The Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs last week affirmed that it was preparing to conduct a feasibility study on the construction of new airports in the southeast and on Jeju Island. Ministry officials said the study is part of the work to draw up a five-year airports development plan for 2016-2020 and has nothing to do with recent voices raised by politicians in support of new airports.The public, however, seems hardly persuaded by their explanation, which marked a sharp tur

The financial regulator has eased the debt-to-income rule in its latest bid to revitalize the housing market. The step, announced on Friday, seeks to boost demand for homes by allowing young workers and older citizens to take out more loans when they purchase houses. Currently, when a person takes out a mortgage, the maximum loan amount is determined by his debt-servicing ability. For a resident in Seoul, principal and interest payments on a mortgage should not exceed 50 percent of his present a

Was it the court’s signal that it would no longer exercise leniency toward criminall tycoons? A Seoul district court caused consternation among Korean business leaders Thursday by putting Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn into prison right after handing down a guilty verdict.Kim was indicted in January 2011 without detention on charges of embezzling 320 billion won from group subsidiaries and thereby inflicting damage amounting to 480 billion won on them. The court sentenced him to four years

Record-high corn prices should be sending a clear message to policy makers in Washington: Requiring people to put corn-based fuel in their gas tanks is a bad idea. Since 2005, the U.S. government has mandated that gasoline contain ethanol, almost all of it derived from corn. The policy, ostensibly aimed at reducing the country’s dependence on foreign oil and at improving the environment, has been a bonanza for farmers. Land planted with corn soared by a fourth after Congress passed the Energy In

Russia’s opposition, notorious for its lack of organization, has devised an innovative way to choose legitimate leaders: a primary election held mainly on the Web.Some of the biggest names in the Russian Internet ― including Web guru Anton Nosik and Ilya Segalovich, a co-founder of Yandex, the search engine that tops Google in Russia ― are working to get the technology ready for an Oct. 7 vote. The aim is to elect a coordinating council of 45 people who can organize rallies, speak for the broade

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as lobster. Or so you might think from reading this summer’s news in Maine, which speaks volumes, or crates, about the farcical nature of North American trade policy. First, to the dark side of the story, which involves, if not a tragedy, a tragically long dispute over the lumber trade. For decades, the U.S. has been alleging that Canada unfairly holds down the price of timber for its producers, squeezing out the noble U.S. lumberman, hurting his in

A few months ago, as I was speaking to a non-profit group about how developments in the Arab world would affect Israel, I noticed the faces in the crowd looking back at me with deep skepticism. I understood the reason.I was arguing that there is a possibility ― not a certainty ― that Israel will eventually emerge safer than before as a result of the Arab revolutions, also known as the Arab Spring. I have not changed my mind.Let me be clear: I know there are no guarantees and great risk. A period

Renewed disputes over historical and territorial issues between South Korea and Japan have brought ties to their lowest ebb since the two countries normalized relations in 1965.President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo last Friday sparked a chain of tit-for-tat accusations and actions that showed how deep antipathy stemming from their unfortunate history runs between the neighbors.Brushing aside protests from Tokyo, which has also laid claim to the islets, Lee

With South Korea seeing its ties with China and Japan sour recently, North Korea is actively reaching out to the two neighboring powers. The North has also been responding to moves made by Russia since Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin in May. It is also seen to be trying to activate contacts with the U.S. mainly through a dialogue channel in New York.Pyongyang’s moves to improve relationships with the four major powers come amid signs of the impoverished regime taking a course toward econo

North Korea has renewed efforts to attract Chinese investment to jump-start its moribund economy. Jang Song-thaek, the powerful uncle and guardian of the North’s young leader, Kim Jong-un, is visiting Beijing cap in hand. He is expected to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao and other leaders today before returning to Pyongyang.One main purpose of Jang’s visit is to press China to invest in the North’s two special economic zones ― Raseon City on the North’s northeastern tip, and Hwanggeumpyeong and

As expected, the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions has withdrawn its support for the embattled Unified Progressive Party, accelerating its split into two political groups.In May, the militant umbrella labor group threatened to stop backing the party should it fail to expel Reps. Lee Seok-ki and Kim Jae-yeon, who have been found to have become the party’s proportional representation candidates for the April parliamentary election through a rigged primary.Yet the party failed last month to pass

Japan marked the 67th anniversary of its surrender to Allied Powers in World War II on Wednesday. This year’s anniversary was different from past anniversaries. It came amid moves by several political parties to change the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution.In this situation it is all the more important for every citizen to ponder Japan’s modern war in the 1930s and 1940s. The security situation surrounding Japan these days is not easy. But this should not be used as justification for