The Nuclear Security Summit process, which concluded earlier this month in Washington, D.C., shows what can be achieved when political leaders come together to concentrate on a global problem. The six-year initiative, focused on preventing nuclear terrorism, produced important outcomes on eliminating, minimizing, and securing dangerous nuclear and radiological materials.Unfortunately, however, the nuclear threat is still far from being neutralized. The dangers posed by terrorist groups are growi

Viewpoints April 29, 2016

The Korean economy is under siege. Look around, then you will see gloom and doom, from the delayed recovery of the global economy, the slowdown of the Chinese economy and low oil prices to dwindling exports, sluggish domestic demand, consumption and investment. Problems like youth unemployment, household debt and impending massive layoffs threaten social stability. The Bank of Korea has cut its growth forecast for this year to 2.8 percent from 3 percent, which is still higher than forecasts made

Editorial April 22, 2016

Politicians should – or at least pretend to – respect the public mandate delivered in major elections like last week’s general election. One such way is to change – or at least promise to – but Korean political parties, winners and losers alike, remain as stale as ever. The two largest parties Saenuri and Minjoo are struggling with internal disputes that plagued their campaigns for the April 13 general election. The biggest problem lies with the biggest loser of the election, the Saenuri Party,

Editorial April 22, 2016

Advocates of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union have pounced on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ill-advised decision to allow the prosecution of satirist Jan Boehmermann for an obscene poem about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. 　To them, the German leader has illustrated the unacceptable compromises the European Union’s dysfunctional nature forces nations to accept. That may be right to a degree, but Merkel is walking a domestic tightrope, and she’s beginning to wobble.　Earlier t

Viewpoints April 22, 2016

The U.S.-Saudi relationship appears to be on the rocks. 　Most recently, the rift of 9/11 has been reopened. This month “60 Minutes” reported on the still-classified final chapter of a 2003 Senate report on the attacks, which it said would show that some Saudi officials, charities and wealthy individuals supported two of the 9/11 hijackers.　The Saudi connection is especially relevant now because Congress is considering legislation to allow the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for dama

Viewpoints April 22, 2016

The recent series of defections by North Koreans have serious implications for South Korea, which is obliged to assess the situation in the North correctly and work out countermeasures in the short, middle and long terms. First of all, the latest defections indicate that there are growing cracks in the North’s ruling elite. This may be an early sign of the North Korean system crumbling at the top. There had been cases of North Korean defections involving high-profile figures -- like Workers’ Par

Editorial April 13, 2016

Koreans have selected 300 people who will form the new National Assembly, with the hopes that it will -- at the least -- be better than the current parliament which many see as one of the worst performers in its history.  Now that voters gave their verdict, politicians -- while trying to grasp what voters’ choices mean -- will say all the fine-looking things: Winners will express appreciation in the most modest possible manner, and promise to work only for the people; losers will express humble

Editorial April 13, 2016

Donald Trump is getting some unlikely assistance from his opponents in his uphill effort to win a majority of Republican presidential delegates. Ted Cruz and John Kasich remain too busy battling each other to unite in opposition to the front-runner.Cruz and Kasich have the same goal: to prevent Trump from getting close to the 1,237 delegates he needs for the nomination. Yet in remaining contests in New York, California, New Jersey and elsewhere, the battle between the two of them sets back that

Viewpoints April 13, 2016

The Massachusetts Securities Division recently fired a shot heard around the robo-adviser world when it declared that the online financial advisers may not be up to snuff as fiduciaries for investors. If that’s the case, it means they may not qualify as investment advisers in Massachusetts.Regulators must of course hold all financial advisers to a high standard, but robo-advisers -- the most investor friendly financial innovation since the index fund -- are on the frontlines in the fight for bet

Viewpoints April 13, 2016

Political leaders often promise voters the moon in a desperate attempt to win elections. Kim Jong-in, the interim head of The Minjoo Party of Korea, did just that in Gwangju on Wednesday.Gwangju has long been a bastion for the opposition party. For decades, its citizens have provided overwhelming support for the party’s candidates in elections, without bothering to ask whether they are qualified or not.Not anymore. Many Gwangju voters have shifted their allegiance to the minor opposition People’

Editorial April 8, 2016

Last year, the government tried every means to boost domestic consumption as exports ceased to play their traditional role of driving economic growth. It had to execute an 11 trillion-won supplementary budget to fuel domestic demand, as the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome stifled consumer spending.  The government also organized a Korean version of Black Friday, a 15-day shopping promotion campaign aimed at stimulating domestic consumption and attracting shoppers from abroad.Thanks

Editorial April 8, 2016

For months now, China’s regulators have been warning about the dangers of rapidly expanding credit and the need to deleverage. With new plans to clean up bad loans at the country’s banks, you might conclude that the government is getting serious about the risks it faces.But there’s reason to doubt the effectiveness of China’s approach. In fact, it’s running a serious risk of making its debt problems worse.After the financial crisis, China embarked on a credit binge of historical proportions. In

Viewpoints April 8, 2016