[Bobby Ghosh] Klaxons should be sounding in US after hit on Natanz

Beware the fog of propaganda around the Natanz attack. But beware, too, what the attack portends: a real escalation in the confrontation between Iran and Israel. And finally, beware any claims that the Biden administration is pivoting away from the Middle East. At the time of writing, it is not clear whether the damage to Iran’s largest uranium-enrichment facility over the weekend was the result of a cyberattack or sabotage by human hand. The regime in Tehran says Israel was responsible,

April 15, 2021

[Timothy L. O’Brien] Biden needs to respond to Russian hacking

President Joe Biden is a famously nice guy. Maybe he should stop being nice, just for a while. His administration is reportedly close to punishing Russia for a series of glaring transgressions and abuses, including the epic SolarWinds computer hack that has left governments and businesses worldwide exposed to a mammoth data breach. As Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, the White House may soon announce economic sanctions against individuals close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and expel Ru

April 14, 2021

[Kim Seong-kon] The vain dream of eternal power

Anyone who has seized political power wants to remain in power for good. Some have illusions that they can wield power forever, and others do whatever it takes not to lose power. Eventually, however, that dream of eternal power will be shattered and rulers will realize that power is evanescent in essence, after all. Indeed, no power on earth lasts forever. Not realizing this basic fact, our arrogant political leaders frequently harangue that they could and would remain in power for at least tw

April 14, 2021

[Lee Hyuk] ASEAN and Korea amid mounting US-China rivalry

The bitter war of words at the US-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Alaska last March portended the rough waves of the new Cold War between the US and China with profound implications for this region and the world. Geopolitically, ASEAN and Korea lie on the frontlines of US-China competition. Southeast Asia is particularly important to China because the region is a crucial gateway for China to access major sea routes to the rest of Asia and the world. And to gain greater leverage,

April 13, 2021

[Achim Steiner] Myanmar’s young demand their future

Half of Myanmar’s population is under the age of 30, and many of these young people have benefited from their country’s fragile, imperfect democratic transition over the past decade. They know the military’s return to power could reverse hard-won gains in human development and fundamental freedoms. Their future is at stake. So are their lives. On March 27, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing used the occasion of Armed Forces Day to claim that the military would protect the people and promote

April 13, 2021

[Elizabeth Drew] Why would anyone want to be president?

More often than anyone might think, ample grounds exist for wondering why anyone would want to be president of the United States. Yes, there’s the glory of being elected to occupy the country’s most powerful office, hearing “Hail to the Chief,” receiving military salutes, and being called “Mr. President.” One presides over elegant state dinners. One never has to wait in line for a tee time. Still, time and again, we see presidential hair turn white (Joe Biden&

April 12, 2021

[Peter Singer] Extending the right to die

The right to assistance in dying continues to gain ground. Last month, the Spanish parliament passed legislation, expected to come into effect in June, permitting doctors to assist adult patients to die if they have a “serious and incurable” disease that causes “unbearable suffering.” The doctor may either prescribe a lethal dose of a drug that patients can take themselves -- a mode known by various terms, including medical aid in dying, voluntary assisted dying, and phys

April 12, 2021

[Serendipity] Do not ignore Myanmar’s calls for help

Since ousting the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup on Feb. 1, the military junta in Myanmar has killed more than 600 as the people of Myanmar continue to resist military rule and call for democracy. Among those killed are more than 40 children, including Khin Myo Chit, 6, who was shot while in her father’s arms as the military raided her home. There have also been reports of bodies being burned beyond recognition. In one case of egregious brutality, a ma

April 9, 2021

[Robert J. Fouser] President Moon’s last year

As of this writing, polls are open in by-elections for mayor in Seoul and Busan. The election offers a chance to assess public opinion only 13 months before the next presidential election in May 2022. President Moon Jae-in’s approval ratings have dropped recently, suggesting that his ruling Democratic Party may face strong headwinds moving toward 2022. Since 1987, presidents in South Korea have been elected for a single five-year term. The term limit came from a desire to check the power

April 9, 2021

[Noah Feldman] Could Congress end gerrymandering?

