The nation is set to make two achievements in external trade this year ― its volume exceeding $1 trillion for the first time and a deep cut in the deficit in trade with Japan. It deserves to congratulate itself on this.The volume of trade, which was at $898.8 billion at the end of last month, will hit the $1 trillion mark early next month if the trend continues. Korea will be the ninth country in the world to reach that level. Dec. 12 has been set as the date for a congratulatory ceremony for th

The portion of unionized workers in the labor force has now halved from the 1989 peak of 198 in 1,000 workers. According to a recent report from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the nation’s rate of unionization stands at 9.8 percent.Unionism is weakening as blue-collar jobs are replaced by white-collar ones and the number of non-regular workers is on the rise. Even more damaging to unions is a perception widely shared among workers that they, or more accurately their leaders, do not serve

We cannot overemphasize the importance of enhancing the productivity of small and medium-sized companies. Currently, Korea faces an explosion in welfare demands. With its limited budget, the government can hardly meet this challenge. The most effective solution to this problem is to create more jobs, since the best welfare program is a job. In Korea, SMEs account for 90 percent of employment. Hence, to create more jobs, the first step is to boost the job creation potential of SMEs. SMEs can crea

Since January, the government has been waging an uphill battle to bring down the prices of retail petroleum products. Its efforts culminated earlier this month when the Ministry of Knowledge Economy announced a plan to convert 10 percent of Korea’s gas stations ― 1,300 outlets ― into discount gas stations by 2015. The scheme is aimed at infusing competition in the domestic market, which the ministry thinks is being dominated by a cartel of four refiners ― SK Energy, GS-Caltex, S-Oil and Hyundai

The nation’s health insurance will not be sustainable if nothing is done to improve its finances. Losses are destined to snowball. As the losses are covered by government subsidies, they will put an enormous strain on the nation’s budget.That is why the government needs to take drastic action before it is too late. Last year alone, it had to make up for a deficit of 1.3 trillion won. Compulsory social insurance, which benefits the entire population, must be made to support the system on its own

Park Won-soon set himself apart from his predecessors when he held his inaugural as new Seoul mayor on Wednesday. The inaugural, which was belatedly held in his office, was more of an occasion to connect with citizens than a ceremony.Park, who had started to administer city affairs shortly after being elected Seoul mayor in the Oct. 26 by-election, invited no guest to the inauguration and spent little money on the event. Instead, he himself performed what he nonetheless purported to be a ceremon

The main opposition Democratic Party has rejected President Lee Myung-bak’s proposal that he would seek renegotiation with Washington on a contentious clause in the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement if the DP cooperates in ratifying the trade pact.Lee made the offer at a meeting with leaders of the ruling Grand National Party and the DP on Tuesday. He made a rare visit to the National Assembly to break the impasse over the ratification of the KORUS FTA.He was quoted as saying that “if the Assembly

Korea’s self-employment rate is one of the highest in the OECD. In 2008, self-employment accounted for 31.3 percent of the nation’s total employment, almost double the OECD average of 15.8 percent.In most OECD countries, self-employment rates have been falling since 1990. The higher a country’s per capita GDP, the lower its self-employment rate tends to be.In Korea, self-employment had been on the decline since 1998. In particular, the pace of decline accelerated during the 2008-09 global financ

It is again the time for political regrouping. The half century of the Republic of Korea’s modern political history has recorded repeated realignment of political parties ahead of major elections, even during the military-backed authoritarian rule. But history also shows that hurriedly assembled new parties have not done well in elections. This time, there is an unusual factor. Parties are scrambling to regroup after reading the writing on the wall in the mayoral by-election in Seoul last month.

The Ahn Cheol-soo phenomenon took a new turn as the potential presidential candidate made a commitment for a 150 billion won ($135 million) donation to charity Tuesday. His surprise action encouraged his supporters in the vast ranks of Korean society and further alerted political parties. The donation makes clearer his intent to enter the 2012 presidential race.In a press conference at the Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, where he is the dean, Ahn

Registration started Sunday for overseas Korean residents who want to vote in the parliamentary elections next April. On the first day, about 600 people visited designated Korean missions abroad for registration. We cannot predict how many of the 2.24 million eligible Koreans living abroad will have registered by the Feb. 11 deadline and how many of those registered will actually cast their votes two months later, each time taking the trouble of travelling to Korean offices. But we can make a gr

Weekly podcast “Nakkomsu” is entertaining, as most gag programs and politically tinted talk shows are. It ridicules President Lee Myung-bak, Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee and others that stand for power in today’s Korea. Its hosts and guests, often including political bigwigs, amuse their audience of millions with sarcasm and piercing criticism at conservative politicians and the mainstream media. The problem is it mixes speculations and unfounded rumors with credible comments, and the bigg

As winter approaches, the specter of blackouts looms again. On Sept. 15, Korea suffered rolling blackouts. The cause of the disaster was heavy use of air conditioning due to an unseasonable heat wave. A sudden spike in power demand overshot the nation’s supply capacity, forcing the grid operator to cut electricity supply to avert a total blackout. The chances of such a disaster taking place in winter are greater than in summer with the widespread use of electrical heating appliances. According t

Jeju Island has been voted as one of the new seven wonders of nature by people across the world. The scenic island was chosen along with the Amazon Rainforest and River (in Brazil and several other countries), Halong Bay (Vietnam), Iguazu Falls (Argentina and Brazil), the Komodo National Park (Indonesia), the Puerto Princesa Underground River (the Philippines) and Table Mountain (South Africa).The list of the seven natural wonders was announced Saturday by the New7Wonders Foundation, a nonprofit

Self-imposed isolation from the outside world has long been a hallmark of North Korea, a destitute, reclusive communist state, in which individuals are denied basic freedoms. Yet the walls of separation have been raised higher since the Jasmine Revolution started to shake despotic Arab countries.One of the latest such cases is the recent suspension of direct flights between North Korea and Kuwait. North Korea has recently canceled the weekly flight of its flag carrier, Air Koryo ― an unmistakabl