The Korea Herald

[Robert Reich] The U.S. crisis in public morality

Republicans have morality upside down. They’re condemning gay marriage, abortion, access to contraception, and the wall separating church and state.But the moral crisis in America isn’t a breakdown in private morality. It’s a breakdown in public morality. What Americans do in their bedrooms is their own business. What corporate executives and Wall Street financiers do in boardrooms and executive suites affects all of us.We’re living through a new Gilded Age of financial fraud and conflicts of in

March 23, 2012

[Robert Reich] The U.S. crisis in public morality

International buyers come calling for Brunei’s gas

Witn a well-stocked energy sector, international buyers are lining up to access Brunei Darussalam’s liquefied natural gas. It will be up to officials to ensure that a balance is struck between fueling overseas demand and supplying the local economy, and in particular, the country’s growing petrochemicals industry, the Oxford Business Group said in its latest report.Estimates put Brunei Darussalam’s natural gas reserves at around 390 billion cu meters, though this is likely to be extended due to

March 23, 2012

Japan needs to change electric power policy

The catastrophe at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has demonstrated that the long-standing assertion by the power industry and the government that nuclear power is safe and cheap is sheer propaganda and a gigantic myth.It proves that utilization of nuclear power involves great risks and that an electricity supply system based on large-scale power plants concentrated in certain areas is vulnerable to disasters. Regrettably, the administration of Prime Minister Yoshi

March 23, 2012

Vicious circle of low pay, business slump must end

The outcome of this year’s spring labor offensive, known as “shunto,” has been bleak, with major companies in such key industrial sectors as automobiles and electronics not offering any pay increases. Offers regarding biannual bonuses have also been harsh, falling below last year’s levels at most companies.Because of the historic appreciation of the yen and the deterioration of economic conditions overseas, the business performance of the nation’s companies has been stagnant.Under the circumstan

March 23, 2012

[Andrew Sheng] The future of Asian banking models

Last week I made my first visit to Bangkok since the floods in December. The city seemed to have recovered and the economy was on the mend. After an estimated 0.1 percent growth in real GDP in 2011, the International Institute of Finance is forecasting a robust 7 percent growth recovery in 2012, helped by a multi-year fiscal stimulus that would bring the fiscal deficit to an estimated 5.5 percent of GDP for the fiscal year 2011-2012. The package of fiscal stimulus included a 40 percent hike in m

March 23, 2012

[Andrew Sheng] The future of Asian banking models

Wealth taxes make great politics, poor economics

In this age of austerity, many governments are looking for ways to fill gaps in their budgets by taxing the rich more. These proposals make for great politics, but terrible economics. This week, the U.K.’s coalition government will produce its budget for the next year. Among proposals being discussed between the coalition partners is a so-called mansion tax ― an annual 1 percent levy on homes worth more than 2 million pounds ($3.2 million). In Russia, meanwhile, President-elect Vladimir Putin ha

March 22, 2012

[Robert Shiller] The euro’s imagined community

NEW HAVEN ― Great significance ― probably too much ― has been attached to a possible breakup of the eurozone. Many believe that such a breakup ― if, say, Greece abandoned the euro and reintroduced the drachma ― would constitute a political failure that would ultimately threaten Europe’s stability. Speaking before the Bundestag last October, German Chancellor Angela Merkel put the matter starkly:“Nobody should believe that another half-century of peace and prosperity in Europe is guaranteed. It i

March 22, 2012

[Robert Shiller] The euro’s imagined community

Who’s watching Obama’s life-or-death decisions?

Bear with me while I quote from “The Godfather” ― hey, doesn’t everyone? ― because this is really about how Barack Obama has been playing fast and loose with the Constitution.Michael Corleone tells Kay that his dad, Vito, is really no different than “a senator or a president.” Kay tells Michael that he’s being naive, because “senators and presidents don’t have men killed.”To which Michael says, “Oh. Who’s being naive, Kay?”You tell her, Michael! Because, as the U.S. attorney general made clear t

March 22, 2012

Renewables can meet all future energy needs

BRUSSELS ― It has been evident for years that Europe needs an energy system that can cut dependence on fossil fuels, bring down future energy costs, and fight climate change. But the Fukushima accident in Japan one year ago underscored the need for an energy source that will fill the gap left by declining nuclear power. Many ask: is renewable energy up to the task?In the aftermath of the Fukushima meltdown, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that now is the time for the renew

March 22, 2012

[Jeffrey Robertson] Time to start debate on Korea’s role as middle-power

During March 26-27, Seoul will host global leaders for the Nuclear Security Summit, just two years after it hosted the G20 Leaders Summit. It is today obvious that South Korea is a middle-power. Yet, it is rare to hear South Korean politicians talk about being a middle-power. Why?The first condition of being a middle-power is to be positioned between great powers and smaller powers in the measurement of political, economic and military power. South Korea comfortably satisfies this condition. Ind