The “For the People Act” currently being proposed by House Democrats would transform the way the US runs federal elections. Known as HR 1, the bill would make it substantially easier to vote. It would also counteract restrictive legislation enacted by Republican state legislatures in recent years. One provision stands out from the rest: the one that would end state-level gerrymandering by requiring that all legislative districts be set by independent, nonpartisan commissions, rather

April 8, 2021

[Kim Myong-sik] Seoul, Busan by-elections start reversal process

By the time this edition of The Korea Herald is delivered to readers, the winners of the April 7 mayoral by-elections in Seoul and Busan will have been decided. There was a weeklong blackout of opinion polls before the vote, but popularity figures of major contenders in the last surveys had been so lopsided that few had doubts about opposition victories in both the capital and the nation’s second-largest city. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea was fundamentally disadvantaged in these e

April 8, 2021

[Kim Seong-kon] ‘I Am Infected’: Surveil and punish

A few days ago, many people around the world witnessed a video of a Black American man brutally attacking a tiny Asian woman, stamping her face with his foot repeatedly in broad daylight on the streets of New York. Watching this graphic video, we were distressed and appalled at this outrageous event, which is a part of increasing violence against Asian Americans in the United States. These recent attacks have not only damaged the image of America throughout Asia, but have revived tensions betw

April 7, 2021

[Doyle McManus] Biden in race against time

Joe Biden is racing against time. “We have to move now,” he said last week as he unveiled his giant $2 trillion-plus economic plan. “We can’t delay another minute.” Why is a 78-year-old president once considered a cautious moderate suddenly going for broke? Because he knows his time is short. Like most new presidents, Biden is enjoying a modest honeymoon in the eyes of the public, but he knows from experience it won’t last. His job approval rating has been

April 7, 2021

[Noah Smith] Joe Biden has big data

President Joe Biden’s multitrillion-dollar plans to revitalize the US economy are rightfully drawing comparisons to his predecessor Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But while it’s the same goal, the two have somewhat different approaches, reflecting both the distinctive circumstances and the better data available to Biden. Biden’s initiatives are a lot like a newer New Deal in some respects. The recently announced infrastructure spending plan includes money for roads, bridges, housi

April 6, 2021

[Thitinan Pongsudhirak] The global reverberations of Myanmar’s coup

Myanmar is leading Southeast Asia’s race to the political bottom. Since overthrowing a civilian government on Feb. 1, the military has killed more than 530 unarmed civilian protesters and arrested thousands more. Now, the country is confronting a deepening humanitarian crisis and the growing possibility of a civil war -- developments that would have serious regional and even global consequences. Myanmar’s civilian government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democ

April 6, 2021

[Erika D. Smith] The secret to keeping this moment of solidarity between Black and Asian Americans

Najee Ali was surprised by the phone call. A young mother of Asian descent, Sia Marie Xiong, had been found dead at an apartment complex in Compton. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department had said it didn’t believe the shooting to be a hate crime, but with the recent rash of attacks on Asian Americans, the family wanted to push investigators to consider that possibility. They needed help. “That an Asian family called a Black activist,” Ali said, pausing in wonderm

April 5, 2021

[Digital Simplicity] NCSoft mishandles dispute it creates, disregarding disappointed players

NCSoft is a truly unique game developer. It does not depend much on younger players. It is focused largely on wealthy, middle-aged users with deep pockets, who are willing to “pay to win.” NCSoft’s flagship PC and mobile title Lineage keeps introducing new upgrade options and expensive packages on a weekly basis, and players, fearful of getting left behind, are forced to spend a lot of money to stay competitive. This business model, based on the fear of users in the hypercom

April 3, 2021

IAP chief stresses transborder synergy in crime prevention

As President of the International Association of Prosecutors, I was invited to attend the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, March 7-12 in 2021, co-hosted by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Japanese Ministry of Justice, in Kyoto, Japan. The IAP, based in The Hague, is the only worldwide organization of prosecutors committed to raising standards of prosecutorial conduct and ethics, promoting the rule of law and respect for human r

April 2, 2021

[Anders Fogh Rasmussen] Building a democratic high-tech alliance

One of the existential challenges facing the free world today is its disunity over emerging technologies. Divergence between the United States and the European Union in this area has helped China and other autocratic regimes as they forge ahead with developing new tools and establishing rules and norms that will guide many aspects of our lives, economies, and security for generations. Russian President Vladimir Putin is absolutely right: “Whoever becomes the leader in this (artificial inte

April 1, 2021

[Lee Kyong-hee] Nurses recount battle against COVID-19

On the last morning of February 2020, South Korea awakened to the news that Daegu had the largest number of COVID-19 cases outside of China and the city didn’t have enough medical personnel to cope with surging infections. Kang Jeong-hwa heard the news while going to work, and it haunted her the rest of the day. By the evening, she decided to act; she would plunge herself into the crisis. “Why you, among all people, mom?” asked her daughter, who had hurriedly returned from

April 1, 2021