The Korea Herald

[Daniel Fiedler] Castrating human rights

ViewpointsSept 11, 2012

In an effort to appeal to popular public feelings, politicians in South Korea often make asinine proposals. The latest such proposal is the bill submitted to the National Assembly last week providing for court ordered physical castration of convicted sex offenders. Initially this proposal appears to be a focused solution to a previously insolvable problem ― that of recidivism among sex offenders ― however the proposed law not only violates a number of South Korea’s international commitments to h
[Kim Seong-kon] Life in the age of smartphones

ViewpointsSept 11, 2012

We now live in a world in which smartphones have become a must ― an object you must carry at all times no matter where you go. During the Joseon Dynasty, our ancestors almost always carried a long bamboo smoking pipe wherever they went. But that was primarily for the pleasures of inhaling nicotine and exhaling stress. Of course, smartphones, too, provide entertainment and even narcotic pleasures if you’re an addict. Unlike traditional smoking pipes, however, smartphones keep us busy all day long
Syria shows weaknesses of both U.S. candidates

ViewpointsSept 11, 2012

I’ve been trying to focus on what the political conventions reveal about future U.S. foreign policy. But I can’t keep my mind off Syria.The reason? It’s not just because of the horrific carnage in that country (as juxtaposed to the endless hoopla in Tampa and Charlotte). It’s not just because I’m reading “Woman in the Crossfire,” the heartbreaking diary of Samar Yazbek, a Syrian who risked her life to document the regime’s brutal attacks on peaceful demonstrators.The real reason I’m more attuned
In Mexico, time to move on

ViewpointsSept 11, 2012

The Institutional Revolutionary Party’s Enrique Pena Nieto has twice been declared the winner of Mexico’s presidential election, yet the runner-up, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, refuses to recognize the results. Instead, the leftist candidate is preparing to hold a demonstration Sunday and threatening to establish a kind of shadow presidency, just as he did in 2006, when he narrowly lost that vote.That’s unfortunate. Mexico can’t afford the kind of long and divisive battle that Lopez Obrador is t
Mutual mistrust among countries in the Pacific

ViewpointsSept 11, 2012

Recent disputes among some of the United States’ closest Asian allies over largely uninhabited islands in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), the East China Sea and the South China Sea underscore the challenges facing Washington in moving beyond the classic hub-and-spoke structure of its security system in the Western Pacific and in crafting a more collective approach. For some time ― and as most recently reiterated in the 2010 National Security Strategy, the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review report and
[Voice] How should Korea combat pedophilia?

Sept 10, 2012

With the brutal rape of a child in Naju shocking the nation ...How should Korea combat pedophilia?The kidnap and rape of a 7-year-old girl in Naju, South Jeolla Province, earlier this month has reopened the debate on how to deal with society’s most reviled criminals. Like the case of Cho Doo-soon, who brutally raped an 8-year-old girl in 2008, Ko Jong-seok’s heinous act has sparked a raft of proposals from lawmakers and law enforcement to deal with those who prey on children. In the days after t
[Editorial] Suicide prevention

EditorialSept 10, 2012

The World Health Organization said in a recent report that approximately 1 million people worldwide die by their own hand each year, corresponding to one death by suicide every 40 seconds. The report, released ahead of the World Suicide Prevention Day that fell on Monday, called for urgent action to tackle the problem, noting “suicide is largely preventable.”This call should be seriously heard by officials in Korea, which has the highest suicide rate among industrialized countries.According to s
[Editorial] In step with Russia

EditorialSept 10, 2012

The talks between South Korean and Russian leaders last week showed that the two countries have much room to enhance economic partnership and share critical interests in securing stability in Northeast Asia.During their meeting in Vladivostok on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, President Lee Myung-bak and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to work together to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff and accelerate collaboration on a gas pipeline project.
[Robert B. Reich] How the GOP protects itself

ViewpointsSept 10, 2012

“We’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers,” says Neil Newhouse, a Romney pollster.A half-dozen fact-checking organizations and websites have refuted Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan’s claims that President Obama removed the work requirement from the welfare law and will cut Medicare benefits by $716 billion. The New York Times even reported that Romney has been “falsely charging” President Obama with removing the work requirement.USA Today calls the Romney campaign’s claim that
Insurance to serve seniors better than Medicaid

ViewpointsSept 10, 2012

As the dust settles from the political conventions in Florida and North Carolina, one issue important to the health care of older Americans is rising into the sunlight and finally getting some of the attention it needs. We don’t mean Medicare; for months, the campaigns have taken regular shots at each other on that. We mean Medicaid, the program generally thought of as health insurance for poor families. Yet one-third of Medicaid’s budget ― about $120 billion ― goes to fund long-term care for th
Superpower moment for China: Remembering ‘7-13’

ViewpointsSept 10, 2012

NEW YORK ― The memories are still fresh at the National September 11 Memorial, where the names of the victims ― including some 150 from Asia and the Pacific ― are inscribed into bronze parapets surrounding twin memorial pools, located in the footprints of the Twin Towers of the destroyed World Trade Center.Eleven years ago this month, more than two dozen Koreans were among the nearly 3,000 people killed in the United States by terrorist attacks on a date now immortalized as “9-11.” That day, and
[Meghan Daum] Michelle Obama’s traditional American values

ViewpointsSept 10, 2012

At the risk of inviting legions of conservatives to swoop down and tell me I’m drowning in the Obama Kool-Aid (actually, it’s not just a risk; it’s a guarantee), I’m just going to come out and say it: Michelle Obama was spectacular at the Democratic National Convention two weeks ago. She managed to do in 25 minutes what her husband has been struggling to do for nearly four years: remind us why we were once so excited about the prospect of seeing this family in the White House.Almost immediately,
[Mohamed A. El-Erian] A ‘back to school’ letter to the U.S. Congress

ViewpointsSept 10, 2012

NEWPORT BEACH ― What if members of the United States Congress, now returning from their summer recess, were to receive a “back to school” letter from concerned citizens? Here is what a first draft might look like.Dear Member of Congress:Welcome back to the Capitol. We hope that you had a good summer break, and that you return to Washington not just rested, but also energized to take on our country’s mounting economic challenges.The news has been mixed during your absence. We have seen some impro
[Editorial] Rating upgrades

EditorialSept 9, 2012

When Moody’s Investors Service elevated Korea to the “double-A” category two weeks ago by raising its sovereign credit rating by one notch to “Aa3” from “A1,” some analysts were not sure whether Korea really deserved it. As if to assure them that Korea fully deserved it, Fitch Ratings also made Korea a double-A country last week by upgrading its credit level to “AA-” from “A+.” Fitch’s “AA-” is equivalent to Moody’s “Aa3.” The successive upgrades can be seen as a strong vote of confidence in the
[Editorial] Breakup of UPP

EditorialSept 9, 2012

The splitting of the strife-torn United Progressive Party has begun as the party’s reform-minded faction expelled four proportional representatives Friday so that they could retain their parliamentary seats and join a soon-to-be created new progressive party.Under the law, a lawmaker elected through the proportional representation system loses his seat if he voluntarily quits his party. However, he can maintain his lawmaker status if the party expels him. The four expelled lawmakers all belong t