A senior official in the Saudi Arabian Justice Ministry boldly declared that the government is finally going to attack a significant national problem: child marriage.It’s not uncommon to hear about girls 12 years old or younger being forced to marry men in their 70s or 80s. For many years now, news stories about this problem have been tarnishing the Saudi government’s image.“The ministry has adopted a clear stance on underage marriages, and the issue was raised to the regulators,” Mohammed al-Ba

Viewpoints June 2, 2013

On Wednesday, President Park Geun-hye said slow growth was setting in for the long haul. There was nothing new about her warning. Still, it carried much weight as it indicated that her economic policy will focus on growth during the next five years of governance.She made the remark at the inaugural conference of the National Economic Advisory Council ― a blue-ribbon panel of renowned economists and economic policymakers that is tasked with providing the president with unbiased economic analyses

Editorial May 31, 2013

South Korea is pushing for new rules for engaging North Korea in dialogue, making it clear that it will no longer allow itself to be bandied about. It says it will not tolerate any attempt by North Korea to pit South Korean civilian groups against their government in pursuit of gain.Under this policy, South Korea has decided not to allow South Korean civilians to attend a ceremony marking this year’s anniversary of the South-North Joint Declaration adopted by South Korean President Kim Dae-jung

Editorial May 31, 2013

South Korea’s economy has yet to catch up to its people. They are the world’s most-wired citizenry and the most advanced at using smartphones. Korean stars are Asia’s most popular; Korean gadgets and fashions the coolest. Yet at home, huge manufacturing conglomerates, or chaebol, such as Hyundai Motor Group, Samsung Group and LG Group remain the mainstays of an export-focused system established after the Korean War by strongman Park Chung-hee. In fact, as the July edition of Bloomberg Markets ma

Viewpoints May 31, 2013

The suspension of four nuclear reactors due to substandard parts is a big embarrassment for Korea, which seeks to export its reactors. All the more so as it coincided with the groundbreaking ceremony for the second of the four nuclear reactors that Korea is building in the United Arab Emirates.Due to the shutdown, the nation is likely to face an unprecedented power crisis this summer. Even before it, a serious power shortage was expected this summer as many of the nation’s 23 reactors went out o

Editorial May 30, 2013

The Ministry of Education has unveiled a plan to undertake a bold but untested educational program proposed by President Park Geun-hye.On the campaign trail, Park promised to introduce an exam-free semester for middle school students to give them time to discover their aptitude and talent and explore their career options.The ministry said it would implement the test-free semester system for the nation’s 3,200 middle schools from 2016, based on an assessment of a pilot program that will run from

Editorial May 30, 2013

Washington has recently become an unlikely hotbed of culinary innovation, with entrepreneurs flocking to this historically stodgy meat-and-two-veg city for the chance to feed dulce de leche cupcakes and kimchi tacos to the masses. Office drones rejoice at the expanded lunch options, but restaurants are less happy. So, unsurprisingly, they have turned to the government. In the epic war between upstart little guys and the alliance of big business and government, Capitol Hill isn’t the only battleg

Viewpoints May 30, 2013

One more hurdle is cleared. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee gave its approval last week to comprehensive immigration legislation. Happy news, though the risk is still high that compromise will be supplanted by ideological conviction. To get the bill through the Senate committee with Republican support, Democrats had to abandon an amendment that would have given gay and lesbian spouses of U.S. citizens the same immigration prospects as heterosexual spouses. Thus, basic equity was sacrificed f

Viewpoints May 29, 2013

Whatever the investigation into misconduct at the Internal Revenue Service reveals, we already have all the evidence we need to understand President Barack Obama’s fundamental attitude toward the rule of law. That evidence is right there in the public record, and what it shows is indifference and contempt. The Constitution gives the president the power to appoint officials to fill vacancies when the Senate isn’t in session. In 2012, Obama made such “recess appointments” to the National Labor Rel

Viewpoints May 29, 2013

A police investigation has confirmed what has been widely suspected: rampant illegal practices at private nursery schools. Yet the pervasiveness of corruption laid bare by the investigation leaves us at a loss for words.The police station in Songpa, a southeastern district in Seoul, said on Monday that it has booked 55 nursery operators in southern Seoul on suspicion of embezzling government subsidies and receiving rebates from teachers offering extracurricular programs. The station started to i

Editorial May 28, 2013

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un followed a familiar pattern when he sent a special envoy to China to express willingness to resume the stalled six-party talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.Before the envoy’s visit, the young leader rattled his saber for months, defying international sanctions against the North’s missile launches and third nuclear test. Following his father’s old playbook, he is now shifting to dialogue to get the sanctions lifted. Previously, this ploy worked.

Editorial May 28, 2013