This week is a crucial week for North Korea and its young leader, Kim Jong-un. Amid global outcry, the impoverished country is ready to launch a long-range rocket to mark the April 15 centennial of the birth of Kim Il-sung, its founder and the grandfather of the 20-something leader.Underlying the planned rocket launch is the paranoid regime’s desire to demonstrate to the outside world as well as its disgruntled people that it has attained its long-cherished dream of becoming a “strong and prospe

National Police Agency Commissioner Cho Hyun-oh has stepped down to take full responsibility for the bungled police investigation of a recent murder case.The police came under fire following reports that the 112 emergency service center carelessly handled a desperate phone call for help from a woman who said she was being attacked. The 28-year-old victim in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, reported her exact whereabouts during her call but police failed to figure out her location. By the time police of

Since democracy was restored in 1987 after the end of long military-backed authoritarian rule, the people of the Republic of Korea are going to the polls today to form a new National Assembly for the seventh time. But the passage of a quarter of a century has not accomplished a stable, productive partisan politics and many voters are still not quite sure how different major parties are from one another in policies.So, 30 to 40 percent of eligible voters, and an even higher percentage in large ci

As Samsung Electronics revealed its record high quarterly operating profit last week, Nokia reported the reduction of its plants in Finland after closing its operations in Germany, Hungary and Romania. Top executives of Research In Motion are leaving the company one after the other as the BlackBerry maker faces a possible hostile takeover.Nokia was the pride of Finland and RIM was the biggest tech success story of Canada. Since Nokia edged Motorola to become the world’s largest cell phone produc

Anyone writing for English-language newspapers will from now on have to take extra care in differentiating the two schools of medicine in this country, the traditional and Western disciplines. A newly-coined English term for traditional medicine has become the subject of yet another dispute between the two divisions in the healing profession in an extension of their endless turf war.What started the new round of contention was the decision by the association of doctors practicing the traditional

With the parliamentary election just two days away, rival parties are making the final sprint toward the finish line. While it is still anybody’s guess which party will come out of election day smelling of roses, the main opposition Democratic United Party is at pains to prevent a foul-mouthed candidate it has nominated from snuffing out its chance of victory. The candidate is Kim Yong-min, a co-host of the popular podcast “Naneun Ggomsuda (I’m a Petty-Minded Creep).” It was recently highlighted

Following the effectuation of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement last month, expectations have been growing for a boost in foreign direct investment in Korea. The FDI tally for the first quarter of the year shows that these expectations were not unfounded. According to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, inward FDI hit $2.34 billion in the first three months of the year, the largest amount since the first quarter of 2008. The figure represents a 17 percent increase on year, a sharp acceleration

The deepening financial trouble of local governments came to the fore again when the Incheon metropolis, finding its coffers nearly empty, delayed paying monthly perks to its 6,000 employees last week. Such a delay was unprecedented not just in Incheon but throughout the nation.True, payments were made three days later. But some other metropolises and municipalities are already mentioned as potential candidates for failing to disburse monthly salaries on time. The central government is planning

Election campaigns are regrettably being held hostage by the illegal surveillance of civilians by President Lee Myung-bak’s administration when there are so many sensitive issues that merit keen attention from the electorate. They range from security against North Korean provocations to taxation and policy on chaebol, or family-controlled business conglomerates.True, assigning government officials, including police officers as alleged, to keep a close watch on civilians was so serious a breach o

In its long-running dispute with the police over how to share investigation powers, the prosecution has adamantly opposed police officers being allowed to investigate crimes on their own. One reason is prosecutors’ concern about police officers’ susceptibility to corruption. An unfolding corruption case has proved that this concern is not unfounded.On Sunday, prosecutors arrested four police officers on charges of having taken 200 million won in bribes from Lee Gyeong-baek, a hostess bar owner o

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance has issued another warning against welfare populism pursued by political parties, saying their welfare-related campaign pledges are simply beyond the reach of state finances.According to the ministry, the recently finalized welfare platforms of the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party offer a total of 266 programs, excluding overlapping ones. If these programs are implemented in their entirety, the ministry said, it would cost

The scandal over the alleged illegal surveillance of civilians by President Lee Myung-bak’s administration is escalating as new allegations are made, this time about activist entertainers put under police surveillance. News reports say that the police kept a watch on them under order from the presidential office.Upon being called on to verify the allegations, the presidential office says it is in the process of confirming them. But suspicions were raised about the Lee administration having put h

The National Election Commission spent nearly 30 billion won on allowing Koreans overseas to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections. But the dismal turnout raised the cost per ballot to an exorbitant level.During the March 28-April 3 period, 56,000 Koreans living overseas cast ballots at 158 Korean diplomatic and consular missions in 107 countries. They accounted for 45.7 percent of the overseas Korean residents that had registered for the vote, the electoral watchdog says. But the actual

“No sitting together for a boy and a girl after 7 years old.” (Namnyeo chilse budongseok.) From ancient times, this rule of sexual segregation in social life was strictly observed as one of the main tenets of Confucian ethics. From about the middle of the last century, society relaxed the restriction as it accepted the influx of foreign culture after the wars. Co-education from the primary level was a clearest change. In the following decades, men and women shared space and opportunities at work

It was unnecessary and excessive for the immigration authorities to bar the entry of three Greenpeace staff at Incheon International Airport on Monday and send them back to Hong Kong. An Immigration Service officer said the three members of a four-man group were detained at the airport at the request of a relevant government office which cited “national interest reasons.”The Greenpeace group consisted of Kumi Naidoo, international executive director; Mario Damato, East Asia executive director; F