Most Popular
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Hyundai Motor eyes 80,000 jobs, W68tr investment at home by 2026
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Dialogue hopes fade as doctors pick hard-liner as new head
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Coupang pledges W3tr to expand Rocket Delivery nationwide by 2027
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[Election Battlefield] Political novice to face off star politician in ‘swing district’
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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[Herald Interview] Son Suk-ku chooses to be swayed by others in navigating life
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[Editorial] Get the job done
The preliminary candidate registration for the general election on April 10 opened this week, but once again, rival parties are dragging their feet to set electoral boundaries and rules. Those who sign up as preliminary candidates can open an election office, hire up to three paid staff members, launch a fundraising organization, make phone calls, give out name cards and wear a sash to make themselves known. Introduced in 2004, the preliminary registration system is designed to provide opportuni
EditorialDec. 14, 2023
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[Kim Seong-kon] Do we need anger management therapy?
Due to South Korea's rapid industrialization and globalization, these days many Korean people comfortably meet a number of global standards that suit citizens of advanced countries. In this regard, foreign tourists frequently commend some laudable behaviors of Koreans, such as forming a line at the subway station, observing public etiquette and being considerate of other people. When waiting in line, foreigners say, Koreans even care about other people behind them and try to finish their bu
ViewpointsDec. 13, 2023
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[Peter Singer] A bargain in saving lives
In 2021, malaria caused 619,000 deaths, 77 percent of which were children under 5, and 96 percent of them in Africa. But now, after decades of research – and several false dawns – a malaria vaccine known as R21/Matrix-M (henceforth just R21) has been shown to be effective in 70-78 percent of cases. Although three doses are required before that level of protection is reached, and a booster is needed one year later, the vaccine, developed at the University of Oxford and the Serum Insti
ViewpointsDec. 13, 2023
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[James Stavridis] Venezuela’s threats to Guyana follow Putin’s Ukraine playbook
A nation that few Americans could find on a map, the oil-rich South American country of Guyana, is in trouble. It has a large and aggressive neighbor, Venezuela, run by an authoritarian leader who maintains close relationships with Russia, Iran, Cuba and other authoritarian states. In a move reminiscent of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the dictator of Venezuela -- Nicolas Maduro, a former bus driver and acolyte of leftist strongman Hugo Chavez -- sponsored a referendum in his natio
ViewpointsDec. 13, 2023
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[Editorial] Normalize the judiciary
The most urgent task for Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, who was inaugurated in a ceremony Monday, is to do away with judiciary distrust stoked by his predecessor, Kim Myeong-su. Distrust of the court was fanned by trial delays, among other factors. It took three years and nine months to issue first-trial sentences against former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and two years and five months for Yoon Mi-hyang, an independent lawmaker. Cho was indicted in connection with his children’s unlawful universi
EditorialDec. 13, 2023
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[Francis Wilkinson] Republican redefinition of an American
Using specific dates to define entire eras is often a gimmick, a way of compressing wild and unwieldy life into a neatly artificial package. But some days, or years, just massively overproduce, leaving behind a nation, or world, transformed. As a quote typically attributed to Vladimir Lenin has it, “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” For the reactionaries who drive Republican politics today, one year looms like Godzilla over a darkenin
ViewpointsDec. 12, 2023
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[Editorial] Regulating AI
The European Union agreed Friday to a set of new controls aimed at regulating artificial intelligence, marking the world’s first attempt to put limits on the use of fast-evolving technology that generates both positive and negative responses. The EU’s new law, called the “AI Act,” is yet to be formally approved by the European Parliament and the bloc’s 27 member states, but Friday’s political agreement signals that the legislation’s key points have been
EditorialDec. 12, 2023
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[Mohammad Hosseini, Kristi Holmes] Beware inherent biases and inequities in AI tools
A year ago, OpenAI released ChatGPT -- a free generative artificial intelligence chatbot that creates text in response to user prompts. With its launch, millions of people started using ChatGPT for tasks such as writing school essays, drafting emails and personal greetings, and retrieving information. Increasingly, more people and public offices are using ChatGPT to improve productivity and efficiency, conducting sophisticated tasks instantaneously that are typically beyond human abilities. Pub
ViewpointsDec. 12, 2023
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[Lisa Jarvis] Hard part of sickle cell breakthrough
The approval of Casgevy, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Crispr Therapeutics Inc.’s gene therapy for sickle cell disease, is a transformative moment in medicine. Not only is it the first Crispr-based drug to reach the market -- it’s a potentially life-altering advance for a patient population that has been for too long ignored and underserved by the medical establishment. Lyfgenia, a second gene therapy from Bluebird Bio that uses different technology, was also given the Food and Dru
ViewpointsDec. 11, 2023
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[Editorial] Did 'people come first'?
