The Korea Herald

[Adam Minter] Steal, don’t spurn, Chinese minds

Jun 4, 2018

On Tuesday, the Chinese government held a high-level conference to celebrate Chinese citizens who had received education abroad and then returned home to use them in service of the country. Chen Shiyi, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, declared that such returnees bore a responsibility to “boost China’s core technology research and development.”　Likely to the delight of Chen and the Chinese government, the administration of US President Donald Trump seems determined to contribute more
[Shannon O’Neil] Mexico knows how to fight a trade war

Jun 4, 2018

Trump has turned on longtime allies, labeling them a national security threat in order to levy 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent on aluminum. For neighboring Mexico, this will affect some $3 billion in exports. While not insignificant, it is just a speck of the $300 billion-plus the nation sends north each year (for Canada, steel and aluminum comprise $11.5 billion of more than $300 billion in US-bound trade).　 Yet the size of the tariffs belies their true import. They officially bury t
[Praveen Kumar Yadav] Gwangju Uprising inspires Asian Declarations on rights to justice, peace and culture

Jun 3, 2018

While the people of Gwangju and South Korea were commemorating the 38th anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising, human rights activists and the activists of democratic movements in different countries of Asia gathered at the city of Gwangju to discuss the pertinent issues of human rights and democracy in the region. The activists and academicians commemorated the pro-democratic movement of 1980 with the announcement of three Asian declarations on a right to justice, a right to peace and a right to c
[Hal Brands] How many US troops are needed in Korea?

Jun 3, 2018

Donald Trump’s presidency is forcing the foreign policy establishment to re-examine issues that had long been considered settled. A case in point is the US troop presence in South Korea.　Recent reports indicate that Trump has sought the withdrawal of some or all of the 28,000 US troops in South Korea, and has considered using the US presence as a bargaining chip in nuclear negotiations with North Korea. 　Trump is not, however, the first president to scrutinize the American presence in South Kore
[Ramesh Ponnuru] Italy needs a euro exit plan. So do other countries.

Jun 3, 2018

While the turmoil in Italy has died down, at least for now, the issue that set it off is sure to provoke more tumult ahead.　The populist coalition that won the last election had proposed to make Paolo Savona, an economist who has said Italy should have a “Plan B” to exit the euro, finance minister. Sergio Mattarella, the country’s president, vetoed the appointment. After initially insisting on Savona, the anti-euro populists have found a different job for him. Markets have calmed, and the new go
[Alex Webb] Singapore knows the future of driverless tech

Jun 3, 2018

Pilot plans to test driverless cars on city streets have so far been little more than vanity research projects. But one tiny country has put the whole autonomous vehicle industry on a track to make money in real life.　Automakers, tech firms and new entrants the world over have spent the past few weeks racing to meet Thursday’s deadline for a so-called Request for Information that Singapore announced back in November. The city state plans to operate fleets of autonomous vehicles in three district
[Noah Feldman] With talks back on, Kim bets Trump will accept half a deal

Jun 3, 2018

Like so much else that President Donald Trump does, the North Korea negotiations dance is all about breaking the unwritten rules. Past presidents would have never allowed themselves to be put in the position where they could appear to be jerked around by a tin-pot dictator. Trump genuinely doesn’t care.　But how far would Trump go in breaking the rules, especially if a Nobel Peace Prize were in the offing? Would Trump be prepared to sign a peace treaty ending the Korean War and freezing North Kor
[Robert Fouser] South Korea’s proactive stance

Jun 1, 2018

The news that President Donald Trump had canceled the June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shocked South Korea as it was getting ready for bed on May 24. The US leader’s sudden change of heart came two days after a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The news left South Koreans unsettled and searching for answers.The news that President Moon Jae-in held a sudden summit with Kim Jong-un in Panmunjom on Saturday May 26 surprised the nation and raised hopes that diplomacy an
[Leonid Bershidsky] Europe gets new privacy rules. Tech giants shrug

Jun 1, 2018

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation has been in effect for less than a week. It was always clear that a vast number of companies would comply in only the most perfunctory way, at least while the law was being tested. But the big tech companies, sure to face scrutiny, were expected to show a little more rigor. Instead, they appear to be hoping that they won’t get caught or that their lawyers will take care of any complaints.　Most consumers don’t have the time or expertise to c
[Kim Hyuk] What should South Korea do for a successful summit between US and North Korea?

May 31, 2018

In Korea, there is a saying, “good things are good.” This means that if two sides are in good faith in negotiation, it is better to set aside bothersome details in order to move on. The problems of this phrase are if a “good thing” is also understood as a good one by others and that the impact of untouched details can transpire someday. While President Moon was trying to find the intention behind Trump’s cancellation of the meeting with Kim Jong-un, it is also necessary for him to assess factors
[Anne Stevenson-Yang] Are US and China making the world safe for fraud?

May 31, 2018

China and the US are presenting themselves as exemplars of opposite models of political governance.China has laid out its vision for a rejuvenated nation: a socialist planned economy, built on data and analytics, that will displace market economies. The US is taking the opposite route: withdrawing government from the marketplace, deregulating the economy through executive orders, starving regulators of funds, and appointing agency heads with records of antagonism to their own agencies’ missions.
[Mark Bruzonsky and Bandy X Lee] No to Trump-Kim summit, yes to peace agreement

May 31, 2018

It does not make anyone comfortable to acknowledge the realities of an unstable, volatile, and attack-prone American president, but it is important to recognize those realities. He could not let go of North Korea’s uncertainties about a summit and had to cancel -- but then scheduled it back just as impulsively. His pattern of revoking invitations before he can be rejected, or to assault before what he perceives as an assault on him (or his image) has a chance to realize, is well-known.Yet, a his
[Anjani Trivedi] Race to autonomy may be won in China

May 31, 2018

Everybody wants autonomous vehicles now: It’s the auto industry’s way forward and Silicon Valley’s latest preoccupation. China is no different.　Alibaba Group Holding is testing self-driving cars in China, and Baidu started trials of autonomous technology last year. BMW AG earlier this month was the first foreign carmaker to get a license to test its offering in China. In mid-May, Shenzhen-based Roadstar.Ai LLC raised a record amount from Chinese investors.　Meanwhile, Tencent Holdings and bigger-
[Bloomberg] US needs better missile defense for new nuclear age

May 31, 2018

In the last few weeks, the world has become a measurably more dangerous place. The apparent collapse of the North Korea talks, US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear pact, Russia’s threat to shoot down US planes over Syria, and China’s placement of anti-ship and anti-air missiles on its manufactured islands in the South China Sea have all pushed the needle one tick closer to the unthinkable: nuclear war.　So now, more than ever, is the time to think about it -- and plan for it.　America’s primary dom
[Andrew Sheng] From industry 4.0 to finance 4.0

May 30, 2018

Most people are somewhat aware about the ‘fourth industrial revolution.’ The first industrial revolution occurred with the rise of steam power and manufacturing using iron and steel. The second revolution started with the assembly line which allowed specialization of skills, represented by the Ford motor assembly line at the turn of the 20th century. The third industrial revolution came with Japanese quality controls and use of telecommunication technology. The fourth industrial revolution, or f