Most Popular
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] Humor in Korea: Navigating the line between what's funny and not
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Yoon seeks rebound, taps 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff
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Medical standoff deepens as doctors reject new med school plan, talks
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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[Herald Interview] Why Toss invited hackers to penetrate its system
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S. Korean envoys convene to navigate strategy amid Middle East tensions
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North Korea fires several short-range ballistic missiles into sea: JCS
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Samsung, SK hynix investors dump shares on Nvidia crash
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[Daoud Kuttabo] Path for Gaza after a cease-fire
The Americans, the Israelis and the Palestinians are in a bind. No one knows who will govern Gaza after a cease-fire, when it comes. The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank city of Ramallah is not willing to enter Gaza on the back of Israeli tanks and without the agreement of Palestinian fighters there. No one else will either. Jordan’s prime minister has categorically denied that his country would play such a role, and the same will hold for almost any other Arab or international forc
ViewpointsNov. 14, 2023
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[Daniel DePetris] Pessimism is growing in Ukraine over its war with Russia
Last August, more than two months after Ukraine began its counteroffensive against Russian positions in the east, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about whether the war was degenerating into a stalemate. Sullivan’s answer: no. “We do not assess that the conflict is a stalemate,” he said at the time. “We are seeing (Ukraine) continue to take territory on a methodical, systematic basis.” Fast-forward to today, and the cautious optimism cited by US
ViewpointsNov. 14, 2023
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[Editorial] Tackle slow private spending
South Korea’s private spending remains in a protracted slump, while a growing number of people go on overseas trips, particularly to Japan, where they tend to spend more generously, offering a contrasting snapshot of the country’s consumption trends. Korea’s domestic private consumption stood at $206.53 billion in the second quarter, down $5.25 billion or 2.47 percent from the previous quarter, according to data released by Rep. Jin Sun-mee of the Democratic Party of Korea on S
EditorialNov. 14, 2023
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[Editorial] Bad faith legislation
The majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea last Thursday passed the so-called Yellow Envelope bill and three bills relating to broadcasting. All of the ruling People Power Party lawmakers boycotted the vote in protest. The Yellow Envelope bill, a revision to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Act, allows employees of subcontractors to demand that main contractors enter collective bargaining with them and to strike to get their demands from main contractors, even though main contractors a
EditorialNov. 13, 2023
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[Bobby Ghosh] No, Gazans can’t rise up against Hamas
“They could have risen up, they could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza in a coup d’etat.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog ought to know better than to have said that. But those who don’t -- those who had no call to pay attention to Palestinian politics until a month ago -- might be forgiven for asking why Hamas has never faced a serious uprising from within their Gazan redoubt in the 17 years it has ruled the strip. That it has not allows some, in
ViewpointsNov. 10, 2023
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[Editorial] Policy reversal on paper cups
When the government announced last year it would ban the use of paper cups and other single-use products at restaurants and cafes, there were mixed reactions. Proponents welcomed the eco-friendly move while opponents complained of inconveniences and extra costs. On Tuesday, the government abruptly scrapped the plan that a year prior had sparked different responses from consumers, shop owners and civic groups about its pros and cons. This time, however, people are saying the U-turn was motivated
EditorialNov. 10, 2023
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[Doyle McManus] Make plan for ‘years after’ war ends
Last week, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken headed for the Middle East to try to keep Israel's war in Gaza from spinning out of control, and to begin talks on what diplomats call "the day after" -- what happens after the shooting stops. Who will govern a shattered Gaza? Who will feed and house its refugees? Who will police its ravaged streets? And perhaps improbably, can the war, however brutal its toll, be turned into an opening for a wider peace? "When this crisis is ov
ViewpointsNov. 9, 2023
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[Peter Singer, Charles Camosy] Definition of death: When do we die?
