[Editorial] Tackle ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

US plans for new tariffs on trading partners will pose greater challenges for South Korea The United States plans to map out new tariff levels for its trading partners based on these other countries' tariffs, nontariff barriers and other trade-related policies in a way that will effectively break the established global trade rules, and South Korea is likely to face an uphill battle in securing a better position in its new trade relations with the US. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump asked

Feb. 17, 2025

[Andreas Kluth] America becoming alone under Trump

"America First," as practiced by President Donald Trump in his second term, will instead -- and probably sooner rather than later -- amount to "America Isolated" or even "America Hated." With respect to foreign policy, Trump campaigned on the promise that he would, through sheer “strength,” be a peacemaker, settling wars such as Russia’s against Ukraine within 24 hours and preventing new ones from breaking out. But since his reelection, and especially since his inauguration, Trump has adopted a

Feb. 17, 2025

[Yoo Choon-sik] South Korea could have done better in Paris

One of the world’s largest and most influential annual AI summit events has just ended in Paris, with top officials from major countries, global artificial intelligence companies, academic organizations and civil society groups attending to share their insights and make their arguments on key issues. Participants included such global leaders in politics, diplomacy and technology innovation as French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US Vice President JD Vance, Chine

Feb. 17, 2025

[Editorial] Improve safety in schools

Korea needs strong, preventive safety measures for both students and teachers Schools are supposed to be the safest place to be for both students and teachers. But the fatal stabbing of an 8-year-old student by a teacher has put that assumption in question in a way that has shocked, terrified and weighed heavily on people across the nation. Kim Ha-neul was stabbed to death by a teacher in her 40s at an elementary school in Daejeon on Monday. Police said the child died from multiple wounds from a

Feb. 14, 2025

[Lee Byung-jong] Ishiba’s flattery diplomacy

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba may be struggling with rock-bottom approval ratings at home, but abroad, he has become an overnight sensation -- one that world leaders are eager to emulate. His summit with the unpredictable and impulsive new US president, Donald Trump, demonstrated a masterclass in diplomacy, showcasing how to manage Trump’s erratic leadership style. Analysts believe Ishiba secured most of Japan’s key objectives through a strategy of “flattery diplomacy,” using warm praise

Feb. 13, 2025

[Tobias Bunde, Sophie Eisentraut] The age of multipolarization

It has become a truism of foreign-policy debates nowadays that the world is at the dawn of a multipolar era. Whether such an international order will ever fully emerge is debatable. But the process of “multipolarization” is already underway, as a larger number of states gain the ability to influence global developments. But a more worrisome aspect of multipolarization is that these ongoing power shifts have been accompanied by deepening polarization within and between countries. Governments’ inc

Feb. 13, 2025

[Wang Son-taek] Shameful story on election fraud conspiracy

According to a report from a renowned newspaper in Seoul, a Korean American in Hawaii has been orchestrating a conspiracy regarding election fraud in Korea for more than five years. The newspaper recently reported that Annie Chan, a millionaire in the US, organized the Korea Conservative Political Action Committee in 2019, which spearheaded the conspiracy that recent elections in Korea were rigged. In an interview with the paper, Chan stated that she was trying to prevent South Korea from becomi

Feb. 13, 2025

[Editorial] Shadow over economy

KDI cuts growth outlook; Seoul should weather US tariff crisis through deals The Korea Development Institute, a state-run economic think tank, slashed its growth outlook for the South Korean economy this year on Tuesday to 1.6 percent, down 0.4 percentage point from its previous projection three months ago. It said in its latest report that domestically, political instability has weakened economic sentiment, while externally, policy shifts in the US have worsened trade conditions. It expected ex

Feb. 13, 2025

[Editorial] Security worries over AI

Korean government, firms block access to DeepSeek amid lack of effective regulations The Jan. 20 release of DeepSeek, an innovative Chinese AI chatbot, upended global markets, prompting tech companies to scrutinize how an obscure Chinese startup seemingly developed such a competitive artificial intelligence model so suddenly. But the initial surprise seems to be shifting toward caution, doubt and, in some cases, outright phobia against the new Chinese AI technology on the assumption that it pote

Feb. 12, 2025

[Antara Haldar] What is MAGAnomics?

While the end of World War II 80 years ago ushered in an age of reason, Donald Trump’s return to the White House has ushered it out. His MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement promises to take a wrecking ball to the postwar global economic order, raising the question of what will replace it. “America First” seems to appeal to a wide spectrum of constituents, from blue-collar workers in the heartland to Big Tech “broligarchs.” But what does it mean in practice? At his second inauguration, Trump

Feb. 12, 2025

[Kim Seong-kon] What kind of leader does Korea need now?

Watching the large crowds gathering in Busan and Daegu to protest the current political disruptions, foreign observers agree that the Korean people seem to have finally realized the unprecedented crisis they are now facing. According to the demonstrators, the current problem of South Korea is not simply about a conflict between the Left and the Right, or Progressivism and Conservatism. Rather, South Korea is now at a crossroads where the people must decide which path to choose: “a Free World cou

Feb. 12, 2025

[Daron Acemoglu] A Sputnik moment for AI?

After the release of DeepSeek-R1 on Jan. 20 triggered a massive drop in chipmaker Nvidia’s share price and sharp declines in various other tech companies’ valuations, some declared this a “Sputnik moment” in the Sino-American race for supremacy in artificial intelligence. While America’s AI industry arguably needed shaking up, the episode raises some difficult questions. The US tech industry’s investments in AI have been massive, with Goldman Sachs estimating that “mega tech firms, corporations

Feb. 11, 2025

[Editorial] Seize the day

Parties should strike deal first on pension contribution, income replacement rates The ruling and opposition parties are waging a war of nerves over reforming South Korea's national pension system after sharing the view to deal first with contribution and income replacement rates. Rep. Kwon Young-se, interim leader of the ruling People Power Party, proposed last week to determine these rates as soon as possible. Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chair of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, had inst

Feb. 11, 2025

[Kaushik Basu] The Asian responsibility

As 2025 dawns, the world seems to be entering an age of anxiety, reminiscent of one hundred years ago, the period between the two World Wars. That period saw the German hyper-inflation of 1923, the rise of Hitler, and the Great Depression that caused jobs to vanish and incomes to plunge. As I write my first column for Herald Business, the world’s politics is polarized, democracy is witnessing a setback in many places, the share of income of workers in the GDP of most countries is falling, and ec

Feb. 10, 2025

[Lee Kyong-hee] A possible scenario for Trump-Kim bromance Act II

Speculation abounds over US President Donald Trump’s signaling that he hopes to restart talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. From a South Korean point of view, the unpredictability of Trump’s policies combines with the extreme volatility of domestic politics to cast an unsettling shadow over the future of the divided peninsula. The complete rupture in inter-Korean dialogue over the past few years under now-impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol adds to the concern that Seoul may be sidelined i

Feb. 10, 2025