The Korea Herald

[Editorial] Defense against recession

Sept 28, 2011

The government’s budget plan for 2012, unveiled Tuesday, attempts to walk a fine line between improving government finances and stimulating economic growth. The plan puts priority on, among other things, improving fiscal soundness. It proposes to increase spending by 5.5 percent to 326.1 trillion wo
[Editorial] Back in crisis mode

Sept 28, 2011

Cheong Wa Dae is back in crisis mode. President Lee Myung-bak instructed his aides Monday to switch the presidential office into emergency mode as global financial instability stemming from the fiscal woes in the eurozone has risen sharply in recent weeks. During the past two months, volatility in d
[Editorial] Hotel room shortage

Sept 27, 2011

Many hotel projects are under way in Seoul amidst steady rise in tourist arrivals mainly from China and Japan. Meticulous planning with the help of tourism authorities is necessary to avoid a glut in accommodation facilities. Most important is securing middle-class hotels wanted by budget-conscious
[Editorial] Reactions to hallyu

Sept 27, 2011

Massive number of tourists travelling between Korea and Japan and the popularity of hallyu dramas and K-pop singers in recent years have helped reduce the tension that existed between the peoples of the two neighboring countries for a century. So, we are puzzled, or just amused, at occasional report
[Editorial] Putin-Medvedev pact

Sept 26, 2011

We can hardly make an in-depth comment on the Putin-Medvedev contract to keep themselves as the masters of the Kremlin until 2024 or possibly thereafter. But remembering the outcome of an earlier such agreement between the two Russian leaders, under which Dmitry Medvedev was elected President in 200
[Editorial] Trade currency settlement

Sept 25, 2011

In May, the finance ministers of Korea, China and Japan agreed to study the feasibility of using their own currencies to settle transactions among the three countries. The agreement, reached on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank’s annual conference in Hanoi, drew attention as using local cu
[Editorial] University reform drive

Sept 25, 2011

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has put five state-funded universities on the chopping block, demonstrating its resolve to reform domestic universities, regardless of whether they are private or public. The ministry’s action followed the selection earlier this month of 43 poorly ma
[Editorial] Restoring bipartisanship

Sept 23, 2011

Up until several days ago, there had been no assurance that when Lee Yong-hoon retires as chief justice of the Supreme Court on Saturday, his successor would assume his duties without interruption. The presidential nominee for the top court post had been left in limbo, with the rival parties at logg
[Editorial] President’s men

Sept 23, 2011

Corruption scandals involving people close to President Lee Myung-bak are spreading like wildfire, with many wondering whether they are a symptom or a precursor of Lee’s degeneration into premature lame-duck status.A businessman, who was convicted of falsifying corporate accounts and sentenced to a
[Editorial] Digital hospital exports

Sept 22, 2011

Korea is set to create a new promising export industry by combining its advanced information technology with high-quality medical services and world-class construction prowess. The new export item emerging from this combination is a digital hospital ― an IT-based hospital in which all medical inform
[Editorial] Curbing greedy bankers

Sept 22, 2011

The prosecution will soon launch a large-scale investigation into irregularities at 11 corrupt savings banks. They include five of the seven banks that were suspended Sunday for capital shortage and the six banks that avoided suspension of operations despite their lower-than-required capital adequac
[Editorial] Split among conservatives

Sept 21, 2011

Conservative groups that are disillusioned with the ruling Grand National Party are rallying behind Lee Seog-yeon, a former minister of government legislation, who has decided to run in the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election. In response, the ruling party has abandoned the idea of encouraging him to
[Editorial] Debt and budget balance

Sept 21, 2011

Public attention is drawn to an alarming increase in debt again, this time by lawmakers inspecting government agencies, state-invested corporations and state-funded organizations. Chastised for its failure to put debt in check, the administration has committed itself to curbing spending to balance t
[Editorial] Mutual flexibility

Sept 20, 2011

North Korea’s party and state media these days are churning out “commentaries” that call for a thaw in relations between the two Koreas. The wording is so earnest and enthusiastic that one cannot but wonder that some tectonic changes might be taking place in the North, at least in the editorial depa
[Editorial] ‘Knowledge economy’

Sept 19, 2011

Many people still do not know exactly what the Ministry of Knowledge Economy does, three-and-a-half years after it came into being in a government reorganization at the beginning of the Lee Myung-bak presidency. Watching this ministry’s officials scurry for damage control under public wrath over the

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