Few Koreans could deny that building a harmonious multicultural society has become a crucial task for enabling their country to keep economic growth and social viability. In June, Korea became the world’s seventh nation with a population of more than 50 million, whose per capital income exceeds $20,000. The celebratory mood, however, was overshadowed by a somber demographic projection that the low fertility rate would reduce the number of working-age people by more than 7 million over the coming

Watching Rep. Park Geun-hye, the presidential candidate of the ruling Saenuri Party, apologize for the excesses of her late father’s oppressive rule during a news conference Monday, most people including her supporters must have thought the act of contrition should have come earlier.Park certainly went farther than had been largely anticipated in admitting the negative aspects of President Park Chung-hee’s 18-year reign, which ended with his assassination in 1979. She said constitutional values

President Lee Myung-bak made the right decision when he accepted Friday the National Assembly’s demand that he appoint an independent counsel to look into his aborted retirement home construction plan.Earlier this month, the Assembly approved a bill to have an independent counsel investigate the allegations that Lee violated the law on real-name financial transactions by purchasing land for the residence in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul, in his son’s name.Lee’s son is also suspected of having comm

South Korea and the United States are reportedly close to a missile deal that would allow Seoul to extend its ballistic missile range from the current 300 km to 800 km, while leaving its payload limit intact at the current 500 kg.If the missile range is lengthened as reported, South Korea would be able to hit any position in North Korea from bases located north of Daejeon, a city at the center of the nation.This would be a big enhancement in Seoul’s striking capability. Yet it still falls short

Japanese Emperor Akihito’s reported willingness to visit South Korea and apologize for Japan’s colonial rule if needed, though far from being realized in the strained bilateral relationship, could be meaningful in helping more sensible voices in both countries prevail over inconsiderate moves to score domestic political points.It might be the case that the 78-year-old has a deeper understanding of the fray between the neighbors and a far-sighted view of their inevitable partnership.While briefed

The repeated incursions of North Korean fishing boats into South Korean waters in violation of their disputed West Sea border appear to be deliberate provocations with multiple purposes. It is noteworthy that they are timed for the presidential race in the South entering the main stretch with debates among the three major candidates focusing on economic justice and political reforms.In the latest of nearly 30 intrusions over six days since Sept. 12, a North Korean vessel crossed into the South K

The biggest enemy of Park Geun-hye, the presidential candidate of the ruling Saenuri Party, is neither Ahn Cheol-soo, an entrepreneur-turned-professor who declared his independent candidacy for president on Wednesday, nor Moon Jae-in, the standard-bearer of the main opposition Democratic United Party.Her worst enemies are within her own party. They are none other than her aides and people close to her. They are supposed to support her bid to become the nation’s first female president but are act

Angry anti-Japan protests have eased off in China after peaking on Sept. 18, China’s Day of National Humiliation that marks Japan’s invasion and occupation of Manchuria in 1931.Rowdy demonstrations continued in cities across China for a week following the Japanese government’s decision on Sept. 11 to purchase the Senkaku Islands from its private Japanese owner. Tokyo’s move infuriated Beijing as it regarded the islands, which are called Diaoyu in China, as an integral part of its territory. On W

Ahn Cheol-soo, who announced his bid for the presidency Wednesday, is a political newcomer who professes to pursue political reform as an alternative to tainted representative politics ― more specifically, party politics tainted by corruption and the pursuit of partisan interests.With his approval ratings rivaling those of the presidential nominees from the ruling and opposition parties, Ahn regards his lack of experience in politics as usual not as a liability but an asset. He believes he is be

The Korea Development Institute slashed a large chunk off of the nation’s 2012 growth outlook earlier in the week ― 1.1 percentage point from 3.6 percent. Such a drastic revision by the nation’s leading state-funded economic research institute should have come as a surprise. But it didn’t. People had undoubtedly expected as much, given that many other think tanks and financial institutions had already lowered the growth outlook sharply.Instead, quite a few may have wondered if the KDI has lost m

The state election watchdog should have allowed financial officials to announce their estimates of the costs for carrying through the welfare programs so far pledged by the major political parties. The National Election Commission recently turned down a request from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance to let it disclose the estimated costs needed to implement the welfare pledges put forward by the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party.The commission appeared to be

Rep. Park Geun-hye, the presidential candidate of the conservative ruling Saenuri Party, has seen her two liberal rivals stealing the spotlight from her in recent days. The media focus put on her after she won the Saenuri’s ticket last month has been overshadowed this week by the nomination of Rep. Moon Jae-in as the candidate of the main opposition party and a news conference by entrepreneur-turned-professor Ahn Cheol-soo on his bid for the presidency.She is said to be planning to recapture vot

While political parties are engrossed in a debate on economic democratization, Korea has reached a profound demographic tipping point.A recent Bank of Korea report says Korea’s working-age population ― those between 15 and 64 years of age ― will peak in 2016 before starting to decline rapidly for the next half a century. Yet the report draws attention to an important demographic shift that is already taking place: The share of the working-age population in the total population reaches a peak thi

The Financial Supervisory Service recently said it would consider resuming the practice of disclosing data on corruption in the financial sector, as criminal activity by executives and employees of financial companies shows no signs of abating.Until 2004, the watchdog made public its corruption statistics for each segment of the industry. But it discontinued the practice in the face of opposition from financial companies.Financial firms have since made voluntary efforts to prevent their official

A fight against corruption has never failed to make it to the top of each presidential candidate’s list of election promises.Rep. Park Geun-hye, the presidential nominee of the ruling Saenuri Party, has recently unveiled an anti-corruption proposal, focused on all the president’s men and women. The main opposition Democratic United Party, which nominated Rep. Moon Jae-in as its presidential candidate Sunday, is reportedly working on a similar anti-corruption plan. Moon said earlier that corrupti