Lawmakers of the 20th National Assembly have completed the election of the new parliamentary leadership with unprecedented swiftness, showing their resolve to make the new Assembly different from previous ones. On Thursday, they picked Rep. Chung Sye-kyun of the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea as the new speaker, while electing Rep. Shim Jae-chul of the ruling Saenuri Party and Rep. Park Joo-sun of the minor opposition People’s Party as vice speakers.The election of the new leadership

The government has finally unveiled a plan to restructure the nation’s ailing shipbuilding and shipping industries. The scheme, announced Wednesday, calls for creating an 11 trillion won ($9.5 billion) fund to recapitalize the two state-run banks, the Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, which are heavily exposed to the two sectors.The main contributor to the fund is the Bank of Korea, which will provide 10 trillion won in the form of a loan to the government. The Industri

South Korea is set to diversify its foreign language education at schools under a law on special language education promotion.As the Education Ministry has stated, it is welcome to see that the nation is seeking to modify the current situation in which Koreans have excessively engaged in learning English over the past decades. The second most popularly learned foreign language at colleges and private institutes was Japanese formerly, and is Chinese presently.The ministry said it will provide uni

Retail oil prices recently reached their highest so far this year in Korea amid a rapid bounce-back in international crude prices.Gasoline prices have surpassed the former 2016 record of 1,406.72 won ($1.18) per liter, which was recorded on Jan. 1, after hitting the bottom of 1,339.51 won in early March. Diesel prices have also posted a V-type rebound to break the 1,200-won barrier.The domestic prices growth reflects an about 90 percent jump in crude prices within just three to four months. Desp

International crude prices have reached nearly $50 a barrel, gaining about 100 percent in about four months. Though the prices may shift downward again amid the supply glut, few will deny that oil prices hit bottom in the first quarter.The simultaneous rebound in gasoline and diesel prices is not good news for ordinary car drivers in Korea.Amid concerns over higher fuel costs, the Environment Ministry is also pushing for hikes in the retail diesel price as part of its efforts to improve the envi

South Korea’s rapidly climbing household debt is a key factor hampering the nation’s growth potential.Its significance is evident when we compare the growth of the nation’s gross domestic product and collective household debt in the first quarter. While GDP inched up 2.7 percent on-year during the first three months, the nation’s household debt surged 11.4 percent on-year, or 125.5 trillion won ($106 billion), to reach 1.223 quadrillion won.Korea’s household debt is fast approaching its annual G

As anticipated, the case involving cosmetics firm Nature Republic’s CEO Jung Woon-ho is growing into a major corruption scandal that threatens to implicate incumbent prosecutors and judges.At the center of the case are allegations that Jung attempted -- through the help of lawyers and middle men -- to buy the influence of prosecutors and judges to get a lighter punishment for his illegal gambling charges.The scandal has already put a senior-judge-turned-lawyer into custody and forced a senior ju

U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Hiroshima later this month will have many implications for the world and South Korea as well.Most of all, the first visit by the incumbent U.S. leader to the place where it dropped an atomic bomb 71 years ago should reawaken the world to the need to get rid of the most menacing weapon of destruction ever made by mankind.In fact, Obama has tried to build nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation as a key legacy of his presidency. He kicked off his denucleariz

The government has designated May 6 as a temporary holiday, allowing people to take a four-day break from May 5, which is Children’s Day in Korea.The designation is intended to boost the economy by stimulating sluggish domestic consumption. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposed the idea, as the designation of Aug. 14 as an extra holiday last year had a positive impact on the economy.Last year, the government allowed people to take Aug. 14 off because Independence Day on Aug. 15, wh

The government has come up with another set of measures to tackle the worsening youth unemployment problem. The package, the sixth of its kind put forward by the incumbent government, however, is unlikely to put a big dent in youth joblessness.The measures came after the unemployment rate for young adults hit an all-time high of 12.5 percent in February. The rate edged down to 11.8 percent in March, but it was still the highest on record for the month.Officials of the Employment Ministry say the

The Korean economy is under siege. Look around, then you will see gloom and doom, from the delayed recovery of the global economy, the slowdown of the Chinese economy and low oil prices to dwindling exports, sluggish domestic demand, consumption and investment. Problems like youth unemployment, household debt and impending massive layoffs threaten social stability. The Bank of Korea has cut its growth forecast for this year to 2.8 percent from 3 percent, which is still higher than forecasts made

Politicians should – or at least pretend to – respect the public mandate delivered in major elections like last week’s general election. One such way is to change – or at least promise to – but Korean political parties, winners and losers alike, remain as stale as ever. The two largest parties Saenuri and Minjoo are struggling with internal disputes that plagued their campaigns for the April 13 general election. The biggest problem lies with the biggest loser of the election, the Saenuri Party,

The recent series of defections by North Koreans have serious implications for South Korea, which is obliged to assess the situation in the North correctly and work out countermeasures in the short, middle and long terms. First of all, the latest defections indicate that there are growing cracks in the North’s ruling elite. This may be an early sign of the North Korean system crumbling at the top. There had been cases of North Korean defections involving high-profile figures -- like Workers’ Par

Koreans have selected 300 people who will form the new National Assembly, with the hopes that it will -- at the least -- be better than the current parliament which many see as one of the worst performers in its history.  Now that voters gave their verdict, politicians -- while trying to grasp what voters’ choices mean -- will say all the fine-looking things: Winners will express appreciation in the most modest possible manner, and promise to work only for the people; losers will express humble

Political leaders often promise voters the moon in a desperate attempt to win elections. Kim Jong-in, the interim head of The Minjoo Party of Korea, did just that in Gwangju on Wednesday.Gwangju has long been a bastion for the opposition party. For decades, its citizens have provided overwhelming support for the party’s candidates in elections, without bothering to ask whether they are qualified or not.Not anymore. Many Gwangju voters have shifted their allegiance to the minor opposition People’