The Korea Herald

[Gordon Brown] Crafting a global rescue for Europe’s financial crisis

Another international summit has come and gone without any of the coordinated action that is vital if an ailing European economy is to be revived.Confronted by a crisis whose resolution demands intervention on a par with the crash of 2008, last weekend’s G8 communique was long on words and short on action. There were no concrete measures, least of all a plan to back up public pleas for growth. And, while next month’s G20 meeting in Mexico could offer a second chance for coordinated action, there

Viewpoints May 27, 2012

[Gordon Brown] Crafting a global rescue for Europe’s financial crisis

Lessons to heed for drilling in the Arctic Ocean

The second anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster passed with little fanfare last month. But with our government on the brink of allowing the oil industry to explore in America’s remote Arctic Ocean this summer, it is worth revisiting some of the lessons learned from the biggest oil spill in the nation’s history. Stopping that spill took three months, even though it occurred in the relatively calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico near Coast Guard stations, cleanup equipment, and abundant shor

Viewpoints May 25, 2012

[Editorial] Removing privileges

The National Assembly has opened a new office building for its members. The plush building, which cost 220 billion won to build, is a reminder that lawmakers have learned nothing at all from the provincial governments that are mired in debt due to construction of luxurious office buildings. Of course, the new building won’t push the National Assembly into a debt crisis. It can finance it with taxpayers’ money. Yet if legislators use their budget authority to increase their own benefits and conve

Editorial May 24, 2012

[Editorial] Overtures again?

North Korea has released an ambiguous statement, leaving many puzzling about its real intentions. The North’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday suggested that there would be no immediate nuclear weapons test, dismissing speculation that the communist country would test an atomic bomb soon to compensate for its botched long-range rocket launch last month.The ministry’s spokesman asserted that the North did not have a plan for a nuclear test from the beginning as its aim was to launch a scientific and t

Editorial May 24, 2012

McDonald’s names new Asia-Pacific chief

McDonald’s Corp. appointed Dave Hoffmann, a senior vice president of the company's Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa operations to president of the region.Hoffmann, a 16-year McDonald's veteran, succeeds Tim Fenton who recently was promoted to McDonald’s chief operating officer.McDonald’s CEO-elect Don Thompson, who replaces retiring CEO Jim Skinner, said, “Throughout his career, Dave has demonstrated outstanding leadership and strategic insight. Jim and I are very confident in Dave’s abiliti

Industry May 24, 2012

[Eli Park Sorensen] Why keep returning to the mysterious crime scene?

In the winter of 1933, the Belgian detective and former police officer Hercule Poirot boards the Orient Express in Istanbul that will take him on a three-day train journey across the European continent. Somewhere in the Balkans, the train comes to an unexpected halt as large snowdrifts cover the tracks. The next morning, an American businessman who occupied the compartment next to Poirot is found murdered ― stabbed to death. Since there is no obvious suspect and furthermore since the clues are m

Viewpoints May 24, 2012

[Eli Park Sorensen] Why keep returning to the mysterious crime scene?

China’s chronic misrule of law

PHILADELPHIA ― A last-minute deal between the United States and China may afford human-rights lawyer and activist Chen Guangcheng the opportunity to enroll in law school in New York. But, even if a way out of the diplomatic debacle is at hand, much about the case remains troubling. In particular, despite more than three decades of legal reform in China, Chen had precious little recourse to fight harassment and house arrest at the hands of the Chinese authorities.Indeed, 23 years after dissident

Viewpoints May 23, 2012

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] A breakthrough opportunity for global health

NEW YORK ― Every year, millions of people die from preventable and treatable diseases, especially in poor countries. In many cases, lifesaving medicines can be cheaply mass-produced, but are sold at prices that block access to those who need them. And many die simply because there are no cures or vaccines, because so little of the world’s valuable research talent and limited resources is devoted to addressing the diseases of the poor.This state of affairs represents a failure of economics and la

Viewpoints May 23, 2012

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] A breakthrough opportunity for global health

U.S. can fix Egypt ties if military power eased

U.S.-Egypt ties have become snarled over the past year. Many Egyptians resent the U.S. because it supported the deposed regime of Hosni Mubarak. And the U.S. has struggled for a coherent response to the country’s back-and- forth dance with democracy under transitional military rule. The Egyptian presidential election May 23 and 24, with a runoff June 16 and 17 if necessary, offers a chance to revive the relationship. For the last few months, Egypt’s relationship with the U.S. has been stuck, ove

Viewpoints May 22, 2012

[Daniel Fiedler] Hiring foreign talent for Korea

Traveling through South Korea these days I am continually impressed by the high level of economic and infrastructure development. South Korea has high speed trains, seamless 3G phone and internet service, modern highways, a sophisticated financial system, and almost everyone effortlessly uses the latest cutting edge technology. South Koreans have pushed their country to the top tier in international rankings of gross domestic product, life expectancy, per capita income and worldwide brand recogn

Viewpoints May 22, 2012

[Daniel Fiedler] Hiring foreign talent for Korea

How competition is killing higher education

Competition, we are constantly told, encourages individuals, institutions and companies to take the risks necessary for innovation and efficiency. But in higher education, competition often discourages risk taking, leads to overly cautious short-term decisions, produces a mediocre product for the price, and promotes excessive spending on physical plants and bureaucracies. The construction arms race on campus is the most visible example of competition run amok. To become more attractive to potent

Viewpoints May 22, 2012

[Editorial] Insurance fraud

The insurance fraud in Changwon uncovered by the Financial Supervisory Service is both shocking and disturbing. It involved as many as 1,361 people, mostly residents of the South Gyeongsang Province city, who either posed as fake patients or exaggerated their illnesses. Collectively, they claimed 9.5 billion won from 33 insurance companies between 2007 and 2011.At the center of the scam ― the largest ever in terms of the number of people involved ― were three unconscionable hospitals in the city

Editorial May 21, 2012

[Editorial] Headed for train wreck

The left-wing United Progressive Party is headed toward a train wreck as the widely denounced former mainstream faction has launched its own emergency leadership, challenging the one set up with the blessing of the party’s central committee.The new interim leadership is headed by Oh Byung-yoon, one of the six lawmakers-elect of the National Liberation faction, which until recently ran the party. The move demonstrated the faction’s determination to defend its two proportional lawmakers-elect ― Le

Editorial May 21, 2012

[David Ignatius] China’s wobbly transition

WASHINGTON ― Perhaps when Chinese leaders began to speak over the last several years about a new “Beijing Consensus” and the triumph of the “China Model,” that was a warning the bubble was about to burst. And we’re seeing that hubris play out now, as China’s leaders struggle with the greatest internal crisis since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. This time, the political machinations have mostly been behind the scenes among the Communist Party elite. The headline event was the purge of Bo

Viewpoints May 21, 2012

[David Ignatius] China’s wobbly transition

The Facebook founder who unfriended America

Facebook’s initial public offering reminds us of a story. Once upon a time, there was a young man who fled his homeland (Brazil) because his life was in danger (kidnappers). Like so many before him, he came to the United States. There, in the safety of the freest, most dynamic country on earth, he got a superb education (Harvard), the opportunity to exercise his entrepreneurial zeal (Facebook) ― and the protections of the U.S. legal system to safeguard the fruits of his labor. That man is Eduard

Viewpoints May 21, 2012

Articles by Yu Kun-ha