Haphazard and ill-conceived government policies lead to a waste of taxpayers’ money and give rise to unnecessary problems. For an example, one need not look further than the government’s child care policy.Starting next month, the government will provide a subsidy to all families with a child under 24 months old, regardless of their income, if they enroll them at a day care center. Previously, the subsidy was offered to families in the bottom 70 percent of the income scale.As expected, applicatio

Political parties are moving again to increase the number of lawmakers in the Assembly. The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party, which have been bickering over redrawing electoral districts, have patched up their differences by increasing the number of seats from the current 299 to 300.Rep. Joo Sung-young of the ruling party said on Sunday that the two parties have resolved the rezoning puzzle by embracing a proposal presented by the National Election Commission.

Former President Park Chung-hee had amassed no substantial personal assets when he was assassinated in 1979. The May 15 Scholarship Foundation and the Yookyoung Foundation for Children formed the major part of his legacy. Park’s daughters Geun-hye and Geun-young and son Ji-man took charge of their operations. Geun-hye first served as the chairwoman of the Yookyoung foundation operating the Korea Children’s Center in eastern Seoul but turned it over to her younger sister Geun-young. Geun-hye then

The government has just started domestic procedures for a free trade agreement with China. Yet, no one can tell just how long it would take to have a bilateral trade pact concluded between Korea and the world’s fastest rising economy. The very first step here, a public hearing session, went awry. The purported public debate at Seoul’s COEX last Friday, arranged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, was disrupted by wild acts of protest by members of agricultural advocate groups. They det

The Supreme Court has put an end to a long-running dispute over the status of workers at Hyundai Motor who are formally hired by the carmaker’s in-house subcontractors but work just like its regular employees ― for far lower wages.On Thursday, the court ruled in favor of a former Hyundai worker who filed a suit in 2005 claiming that he was unlawfully fired. The worker, who was then employed by an in-house subcontractor at the carmaker’s plant in Ulsan, claimed that he should have been converted

What will it take to sensitize lawmakers to the need to raise funds to prepare for Korean reunification? Apparently, the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was not enough. Earlier this month, the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee of the National Assembly suspended discussions on a bill aimed at creating a so-called “unification jar” ― a metaphor for an account that will store funds to finance reunification.The bill proposes to create a unification account under the Inter-Kor

The Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul next month will seek to strengthen the partnerships of nations to help prevent nuclear materials from falling into the hands of terrorists. The Seoul summit of more than 50 heads of state and international organizations on March 26-27 will also take specific actions to protect nuclear materials from illicit trafficking and smuggling. They will discuss ways to give the International Atomic Energy Agency the resources and authority it needs to meet its responsi

President Lee seems to have more regrets than satisfaction as he enters the final year in his five-year tenure. In a rare press conference on Wednesday, the president was particularly apologetic about graft cases involving people around him. He said his heart stopped when another name popped up from among his aides and relatives in a corruption scandal.Newspapers featured improprieties related to Lee’s associates on the fourth anniversary of his inauguration. “I have no words to say to the peopl

More than 30 North Korean defectors caught in Shenyang by Chinese security police are facing repatriation to the North. The problems of North Korean defectors in China are hardly new, but this time, the situation is much more serious than before. The new North Korean leader, Kim Jung-un, openly threatened in January to “exterminate three generations of the family” of anyone who defects during the 100-day mourning period for his deceased father, Kim Jong-il.As the arrested defectors could face pu

A quarrel has flared up between the government and political parties over the latter’s welfare-related campaign promises.On Monday, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance announced it had launched a task force to study the feasibility of the welfare proposals presented by the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party.The schemes floated by the two parties included quadrupling the salaries of conscripted soldiers to about 400,000 won, free child care services for kids und

The solitary campaign of Rep. Kang Yong-seok against Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon with allegations of impropriety in having his son exempted from military conscription seems to be paying off. Park has agreed to open his son’s spinal image to the public.Rep. Kang has volunteered a “sniper’s role” against leading liberal figures, including Seoul Education Superintendent Kwak No-hyun and Mayor Park. The sons of both Park and Kwak were disqualified from active duty because of their physical conditions.

Intelligent Koreans find it increasingly difficult to tell the whole truth from half-truths and outright lies these days. “Facts” about people are disseminated through the media and the social networking service channels, but their respective audiences should exercise great discretion to decide whether the information is true or not.Most dangerous are half-truths which make people believe the whole information is true when it is partly false. This can be compared to a recently circulated nude pi

A surge of foreign tourists, most conspicuously from China and Japan, is an encouraging thing in otherwise generally bleak economic environment these days. As the Chinese government allowed overseas tourism for residents of cities first and then gradually eased travel restrictions, Korea emerged as one of the most popular destinations because of its geographical and cultural proximity. Travelling in Korea, the Chinese witness political and economic advancement of Koreans and visualize the future

“Hana” means one in Korean, but the Hana Financial Group will operate with two separate banks for five years after its takeover of Korea Exchange Bank. As the new owners reached a deal with the KEB union last week, new KEB CEO Yun Yong-ro reported to his office Monday, a week after he was appointed by the HFG. The gist of the deal made on the day before the scheduled start of a strike by the union is that KEB, keeping its present name, will have “independent management” until the end of 2016 wit

As it does each year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade holds a conference of its diplomatic mission chiefs in Seoul this week, at which it briefs them on this year’s foreign policy goals and gives them new assignments. Conspicuously missing from the conference will be Han Duck-soo, ambassador to the United States. Hardly a day had passed since his arrival last week before he said he was resigning. He did not offer any explanation. His seemingly abrupt decision sent many scratching their