The Korea Herald

[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

[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

[Career Compass] Preparing for a job interview?

[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

[Takatoshi Ito] How risky is Japan‘s monetary-policy normalization?

[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

[Anya Schiffrin, Dylan W. Groves and Joseph E. Stiglitz] Quality journalism is more important than ever

[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

[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

[Kim Seong-kon] A great grandmother’s ‘Memoirs of the Times’

[Editorial] Pension reform

As South Korea rapidly ages, the national pension fund is expected to be drained by 2055 if no changes are made to its structure. The special parliamentary committee for pension reform is currently reviewing two reform plans. Plan A is about paying more in premiums and receiving a greater pension. It calls for raising the premium rate from the current 9 percent to 13 percent, and the income replacement ratio from 40 percent to 50 percent. Under Plan A, the national pension fund will be depleted

EditorialApril 24, 2024

[Eric Posner] What to look for in Trump's first trial

As the first criminal case against Donald Trump gets underway in New York City, the media have forgone their customary practice of declaring the “trial of the century”. Trial of the month is more like it, since three more are set to follow. The sheer number of criminal trials involving different allegations -- hush money payments, retention of confidential documents, and election interference -- would seem to guarantee a conviction and Trump’s final ejection from public life. A

ViewpointsApril 24, 2024

[Eric Posner] What to look for in Trump's first trial

[Grace Kao] The Golden Girls in 1980s Miami vs 2020s Seoul

Older women generally fade from view in the media, but the Korean and American shows “(The) Golden Girls” are two exceptions. “Golden Girls” is a popular show on KBS that features Park Jin-young (JYP)’s goal of bringing four famous singers -- Insooni (66 years old), Park Mi-kyung (58 years old), Shin Hyo-bum (56 years old), and Lee Eun-mi (57 years old) -- back as members of a new female idol group. The show’s title and premise reminded me of the popular 1980s

ViewpointsApril 23, 2024

[Grace Kao] The Golden Girls in 1980s Miami vs 2020s Seoul

[Editorial] Beyond the first meeting

Expectations are mounting for the first-ever official face-to-face meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and the Democratic Party of Korea's leader Lee Jae-myung, which could take place as early as this week. The meeting would be a crucial political event that could shed light on how the country’s key agenda items will be prioritized after the April 10 general election. On Friday, Yoon proposed the meeting in a call to Lee. Since then, the two sides have been coordinating the detail

EditorialApril 23, 2024

[Editorial] Be a doctor, or not

The government said Friday it will let universities decide on the number of medical school freshmen they want to admit next year within a certain range, in an apparent compromise in its standoff with doctors. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said that universities will be allowed to increase the places between 50 percent and 100 percent of the previously allocated increment. For instance, Gyeongsang National University’s medical college, which was set to admit a total of 200 freshmen next year

EditorialApril 22, 2024

[Yoo Choon-sik] Managing household debt

South Korea's significant household debt burden has long been recognized as one of the top risks facing the country's overall economy, positioning the nation near the top of the list among the world's major economies. Given this risk, every administration has made containing household debt one of its top economic policy goals. The Yoon Suk Yeol administration was no exception, emphasizing the importance of containing household debt, along with government debt, since Yoon's in

ViewpointsApril 22, 2024

[Wang Son-taek] New direction of Korean diplomacy after election

The general election in South Korea on April 10 ended with the landslide victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the disastrous defeat of the ruling People Power Party. The Democratic Party won 175 out of 300 seats in parliament. It is one of the most significant victories by an opposition party in the history of Korean politics. The party won 180 seats four years ago, but the meaning is different because it was the ruling party in 2020. Besides, just a couple of months after the formidab

ViewpointsApril 19, 2024

[Wang Son-taek] New direction of Korean diplomacy after election

[Robert J. Fouser] After the National Assembly election

By any measure, the results of the April 10 National Assembly elections were a disaster for President Yoon Suk Yeol and his People Power Party. No incumbent president since democratization in 1987 has suffered a more resounding rebuke. The question now is what it means for the future of South Korean politics and, more broadly, the country itself. After the votes were counted, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and affiliate party Democratic United ended up with 175 seats, up 19 from

ViewpointsApril 19, 2024

[Robert J. Fouser] After the National Assembly election

[Editorial] Korean won worries

The South Korean currency’s sharp drop Tuesday triggered a flurry of warnings and statements from financial authorities, which helped stabilized the won to some extent in the following two sessions. But vigilant monitoring is in order as volatility may not fade out soon. It was a resounding red flag that the Korean won weakened to hit the psychologically important 1,400 won per dollar during an intraday trading Tuesday, affected by the sales of more assets by foreign investors here, the es

EditorialApril 19, 2024

[Editorial] Act like a union

The trainee doctors who walked off the job two months ago in protest of the government’s plan to increase medical school enrollment are now demanding shorter mandatory military service among other things. Ryu Ok Hada, a resident who tendered his resignation on Feb. 16, said Tuesday he interviewed 150 interns and residents, and they said they would return to work if they are guaranteed the right to organize unions and to strike. “It appears that about half of the trainee doctors are w

EditorialApril 18, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea

There are a number of popular misconceptions about the meaning of democracy in Korea. Sometimes, we misunderstand democracy as merely “rule by the majority.” However, true democracy should also respect the opinions of the minority. Other times, we mistake democracy for the maxim that “we can do whatever we want to do.” In a democratic system, people authorize their elected representatives to work on their behalf. Thus, we should not expect these representatives to ask for

ViewpointsApril 17, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea

[Dennis Ross] Israel must end the Gaza War

The Iranian-Israeli war has now emerged from the shadows with the barrage of over 300 drones, rockets, and cruise missiles Iran launched at Israel. Along with the US military and other partners, the Israel Defense Forces were able to intercept 99 percent of them. Once again, the Israeli military demonstrated its superb capabilities, but US support was essential. Although Israel takes pride in being able to defend itself, circumstances have changed. When facing threats on seven fronts, as the

ViewpointsApril 17, 2024

[Dennis Ross] Israel must end the Gaza War

[Editorial] No more one-way street

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday said he would work to improve his communication with the people and try to accept the public sentiment, making his first public comments after the crushing defeat of his conservative ruling party in the April 10 elections. “All of us have to accept the public sentiment revealed in the general elections in a humble manner,” Yoon said in a televised speech during a Cabinet meeting. “I will communicate more in a humbler and more flexible attitude

EditorialApril 17, 2024

[Sławomir Sierakowski] Beating back populists at the grassroots

Although local elections often don’t make international news headlines or involve widely recognizable household names, anyone who cares about the state of liberal democracy would do well to pay attention to them. In Turkey, for example, recent elections not only revealed widespread dissatisfaction with the country’s autocratic president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, they also offered broader lessons for long-struggling opposition parties about how to select effective candidates and run effe

ViewpointsApril 16, 2024

[Sławomir Sierakowski] Beating back populists at the grassroots