The Korea Herald

[Editorial] Hyundai donations

Aug 29, 2011

It is refreshing that the children of the late Hyundai Group founder, Chung Ju-yung, now operating top-level enterprises have made large donations amounting to 1 trillion won ($950 million) from their personal assets for social service programs. The charity moves by Chung Mong-joon of the Hyundai He
[Editorial] Crucial investigation

Aug 29, 2011

With Seoul Education Superintendent Kwak No-hyun’s admission that he gave 200 million won to his former rival candidate Park Myung-gi in last year’s election, the prosecution will have no other choice but press charges of election law violation on Kwak, the champion of free school meals and an icon
[Editorial] Mayoral by-election

Aug 28, 2011

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon resigned Friday, taking responsibility for Wednesday’s invalidated free lunch referendum. With his prompt resignation, a by-election will be held on Oct. 26, setting the stage for another battle on welfare between the ruling Grand National Party and the main opposition Democra
[Editorial] External debt growth

Aug 28, 2011

When the Bank of Korea released the latest data on Korea’s external debt last week, it had both good news and bad news. First the bad news. The nation’s foreign debt continued to increase in the second quarter, with the outstanding balance reaching $398 billion as of the end of June, a new record hi
[Editorial] North Korea’s spy ring

Aug 26, 2011

The prosecutors’ office has recently arrested five core members of a North Korean espionage network that has allegedly been operating for more than a decade in South Korea. It has also indicted another five without detention, charging them with espionage.What should come as a surprise is not that No
[Editorial] Kim’s Russia visit

Aug 26, 2011

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is on his train journey back home after talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Siberia on Wednesday. As expected, their talks focused on Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and Moscow’s aid to the North. But no fresh ground was broken.At the talks, Kim propos
[Editorial] Operating system R&D

Aug 25, 2011

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy is planning to initiate an R&D project to help domestic smartphone manufacturers jointly develop a new operating system for mobile devices. According to reports, the ministry intends to launch a consortium this year together with Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics
[Editorial] Balanced welfare policy

Aug 25, 2011

The nation has lost a precious opportunity to put the brakes on the rising tide of welfare populism as the free lunch referendum in Seoul held Wednesday was declared invalid due to low voter turnout. Only 25.7 percent of the capital city’s 8.4 million-strong electorate voted, falling far short of th
[Editorial] End of Geumgang tours?

Aug 24, 2011

The project of sending South Korean tourists to a scenic resort in North Korea, suspended since July 2008, is now at the risk of being put to an end as Pyongyang is confiscating South Korean assets in Mount Geumgang on North Korea’s east coast.North Korea, which said on Monday it was legally disposi
[Editorial] Soaring household debt

Aug 24, 2011

Alarm bells are set off each time the central bank announces data on household debt. But little action has been taken to curb its growth, and the action that has been taken has had little impact. Nothing else explains why household debt has been snowballing.The potential threat that soaring debt was
[Editorial] Lessons from Libya

Aug 23, 2011

The collapse of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s iron-fisted regime appeared imminent on Tuesday as rebels took control of most of Tripoli and seized two of the leader’s seven sons. Rebels briefly celebrated their victory in Green Square, the symbolic heart of Gadhafi’s dictatorial rule.Gadhafi still
[Editorial] Vote on welfare populism

Aug 23, 2011

Today, Seoul citizens express their views on the controversy over school lunches in a referendum. They are asked to choose between two opposing schemes ― a free-lunch-for-all-students plan supported by the main opposition Democratic Party versus an alternative program from Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon tha
[Editorial] Kim Jong-il in Russia

Aug 22, 2011

It does not take genius to guess why North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is visiting Russia. Kim desperately needs economic aid, with his country gripped by a chronic food crisis, which has been aggravated by recent floods.Also of great concern to Pyongyang watchers is whether or not he is attempting to
[Editorial] Business lobby’s fate

Aug 22, 2011

On Aug. 16, the Federation of Korean Industries, the lobby for big enterprises, turned 50 ― the age at which it, were it a person, should “know the will of heaven.” In Confucian philosophy, those aged 50 are thought to be old enough to understand their destiny as mandated by heaven.But the FKI is no
[Editorial] Athletics meet in Daegu

Aug 21, 2011

The world’s athletics enthusiasts have only five days to wait before the start of the IAAF World Championships in Daegu. The world’s premier track-and-field competition is set to open on Aug. 27 in Daegu for a nine-day run until Sept. 4.Some 2,500 of the world’s greatest athletes from more than 200

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