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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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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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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[Herald Interview] Why Toss invited hackers to penetrate its system
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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S. Korean envoys convene to navigate strategy amid Middle East tensions
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N. Korea sends economic delegation to Iran amid suspected military cooperation
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[Editorial] Security void
Starting this year, the National Intelligence Service has taken its hands off anticommunist investigations entirely, handing the job to the police, who have taken full charge. Anticommunist investigations target violations of the National Security Law, such as espionage and anti-government activities. It was one of the main duties of the intelligence agency. The police say they are well prepared to assume the role, but public concern is still great. The previous Moon Jae-in administration pushed
EditorialJan. 2, 2024
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[Jeremy Adelman] What kind of authoritarian would Trump be?
Following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election in 2016, many pundits predicted a worldwide breakdown of democracy, and some warned of civil war. But, aside from Africa’s Sahel region, military coups remain rare, and civil wars rarer still. Instead, democracies have tended to break down through civilian coups. Such coups have been of three types in the post-Cold War era. Two have attracted much media attention; the one that should worry us the most, especially give
ViewpointsJan. 2, 2024
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[Robert Fouser] Improving housing quality in Seoul
City rankings often produce strange results. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s high ranking for Osaka, Japan in recent years has always struck me as odd. The group produces the “Global Liveability Ranking” report for cities around the world. The 2023 report examined 172 cities around the world using more than 30 quantitative and qualitative indicators. Among Asian cities, Osaka was tied for 10th place with Auckland, New Zealand. The most liveable city ranked as Vienna, Austria,
ViewpointsDec. 29, 2023
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[Editorial] Fix 52-hour workweek
The Supreme Court’s latest ruling on the 52-hour workweek system is expected to offer some relief to companies as well as workers in need of a more flexible allocation of work hours without violating related laws. But the dispute still lingers over possible side effects of the ruling, calling for remedy in labor policy. The top court on Monday overturned some part of the lower courts’ rulings that found an owner of a flight cabin cleaning company in violation of the Labor Standards A
EditorialDec. 29, 2023
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[Editorial] The first lady conundrum
The Democratic Party of Korea, which holds majority control of the National Assembly, is set to pass a bill Thursday to appoint a special counsel to investigate first lady Kim Keon Hee over her alleged involvement in stock price manipulation that took place between 2010 and 2012. Under the previous Moon Jae-in administration, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office investigated the allegations against Kim for a year and half, but failed to indict her. The court ruled on the Deutsch
EditorialDec. 28, 2023
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[Steven Kull, J.P. Thomas] Safeguarding democracy from AI
The Founding Fathers of the United States asserted that elected officials should listen to and be influenced by the views of the electorate. As James Madison said, “It is the reason, alone, of the public, that ought to control and regulate the government.” However, the means for government officials to hear from the people are limited. Elected officials receive emails, letters, phone calls and input at town halls, and some agencies occasionally ask for public comments on complex regu
ViewpointsDec. 28, 2023
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[Wang Son-taek] Beyond the security dilemma and Pyrrhic victory
Year 2023 has been another eventful year, as we have experienced in the past, and foreign and security policies are not exceptions. There were some successes in diplomacy with the Republic of Korea, but there were also many disappointing and embarrassing scenes. There has been some progress in the Korea-US alliance, Korea-Japan relations and Korea-US-Japan cooperation. However, as a reaction xto the three nations' solidarity, North Korea has shown more provocative actions, and China, Russi
ViewpointsDec. 28, 2023
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[J. Bradford DeLong] The US Fed's remarkable feat
Monetary-policy watchers are currently divided into two groups. But perhaps both sides should pause and reflect on where we were 18 months ago and where we are now. On one side of the divide are those of us who still obsess over the great imbalance between the supply of savings and the demand for funds for real investment. These were the conditions that underpinned a decade of zero-lower-bound (ZLB) interest rates and secular stagnation (low growth due to structurally low aggregate demand) after
ViewpointsDec. 27, 2023
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[Kim Seong-kon] Reminiscing about the turbulent year, 2023
The tempestuous year 2023 is waning and the hopeful year 2024 is dawning. Looking back upon this past year, the best thing that happened was the announcement of the end of the COVID-19 health crisis after the pandemic had devastated the world for three years. The worst thing that happened was the terrible war between Israel and Hamas that broke out amidst the ongoing horrors of the war in Ukraine, making so many people’s lives miserable. In addition, we witnessed the awesome power of artif
ViewpointsDec. 27, 2023
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[Editorial] Supply chain risk
