Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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[Editorial] Face up to Trump
Former US President Donald Trump suggested that should he be reelected, the US could withdraw its forces from South Korea if it does not pay more to support US troops stationed here. “I want South Korea to treat us properly. As you know, I got them to -- I had negotiations, because they were paying virtually nothing for 40,000 troops that we had there,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said in a recent interview with Time magazine. The number is actually 28,500. &ldquo
EditorialMay 3, 2024
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[Editorial] Mixed signals on trade front
Defying some pessimistic outlooks early this year, South Korea’s exports appear to be on a recovery path in recent months, helped by solid demand for semiconductors and automobiles. But the country’s economy is not out of the woods yet, as new roadblocks such as the volatile exchange rate and from US-China trade relations continue to pop up. On the export front, government officials have enough reasons to be upbeat. Korea’s exports posted on-year growth for the seventh consecut
EditorialMay 2, 2024
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[Editorial] EVs need policy focus
The Beijing Motor Show, otherwise known as Auto China, kicked off on April 25, showcasing new electric vehicle models armed with advanced digital solutions. The show features a wide range of global automakers including Hyundai and Kia, but it is the Chinese EV manufacturers that are attracting the most attention. The strength of Chinese automakers at the industry exhibition reflects their rising market position. China became the world’s biggest car exporter in 2023, shipping a total of 4.9
EditorialMay 1, 2024
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[Jeffrey Frankel] The election-devaluation cycle
The proposition that major currency devaluations are more likely to come immediately after, rather than before, an election is being tested anew. In the biggest voting year in history, the implications could be far-reaching. Economists will recall the Nobel laureate economist William D. Nordhaus’ influential 1975 paper, “The Political Business Cycle.” According to Nordhaus, in the year leading up to an election, governments are more inclined to pursue fiscal and monetary expans
ViewpointsMay 1, 2024
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[Kim Seong-kon] Between the ‘Free World’ and authoritarian countries
Today, we are witnessing a sharp confrontation between authoritarian countries and democratic countries. It is like deja-vu for those of us who recollect the clashes between Communist countries and the “Free World” after World War II. Authoritarian countries have a nostalgic longing for their glorious past and dream of recovering their former power and territories. The democratic countries try to stop them from invading other countries and promote peaceful coexistence instead. So
ViewpointsMay 1, 2024
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[Mariana Mazzucato, David Eaves] Central banks in a cashless world
Economics has always had a strange and much-debated relationship with money. For a long time, economists -- including Nobel laureates like Merton Miller and Franco Modigliani -- regarded money merely as a medium of exchange. But by building on the work of John Maynard Keynes and Hyman Minsky, economists have since moved beyond a narrow focus on the quantity of money to consider its structural influence on the real economy and the financial system. A structural understanding of money and finance
ViewpointsApril 30, 2024
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[Editorial] Partners in state affairs
President Yoon Suk Yeol and main opposition Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung sat down for talks on Monday for the first time since Yoon took office two years ago. Lee began the meeting by listing a number of proposals including implementing his election pledge to give 250,000 won ($182) to every South Korean and accepting a special counsel investigation into suspicions surrounding a Marine's death. "I ask that you consider the emergency measure to restore people's
EditorialApril 30, 2024
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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
Min Hee-jin, CEO of Ador (a subsidiary of Hybe) has accused Hybe and its other subsidiary Belift Labs of plagiarism over the similarity between supergroup NewJeans (Ador) and new girl group Illit (Belift Labs). In turn, Hybe has asked Min Hee-jin to step down and has accused her of “breach of trust” in its press release. To any casual K-pop fan familiar with both groups, there is little doubt that Illit’s sound and choreography is reminiscent of NewJeans. However, many other ne
ViewpointsApril 29, 2024
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[Yoo Choon-sik] What stellar GDP data masks
South Korea's economy expanded at a much faster pace than expected in the first quarter of this year, offering relief to those concerned about the severe slump experienced last year persisting for an extended period. This news is especially welcome for a country still grappling with domestic instability and uncertain global geopolitics. However, beyond the social and political instability at home and longstanding global geopolitics, there are other pressing issues that demand attention: t
