Three vital issues

Yeouido is not thawing yet although spring has brought liveliness back to the earth. The Grand National Party has insisted that Parliament resume on March 12. The Grand National Party and the Uri Party are consumed with confrontation. But several laws that are pending in parliament regarding private schools, housing and national pensions have the potential to create a critical impact on people’s lives. We urge negotiations among the parties and we urge the following outcomes on these vital issues.
Accusing all private schools of the potential for corruption on the basis of a few private schools that have been guilty of such a sin risks throwing the baby out with the bath water. Problems surrounding the private school law are piling up as the educational system is already in chaos and the private school sector has shrunk. It is right to rescind bad regulations. The limits on who is entitled to recommend the members of the school committees should be extended, whereas the condition that a school must have temporary committee members and the limits on the authority of members should be removed. This is not for the sake of the private schools but for the good of our educational system.
We believe the housing law amendment is a typical case of populism in government policy and laws. The amendment lacks a proper concern for the difficulties people will face in the long run owing to twin regulations in the private housing market, with a policy to set a ceiling price and one publicizing the original price. Now that double regulations will restrict supply, the passing of a regulatory law amounts to neglecting the long-term health of the market. Private housing should be left to the free market.
Current events will use up the resources of the national welfare pension by 2043. Allowing this to happen is a crime perpetrated on our children. The amendment currently planned should be passed. Korea’s aging population and low birth rate will soon be second to none in the world. Those who benefit from the pension are likely to strongly oppose it as well. The presidential election is coming on top of that. Hence the upcoming parliamentary sessions are an invaluable chance that must not be wasted, especially as the GNP has shown a lukewarm attitude to pension reforms.
We also urge the presidential candidates of both parties to present their solutions to these three critical problems. These issues are of singular significance for the nation. Confronting them is unavoidable for those who want to run this country.