The Korea Herald

[Editorial] Chain bankruptcies

Fears of chain bankruptcies are mounting among domestic construction companies following Sambu Construction Co.’s filing on Tuesday for a court-protected rehabilitation process. Holder of Korea’s first construction business license, Sambu placed 34th among the nation’s top 100 builders last year. It applied for court protection as financial companies refused to roll over the 427 billion won projec

Editorial April 15, 2011

Focus deficit-cutting efforts on bigger targets

The recent Sturm und Drang in Washington over a possible government shutdown was just a warm-up act for the more significant budget disputes to come this year. Rather than haggling over a few billions of dollars in spending, the debate over the budget for the next fiscal year will involve trillions of dollars worth of deficits and debt. And soon after Congress adopts a budget, it will have to deci

Viewpoints April 15, 2011

What now, after the rise in radiation rating?

Risk assessments have see-sawed between hopeful and grim, but never dire, in the month since the Fukushima nuclear complex began leaking radiation. The Japanese authorities’ caution showed how variable the nature of determining radioactive contamination was, as well as a wish to not overload the senses of a people coping with the earthquake-tsunami devastation. But it has been hard to keep the fai

Viewpoints April 15, 2011

[William Pesek] Can Japan avoid a recession?

The International Monetary Fund isn’t known for its forecasting prowess in Asia. Even by those standards, its latest guesstimate for Japan is a standout. By the IMF’s math, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, a 23-meter tsunami and nuclear reactors leaking radiation will barely nick growth. It now sees Japan advancing 1.4 percent this year, down from its earlier 1.6 percent prediction. That raises a very

Viewpoints April 15, 2011

[George Yeo] Nalanda and the Asian renaissance

SINGAPORE ― As Asia reemerges on the world stage in this century, its civilizational origins will become a subject of intense study and debate. Asians are rediscovering their own past and deriving inspiration from it for the future. This inspiration covers all fields including governance, scientific inquiry, architecture, wellness and aesthetics. A tremendous burst of creative adaptation is increa

Viewpoints April 15, 2011

[George Yeo] Nalanda and the Asian renaissance

Asia can take care of itself

ASEAN and its three regional partners ― Japan, China and South Korea ― have decided to launch a surveillance mechanism in May in the light of their $120 billion currency-swap facility that was established in 2009, to ensure sufficient U.S. dollar liquidity in the event of a financial crisis caused by sudden, massive capital outflows.The basic idea of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic and Research Offices

Viewpoints April 15, 2011

Reconstruction panel must offer vision for future

We hope the Reconstruction Design Council set up by the government on April 11 will offer hope and courage to those facing hardship in areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake.Through a Cabinet decision, the government set up the panel of experts tasked with presenting a set of proposals on the reconstruction of areas hit by the massive earthquake and tsunami.The 15-member council, head

Viewpoints April 15, 2011

[Martin Khor] New battle lines drawn in fighting climate change

The United Nations’ climate talks resumed last week in Bangkok. There was a lot of drama, with developing countries throwing a challenge to developed countries to proclaim themselves once and for all, whether they intend to continue with the Kyoto Protocol or to kill it.This North-South battle had already been boiling the whole of last year, especially at the big climate conference in Cancun in De

Viewpoints April 15, 2011

[Martin Khor] New battle lines drawn in fighting climate change

[Editorial] Offshore tax evasion

According to the National Tax Service, a shipping magnate is under investigation by the prosecution on charges of offshore tax evasion. The case draws our attention because the fine imposed on him is 410.1 billion won, the largest ever levied on an individual for stashing away personal wealth abroad.The NTS said the shipping tycoon, who is little known to the public, operates a fleet of 160 vessel

Editorial April 13, 2011

[Editorial] Chaebol’s responsibility

Under the incumbent Lee Myung-bak government, domestic business groups have expanded their assets and operations at an alarmingly fast clip, and concerns have been rekindled about excessive concentration of economic power.According to data recently released by the Fair Trade Commission, the top 20 business groups increased their asset holdings by 54.2 percent and the number of subsidiaries by 36 p

Editorial April 13, 2011

[Laurence Kotlikoff] U.S. squabbles over peanuts to tame elderly

The time to disagree agreeably is over for health care policy in America.U.S. President Barack Obama and Congress last week approved a measly budget cut of $39 billion and no tax increases. That leaves us with a massive deficit equal to 9 percent of gross domestic product and a debt-to-GDP ratio that will exceed 90 percent within six years.Our politicians touted this deal as the biggest compromise

Viewpoints April 13, 2011

America’s Arab world comeback

AMMAN ― Without much fanfare, the past few months have seen no anti-American demonstrations and no burning of American flags across the Arab world. Arabs seem increasingly willing to accept ― and even applaud ― the Obama administration’s policy toward the region.Of course, Arabs are still unhappy with the United States’ continued bias toward Israel. Its inability to end the 44-year military occupa

Viewpoints April 13, 2011

Let’s call Mexico’s drug cartels what they are

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, gets it. When drug cartel thugs order mass kidnappings, explode bombs, murder scores of public officials, behead victims or hang them from overpasses, and post signs in border-area cities warning of more violence if they don’t get their way, that’s not mere drug trafficking. That’s terrorism.Finally, someone in Washington is taking action in response to the unpre

Viewpoints April 12, 2011

Empower the FCC to protect Internet access

Even the Federal Communications Commission’s timid assertion of rights and protections for consumers on the Internet continues to inspire the wrath of Republicans.The U.S. House of Representatives cleared the way for a resolution disapproving of the FCC’s net-neutrality guidelines adopted in December. Debate and a vote on the resolution, a formal device used by Congress to block actions taken by f

Viewpoints April 12, 2011

[Jonathan Alter] Shutdown dance just a warm-up?

The root canal Americans experienced over the averted government shutdown may seem painless compared with the operation that’s coming: debate over raising the debt ceiling followed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s plan to overhaul the government.The political fates of President Barack Obama and most of Congress depend on the outcome. While the stakes for the 2011 budget skirmish has

Viewpoints April 12, 2011

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