The Korea Herald

[Kim Ji-hyun] Fearing for Korea in Tokyo

Sept 27, 2017

It’s way past time to realize North Korea will never give up its nuclear arsenalMy job takes me frequently abroad, and one destination I visit quite often is Tokyo. Now that my initial trepidation has ebbed away, I can see why so many are in love with this city. And from this tidy yet bustling city, I watched in raw fear this week as events surrounding the two Koreas and the US unfolded. For me, it was a moment of truth. For the first time in a while, I hit me just how precarious things look fro
[Kim Myong-sik] Warmer climate can bring blooms northward

Sept 27, 2017

As warm air from the south lets flowers bloom further north, it allows for reflection on Seoul’s aid to Pyongyang. The worse the tensions become, the greater the impact of aid on the international community and its beneficiaries.It’s chrysanthemum season. Hampyeong in South Jeolla Province, famous for its butterfly festival in spring, is inviting flower lovers to what has been dubbed the biggest chrysanthemum fair in the country. All across the country, people are joining in preparation for the
[Letter to the Editor] Reforming institutions needed for sustained growth

Sept 27, 2017

South Korea needs to improve the institutional environment if it wants to achieve sustained growthRecently, Korea hosted an international conference in Seoul addressing sustained growth in Asia. Surprisingly, Korea’s economic growth model is quite similar to the Japanese model. Although Korea has maintained conservative monetary policy and fiscal balance, the nation does not have sufficient resources to support its aging population. Policymakers are concerned about Japanese-style stagnation if K
[Leonid Bershidsky] Germany’s nationalists join 13 percent club

Sept 27, 2017

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) result of 12.6 percent in Sunday’s election wraps up an important political season for European nationalist populists. It’s a showing that has worried many both in and outside Germany; but, all things considered, it’s another defeat for the far right, which appears to have hit its ceiling in Western Europe for now.The AfD was promptly congratulated by Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom (PVV) won 13.1 percent of the vote in the Netherlands in March, and by Ma
[Noah Feldman] Trump’s new travel ban could win over justices

Sept 27, 2017

Can the addition of North Korea and Venezuela save President Donald Trump’s third travel ban from the constitutional flaws of his first two? By rights, the answer should be no -- and the new ban would be unlikely to survive careful judicial scrutiny of its shaky logic.But in the real world, the US Supreme Court may take the opportunity to de-escalate the ongoing conflict between the Trump administration and the judiciary. If that is so, a majority of the justices could simply defer to Trump’s as
[Justin Fox] The consequences of the US baby bust

Sept 26, 2017

As people in other wealthy countries fretted in the 1990s and 2000s over what falling birthrates would mean for economic growth and retirement-program finances, the US seemed to have far less to worry about. Fertility here remained at or near the replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman over her lifetime, and the country’s long-honed ability to attract immigrants and quickly integrate them into the workforce provided a further economic boost.Times have changed. Immigration has been a contentious
[Trudy Rubin] Best approach to Iran deal: Fix it, don’t nix it

Sept 26, 2017

There seems to be no end to nuclear crises these days.As North Korea’s Kim Jong-un plays nuclear chicken with the great powers, another dangerous moment is approaching. The world awaits President Trump’s decision -- due Oct. 15 -- on how he will handle the 2015 deal with Tehran that curbed Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions.In his UN speech Tuesday, Trump called the deal one of the worst he’s ever seen. And it does indeed contain big flaws, most notably i
[Robert Fouser] Donald Trump’s North Korea strategy

Sept 26, 2017

Speeches to the United Nations General Assembly are usually diplomatic, but not this year. US President Donald Trump took the opportunity this year to lash out at North Korea by threatening to “totally destroy” it and referring to its leader Kim Jong-un as “Rocket Man.” Kim responded by calling Trump a “mentally deranged US dotard” and holding an anti-American rally in Pyongyang. The recent round of insults has raised tensions and questions about what each man is trying to achieve.　The key to un
[Michael Schuman] Can South Korea save liberalism?

Sept 26, 2017

While much of the world’s attention is fixated on North Korea and its nuclear ambitions, something with the potential to be equally globe-rattling is taking place, generally unnoticed, in South Korea. There, new President Moon Jae-in is charting an entirely contrary course in economic policy than much of the rest of the developed world. If successful, the experiment could alter how governments tackle the most challenging problems of our day. Moon is embarking on a highly liberal economic program
[Kim Seong-kon] Korean standards, global standards

Sept 26, 2017

Today, Korea is well known and Koreans are popular overseas thanks to Hallyu and cutting-edge technology represented by Samsung, LG and Hyundai. Nevertheless, sometimes Koreans are not welcomed by the international community due to their ignorance of and indifference to global standards. In the eyes of foreigners, Koreans tend to stubbornly stick to their own standards, closing their eyes to radical changes taking place in the world. For example, we persistently keep using the wrong expression “
[Jay Ambrose] Trump not that bad at UN

Sept 25, 2017

Take it easy, you want to advise President Donald Trump when he says in a United Nations speech that the United States is going to “totally destroy” North Korea if it attacks us or our allies. But there is something you want to add.Don’t take it as easy as Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, who irresponsibly set us up for long-lasting intimidation, still more nuclear proliferation and the increased possibility of a nuclear holocaust down the road.It was 23 years ago that P
[Adam N. Michel] How corporate tax cuts would benefit workers

Sept 25, 2017

Businesses seldom raise wages due to a sense of corporate benevolence. Rather, wages rise when the demand for workers increases. This forces businesses to increase wages out of self-interest in order to keep their employees from being hired away by competitors.This basic tenet of economics explains why corporate tax cuts produce higher wages for workers.That may seem counterintuitive. Most people think a corporate tax cut just means bigger profits for businesses -- profits that are used to line
[Christine M. Flowers] Plenty of reasons to cheer about Trump’s speech to the United Nations

Sept 25, 2017

While other people worried about what President Donald Trump meant when he discussed “sovereignty,” and while other people wrung their hands and mopped their brows because he wasn’t being polite to North Korea, seated in the front row at his inaugural speech to the United Nations, I heard this: “It is a massive source of embarrassment to the United Nations that some governments with egregious human rights records sit on the UN Human Rights Council.”While journalists hyperventilated about the ton
[Editorial] Adjust anti-graft law

Sept 25, 2017

Time ripe to consider mending caps on hospitality expenses to ease industry woes
[Shelley Goldberg] North Korean threat to utilities

Sept 25, 2017

In times of market uncertainty, some investors will flock to “safeguarded” currencies such as the Swiss franc or Japanese yen. Others may choose diversifiers like gold, farmland or other hard assets. And then there are those who flock to alternative investments like bitcoin or fine wine. Yet one investment that has historically been considered a safe bet, low-risk option for investors when frothy markets appear ripe for a correction, or when market bubbles look to burst, is the utility sector. B