ViewpointsApril 29, 2024
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[Editorial] Japan’s pressure on Naver
The Japanese government is stepping up pressure on South Korean portal giant Naver to sell off its stake in a joint venture that runs Line, the dominant messaging app in Japan, citing a data leak -- a controversial move that has sparked a wave of critical responses in Korea and is likely to complicate already complex bilateral ties between the two nations. Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has issued administrative guidance twice -- on March 5 and April 16 -- in what
EditorialApril 29, 2024
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[Kim So-hyun] The quiet taxi driver from Paris
Last week, a man named Hong Se-hwa passed away at age 76. Those who were old enough to read Hong’s 1995 bestseller “I’m a Taxi Driver in Paris” remember him as a writer with a heart for the underdog and a social activist who lived up to his words. The book of essays was about Hong's experiences as a taxi driver in Paris, French society and where he thought Korean society should be headed. He wrote about the French concept and practices of tolerance toward differences
ViewpointsApril 26, 2024
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[Editorial] Yoon-Lee meeting
The presidential office and the Democratic Party of Korea are having difficulties agreeing on the agenda for the first-ever meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and the main opposition party's leader Lee Jae-myung. The two sides held their second working-level meeting on Thursday, but the presidential office did not provide any specific feedback on suggestions the Democratic Party had made Tuesday, according to Lee's aide. The presidential office proposed that Yoon and Lee meet at t
EditorialApril 26, 2024
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[Career Compass] Preparing for a job interview?
I just graduated from university and will interview for a multinational company. What are the qualities the interviewers look for? How do I show my best self? Congratulations on your graduation. In addition to my opinion, I also sought insights from 20 multinational company executives. Here are the seven attributes that were considered the most significant. 1. Great attitude and curiosity This quality was the most frequently mentioned. An individual with a great attitude is more likely to be p
ViewpointsApril 25, 2024
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[Takatoshi Ito] How risky is Japan‘s monetary-policy normalization?
Last month, the Bank of Japan took its first important step toward monetary-policy normalization. The BOJ ended its negative interest-rate policy, setting the policy rate between 0.0 percent and 0.1 percent. It abandoned yield-curve control, which had been introduced to keep the ten-year government bond yield around 0 percent. And it announced that it would taper off new purchases of exchange-traded funds and real-estate investment trusts, but maintain the current pace of government-bond purchas
ViewpointsApril 25, 2024
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[Anya Schiffrin, Dylan W. Groves and Joseph E. Stiglitz] Quality journalism is more important than ever
Although news consumption soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, subscriptions have since fallen, and news outlets around the world have been laying off reporters or even shutting down altogether. That is bad news for all of us. Our new UNESCO brief highlights recent research that demonstrates just how important high-quality information is to a well-functioning economy, society, and democracy. New studies in economics and political science use rigorous methods to confirm what journalists already k
ViewpointsApril 25, 2024
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[Editorial] W100m childbirth incentive
The South Korean government has taken a variety of policy steps to bolster the declining birth rate, which is accelerating during the much-dreaded demographic crisis. This time, a state-run agency is exploring the feasibility of a drastic proposal: a handout of 100 million won ($72,500) in cash for each baby born. The Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission started an online survey on April 17 in order to re-evaluate the country’s birth promotion policies. The survey is set to run th
EditorialApril 25, 2024
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[Kim Seong-kon] A great grandmother’s ‘Memoirs of the Times’
We all grow up listening to our grandmother’s stories. Sometimes these are folktales and other times historical events she witnessed and experienced. In that sense, a grandmother is not only a superb storyteller, but also an indispensable history teacher. Recently, the 90-year-old author Oh Duck-choo sent me a collection of autobiographical essays entitled, “Memoirs of the Times.” Published by Girok-yeon, which is probably an acronym for the Research Institute of Archives, the
ViewpointsApril 24, 2024