The latest developments surrounding a group of 13 North Korean defectors who recently resettled in South Korea gives us several things to think about. First, the case reminds us of the Cold War-era past in which the two Koreas were engaged in a fierce publicity war about which was the better place to live. During that time, the two Koreas took full advantage of defectors from either side — to be fair, those from the North far outnumbered those from the South — to blow their own trumpet. Official

Editorial June 24, 2016

This was never supposed to happen. Three years ago, when U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron promised his country a referendum on remaining a member of the European Union, he was sure of victory. The country had other ideas. On Thursday Britain voted to quit.It’s a momentous choice -- and not in a good way. The immediate risk to Britain’s economy is grave, because the vote creates enormous uncertainty. This is likely to persist for months, until it becomes clear what kind of new trading rules will

Viewpoints June 24, 2016

The U.K. has voted for the “most expensive divorce proceeding in the history of the world,” in the words of U.S. billionaire Wilbur Ross, with BBC projections showing voters backed “Leave” by 52 percent to 48 percent. The challenge facing both Britain and its newly ditched European partners now is to ensure that the separation doesn’t deteriorate into acrimony and revenge.　The EU should regard the referendum result as a wake-up call. Discontent with how the bloc operates isn’t restricted to Brit

Viewpoints June 24, 2016

Lawmakers of the 20th National Assembly have completed the election of the new parliamentary leadership with unprecedented swiftness, showing their resolve to make the new Assembly different from previous ones. On Thursday, they picked Rep. Chung Sye-kyun of the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea as the new speaker, while electing Rep. Shim Jae-chul of the ruling Saenuri Party and Rep. Park Joo-sun of the minor opposition People’s Party as vice speakers.The election of the new leadership

Editorial June 10, 2016

The government has finally unveiled a plan to restructure the nation’s ailing shipbuilding and shipping industries. The scheme, announced Wednesday, calls for creating an 11 trillion won ($9.5 billion) fund to recapitalize the two state-run banks, the Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, which are heavily exposed to the two sectors.The main contributor to the fund is the Bank of Korea, which will provide 10 trillion won in the form of a loan to the government. The Industri

Editorial June 10, 2016

South Korea is set to diversify its foreign language education at schools under a law on special language education promotion.As the Education Ministry has stated, it is welcome to see that the nation is seeking to modify the current situation in which Koreans have excessively engaged in learning English over the past decades. The second most popularly learned foreign language at colleges and private institutes was Japanese formerly, and is Chinese presently.The ministry said it will provide uni

Editorial June 5, 2016

Retail oil prices recently reached their highest so far this year in Korea amid a rapid bounce-back in international crude prices.Gasoline prices have surpassed the former 2016 record of 1,406.72 won ($1.18) per liter, which was recorded on Jan. 1, after hitting the bottom of 1,339.51 won in early March. Diesel prices have also posted a V-type rebound to break the 1,200-won barrier.The domestic prices growth reflects an about 90 percent jump in crude prices within just three to four months. Desp

Editorial June 5, 2016

The shooting of Harambe the gorilla to save a 3-year-old boy who’d fallen into an enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo whipped the Internet into a frenzy. The boy’s mother has been branded a terrible parent and authorities are investigating the incident and the zoo.We’re not here to referee Web flaming or to second-guess zookeepers’ actions. Let’s turn the scope around and examine a deeper — and healthier — theme: The intense public outcry over this killing reflects a broad shift in public attitudes

Viewpoints June 5, 2016

There is an important, but quiet debate in the economics profession about what leads to big recessions: wealth or debt.Almost everyone agrees, at this point, that the Great Recession of 2007-09 was caused by the financial system. But that leaves the question of what, exactly, happens in a financial system that leads an economy to crash. Formal economic models of financial shocks are not very realistic. They usually assume the harm comes from disruption to the banking system, which acts like a su

Viewpoints June 5, 2016

International crude prices have reached nearly $50 a barrel, gaining about 100 percent in about four months. Though the prices may shift downward again amid the supply glut, few will deny that oil prices hit bottom in the first quarter.The simultaneous rebound in gasoline and diesel prices is not good news for ordinary car drivers in Korea.Amid concerns over higher fuel costs, the Environment Ministry is also pushing for hikes in the retail diesel price as part of its efforts to improve the envi

Editorial May 27, 2016

South Korea’s rapidly climbing household debt is a key factor hampering the nation’s growth potential.Its significance is evident when we compare the growth of the nation’s gross domestic product and collective household debt in the first quarter. While GDP inched up 2.7 percent on-year during the first three months, the nation’s household debt surged 11.4 percent on-year, or 125.5 trillion won ($106 billion), to reach 1.223 quadrillion won.Korea’s household debt is fast approaching its annual G

Editorial May 27, 2016

The leftists who came of age in the counterculture revolutionary movements of the ’60s and ’70s are now in charge in both Europe and the U.S., and facing a populist backlash. They failed to learn the lessons of their own experiences, and it’s time for them to be dropkicked into the waste bin of history.In the wake of World War II and the defeat of Nazi Germany, there was a massive movement in Western nations against anything that smacked of authority. At first it was more social than political.I

Viewpoints May 27, 2016

Democrats hoped this presidential election would be a cakewalk. In their eyes, the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, spent most of the spring alienating big chunks of the electorate, beginning with women. Meanwhile, the presumptive Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, has run a careful, well-funded, well-honed campaign. What could go wrong?And yet, in a spate of reputable surveys Trump has suddenly erased the advantage Clinton had held all year. The average of major polls compiled

Viewpoints May 27, 2016