The state audit agency released last week the final results of its yearlong inspection into North Korea’s killing of a South Korean government official who drifted into the North’s waters in the West Sea in 2020. Relevant government agencies under the Moon Jae-in administration at the time -- the presidential National Security Office, the Coast Guard, the Unification and Defense Ministries, and the National Intelligence Service -- did virtually nothing to save the South Korean citize
EditorialDec. 11, 2023
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British Embassy, BASS celebrates 'Mince Pie Morning'
The British Embassy and the British Association of Seoul (BASS) celebrated the annual Mince Pie Morning at the residence of British Ambassador Colin Crooks in Seoul on Thursday. The event featured traditional English mince pies — a sweet pastry filled with a delectable mixture of fruit, spices, and suet — marking the spirit of the holiday season in English-speaking traditions. “BASS is an important part of the vibrant expat community here in Seoul. It was, as always, a pleasure
Foreign AffairsDec. 8, 2023
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[Mark Hannah] Foreign policy to sway 2024 campaign
Conventional wisdom suggests Americans know little about foreign policy and care about it even less. Opinion polls regularly show that international issues take a back seat to topics more prosaic (economics, education) or provocative (culture wars, gun control). Next year’s presidential election, however, might be a bit different. Continued international crises could focus attention on the benefits and burdens of American global leadership, and our polarized politics may turn on battles an
ViewpointsDec. 8, 2023
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[Editorial] Mental health care matters
As far as mental health care is concerned, South Korea has grim statistics. Over 1 million people suffer from depression, suicide rates remain stubbornly high and a growing number of people are seeking medical help. Worse, doctors and medical facilities meant to treat patients suffering from mental illness are in short supply. To address the serious situation, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration on Tuesday unveiled a comprehensive initiative to overhaul and improve the mental health care system --
EditorialDec. 8, 2023
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[Doyle McManus] Is Biden in trouble with Democrats over Gaza?
When Israel pounded Gaza with airstrikes after Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attack, it opened a dramatic divide among Democrats over a war that has claimed thousands of civilian lives. Progressive activists staged protests across the country, demanded an immediate cease-fire and accused President Joe Biden of complicity in genocide. A handful of Democrats in Congress joined the call for a cease-fire, but stopped short of blaming Biden for Israel's actions. At the height of the offensive, befor
ViewpointsDec. 7, 2023
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[Editorial] Diversify imports
The Chinese customs authorities recently suspended shipment of industrial urea to South Korea. They are said to have held off urea shipments as a short supply of the raw material at home is looming. Reportedly, major Chinese fertilizer producers will stop exporting urea until the end of the first half of next year to meet domestic peak-season demand. These developments raise concerns in Korea about yet another severe shortage of urea solution. Beijing's urea export curbs two years ago cause
EditorialDec. 7, 2023
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[Martin Schram] Covering Kissinger’s century
President Richard Nixon was work-vacationing in his Western White House estate at San Clemente, California, and not far away, the White House press corps was about to be briefed by the world’s most famous anonymous authority on all foreign policies. Which is to say, another ritual Vietnam War policy/press corps kabuki was about to start. It began the usual way, with Nixon press secretary Ronald Ziegler saying national security adviser Henry Kissinger was about to explain a significant new
ViewpointsDec. 7, 2023
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[Kim Seong-kon] ‘We know who you are. We are everywhere’
It would be miserable to live in an Orwellian dystopian society that puts you under constant surveillance, closely monitoring your conversations, your whereabouts and your everyday life. Using omnipresent surveillance cameras, AI operated facial recognition deviced, or your smartphone, your government agencies can now trace your movements, hear your conversations, and read your text messages or emails. In the 2008 Hollywood film “Eagle Eye,” a TV announcer says, “Cellphone us
ViewpointsDec. 6, 2023
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[Antara Haldar] The twilight zone of economics
Ten years ago, Eugene Fama and Robert J. Shiller were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics (together with Lars Peter Hansen) “for their empirical analysis of asset prices.” Fama and Shiller, however, hold diametrically opposing views on asset-price movements, from what drives the decisions of economic actors to whether markets are inherently efficient. Fifteen years after the global economic crisis, it is a disagreement worth revisiting. Fama is a member of the Chicago School of econ
ViewpointsDec. 6, 2023
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[Editorial] Lessons from botched bid
Busan lost its bid to host the World Expo 2030 last week after spending hundreds of billions of won over the course of a year and half. President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized to South Koreans saying that it was all his fault, and the mayor of Busan said his city is considering trying again for the next expo in 2035. The fact that the South Korean bidding team, at least officially, didn’t see Riyadh’s landslide victory coming until the last minute was disconcerting. The Saudi Arabian capi
EditorialDec. 6, 2023
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Justice and finance at the climate summit
By Jeffrey D. Sachs As governments gather in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for this year’s climate conference in early December, two things are painfully clear. First, we are already in a climate emergency. Second, the richer countries, and especially the US, continue to turn their back on the poorer countries. This year’s debate will therefore focus on climate justice and financing: how to share the costs of the climate disasters and the urgently needed transformation of the wor
ViewpointsDec. 5, 2023