The Korea Herald

[Jeffrey D. Sachs and Bandy X. Lee] Trump’s psychopathology is getting worse

Jul 5, 2018

Seemingly every day now, US President Donald Trump escalates his policy and personal attacks against other countries and their heads of state, the poor and the weak, and migrant families. Most recently, Trump has championed the heartless separation of migrant children from their parents. Though public outrage may have forced him to retreat, his disposition to attack will soon make itself felt elsewhere. Most pundits interpret Trump’s outbursts as playing to his political base, or preening for th
[Park Sang-seek] A new bipolar system is emerging: How will it affect the security environment in the Korean Peninsula?

Jul 5, 2018

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said at the Graduate Ceremony of the US Naval War College on June 15, 2018 that “China has a long-range plan to change the existing international order” and it wants to lead it. He cited the following as China’s motives: To replicate its authoritarian politico-economic model (Marxism-Leninism with Chinese characteristics) in other parts of the world, to control the South China Sea, and to impose its predatory economics of piling massive debt on others. The ab
[Tyler Cowen] America’s unhealthy obsession with Supreme Court

Jul 5, 2018

Americans’ growing preoccupation with the culture wars has meant a greater focus on the two branches of government where these often symbolic battles are most fought and noticed: the presidency and the Supreme Court. A byproduct is the relative neglect of the third branch, Congress.　This has led to poor governance. Not long ago, the Republicans passed a tax reform bill, in part because they thought voters would like it. Six months later, the bill is losing popularity. The benefits of the bill ar
[Joseph J. Ellis] Parsing the ‘pursuit of happiness’

Jul 5, 2018

The beauty of all self-evident truths is that, by definition, we do not need to explain why they are true. Our annual celebrations of American independence fit neatly into this mental zone of confident presumptions. To the extent that we think about it at all, the Fourth of July is the time for summer vacation schedules to start, fireworks to appear at dusk and patriotic rhetoric to evaporate amid the airbursts.　It therefore might seem almost rude to suggest that we spend a few minutes asking ou
[Erwin Chemerinsky] How that online sales tax ruling will affect you and drag taxes into 21st century

Jul 5, 2018

I often observe that the Supreme Court’s rulings affect all of us. That definitely will be true of its decision allowing state governments to require that internet companies collect sales taxes on transactions.　We now may have to pay more when we buy things online, thanks to the June 21 decision; it is estimated that this might generate as much as $33 billion in additional tax revenue for the states. Also it is right as a matter of basic fairness in treating in-state and out-of-state businesses
[David Fickling] China games foreign investment rules

Jul 4, 2018

When is a loosening of foreign investment rules not really a loosening of foreign investment rules? When China’s doing it in the face of a brewing trade war.　The country’s latest so-called “negative list” issued last week, which comprises a group of industries where foreign businesses are either prohibited from investing or restricted to joint ventures with a degree of Chinese control, boasts an eye-catching headline number: The number of sectors is down to 48, from 63 last year and 120 back in
[Kim Myong-sik] Humphreys carries alliance into hazy future

Jul 4, 2018

The new headquarters of the US Forces in Korea and the United Nations Command officially started business at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, last week. Having been to Camp Humphreys many years ago when it was a center of logistic support for US troops here, I hope to have an opportunity in the near future to look around what is now the largest US military base in the world. While being curious of the shape of an integrated military community existing in a foreign country in the
[Daniel Moss] Japanese businesses aren’t cowering amid trade gloom

Jul 4, 2018

So much for the trade war apocalypse.While many headlines feature gloom about the precarious state of relations between the US and its economic partners, Japan’s most widely watched indicator has some sunny patches worthy of attention.Japanese companies plan a surge in capital spending in the year through March 2019, according to the central bank’s quarterly Tankan survey released this week. Some increase was anticipated, in part because the second quarter usually shows an improvement, but the 1
[Leonid Bershidsky] Innovation can’t fix urban transportation’s woes

Jul 4, 2018

Urban transportation is undergoing a revolution. Offerings such as Uber and Lyft, as well as car- and bike-sharing services are widely believed to reduce congestion and generally make urban dwellers more mobile; driverless cars are expected to provide further benefits. Yet the notion that these innovations always make things better is far from a given: The new services are a net good only if they complement traditional public transportation systems rather than compete with them.In May, Nashville
[Anjani Trivedi] Detroit spinning out fuels China’s auto dreams

Jul 4, 2018

As Donald Trump drums up a trade war, China’s industrial policies are poised to give a boost to some little-known companies that already dominate crucial areas of the global auto industry.　In recent days, Beijing has dialed back the “Made in China 2025” campaign that’s been central to the Trump administration’s argument that the nation is using unfair business practices to gain an edge. Domestic media have been told not to mention the initiative, according to the New York Times, while the editor
[Jagannath Panda] Pyeongtaek expounds ‘corporate’ military strategy

Jul 3, 2018

It is time to rethink the notion that US strategic and military presence and influence in Asia is declining under Donald Trump. If the United States’ new military base in Pyeongtaek signals anything, the United States will continue to strengthen its military and strategic outreach with its alliance partners in Asia, including South Korea, although selectively. The Trump administration’s selective approach is to put US military and strategic interests ahead of anything else under the “America Fir
[Kim Seong-kon] Learning from foreigners' perception of Korea

Jul 3, 2018

As few Koreans read foreign newspapers or frequently converse with foreigners about their country, most Koreans would not know very well how foreigners perceive them or their country. In fact, many Koreans do not seem to care about foreigners’ views at all. Sometimes, however, an outsider’s perspective can be very helpful and even enlightening.Some foreigners admire Korea for its cutting-edge technology or Hallyu. Others are critical about Korea and might wonder why such things that might happen
[Robert J. Fouser] Presenting art in broader context

Jul 3, 2018

One of my hobbies is visiting collections of Korean art in museums overseas. My most recent visit was the small collection of Korean art in the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the most popular art museums in the US. The display shares a gallery with Chinese art, allowing space for only a few objects. Almost all the objects are Goryeo celadon stoneware from the 12th and 13th centuries. This is typical because Goryeo celadon and Joseon-period pottery dominate collections of Korean art overseas.Th
[Michael R. Strain] Whom should government serve, kids or elders?

Jul 3, 2018

How does the government balance the interests of parents and children? How should it?　 I argued in a column last month that the Trump administration’s policy of separating children from parents at the US southern border is cruel and an offense against the inherent dignity of both. My Bloomberg Opinion colleague Tyler Cowen pointed out that these families are hardly the only ones broken up by US public policy. He cites a 2010 study finding that over 1.2 million incarcerated Americans have childre
[Michael Schuman] Give China a taste of its own bad trade medicine

Jul 3, 2018

One of my mottos is: Don’t criticize something unless you have a better idea. I’ve decried President Donald Trump’s tariff tactics, so it’s only fair I offer my own strategy for fighting a trade war with China -- one with a bigger chance of success and smaller downside risk.　Trump is right about China but wrong in his method. Yes, Beijing engages in unfair business and trade practices. Yes, something has to be done. But tariffs, bluster and threats aren’t likely to inflict enough damage to compe