From WikiLeaks to DCLeaks, there‘s no shortage of leaked data popping up online, some of it highly classified. When such information is leaked, much of the attention focuses on the identity of the source. But the source is largely irrelevant if the data is credible. (Typically you’ll know the data is credible if the subject of the breach complains about it to authorities.) Rather, we should ask ourselves whether we really want a culture of total transparency and accessibility to be the new norma

Viewpoints Aug. 29, 2016

South Korea and Russia are set to reinforce government- and business-level cooperation on Moscow’s plans to develop the Russian Far East.Russia plans to support Korean firms investing into its projects to build cold storage facilities and modernize harbors in Vladivostok, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.Outlook on the bilateral economic ties is bright, as Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho shared the goals and emphasized the importance of partnership with his counterpart Yuri Trutnev a

Editorial Aug. 28, 2016

South Korea’s combined household debt was at an all-time high of 1.25 quadrillion won ($1.12 trillion) as of June 2016, and is projected to reached a fresh record during the third quarter of this year.While there is a possibility the nation’s consumer debt will exceed the 1.3 quadrillion mark by the year’s end in the wake of its continuously snowballing pace, policymakers have moved to curb its growth rate.Last Thursday, the Finance Ministry said it would control the number of houses and apartme

Editorial Aug. 28, 2016

Donald Trump’s recent claim that his opponent in the US presidential race, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and President Barack Obama founded the Islamic State extremist group is vicious nonsense. But it is also an ironic charge for Trump to make: If anyone in the United States is helping the IS group, it is he.In a recent speech on foreign policy, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee laid out a supposed plan for defeating IS that, in classic Trump fashion, overflowed with cont

Viewpoints Aug. 28, 2016

By any measure, Shanghai is one of the world’s biggest cities. It‘s home to more than 24 million people. Its subway system is the longest ever built, extending to its rural limits. Crowds are so thick that burly “shovers” get paid to help pack the trains. Now the local government is saying enough is enough: Documents released this week reveal that Shanghai intends to admit a mere 800,000 new residents over the next 24 years, on its way to becoming an “excellent global city.”　A population cap on

Viewpoints Aug. 28, 2016

The US Treasury thinks it’s bad enough that companies such as Apple park piles of cash overseas to avoid paying tax. What’s worse is when foreign authorities change the rules that attracted the money in the first place, and tax those holdings for themselves.In effect, the European Commission is threatening to do just that. Apple and other US companies could soon be hit with retrospective demands for tax running into the billions of dollars. This week the Barack Obama administration objected, acc

Viewpoints Aug. 28, 2016

The government’s 5.6 trillion-won ($5 billion) free school meals scheme has been found to be supplying improper lunches to many of the nation’s 6.14 million students.A government task force inspected between April and July some 2,400 food suppliers and lunch operators and visited 274 of the nation’s 11,700 elementary, middle and high schools that provide students with hot lunches.The team’s findings, released Tuesday, were disappointing and shocking. It has uncovered a total of 677 violations of

Editorial Aug. 24, 2016

Escalating inter-party hostility threatens to kill the 11 trillion-won ($9.7 billion) extra budget bill, which is intended to ease the pain of corporate restructuring and stimulate the sluggish economy.The ruling Saenuri Party, the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea and the minor opposition People’s Party at first agreed to pass the bill on Aug. 12. Then they delayed its passage to Aug. 22. As things stand now, they may not be able to act on it until the ongoing parliamentary session ends

Editorial Aug. 24, 2016

France has been seized by a silly hysteria over the burkini, prompting me to wonder when Europeans will get serious about their Islamist challenge.For starters, what is a burkini? The word (sometimes spelled burqini) combines the names of two opposite articles of female clothing: the burqa (an Islamic tent-like, full-body covering) and the bikini. Also known as a halal swimsuit, it modestly covers all but the face, hands and feet, consisting of a top and a bottom. It resembles a wetsuit with a h

Viewpoints Aug. 24, 2016

In the summer of 1954, during hearings prompted by his investigation of Communism in the U.S. Army, Wisconsin Sen. Joe McCarthy hit his professional nadir. Speaking to Joseph Welch, chief counsel for the Army, McCarthy accused a young lawyer who worked in Welch’s law firm of having been “a member of an organization which is named, oh, years and years ago, as the legal bulwark of the Communist Party.”Welch was stunned. “Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty, or yo

Viewpoints Aug. 24, 2016

NEW YORK -- To say that the eurozone has not been performing well since the 2008 crisis is an understatement. Its member countries have done more poorly than the European Union countries outside the eurozone, and much more poorly than the United States, which was the epicenter of the crisis.The worst-performing eurozone countries are mired in depression or deep recession; their condition -- think of Greece -- is worse in many ways than what economies suffered during the Great Depression of the 1

Viewpoints Aug. 24, 2016

WASHINGTON, DC -- This month, I completed a two-week, six-stop tour of the Pacific, beginning with a visit to the United States Army’s 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii. It was a fitting way to start the trip, a reminder that the US Army is critical to forming the foundation for security in the Pacific.The 25th Infantry Division, which in its early years earned the nickname “Tropic Lightning,” marks its 75th anniversary this autumn. The men and women stationed there -- and, indeed, all US soldier

Viewpoints Aug. 24, 2016