Conflict over supply chains is deepening between the US and China. China on Thursday banned the export of technology to extract and separate rare earths, materials used to manufacture a wide array of high-tech products. Beijing stresses protecting national security and public interest as the main reasons, but it seems to have made a countermove to a US move to expand restrictions on trade with China. Prior to the Chinese ban, the US said it will launch a survey to identify how US companies are s
EditorialDec. 27, 2023
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[Erwin Chemerinsky] Decide on Colorado's ruling quickly
The Colorado Supreme Court did the country an enormous service by ruling that Donald Trump is ineligible to be president and squarely presenting the constitutional issue before the US Supreme Court. The high court should take the case and decide quickly whether Donald Trump is disqualified from the ballot because of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. It would be a political nightmare to resolve this question after Trump wins the Republican nomination or even worse, after he’s elected presi
ViewpointsDec. 26, 2023
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[Editorial] Policies for older people
Both the ruling and main opposition parties are now rushing to announce new election pledges targeting the elderly in a bid to win more seats in the forthcoming general election in April next year. In rapidly aging South Korea, it is no surprise that politicians are catering to this important voter group. But the question is whether generous -- or populist in the eyes of critics -- election pledges can be implemented without securing enough funds. Last week, both President Yoon Suk Yeol and Demo
EditorialDec. 26, 2023
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[Editorial] Ailing party's best bet
Han Dong-hoon accepted his new post as interim leader of the ruling party and resigned as justice minister on Thursday. The daring and relatively articulate former prosecutor seems to be the torpid party’s best bet. The ruling People Power Party has been powerless ever since the last general elections in 2020, and is terrified of another crushing defeat in the upcoming vote in April. With the Democratic Party of Korea holding the majority in the National Assembly and thus, the power to pas
EditorialDec. 22, 2023
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[Martin Schram] Challenges of a leader-lite world
The Donald and Bibi are two of a kind. Among the things they have in common is that they are not up to coping with the challenges of today. We are about to see why. The world has been watching as these two men well into their 70s, with courtroom trials pending, have appeared willing to do whatever it takes to regain or retain the power – and not end up in jail. Even if it meant shattering their nation’s democracy. They have seemed desperate to remain in control. Until things explod
ViewpointsDec. 21, 2023
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[Anastassia Fedyk, Tatyana Deryugina] Talks can’t end the Ukraine war, because Russia lies
Following the full-scale invasion by Russia in February 2022, Ukraine has suffered tremendously. Tens of thousands have died, and a quarter of the country’s prewar population has been displaced. Homes, neighborhoods and entire cities have been reduced to rubble. Some question the wisdom of Ukraine continuing to fight back instead of seeking to negotiate with Russia. President Vladimir Putin himself claims he “does not reject the idea of peace talks,” while prominent figures hav
ViewpointsDec. 21, 2023
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[Editorial] Reduce security risks
President Yoon Suk Yeol nominated his national security adviser Cho Tae-yong as director of the National Intelligence Service and Cho Tae-yul, a former second vice foreign minister, as foreign minister. Considering Yoon's appointments of Kim Yung-ho and Shin Won-sik as the unification and defense ministers in August and October, respectively, the president has effectively completed his new diplomacy and security team. They have a lot on their shoulders now that the tension around the Korean
EditorialDec. 21, 2023
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[Jonathan Bernstein] Will 3rd parties hurt Biden or Trump?
With former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney’s comments that she’s considering an independent bid for president against Donald Trump, experts are beginning to game out how she and other third-party candidates could affect next year’s election. A political action committee backing independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign announced that it’s planning to spend at least $10 million to get his name on that ballot in 10 states. And the quasi-party No Labels has threatened
ViewpointsDec. 20, 2023
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[Editorial] Fears of negative growth
South Korea’s economic growth has been tepid in recent years, with experts calling for drastic measures to shore up sagging productivity and the shrinking working-age population. And a new report highlights the forthcoming crisis: a negative growth from 2042, a mere 19 years from now. The report, issued by the Economic Research Institute of the Bank of Korea, paints a truly gloomy picture for the country in the 2030s and 2040s unless the country deals with its sluggish productivity and plu
EditorialDec. 20, 2023
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[Kim Seong-kon] For world peace, we should all be like 'The Interpreter'
The 2005 American political thriller, “The Interpreter,” directed by Sydney Pollack, illustrates how a good politician who was once a rebel leader fighting tyranny can easily turn into a dictator himself when he possesses political power. They say that you become a monster when you fight a monster. Of course, after slaying the monster, the idea is that you should return to being a normal human. Unfortunately, however, many monster fighters remain monsters and become dictators themsel
ViewpointsDec. 20, 2023
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[Robin Abcarian] Who will make abortion pill rules?
Here we go again. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court announced that it will decide whether the Food and Drug Administration has wrongly loosened the rules for abortion pills, which have been used safely for decades and now account for half of all US abortions. The case against the drug, mifepristone, was filed by a group of antiabortion physicians in a Texas federal court whose sole judge, US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, is known for his right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+, antiabortion bent. The physicia
ViewpointsDec. 19, 2023