Most Popular
-
1
Seoul vows action over Naver's Line, Yahoo dispute
-
2
[KH Explains] Hyundai Motor’s plan for new landmark keeps hitting bumps
-
3
[Grace Kao] American racism against Stray Kids
-
4
Key S. Korean, USFK special operations officials to hold rare meeting amid NK threats
-
5
Samsung doubles down on Vietnam
-
6
NewJeans' members' parents complained to Hybe, email shows
-
7
In Beijing, S. Korean top diplomat aims to jumpstart ties with China
-
8
Controversy brews over shakeup of prosecutors amid probe of first lady
-
9
Suspect behind murder of Korean tourist in Pattaya arrested
-
10
Prosecutors summon pastor involved in Dior bag scandal
-
[Editorial] Politics of vortex
In his book, The Politics of the Vortex (1968), Gregory Henderson, a former cultural and political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, observed that political groupings in Korea over a millennium and a half have been associations of individuals whose desire for personal power has far outweighed an
Sept. 13, 2011
-
[Editorial] Chuseok for lawmakers
Prices have gone up. Jobs are hard to find. It is not easy to rent a home at a reasonable price. But these and other concerns of ordinary people are put to rest for a while, as the four-day Chuseok holiday has just started.For tens of millions of people joining the annual holiday migration, Chuseok
Sept. 9, 2011
-
[Editorial] Botched battle on prices
It would be humiliating for a man in public office to acknowledge that he has failed in his mission. But Kim Choong-soo, governor of the Bank of Korea, virtually did so when he was briefing on its monetary policy to the press on Thursday.On its homepage, the central bank has a statement in bold lett
Sept. 9, 2011
-
[Editorial] From growth to welfare
Under pressure from the ruling Grand National Party, the government has finally agreed to pull back on the planned tax cuts for large corporations and high-income individuals. Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan, emerging from a meeting with top GNP officials on Wednesday, said the government would not pu
Sept. 8, 2011
-
[Editorial] Specter of currency war
The specter of a global currency war is looming large following Switzerland’s surprise decision to peg the Swiss franc to the euro in a bid to hold back a runaway appreciation of its safe-haven currency. The Swiss National Bank shocked global markets Tuesday by declaring that it would cap the franc’
Sept. 8, 2011
-
[Editorial] Party politics in crisis
The default political system throughout the world is representative democracy ― a form of government in which people are represented by those they have elected to the legislature. It applies not just to the parliamentary system of government but to the presidential system.With representatives select
Sept. 7, 2011
-
[Editorial] Where’s the market?
One of the first things students learn in an economics class is that, in a competitive market, the price of a good is determined by the supply of and demand for it. There is no room for intervention by the government except in case of a market failure.But the Korean government intervenes in the mark
Sept. 7, 2011
-
[Editorial] MBC’s overdue apology
MBC said it painfully accepts responsibility upon the Supreme Court’s judgment of falsity in its investigative report aired on April 27, 2008 concerning a bilateral accord for imports of U.S. beef. The broadcaster should have made a public apology for its inaccurate reporting on mad cow disease in t
Sept. 6, 2011
-
[Editorial] Celebrity tax evasion
Many top entertainers and sports stars make large donations to charity. It is often reported that their acts of sharing are related to their extremely difficult lives before they reached stardom. Even if some of them insist on not making their donations public, their charitable deeds become known to
Sept. 6, 2011
-
[Editorial] Ahn Chul-soo candidacy
Ahn Chul-soo’s candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election late in October is getting closer to reality day by day despite his ambivalence, alerting both ruling and opposition parties. Close associates of the 49-year-old software businessman-cum-social critic say his running for Seoul mayor is “90 p
Sept. 5, 2011
-
[Editorial] Park Geun-hye’s essay
Park Geun-hye contributed an article to the September-October edition of Foreign Affairs, the New York-based international affairs magazine, to discuss how to achieve genuine peace on the Korean Peninsula. In the 2,250-word article, the frontrunner on the 2012 presidential race said Seoul must be mo
Sept. 5, 2011
-
[Editorial] Donations and taxation
Kim Jang-hoon, a pop singer, is well known not only for his songs but his charitable giving. During the past 10 years, he has donated 11 billion won to help the unfortunate.Despite his virtue, there is no knowing when his career as a popular entertainer will come to an end. After all, isn’t populari
Sept. 4, 2011
-
[Editorial] Back to basics
Exports, the nation’s main source of growth, are slowing, with a double-dip recession looming in the United States and Europe. But imports are growing fast, making a deep cut in the trade surplus.As a result, growth in gross domestic product is certain to fall below the 2011 target set by President
Sept. 4, 2011
-
[Editorial] Verdict on ‘comfort women’
The Constitutional Court has ushered in a new phase in the long-running dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over compensation of Korean “comfort women” and nuclear bomb victims for their suffering and human rights abuses during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea. On Tuesday, the court ruled on a petition fi
Sept. 2, 2011
-
[Editorial] New drug pricing policy
The government’s plan to cut drug prices by an average of 17 percent starting next year has triggered vehement protests from the domestic pharmaceutical community. On Thursday, an alliance of 10 pharmaceutical-related organizations issued a joint statement, declaring an all-out struggle against the
Sept. 2, 2011
-
[Editorial] Session in jeopardy
The regular session of an outgoing National Assembly is the least productive as its members often shun debate on issues of concern to the public, deliberation on pending bills and participation in voting. Instead, they tend to make a final pitch in constituency work in their electoral districts in p
Sept. 1, 2011
-
[Editorial] Change in N.K. policy?
Signals are coming from those close to President Lee Myung-bak that he is considering changing his anti-North Korea policy in favor of improving relations with the communist state. If he is really considering such a shift in policy, he will have to think about a backlash from his conservative suppor
Sept. 1, 2011
-
[Editorial] Fostering female CEOs
Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee recently stressed the importance of utilizing women in the workforce, saying talented female employees should be allowed to become CEOs. Lee held a rare session last week with a small number of female executives from Samsung companies to express his commitmen
Aug. 31, 2011
-
[Editorial] Education and politics
Seoul education chief Kwak No-hyun’s alleged involvement in election campaign corruption has sparked a flurry of moves to reform the current system for electing education officials in the nation’s seven largest cities and nine provinces.A group of lawmakers of the ruling Grand National Party is movi
Aug. 31, 2011
-
[Editorial] Jeju naval base
The Jeju district court issued an injunction Monday to stop obstructions by radical activists and residents against the construction work for a naval base at Gangjeong on the southern coast of Jeju Island. However, the court ruling did not totally prohibit opposition activities around the constructi
Aug. 30, 2011