President-elect Park Geun-hye mentioned Pyongyang’s recent firing of a long-range rocket as a case that “symbolically showed how grave our security reality is” in her address to the nation a day after her win in the Dec. 19 presidential vote.The following day, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for developing bigger rockets at a banquet he hosted for scientists, technicians and other officials involved in the Dec. 12 launch, according to the North’s state media.Seoul’s Defense Ministry said

In a reflection of the demographic change in the country, its workforce is rapidly aging, raising the need to enhance labor productivity, especially in the service sector.According to a recent report released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the average age of Korea’s waged workers increased from 36.5 in 2001 to 39.6 last year. It is projected to exceed 40 this year.Over the cited period, the number of workers aged 15-29 declined by 15.6 percent to 3.6 million, while the figures for thos

Some of those who had made great contributions to Park Geun-hye’s election to the presidency packed up and left, without claiming credit for the win. News commentators were quick to call their departures “beautiful exits.”Among them is Ahn Dae-hee, a former justice of the Supreme Court, who helped craft Park’s election pledge for clean politics. He had vowed not to use his role as the chairman of a committee on political reform as a stepping stone to advance his personal interests when he had be

In October each year, the World Economic Forum makes public its Global Gender Gap Report, a report on its survey of gender equality in 135 countries. In the 2012 report, Iceland topped the overall rankings for the fourth consecutive year. It was followed by Finland and Norway.What was the ranking for Korea, a country which has a separate Cabinet member for the promotion of gender equality ― the minister of gender equality and family ― and elected a woman to the presidency last week? It was abysm

One striking aspect of the Dec. 19 presidential election was the extraordinarily high voter turnout among people in their 50s. According to the exit polls conducted jointly by the three nationwide TV broadcasters, a whopping 89.9 percent of the voters aged 50-59 cast ballots. The figure stands out when compared with the average turnout of 75.8 percent or the turnouts of other age groups ― 65.2 percent for those in their 20s, 72.5 percent for 30-somethings, 78.7 percent for the 40-49 year-olds an

Japan’s incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is hurrying to reset the frayed relationship between Seoul and Tokyo. He took a conciliatory gesture toward Seoul just one day after South Korea elected its first female president on Dec. 19.According to news reports, the hawkish Japanese leader has decided to put off his plan to upgrade the status of Takeshima Day from a provincial government ceremony to a central government event. Takeshima is Japan’s name for Dokdo, Korea’s easternmost islets. Japan’

A mature political party would accept an electoral defeat with grace, no matter how painful it may feel, and resolve to do better next time. But not the opposition Democratic United Party, whose standard-bearer, Moon Jae-in, was soundly trounced in the presidential race. It looks as if it were on the verge of being drawn into a whirlwind of factional strife.The opposition party is all the more vulnerable, given that it lacks strong leadership capable of keeping the party on an even keel when a s

With growth slowing to a snail’s pace, President Lee Myung-bak’s administration is reportedly revising its earlier 2013 economic management plan, focusing on an increase in spending. In other words, it is considering taking on additional debt to finance growth.Few policymakers in the administration no longer mention fiscal prudence as a virtue they have been pursuing. Is it the same administration that, until recently, vowed its top priority was balancing the budget in 2013 ― one year ahead of i

South Korea has ushered in a new era by electing its first female president. The victory of Park Geun-hye, the candidate of the ruling Saenuri Party, in the hard-fought election on Wednesday is in itself significant political progress in light of the deeply entrenched male dominance in Korean society.Yet she was chosen not because she was a woman but because the electorate saw traits of a good president in her and trusted her track record as a leader who has weathered many crises. Throughout the

Korean exporters will have to brace for stronger competition from their Japanese rivals down the road as Japan’s incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is determined to devalue the yen to reignite the economy.Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party swept to victory in elections for the lower house held on Sunday by selling a set of economic policies dubbed “Abenomics.”The new prime minister is pressing the Bank of Japan to print more money to further ease its already loose monetary policy and raise its infla

Park Geun-hye, the winner of Wednesday’s presidential vote in South Korea, has no time to revel in her hard-won victory, facing a range of difficult tasks. The president-elect is set to go through tougher and more complicated external conditions and internal challenges than any previous leader.The continuous advancement and prosperity of the country as a middle power with a ripe democracy and robust free-market economy depends on her performance. The daughter of late President Park Chung-hee, wh

As is often the case with presidential elections, it may not be party loyalists and ideologically committed voters that will have the final say this time. Instead, it is a small number of swing voters that will probably hold sway in a closely contested race on Wednesday.Of course, this is not to say that the vote of each party’s loyal supporters is of little significance. On the contrary, a large voting bloc in favor of a party is a prerequisite when the party enters a presidential contest. As s

The Liberal Democratic Party made a roaring comeback under the leadership of Shinzo Abe, bringing the Democratic Party of Japan to its knees in the Diet election on Sunday. It carried 294 of the 480 seats at stake while its alliance partner, Komeito, took another 31 seats. The DJP was given a humiliating 57 seats.As one of Japan’s neighbors, Korea should respect the decision by the Japanese voters to bestow governing power on the LDP again for the first time in three years. Still, Korea finds it

North Korea’s launch of a satellite using a self-developed rocket was a Sputnik moment for the South. It shocked South Koreans just as Sputnik 1, the first satellite the Soviet Union put into space in October 1957, shocked Americans.Experts say the South is five to seven years behind the North in space technology. Seoul has yet to develop its own carrier rocket. Naro-1, the South’s first satellite carrier, has suffered two successive launch failures, with the third attempt delayed twice due to t

The two presidential candidates are to wind up their election campaigns Tuesday, the last day of legal campaigning. During the official campaign period that started on Nov. 27, they have mounted energetic campaigns to garner as many votes as possible.With just one day left before the election, there is no predicting the outcome of the vote. The last polls taken about a week ago showed the gap between Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party and the trailing Democratic United Party candidate, Mo