The Korea Herald

[David Ignatius] A road map for solving Syria crisis

ViewpointsJun 7, 2012

ISTANBUL ― Kofi Annan is tinkering with a radical idea for reviving his moribund peace plan for Syria ― a road map for political transition there that would be negotiated through a “contact group” that could include, among other nations, Russia and Iran. The former secretary-general’s new plan was outlined Tuesday by a diplomat who is familiar with the U.N. mission. The proposal, which is expected to be presented to the Security Council later this week, comes as Annan’s peace mediation with Pres
Towards a Northeast Asian Renewable Energy Association

ViewpointsJun 7, 2012

When hundreds of policymakers, industrialists, researchers, academics and NGO representatives met in Seoul for the Global Green Growth Summit 2012 on May 10 and 11, it was no wonder that the Asian region was well represented ― not only because of the location, but also due to the region’s interest in energy developments.Positive developments, like the success of Korea’s green growth policy, contributed to that interest. Challenges, like the tragedy of Fukushima, served as a stark reminder of the
The triumph of political imperatives in Europe

ViewpointsJun 7, 2012

MADRID ― Economics, particularly economic theories, always yield in the end to political imperatives. That is why Europe’s fast-changing political landscape, reshaped by electoral insurrections in France and Greece against German-backed fiscal austerity, is bound to affect Europe’s economic policies as well.Such an imperative has been at work throughout Europe’s postwar history. Indeed, Europe’s shift from the modest customs union of the European Economic Community to the single market and commo
[Robert B. Reich] American jobs recovery stalls

ViewpointsJun 7, 2012

However one looks at last Friday’s jobs report, it’s a stunning reminder of how anemic the recovery has been ― and how perilously close America is to falling into another recession.Not only has the unemployment rate risen for the first time in almost a year, to 8.2 percent, but, more ominously, May’s payroll survey showed that employers created only 69,000 net new jobs. The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised its March and April reports downward. Only 96,000 new jobs have
[Editorial] Lawmakers’ extra income

EditorialJun 6, 2012

The 19th National Assembly started its term in office on May 30. But it has yet to hold an opening session, with the rival parties bickering over who will head each of the 18 committees.No one knows when the legislature will start its normal operations. The standoff may last more than a month, if past experience is any indication.Still, each lawmaker will be given, without interruption, a monthly payment of 12.24 million won and access to 200 perks ― ranging from free rides on state-owned means
[Editorial] Threat of EU crisis

EditorialJun 6, 2012

As is often said, a crisis that is already known may not be a crisis any longer. Those who perceive themselves to be at the risk of being exposed to a crisis are certain to take all precautions possible for their own protection.But the axiom does not appear to apply to the current sovereign-debt crisis in Europe. The crisis came to a head in 2008 when Ireland was added to the PIGS group of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain to form a new pejorative term ― PIIGS.The crisis, which the European Unio
Elizabeth Warren’s Cherokee chicanery

ViewpointsJun 6, 2012

Elizabeth Warren, who on Saturday claimed the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, still has Indian trouble. Her claim to American Indian ancestry entered a new phase last week.At first Warren said she learned that her employer, Harvard Law School, had cited her as a minority faculty member only after the Boston Herald informed her of it several weeks ago. Then last week she conceded that she herself had told Harvard that she was American Indian, though she said she told the
[J. Bradford DeLong] The economic costs of fear

ViewpointsJun 6, 2012

BERKELEY ― The S&P stock index now yields a 7 percent real (inflation-adjusted) return. By contrast, the annual real interest rate on the five-year U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Security (TIPS) is -1.02 percent. Yes, there is a “minus” sign in front of that: if you buy the five-year TIPS, each year over the next five years the U.S. Treasury will pay you in interest the past year’s consumer inflation rate minus 1.02 percent. Even the annual real interest rate on the 30-year TIPS is only 0.63
You can’t fix the death penalty ― just end it

ViewpointsJun 6, 2012

Californians will vote this fall on an initiative to abolish the death penalty. Proponents of the measure say it is necessary because capital punishment is too costly. Opponents argue that costs can be cut by streamlining the system.But whether one is for or against capital punishment, trying to make the process cheaper and quicker is a terrible ― and dangerous ― idea.Recently, my co-authors and I published the results of an extensive four-year investigation into the Texas execution of Carlos De
Olympics and rise of the humble, ubiquitous ball

ViewpointsJun 6, 2012

When the caldron is lit in London this summer and the XXX Olympics begins, one familiar participant will play a more active role than any other, taking center stage at 23 individual events. To the delight of billions, and without concern for its own well-being, it will be thrown, kicked, punched, slapped and struck with no fewer than three different instruments of torture. That abused but beloved participant is, of course, the humble, ubiquitous ball.This universal object of play has become so i
Investing in green sectors to come out of crisis

ViewpointsJun 6, 2012

PARIS ― Underpinning European integration is the belief that unity between nations should bring shared prosperity instead of social, political, and economic turmoil. But today’s debt crisis has exposed a fundamental weakness in the eurozone’s architecture: insufficient integration.This adds another layer of complexity, compared to the United States or Japan, to the economic challenges that the European Union faces. To paraphrase Leo Tolstoy, the European family is unhappy in its own way.The Euro
Diversity in top court

EditorialJun 6, 2012

The shortlist of candidates to replace four outgoing Supreme Court justices, which were recommended by Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae to President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday, appears to add to the conservative tendency of the top court rather than altering it.All of the four candidates -- three high-ranking judges and a senior prosecutor – are men in their 50s and thought to be conservative to some extent.The selection naturally drew a negative response from opposition lawmakers and civic group membe
[Editorial] Overeducated workforce

EditorialJun 5, 2012

With the entire world contaminated with the eurozone virus, the Korean economy is also beginning to feel the impact of the global slowdown.Government policymakers recently revised down their growth forecast for this year to 3.5 percent from 3.7 percent in the face of shrinking exports coupled with sluggish domestic demand.The effect of their stimulus measures appears to be limited.What if there was a way to boost the growth rate by one extra percentage point without increasing government expendi
[Daniel Fiedler] Are courts prepared to do justice?

ViewpointsJun 5, 2012

Anyone who follows the news in South Korea is aware of the historic nature of the recent decision by the South Korean Supreme Court in favor of eight individual Korean plaintiffs who are suing the Japanese company Mitsubishi for forced labor during World War II. Especially those who read the opinion sections of the local newspapers will have seen the laud and adulation heaped upon the Supreme Court by the South Korean media.And while this decision is a step towards the judiciary becoming an equa
Formula 1 legend makes a smart car for the street

ViewpointsJun 5, 2012

Apple Inc., we are confident, will not be selling cars anytime soon. But the auto industry ― like music, film or, dare we say, publishing ― could use a little bit of old-fashioned disruptive innovation, and maybe Gordon Murray can provide it. Murray, the famed London-based automotive designer and entrepreneur responsible for some of the most successful Formula 1 race cars, has lately turned his attention to a less expensive, less speedy pursuit: He wants to provide a small, light, efficient car