Former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan appears to have learned no lesson from the Sejong City debacle last year. Upon his appointment as prime minister in September 2009, Chung staked his political career on a bill aimed at changing the concept of the planned city from an administrative town to a science-technology hub.Chung, a former Seoul National University economics professor, went in all guns bl

As the world’s second largest economy, China’s continuous and concrete efforts to raise its energy efficiency are important not only for itself, but for the world. That China has managed to cut energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 19.06 percent between 2006 and 2010 on the 2005 levels is a cause for both optimism and caution. It is encouraging to see that the Chinese economy ha

No one doubts the importance of U.S. action to end the regime of Moammar Gadhafi. Unlike Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose overthrow inspired a resistance movement in Libya, Gadhafi has made war on his own people. The United States’ response has been muscular, if delayed. President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton explicitly have called for Gadhafi’s removal, a dramatic de

On April 7, 1977, members of the revolutionary committees had plastered a poster of Moammar Gadhafi’s image on my father’s car. On that same day they had, under the dictator’s direct supervision, publicly hanged several dissidents in Benghazi.On the day of the execution, the Ghibli winds blowing from the desert filled the air with dust and turned the sky into a reddish-gray canopy. I’d taken a bus

Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi remains an obsession for advocates of decency. He personifies what is unknowable about the uprisings roiling the Arab world. What does the revolution mean, besides being an outlet for rage? What new order might emerge? After unwanted leaders are removed, what is there to stop like-minded individuals from insinuating themselves into power? Of what enduring value could

The Democratic Party of Japan and its junior coalition partner People’s New Party managed to pass the fiscal 2011 92.411 trillion yen budget through the Lower House early Tuesday morning. The opposition-controlled Upper House is certain to vote down the budget. But the budget will be enacted anyhow. Article 60 of the Constitution says that the budget will be enacted within 30 days of being sent to

As of January this year, Taiwanese travelers can visit the Schengen Area visa-free, marking yet another step toward the island’s goal of acquiring wider visa exemption privileges for its passport holders.The inclusion of the European Union brings the number of countries and territories offering Taiwanese citizens visa exemptions to 96, with 75 granting Republic of China passport holders visa-waive

Household debt is at an alarmingly high level. Worse still, interest payments are growing three times as fast as disposable income. But there are few signs indicating that the debt burden will shrink anytime soon. On the contrary, interest rates are rising as inflationary pressure is increasing.According to a recent report from the Bank of Korea, household debt, including purchases on credit, stoo

Those who have passed the state-run judicial examination are required to complete a two-year training course at the Judicial Research Training Institute before entering the legal profession. With the judicial examination being replaced by the Korean bar examination administered for law school graduates, the training at the institute is set to continue during a transitional period lasting until 201

The Obama administration put out a disturbingly weak statement last week after the latest piracy outrage off the coast of Somalia. Four Americans vacationing on a 58-foot yacht died during a standoff between a U.S. warship and the pirate crew that seized their vessel.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the act deplorable, which it was, but what did she urge? More “decisive action” by the “in

The Obama administration predictably is taking heat from conservatives about its restrained response to the crisis in Libya. There are even calls for a U.S. military response to hasten dictator Muammar Gadhafi’s departure. While well meaning, these critics seek short-term action that ignores substantial longer-term consequences.The administration’s initial restraint was appropriately designed to p

If per capita carbon emissions in China and India rose to car-happy U.S. levels, global emissions would increase by 127 percent, according to the International Energy Agency. If their emissions stopped at the levels found in hyper-dense Hong Kong, world emissions would go up less than 24 percent. As the Asian economies prosper, the United States should hope that they embrace the skyscraper more th