The Korea Herald

[Editorial] Unequivocal stance

EditorialNov 6, 2012

Not many election issues are more crucial than whether to rewrite the Constitution. Yet it is Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party alone that has committed himself to pursuing Constitutional revision as a presidential candidate.True, Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party says she will consider a constitutional revision if she is elected president. But she refuses to commit herself to it, saying that it is not desirable to approach the issue for electioneering purposes o
[Daniel Fiedler] Free speech and pornography

ViewpointsNov 6, 2012

One of the fundamental bases of a democracy is the right to free expression or free speech. This right allows the people to engage in open and uncensored discussions on the conduct of the government, on the conduct of politicians, on economic and social issues, on political issues and often on issues that may be offensive to many of their fellow citizens. The importance of this right is reflected by its enshrinement in both the United States and the South Korean constitutions. However, while bot
Outrageous decision generates chaos in Japan

ViewpointsNov 6, 2012

It was a baffling decision. What we feared might happen has come to pass.Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Makiko Tanaka has rejected the applications for government approval to establish three new universities. Tanaka has overturned, on her own judgment, a report by the council for university chartering and school juridical persons ― an advisory body to the minister ― that favored endorsing the establishment of the three schools. This is apparently the first time in 30
Indonesia’s people-centered economic model

ViewpointsNov 6, 2012

Indonesia’s most-promising politician, Joko Widodo, who was elected governor of Jakarta province last month, looks like Barack Obama: lean and coolly self-possessed in a way that seems as much Bogartian as Javanese. Emerging out of nowhere, and serenely vaulting over the heads of establishment politicians, he embodies the possibility of change. But here the resemblance to the U.S. president ends. Obama is fighting to win reelection. Jokowi, as Widodo is popularly known, enjoyed hugely successful
[Meghan Daum] After Sandy, a bit of weather envy in L.A.

ViewpointsNov 6, 2012

When it comes to the relationship between Southern Californians and massive storms like Sandy, the conventional wisdom is that such weather (“such” meaning the kind not commonly found in Southern California) can give rise to just a tiny bit of gloating.Think of it as stormenfreude. Were it a real word, “stormenfreude” might be defined as this: “Pleasure taken by those in temperate climates at the suffering of those in less temperate climates, especially in the wake of a storm that causes said te
[Kim Seong-kon] Pleasure and power of forgiveness and generosity

ViewpointsNov 6, 2012

I have often thought that South Korea would be a truly advanced nation if the Korean people could have a certain degree of tolerance and generosity. Historically, all the advanced nations on earth had shared one thing in common; they had the capacity to tolerate and embrace those who are contradictorily different from them, whether they are of foreign-born or strangers.The Roman Empire, for example, embraced her diverse colonies and offered Roman citizenships even to the colonized, that is, if t
[Voice] How will U.S. election affect Korea?

Nov 5, 2012

With the U.S. presidential election on a knife-edge ...How will the outcome affect Korea?
[Editorial] Is Park not a woman?

EditorialNov 5, 2012

Is Park Geun-hye a presidential candidate who represents the Korean women? To leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party, the answer is a resounding yes. They say that if Park is elected as the nation’s first woman president, it would be a significant milestone in Korea’s arduous march toward political reform.Yet many in the opposition camp do not agree. For instance, Rep. Jung Sung-ho, a spokesman of the main opposition Democratic United Party, asserted that the unmarried Saenuri candidate “is a woman
[Editorial] Luring foreign hospitals

EditorialNov 5, 2012

Controversy is raging over a regulation promulgated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare last week to allow foreign medical institutions in the nation’s six free economic zones. On the one hand, the regulation is welcomed by those who are keen to unleash the huge growth potential of the domestic health care industry. They see it as a step toward making Korea a health care powerhouse and a regional health care hub.Yet critics denounce the government for paving the way for the emergence of for-pr
It’s time to reset U.S.-China trade relations

ViewpointsNov 5, 2012

Mitt Romney got the crowd’s attention during a recent campaign stop in Defiance, Ohio, when he announced that Chrysler, a major local employer, would move its Jeep auto production to China. Boos rang out.Romney must have figured he’s on to something. He has flooded Ohio with TV and radio spots that say Chrysler and GM, which both received government assistance to survive, are now moving jobs to China. “Obama took GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy and sold Chrysler to Italians who are going to buil
[Robert B. Reich] The biggest issue in U.S. election

ViewpointsNov 5, 2012

As we go into the final days of a dismal presidential campaign where too many issues have been fudged or eluded ― and the media only want to talk about who’s up and who’s down ― the biggest issue on which the candidates have given us the clearest choice is whether the rich should pay more in taxes.President Obama says emphatically yes. He proposes ending the Bush tax cut for people earning more than $250,000 a year, and requiring the rich to pay at least 30 percent of their incomes over $1 milli
The next U.S. pesident is sure to break the rules

ViewpointsNov 5, 2012

In his interview with the Des Moines Register in Iowa, outlining his priorities for his second term, President Barack Obama made some brief remarks that received too little attention: “I’ve expressed a deep desire and taken executive action to weed out regulations that aren’t contributing to the health and public safety of our people. And we’ve made a commitment to look back and see if there are regulations out there that aren’t working, then let’s get rid of them and see if we can clear out som
Bill Clinton is already a sure election-day winner

ViewpointsNov 5, 2012

Whoever captures the White House on Nov. 6, the election season produced one clear winner: William Jefferson Clinton. The 42nd president, starting with his speech at the Democratic National Convention establishing the predicate for President Barack Obama’s economic message, set a new standard for effective political surrogates. Republicans, including more than a few who voted, on specious grounds, to impeach him 14 years ago, extolled the good old days of the Clinton presidency. There is no more
[Joseph E. Stiglitz] The world has a stake in outcome of U.S. election

ViewpointsNov 5, 2012

NEW YORK ― Most people around the world will not be able to vote in the United States’s upcoming presidential election, even though they have a great deal at stake in the result. Overwhelmingly, non-U.S. citizens favor Barack Obama’s reelection over a victory for his challenger, Mitt Romney. There are good reasons for this.In terms of the economy, the effects of Romney’s policies in creating a more unequal and divided society would not be directly felt abroad. But, in the past, for better and fo
[Editorial] Unit of brothers

EditorialNov 4, 2012

Ruling and opposition party lawmakers on the parliamentary defense committee have shown opposing views over whether to extend the deployment of a Korean military unit in the United Arab Emirates by another year to the end of 2013.The Akh unit comprising about 130 special warfare troops has been stationed in the UAE since January 2011 to help train soldiers of the Persian Gulf state. The Defense Ministry recently submitted a bill asking for the parliamentary approval of the extension of the unit’