Articles by Jo He-rim
Jo He-rim
herim@heraldcorp.com-
[Jean-Michel Paul] Seoul does stimulus with a twist
For those feeling sympathy for the European Central Bank, which has pretty much been on its own in trying to stimulate demand in the absence of government fiscal policy and investment, a ray of hope has emerged -- in Korea. South Korea is not doing badly, mind you. The country is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a grouping of advanced economies, with a per capita gross domestic product similar to that of the European Union average. Last year, it enjoyed grow
Viewpoints May 8, 2016
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[David Ignatius] Clinton’s case to make on engagement
By questioning the fundamentals of America’s global role, Donald Trump has given Hillary Clinton a chance to lift her game -- by explaining why continued international engagement is in America’s interest and the world’s.If Clinton can’t counter Trump’s “America first” rhetoric, and make the case that U.S. leadership is still crucial for our security, she won’t be a strong president. And she won’t have public support for the policies needed to rebuild American credibility.Trump’s critics sometime
Viewpoints May 8, 2016
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[Editorial] More stimulus
The government has designated May 6 as a temporary holiday, allowing people to take a four-day break from May 5, which is Children’s Day in Korea.The designation is intended to boost the economy by stimulating sluggish domestic consumption. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposed the idea, as the designation of Aug. 14 as an extra holiday last year had a positive impact on the economy.Last year, the government allowed people to take Aug. 14 off because Independence Day on Aug. 15, wh
Editorial April 29, 2016
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[Editorial] Jobs for youth
The government has come up with another set of measures to tackle the worsening youth unemployment problem. The package, the sixth of its kind put forward by the incumbent government, however, is unlikely to put a big dent in youth joblessness.The measures came after the unemployment rate for young adults hit an all-time high of 12.5 percent in February. The rate edged down to 11.8 percent in March, but it was still the highest on record for the month.Officials of the Employment Ministry say the
Editorial April 29, 2016
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[Robert B. Reich] Endgame of antiestablishment politics
Will Bernie Sanders’ supporters rally behind Hillary Clinton if she gets the nomination? Likewise, if Donald Trump is denied the Republican nomination, will his supporters back whoever gets the Republican nod?If 2008 is any guide, the answer is unambiguously yes to both. About 90 percent of the people who backed Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries that year ended up supporting Barack Obama in the general election. About the same percent of Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney backers came aroun
Viewpoints April 29, 2016
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[Des Browne, Daryl G. Kimball, Kairat Umarov] More work needed to ban nuclear bomb tests
The Nuclear Security Summit process, which concluded earlier this month in Washington, D.C., shows what can be achieved when political leaders come together to concentrate on a global problem. The six-year initiative, focused on preventing nuclear terrorism, produced important outcomes on eliminating, minimizing, and securing dangerous nuclear and radiological materials.Unfortunately, however, the nuclear threat is still far from being neutralized. The dangers posed by terrorist groups are growi
Viewpoints April 29, 2016
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[Editorial] Mandate for economy
The Korean economy is under siege. Look around, then you will see gloom and doom, from the delayed recovery of the global economy, the slowdown of the Chinese economy and low oil prices to dwindling exports, sluggish domestic demand, consumption and investment. Problems like youth unemployment, household debt and impending massive layoffs threaten social stability. The Bank of Korea has cut its growth forecast for this year to 2.8 percent from 3 percent, which is still higher than forecasts made
Editorial April 22, 2016
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[Editorial] Hard to change
Politicians should – or at least pretend to – respect the public mandate delivered in major elections like last week’s general election. One such way is to change – or at least promise to – but Korean political parties, winners and losers alike, remain as stale as ever. The two largest parties Saenuri and Minjoo are struggling with internal disputes that plagued their campaigns for the April 13 general election. The biggest problem lies with the biggest loser of the election, the Saenuri Party,
Editorial April 22, 2016
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[Leonid Bershidsky] Merkel’s blunder doesn’t justify Brexit
Advocates of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union have pounced on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ill-advised decision to allow the prosecution of satirist Jan Boehmermann for an obscene poem about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. To them, the German leader has illustrated the unacceptable compromises the European Union’s dysfunctional nature forces nations to accept. That may be right to a degree, but Merkel is walking a domestic tightrope, and she’s beginning to wobble. Earlier t
Viewpoints April 22, 2016
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[Eli Lake] Obama deepens Saudi Arabia ties
The U.S.-Saudi relationship appears to be on the rocks. Most recently, the rift of 9/11 has been reopened. This month “60 Minutes” reported on the still-classified final chapter of a 2003 Senate report on the attacks, which it said would show that some Saudi officials, charities and wealthy individuals supported two of the 9/11 hijackers. The Saudi connection is especially relevant now because Congress is considering legislation to allow the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for dama
Viewpoints April 22, 2016
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[Editorial] Signs from North Korea
The recent series of defections by North Koreans have serious implications for South Korea, which is obliged to assess the situation in the North correctly and work out countermeasures in the short, middle and long terms. First of all, the latest defections indicate that there are growing cracks in the North’s ruling elite. This may be an early sign of the North Korean system crumbling at the top. There had been cases of North Korean defections involving high-profile figures -- like Workers’ Par
Editorial April 13, 2016
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[Editorial] What election meant
Koreans have selected 300 people who will form the new National Assembly, with the hopes that it will -- at the least -- be better than the current parliament which many see as one of the worst performers in its history. Now that voters gave their verdict, politicians -- while trying to grasp what voters’ choices mean -- will say all the fine-looking things: Winners will express appreciation in the most modest possible manner, and promise to work only for the people; losers will express humble
Editorial April 13, 2016
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[Albert R. Hunt] Rivals should be in cahoots to stump Trump
Donald Trump is getting some unlikely assistance from his opponents in his uphill effort to win a majority of Republican presidential delegates. Ted Cruz and John Kasich remain too busy battling each other to unite in opposition to the front-runner.Cruz and Kasich have the same goal: to prevent Trump from getting close to the 1,237 delegates he needs for the nomination. Yet in remaining contests in New York, California, New Jersey and elsewhere, the battle between the two of them sets back that
Viewpoints April 13, 2016
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[Peter Singer] Can artificial intelligence be ethical?
Last month, AlphaGo, a computer program specially designed to play the game Go, caused shockwaves among aficionados when it defeated Lee Se-dol, one of the world’s top-ranked professional players, winning a five-game tournament by a score of 4-1.Why, you may ask, is that news? Twenty years have passed since the IBM computer Deep Blue defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov, and we all know computers have improved since then. But Deep Blue won through sheer computing power, using its ability
Viewpoints April 13, 2016
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[Kim Myong-sik] Dealing humbly with our remains after death
Lawyer Kim Chang-kook, an old friend of mine, died of liver cancer last week. His body -- thinned by the long bout of illness -- was cremated, with the remains placed in an earthen jar that was buried under a pine tree. He had caught hepatitis C many years ago and the disease had developed into liver cirrhosis, then to cancer. He had a liver transplant operation five years ago but the cancer had spread to his lung and other organs. Early last year, his doctor told him that he had 12 months to li
Viewpoints April 13, 2016
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