The Korea Herald

[Editorial] Where’s the market?

Sept 7, 2011

One of the first things students learn in an economics class is that, in a competitive market, the price of a good is determined by the supply of and demand for it. There is no room for intervention by the government except in case of a market failure.But the Korean government intervenes in the mark
[Editorial] MBC’s overdue apology

Sept 6, 2011

MBC said it painfully accepts responsibility upon the Supreme Court’s judgment of falsity in its investigative report aired on April 27, 2008 concerning a bilateral accord for imports of U.S. beef. The broadcaster should have made a public apology for its inaccurate reporting on mad cow disease in t
[Editorial] Celebrity tax evasion

Sept 6, 2011

Many top entertainers and sports stars make large donations to charity. It is often reported that their acts of sharing are related to their extremely difficult lives before they reached stardom. Even if some of them insist on not making their donations public, their charitable deeds become known to
[Editorial] Ahn Chul-soo candidacy

Sept 5, 2011

Ahn Chul-soo’s candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election late in October is getting closer to reality day by day despite his ambivalence, alerting both ruling and opposition parties. Close associates of the 49-year-old software businessman-cum-social critic say his running for Seoul mayor is “90 p
[Editorial] Park Geun-hye’s essay

Sept 5, 2011

Park Geun-hye contributed an article to the September-October edition of Foreign Affairs, the New York-based international affairs magazine, to discuss how to achieve genuine peace on the Korean Peninsula. In the 2,250-word article, the frontrunner on the 2012 presidential race said Seoul must be mo
[Editorial] Donations and taxation

Sept 4, 2011

Kim Jang-hoon, a pop singer, is well known not only for his songs but his charitable giving. During the past 10 years, he has donated 11 billion won to help the unfortunate.Despite his virtue, there is no knowing when his career as a popular entertainer will come to an end. After all, isn’t populari
[Editorial] Back to basics

Sept 4, 2011

Exports, the nation’s main source of growth, are slowing, with a double-dip recession looming in the United States and Europe. But imports are growing fast, making a deep cut in the trade surplus.As a result, growth in gross domestic product is certain to fall below the 2011 target set by President
[Editorial] Verdict on ‘comfort women’

Sept 2, 2011

The Constitutional Court has ushered in a new phase in the long-running dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over compensation of Korean “comfort women” and nuclear bomb victims for their suffering and human rights abuses during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea. On Tuesday, the court ruled on a petition fi
[Editorial] New drug pricing policy

Sept 2, 2011

The government’s plan to cut drug prices by an average of 17 percent starting next year has triggered vehement protests from the domestic pharmaceutical community. On Thursday, an alliance of 10 pharmaceutical-related organizations issued a joint statement, declaring an all-out struggle against the
[Editorial] Session in jeopardy

Sept 1, 2011

The regular session of an outgoing National Assembly is the least productive as its members often shun debate on issues of concern to the public, deliberation on pending bills and participation in voting. Instead, they tend to make a final pitch in constituency work in their electoral districts in p
[Editorial] Change in N.K. policy?

Sept 1, 2011

Signals are coming from those close to President Lee Myung-bak that he is considering changing his anti-North Korea policy in favor of improving relations with the communist state. If he is really considering such a shift in policy, he will have to think about a backlash from his conservative suppor
[Editorial] Fostering female CEOs

Aug 31, 2011

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee recently stressed the importance of utilizing women in the workforce, saying talented female employees should be allowed to become CEOs. Lee held a rare session last week with a small number of female executives from Samsung companies to express his commitmen
[Editorial] Education and politics

Aug 31, 2011

Seoul education chief Kwak No-hyun’s alleged involvement in election campaign corruption has sparked a flurry of moves to reform the current system for electing education officials in the nation’s seven largest cities and nine provinces.A group of lawmakers of the ruling Grand National Party is movi
[Editorial] Jeju naval base

Aug 30, 2011

The Jeju district court issued an injunction Monday to stop obstructions by radical activists and residents against the construction work for a naval base at Gangjeong on the southern coast of Jeju Island. However, the court ruling did not totally prohibit opposition activities around the constructi
[Editorial] Japan’s new premier

Aug 30, 2011

Watching Japan install a new prime minister after his predecessor’s 15 months in office, we cannot but feel unease about continuing political instability in the neighboring country, which needs a strong leadership to weather the many political and economic problems ahead. Naoto Kan may take consolat

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