Most Popular
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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The billionaires’ long game
I keep hearing that the billionaires and big corporations that poured all that money into the 2012 election learned their lesson. They lost their shirts and won’t do it again. So we don’t need campaign finance reform.Baloney.It’s true their political investments didn’t exactly pay off this time around.Republican operative Karl Rove’s two giant political funds ― American Crossroads (a super PAC) and Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies (a so-called nonprofit “social welfare organization” that
Dec. 30, 2012
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New paradigm sought for changing chaebol
The Blue House will have a new tenant in February. President-elect Park Geun-hye, a conservative, won last month’s election against her liberal rival, Moon Jae-in. The close election proved that Koreans are politically divided, but united in their expectations as both candidates touted pretty much the same social and economic policies, but with differing emphasis and perspectives.One unifying theme of the campaign was the take on the future of chaebol, Korea’s family-owned conglomerates that con
Dec. 30, 2012
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Fed realigns mandate on inflation, employment
NEWPORT BEACH ― In a four-day period in mid-December, three seemingly unrelated developments suggested that modern central banking is in the midst of an historic change. The implications go well beyond academia and policy circles. To the extent that this shift gains momentum ― which appears likely ― it will affect economic performance, the functioning of markets, and asset-price valuations.The three developments began on Dec. 12 in the United States, where the Federal Reserve, led by Ben Bernank
Dec. 30, 2012
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Brave men and women who face up to danger
I want to pay tribute to a few brave men and women who fought in 2012 for dignity, justice, and peace in some of the world’s most troubled countries.My list is limited by space considerations. So I’ve chosen to focus on people I’ve been privileged to meet or whom I’ve learned about from contacts in their countries. What distinguishes them is that each has chosen to struggle, at great risk, for values that most of us take for granted ― though their odds of success are small.I’ll start with someon
Dec. 30, 2012
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[J. Bradford DeLong] U.S. set to jump off fiscal cliff
BERKELEY ― Unless something unexpected happens, the United States’ many legislated reductions in taxes over the past 12 years ― all of which have been explicitly temporary ― will expire simultaneously at the start of 2013. American tax rates will revert overnight to their Clinton-era levels.Some of these reductions were implemented to fight what was seen four years ago as a temporary downturn. Although their supporters wanted to make them permanent, claiming that they were temporary allowed for
Dec. 28, 2012
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Better nuclear bombs for a safer world
Is the U.S. getting ready to wage the Cold War again? If one believes the critics, that’s the aim behind a planned $10 billion modernization of the B61 nuclear bomb, the backbone of the Pentagon’s tactical nuclear arsenal. Actually, there are some other reasons for the upgrade: to reinforce global deterrence, to provide options against a range of future threats, and to make the U.S. stronger and safer. Achieving those goals is worth the money. As wonderful as the idea of a world without nuclear
Dec. 28, 2012
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NRA ‘solutions’ straight out of a Stallone movie
After a tragedy like the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn., the injection of anything short of seriousness into the subsequent public discourse about guns is touchy. But last week, the National Rifle Association blasted numerous rounds into that particular barrier with NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre’s mouth.The organization’s hysteric solution to gun violence in America is to put designated sitting ducks ― er, “armed police officers” ― in every American school.
Dec. 27, 2012
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[Park Sang-seek] Five major events of the world
The year 2012 is drawing to its end. Was it a happy or sad year? Will the year 2013 be a happy or sad year? Toward the end of each year major international news media select 10 world news events. The criterion for selection is usually newsworthiness. I have selected five events on the basis of the degree of seriousness and impact on international peace. They are the Arab spring; the Israel-Palestine conflict; the territorial disputes in Northeast Asia and the South China Sea; the leadership chan
Dec. 27, 2012
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Intergenerational fairness in medical expenses
The fiscal conditions of public health insurance programs for corporate employees have worsened, resulting in an increase in insurance premiums. This is attributable to the huge expense in providing medical services for elderly people. The working generation should not have to bear an even heavier burden.Medical expenses for people aged 65 or older are covered by premiums and medical fees paid by elderly people themselves, as well as contributions from public coffers, health insurance societies
Dec. 27, 2012
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Are we any better than the Indian gang-rapists?
