The Korea Herald

[Editorial] Post-court ruling action

Oct 7, 2011

With Lone Star Funds found guilty of stock-price manipulation, the Financial Services Commission is set to take post-ruling measures, including ordering the Texas-based private equity firm to dispose of the stake it holds in Korea Exchange Bank in excess of a 10 percent stake.In a retrial ordered by
[Editorial] R&D efficiency

Oct 6, 2011

In recent years, Korea’s R&D investment by both public and private sectors has increased sharply. The incumbent government has been keen to boost R&D spending under the so-called “Science and Technology 577 Plan,” which calls for increasing the nation’s R&D investment to 5 percent of GDP by 2012 and
[Editorial] Boost for software industry

Oct 6, 2011

Lee Suk-chae, chairman of KT Corp., one of Korea’s leading telecom operators, has recently surprised domestic software developers by announcing that it will reform its predatory software procurement practices. His reform initiative deserves attention as it could revitalize the domestic software indu
[Editorial] Local fiscal prudence

Oct 5, 2011

Fiscal prudence is not just demanded of the central government. The need to maintain fiscal soundness also applies to metropolitan, provincial and municipal governments. Local debt is no less serious than national debt, on which public attention has been mainly focused until recently.But some of the
[Editorial] Take steps toward change

Oct 5, 2011

Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu has withdrawn his offer to resign as chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party over the party’s failure to put up a candidate for the Oct. 26 mayoral by-election. He reversed his earlier decision at the request of the party’s lawmakers.Indeed, his resignation would not solve
[Editorial] Sole opposition candidate

Oct 4, 2011

When lawyer-civic activist Park Won-soon declared his candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election a month ago, his approval rate hovered around 5 percent. When he won the endorsement of Ahn Cheol-soo, a wildly popular social critic and software businessman, Park’s approval figure shot up close to 50
[Editorial] Rage on Wall Street

Oct 4, 2011

Protests on Wall Street in New York, now in their third week, are growing in size. But the political and financial institutions they denounce show little sign of listening to them. A small group of college students started the demonstration on Sept. 17. They were joined by unionists, other students,
[Editorial] President-party relations

Oct 3, 2011

Gone are the days when the president concurrently held the presidency of the ruling party. The cabinet in the presidential office used to be the main source of the governing party finance, including funds for election campaigns. If these are the legends of the past dictatorial rule, the relations be
[Editorial] Chinese tourist rush

Oct 3, 2011

The Chinese national holiday celebrating the Oct. 1, 1949, founding of the People’s Republic of China stretches seven days, extending to the Oct. 8-9 weekend this year. An estimated 300 million people will be traveling during the long holiday. The China Tourism Agency expected that about 2.2 million
[Editorial] Left out of limelight

Oct 2, 2011

The liberal opposition groups are set to select their joint candidate on Monday, stealing the show from their divided conservative adversaries. Through the selection process, they are consolidating their unity ahead of the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election.But the ruling Grand National Party has yet
[Editorial] Speed up ratification

Oct 2, 2011

U.S. President Barack Obama is reportedly planning to send the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement to the Senate for ratification as early as this week. The United States is speeding up the process of ratification, with President Lee Myung-bak scheduled to make a state visit to Washington on Oct. 13.The
[Editorial] No leniency on sex crimes

Sept 30, 2011

A box-office hit based on the true story of sex crimes against disabled students by their brazen teachers has turned the nation into a seething cauldron of anger.The film, titled “Dogani,” which means a crucible or cauldron in English, depicts a real case that took place at Inhwa School, a special e
[Editorial] New outlets for medicines

Sept 30, 2011

The government is set to submit a bill to the National Assembly to make cold medicines and fever reducers available at supermarkets and convenience stores. Currently these products are sold only at licensed drug stores.The bill is a follow-up to a government plan announced in June, which is intended
[Editorial] Hong’s Gaeseong visit

Sept 29, 2011

Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, chairman of the ruling Grand National Party, is visiting the South Korean industrial complex in Gaeseong, North Korea, on Friday. He says his visit is aimed at learning about the difficulties South Korean companies have at the complex, adding that helping to resolve those difficu
[Editorial] Better late than never?

Sept 29, 2011

The prosecutors’ office is described as a semi-judicial agency. In other words, the office is granted a great degree of freedom in prosecuting criminal cases, if not the kind of uninhibited independence as is guaranteed to the court in the process of adjudication. What the prosecutors’ office has re

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