Dedicated analysts, casual observers and of course the politicians are struggling to decipher precisely the outcome of Sunday’s referendum in Thailand, in which a majority of voters backed the draft constitution and agreed that military-nominated senators should for at least five years be allowed to help elected MPs choose the prime minister.While the primary vote pertained to the content of the draft, the added question on empowering senators to select the head of government has been widely int

Viewpoints Aug. 11, 2016

We live in an age where, by means of a single social media post, the reputations of innocent people can easily — and instantly — be destroyed or damaged. All it takes is a name, a face, and a caption. None of the three needs to be accurate; the only requirement is that the caption is inflammatory and provocative. By the time the people in question get the chance to explain their side, many have judged them to be guilty. Guilty as posted. Guilty as captioned. Guilty but not even charged.“Ipa-vira

Viewpoints Aug. 11, 2016

Judges retiring from public service -- like other civil servants -- are subject to restrictions when they seek reemployment in the private sector, including at law firms and commercial companies. The regulation is necessary to prevent a revolving door between the court and private sector, which breeds corrupt ties between judges and their former colleagues. Korea’s anti-revolving door rule under the Public Service Ethics Act stipulates that high-ranking public officials, including judges and pro

Editorial Aug. 11, 2016

The election of Lee Jung-hyun as the new leader of the Saenuri Party has both positive and negative implications for politics within and beyond the conservative ruling party.  The first thing that should be noted is that Lee, a third-term lawmaker from Gokseong, South Jeolla Province, is the first politician from the southwestern region to take the helm of the Saenuri Party, which for decades has been deeply tied to the southeast. Lee said that his election would help ease antagonism between the

Editorial Aug. 11, 2016

Regulatory reform was a big part of Donald Trump’s major economic address yesterday, which offered three proposals to reduce excessive regulation. The problem is serious. The proposals aren’t.First, Trump calls for a temporary moratorium on all federal regulations. For starters, that would be unlawful. Congress has required executive agencies to issue regulations involving air pollution, food safety, consumer protection and highway safety. The president is not allowed to ignore those requirement

Viewpoints Aug. 11, 2016

The nation’s two major opposition parties have jointly proposed a bill on setting up a new state agency that would specialize in investigating corruption cases involving senior government officials.While the probe targets include former presidents, incumbent prime ministers, lawmakers, ministers and judges, the bill on launching an independent entity has come after a series of scandals involving incumbent and former prosecutors.As the Justice Ministry and prosecutors’ office had not been active

Editorial Aug. 10, 2016

The U.S. government continues to impose heavy penalties on Korean steel exporters.Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it would impose duties of a staggering 61 percent on hot-rolled flat steel products from South Korea’s POSCO.The penalties broke down into 3.89 percent in anti-dumping duties and 57.04 percent in countervailing duties. If the department’s decision is endorsed by the U.S. International Trade Commission, it will deal a harsh blow to Korea’s leading steel exporter

Editorial Aug. 10, 2016

For 32 years, a group of Republican and Democratic foreign-policy experts has gathered here each summer to debate strategic issues facing the country. This year the bipartisan group had a strange imbalance: None of the Republicans was prepared to argue the case of the GOP nominee, Donald Trump.  Trump would probably be pleased to know that he failed to muster support from the Aspen Strategy Group, as this gathering is known. In a sense, he’s running against the elite foreign policy establishment

Viewpoints Aug. 10, 2016

Fresh allegations of accounting fraud have surfaced at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, this time involving the troubled company’s incumbent management.Prosecutors have already questioned Kim Yeol-jung, the shipbuilder’s chief financial officer, over the suspicions that he had manipulated the company’s financial statements to reduce its 2015 operating losses by 120 billion won ($108 million).Investigators suspect that Daewoo’s incumbent president Chung Sung-lip had been aware of the all

Editorial Aug. 9, 2016

As the scorching heat wave continues, complaints are growing about the current electricity pricing system. Many grumble that they cannot keep their air conditioners on due to concerns about high electricity bills.　The power bill for a household that consumes 200 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month is 25,000 won (about $20). But the rate would soar to 250,000 won if it consumed 600 kWh by running an air conditioner eight hours a day throughout the month. While the amount of power consumption

Editorial Aug. 9, 2016