The recent public outrage after a gang rape in India has prompted media-shy Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make a television address, in which he vowed to punish the rapists for their “monstrous” crime.Protests in the wake of this horrific assault are currently out of control, prompting the authorities to use tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators. However, it is only because of the public outrage that the government is paying any attention to this issue, which would otherwise be igno
Dec. 27, 2012
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The rumors and facts on Fukushima’s fish
The catastrophe at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant not only affected people directly in Fukushima Prefecture but also harmed the local economy. Sales of products from the prefecture have suffered, and tourist spots have lost business, because of rumors or misinformation about radioactive contamination.To help increase consumers’ understanding of the local situation, Iwaki City on Nov. 16 started providing radiation measurement data on its agricultural and fishery product
Dec. 27, 2012
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[Kor Kian Beng] China to keep N.K. policy intact
Communist Party chief Xi Jinping has surprised many with his actions domestically but few are betting on any drastic changes from him in China’s policy on and support for its ally North Korea.Pyongyang’s latest rocket launch earlier this month has once again exposed Beijing’s lack of leverage over its rogue neighbor, and observers say Xi will opt for the status quo due to various factors such as domestic political pressures.Retired American diplomat Don Keyser said Xi, having just taken over as
Dec. 27, 2012
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[David Ignatius] Are Taliban ready for talks?
WASHINGTON ― In this season of good will, there’s a rare bit of good cheer about the prospects for peace with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The reason seems to be that some Taliban leaders are concluding that they couldn’t win the civil war that might follow U.S. withdrawal of combat troops. The Taliban appear to recognize that their leverage, paradoxically, may decline when most U.S. forces depart at the end of 2014. The situation has changed since the 1990s, when the Taliban took power after a c
Dec. 26, 2012
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Reasons for deferred prosecution of HSBC
HSBC Holdings got caught laundering money for drug cartels. It did business with customers linked to Iran and other nations that were off-limits because of U.S. sanctions. For the third time in a decade, investigators found the London-based bank’s compliance practices were a sham. The company did not dispute the allegations. It agreed to pay a record $1.9 billion to the U.S.Yet under the deal reached with federal prosecutors, HSBC as a firm avoids criminal charges.Is that the right decision? In
Dec. 26, 2012
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[Meghan Daum] Finally, it’s time for action on gun control
The time is now.Those words have been reverberating in the wake of the Dec. 14 shootings in Newtown, Conn. There’s at last a sense that the moment has come for some serious action on gun control.Even some of the most reliable 2nd Amendment hawks are easing up. “The ideologies of my past career are no longer relevant,” Joe Scarborough ― father of young children, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and former conservative congressman ― told his audience in a 10-minute speech, because Newtown “changed ev
Dec. 26, 2012
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[Kim Myong-sik] No seaweed soup for woman delivering a girl
Lee Gil-ya, president of Gacheon University and chairwoman of the Gacheon Medical Foundation, is one of Korea’s greatest women achievers. In celebration of her 80th birthday, she recently published her autobiography in English.“Mother let everyone down. She gave birth to a girl and the guests quietly left the house … I can imagine how morose the family atmosphere was after my birth and how sorry my mother was before her husband and in-laws.“‘Why are you staying in bed as if you’ve done something
Dec. 26, 2012
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Plan to limit Fed’s mandate is folly
Representative Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican, wants the Federal Reserve to be single-minded. In 1977, Congress required the central bank to serve three masters: It is supposed to promote stable prices, maximum employment and moderate long-term interest rates. Brady, who will be chairman of the Joint Economic Committee in the new Congress, wants to eliminate those last two missions. His “Sound Dollar Act” would make the Fed responsible for price stability, period. The congressman believes that
Dec. 26, 2012
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[Lee Jae-min] From labyrinth to floor plan
“Things should be carried out perfectly” appearing in the last line of the document issued by an economic ministry was the sentence that basically determined the outcome of a dispute between Korea and another country about seven years ago. This wording was the translation of the Korean original (reading “Man-jeon-eul-gi-ha-da”). The translation was prepared by the other side and Korea challenged its accuracy. Was the translation correct? Yes and no. Yes, because it is arguably a literal translat
Dec. 25, 2012
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To stop future mass killers, treat mentally ill kids
U.S. President Barack Obama was right when he said after the Newtown, Connecticut, massacre that America had not done enough to keep its children safe. He closed his comments by reading the names of the 20 first-graders killed in the slaughter. Newtown’s story turns up one more child who may have been, in one way, failed by America: The isolated, awkward boy who would become the 20-year-old killer, Adam Lanza. What, precisely, afflicted Lanza is not yet known. His brutal final act, however, sugg
Dec. 25, 2012
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Will 2013 mark the beginning of U.S. decline?
“A modest man,” Winston Churchill supposedly quipped about Clement Attlee, his successor as prime minister, “but then he has so much to be modest about.” We should say the same about economists, particularly their ability to forecast anything in a useful and timely manner. Those predicting an imminent American economic decline have usually been no exception. This time, though, they may be on to something. Prevailing arguments about when the era of U.S. dominance would end, and which country woul
Dec. 25, 2012