for forming the incoming administration, which would ot

Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee won a high-profile inheritance lawsuit last week against his siblings demanding more than 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in stakes in key companies of the country’s largest conglomerate. A Seoul court allowed him to keep his holdings in question, which his elder brother and sister claimed were hidden from them after the death of their father and group founder Lee Byung-chull.The practical winners of the legal battle, however, may be the lawyers involved in the l

The Constitutional Court, together with the Supreme Court, constitutes one of the three branches of government that are required to maintain checks and balances among themselves. But the Constitutional Court has been degraded by a series of ill-advised actions by its incumbent and former justices.One case in point involves Ahn Chang-ho, a Constitutional Court justice, who recently allowed his background to be checked for potential selection as a prosecutor-general nominee. He has turned himself

One-and-a-half months have passed since the presidential election, but the main opposition Democratic United Party is still trying to work out why it failed to win.The opposition party sponsored 12 rounds of debate on the question from Jan. 23-30. On the morning of Jan. 30, for instance, a group of 10 first- and second-term lawmakers affiliated with the party held a forum to evaluate the Dec. 19 election and the prospects for future presidential elections. In the afternoon, female lawmakers deal

One controversial election pledge made by President-elect Park Geun-hye is her plan to provide free medical care for four disease groups: cancer, cerebrovascular disorders, heart problems and terminal illnesses.The scheme, if implemented, would lower the high medical bills of the people suffering from these major diseases. But critics question its wisdom and argue that the money needed to finance it should be used to tackle more serious challenges facing the nation’s health insurance program.In

Budget officials are having a hard time drawing up a funding plan for President-elect Park Geun-hye’s numerous campaign pledges. They have been told to secure 135 trillion won for five years from 2013 ― 60 percent of it by reforming the budget and the remaining 40 percent by increasing tax revenue without directly raising tax rates.Park has made the officials’ unenviable task all the more difficult by promising to provide provincial governments with fiscal support exceeding 10 trillion won a yea

A recent review by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee suggested a set of recommendations for enhancing Korea’s official aid, while appreciating the country’s increasing influence in the field of international development cooperation.Seoul was asked to increase grants and untied assistance for less developed and heavily indebted nations. In the first peer review of Korea since it became a DAC member in 2010, the group also called on the country to formulate a unified strategy for officia

When Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s opposition leader, arrived here early this week for a five-day visit, she encountered a group of enthusiastic greeters who were moved to tears. For the Myanmar people staying here, it was a truly overwhelming moment to welcome the 67-year-old Nobel Peace laureate, who was released from two decades of house arrest in 2010 and was elected to the parliament of the Southeast Asian country last year.It must have been particularly so for those who left their home count

President-elect Park Geun-hye will have to start the process of selecting her first prime minister all over again, as her first choice, Kim Yong-joon, withdrew from his designation Tuesday, as one suspicion after another was raised about his background.With her inauguration scheduled for Feb. 25, she will have to speed up the process. It is not just the prime minister-designate but candidates for other Cabinet posts that will have to go through confirmation processes at the National Assembly.Mor