Give the Labor Ministry credit. They are trying to reduce the stubbornly high unemployment rate among young Koreans, but the latest round of policies to boost South Korea’s youth labor market is simply baffling in certain respects. The fact that the Labor Ministry says it will create a 116.9 billion won ($105.1 million) fund to pay for it is cause for pause. Market economics, including economics of the labor market, is predicated on the belief that properly structured incentives will induce indi

We entered a new phase as a species when Chinese scientists altered a human embryo to remove a potentially fatal blood disorder -- not only from the baby, but all of its descendants. Researchers call this process “germline modification.” The media likes the phrase “designer babies.” But we should call it what it is, “eugenics.” And we, the human race, need to decide whether or not we want to use it.Last month, the scientific establishment weighed in. A National Academy of Sciences and National A

The San Francisco-based photo-sharing site Pinterest would seem to rank low on the list of potential threats to China. Beloved by fashion designers, photographers, cooks and hobbyists, the 7-year-old website is a global hub for the sharing of images, trends and ideas on topics ranging from living-room design to what to cook at your Saturday barbecue.Unfortunately, Pinterest Inc.’s innocuousness couldn’t save it from the same fate as other foreign internet companies in China, including Facebook I

Americans watched in alarm but not shock as Parliament was locked down after a “terrorist incident” in London on Wednesday, the first anniversary of the deadly attack in Brussels. A refugee camp in Nigeria was also bombed Wednesday -- again -- by five Boko Haram suicide bombers who’d slipped in the night before, alongside vendors of the charcoal that those who’ve come to the camp to escape Boko Haram need to cook their food. The day before, a car bomb killed 10 people in Mogadishu, the capital o

Before the election of President Donald Grump, some Americans pledged to leave the county if, by some crazy chance, he were to win the White House.　　This departure of the disappointed always struck me as a bad idea. My view is that when the going gets tough, the tough should not get going to other countries. They should stay put and get pouting prior to get organizing.　　But, apparently, some disillusioned Americans have decided to flee. The Associated Press recently reported that US applications

Most media pundits largely agree that Trump has a lot to learn. When he says, “no one knew how complicated health care could be,” we somehow forgive him and understand he meant, “I didn’t know.” When he starts talking about the dangers of uranium in a press conference, as if it’s the latest scientific discovery, we forgive him, sigh in relief, and mutter, “Thank goodness he finally gets it.” Hopefully, the next thing Trump will learn is diplomacy. If Trump needs inspiration, he need only look to

At the end of the House Intelligence Committee’s long hearing on the FBI investigation of Russian meddling in the presidential election this week, the Republican chairman, Devin Nunes of California, made a last, vain attempt to clear the White House of suspicion.　　Do you have any evidence, he asked FBI Director James Comey, that anyone in the Trump administration was working with the Russians?　　“Not a question I can answer,” Comey answered implacably.　　That drew a frown from Nunes. Comey’s silen

In our conversations, whether political, public or private, we seem to be increasingly belligerent, uncivil and unrelenting, determined to crush the opposition rather than listen to the other side.　Could it be that what we fear most is that our positions might change?　We wrap ourselves in our colors, cocoon ourselves in our ideologies and do everything except stick our fingers in our ears. We hear only what we choose and attempt to mute other voices as if holding a universal remote to silence th

At a turbulent moment in the online media business, the fate of Yahoo and buzzed-about CEO Marissa Mayer offers cautionary tales for policymakers and the public.　Mayer, who has been the boss since 2012, is to step down when Yahoo closes its sale to Verizon, it was announced last week. Like the industry consolidation now folding one company into another, the meritocratic hoopla undiminished amid Mayer’s departure suggests too much hype still surrounds attitude and algorithms in tech — at the expe

China is nothing if not creative in protecting its local industries. Although it has liberalized its economy in recent years, it has also erected a sophisticated set of barriers to safeguard companies it views as national champions. Increasingly, this is a counterproductive approach.　The usual method of assessing protectionism is to look at metrics such as tariff rates. And by that measure, China remains one of the least open major economies: according to the World Trade Organization, it maintai