“What is it you don’t understand? She’s dead, dead, dead.” That is how David Durand, Chief Medical Officer of Oakland’s Children’s Hospital, attempted to convince the family of Jahi McMath that the standard medical tests for brain death had shown that their teenage daughter was no longer alive. The family stood firm in opposing this view, and the hospital eventually allowed them to take her to New Jersey, the only US state that requires hospitals to accommodat
ViewpointsNov. 9, 2023
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[Editorial] Foster competition
The debt-ridden working poor face growing economic distress brought on by high interest rates. President Yoon Suk Yeol told a Cabinet meeting last week that small-business owners had said in his town hall that they spend most of their hard-earned money on paying their debt to banks so they feel like they are slaves to banks. Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Lee Bok-hyun said on Monday, “Banks are likely to reach a record interest income of 60 trillion won ($46 billion) this year. Also in
EditorialNov. 9, 2023
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[Editorial] Ban on short selling
Regulators reimposed a ban on short selling on Monday, which resulted in a big jump in stocks -- a sign that the restrictions were taken as a positive development among investors, at least in the short term. The benchmark Kospi ended up 5.66 percent, the biggest increase since March 25, 2020, as the ban on short selling came into effect Monday, but the index dropped 2.33 percent Tuesday on heavy selling by institutions and foreigners. The ban is scheduled to last until June. The question is whet
EditorialNov. 8, 2023
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[James Stavridis] What the US should do about Iran
I spent much of my professional life deployed forward in the Arabian Gulf and encountered Iranian naval forces there on many occasions. They were uniformly unprofessional, confrontational, and clearly seized with making life as difficult as possible for both legitimate merchant shipping and naval warships from the many nations with whom the Iranians have intractable differences. They are cowardly in the face of opposing military forces, but dangerous and unpredictable. As I watch the situation i
ViewpointsNov. 8, 2023
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[Kim Seong-kon] What we can learn from 'Terminator Genisys'
The 1991 American science fiction film, “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” teaches us one valuable lesson: “Appearances are deceiving.” In the movie, a man in a police uniform is, in fact, a T-1000 advanced cyborg that is a ruthless killing machine. Conversely, the man dressed like a motorcycle gangster, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a good cyborg whose mission is to protect John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance against the Artificial Intelligence that t
ViewpointsNov. 8, 2023
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[Antara Haldar] ‘Women’s economics’ goes mainstream
William Shakespeare’s 1597 comedy “Love’s Labor’s Lost” tells the story of four Frenchmen as they navigate the tension between commitment to intellectual development and the quest for domestic bliss. Some four centuries later, Harvard economist Claudia Goldin reimagined the tale from the vantage point of American women balancing career and family. Now, Goldin’s profound insights into women’s labor-market outcomes have won her a Nobel Memorial Prize in Ec
ViewpointsNov. 7, 2023
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[Editorial] Soaring food prices
Grocery price increases are threatening the livelihood of those already struggling to make ends meet. According to Statistics Korea, the grocery price index rose 6.6 percent last month from a year earlier. This is the sharpest rise in 12 months after 7.6 percent recorded in October last year. Looking at price increases of fruits such as apples (72.4 percent) and vegetables including lettuce (40.7 percent) and green onions (24.6 percent), complaints that inflation is an "invisible thief"
EditorialNov. 7, 2023
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[Andrew Sheng] Has the West lost the Rest?
The images and news coming out of Gaza are so horrific that I cannot think of anything hopeful or constructive that can come of this cataclysm. Using Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development members as a crude proxy for the West, it accounts for 63 percent of world GDP, three-quarters of world trade, over half of the world's energy consumption, and 18 percent of the world's population. The Western world sees itself as a paragon of civilizational progress and modernity, whe
ViewpointsNov. 7, 2023
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[Kenneth Seeskin] Who do the Jewish people elicit so much hatred?
The rise in antisemitic incidents in the US should concern all of us because it is rarely an isolated phenomenon. According to a recent report from the Anti-Defamation League, the number of antisemitic incidents in the US increased by 36 percent from 2021 to 2022, when it reached the staggering total of 3,697. The war in the Middle East is certain to make the numbers this year even worse. What causes this? Why do a people who constitute 0.2 percent of the world’s population elicit so much
ViewpointsNov. 6, 2023
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[Editorial] Strengthen AI safety
Artificial intelligence is expected to deliver not only new, innovative capabilities but also unknown risks. There is little preparation in place to deal with potentially destructive threats that could emerge at the cutting edge of AI in the future -- a dangerous “frontier” that AI could generate. The global AI Safety Summit, held at Bletchley Park north of London, Britain from Nov. 1-2, explored the concept of frontier AI and countries agreed there are substantial risks that may ari
EditorialNov. 6, 2023
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[Robert J. Fouser] Redrawing subnational boundaries in Korea
Last Monday, National Assembly representative Kim Gi-hyeon, leader of the ruling People Power Party stated that the party supports the city of Gimpo becoming part of Seoul. Kim made the remarks at a meeting to discuss transportation in new cities in Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul. He said that the party would push the plan if it received enough public support. The plan has the support of Gimpo Mayor Kim Byeong-soo and other local People Power Party leaders. Mayor Kim said that he wou
ViewpointsNov. 3, 2023
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[Editorial] Bipartisan cooperation in order
As the National Assembly has started reviewing the budget for 2024, partisan wrangling is expected to intensify as the views of the rival parties differ considerably amid lingering worries about populist projects ahead of the election. Lawmakers kicked off the review of the budget for next year on Wednesday, holding a public hearing about the appropriateness of the budget and fund utilization plans filed by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. The government presented a 657 trillion won ($489 billi
EditorialNov. 3, 2023
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[Wang Son-taek] How to stop the forced repatriation
Recently, shocking news broke that China has forcibly sent hundreds of North Korean defectors to North Korea. Although the claim has not yet been verified, the Ministry of Unification commented that a large number of North Koreans were sent, though did not use the word "defector." The ministry’s response hinted that a sizable number of North Korean defectors could have been included. Forced repatriation of North Korean defectors poses a severe risk of a humanitarian catastrophe b
ViewpointsNov. 2, 2023