March 22, 2012

[Jeffrey Robertson] Time to start debate on Korea’s role as middle-power

Ghost of Kim Jong-il haunts the region

North Korea’s declaration on Friday that it would conduct a satellite test next month proves one thing: Kim Jong-il might be dead, but his ghost still haunts the Korean peninsula.The announcement was a shock, coming just three weeks after a deal was reached between the United States and North Korea, where Washington agreed to provide 240,000 tons of food aid in return for Pyongyang’s suspension of nuclear and missile testing.The deal had led to cautious hopes that new leader Kim Jong-un might ad

March 21, 2012

[David Ignatius] Bin Laden papers show his mindset

WASHINGTON ― What’s riveting about the documents taken from Osama bin Laden’s compound, beyond the headline items about plots to kill American leaders, is the way they allow the reader to get inside the terrorist mastermind’s head. I’ve only seen a small sample of the thousands of items that were carried away the night of May 2, 2011. But even those few documents shown to me by a senior Obama administration official give a sense of how bin Laden looked at the world in the years before his death.

March 21, 2012

[David Ignatius] Bin Laden papers show his mindset

Korea makes its presence felt in the Middle East

When talking about a “going-abroad” policy, China immediately and justifiably comes to mind. From a Middle Eastern perspective, however, a smaller country has been taking an increasingly confident posture and deserves attention. In 2009, it took nearly everyone by surprise when a consortium of its leading companies won a $20.4 billion contract to construct four nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates, beating traditional nuclear suppliers from France and the United States. This developm

March 21, 2012

[Meghan Daum] The line Limbaugh crossed

Last week, in a column about Rush Limbaugh’s verbal attacks on Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke, I mentioned that there were those on the left who are also guilty of using crude language against women. For example, I wrote, Bill Maher has said things about Sarah Palin that are “wholly unacceptable.” A number of readers, some Limbaugh fans and some not, found that assessment wholly unacceptable too.They were right. I didn’t say enough. So even as the Fluke flap gets absorbed into la

March 21, 2012

[Lee Byong-chul] South Korea, Israel share fear of nuclear catastrophe

SEOUL ― The United States is now wrestling with the nuclear fears of two of its close allies, Israel and South Korea. Israel’s alarm at the prospect of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon is existential in nature. The same is true of South Korea, whose capital sits only 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the border with the North.On Feb. 29, the U.S. and North Korea reached an agreement in which the North promised to halt its nuclear weapons development in exchange for food aid. But South Koreans know th

March 21, 2012

[Lee Byong-chul] South Korea, Israel share fear of nuclear catastrophe

Raising children safely in era of social media

Kendal, an engaging girl who looks about 11 years old, is wearing a koala bear hat in the video she uploaded to YouTube. In it, she looks straight at the camera, explaining that “I just wanted to make a random video seeing if I was, like, ugly or not, because a lot of people call me ugly and I think I am ugly.”In the time it took me to watch the video, titled “Am I Pretty or Ugly?” 13 new answers to her question appeared, including this one: “ugly, kill yourself.” The crowd-sourcing of Kendal’s

March 20, 2012

[Lee Jae-min] The FTA journey has just begun

The long odyssey has finally come to an end. Fifty-seven months after the jubilant signing ceremony and ensuing heated debates in the legislatures of both countries, the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement went into effect on March 15. Despite all the controversies, the majority view is that this agreement reflects the long-term trade interests of the two countries in a balanced manner and opens up a new horizon for bilateral trade.Not surprisingly, a huge sigh of relief is being heard in both capit

March 20, 2012

[Lee Jae-min] The FTA journey has just begun

How will the war end in Afghanistan?

This has been one of the worst fortnights in the increasingly unhappy 10-year Afghan war for NATO and, above all, the United States and its ally, Britain.First there was the burning of the Korans at Bagram air base, which unleashed a wave of religious fury and revenge killings of U.S. troops. Then came the deaths of six British soldiers, incinerated by a giant Taliban bomb two weeks ago, which pushed the British death toll in the war over the symbolic 400 mark. Support in Britain for an increasi

March 20, 2012

[Kim Seong-kon] Rosy election lies and sweet talk

It is well known that elections are both benevolent and malevolent. They are benevolent because politicians can suddenly become extremely generous and come up with all sorts of rosy promises. For example, facing elections for the National Assembly and the office of the president this year, politicians have made promises ranging from a 400 percent increase of pay for drafted soldiers to incredibly beneficial welfare policies. If one listens to the plethora of fantastic promises being made, one ma

March 20, 2012

Paradise Jeju Island: a Tahiti in South Pacific?

Jeju Island is one of Korea’s most attractive tourist destinations for Koreans and foreign visitors. Its reputation of unique beauty and majesty has been widely known for a long time.Indeed, Jeju is a special place. Its distinct traditions, diverse flora, magnificent landscapes and what could only be described as playful remnants of nature’s most creative formations are harmoniously mixed to become the home to nine of the world’s 66 UNESCO Global Geoparks. Even Mr. Robert Redford, not so long ag

March 20, 2012