Prosecutors from Seoul and Daejeon separately conducted search and seizure operations at the Presidential Archive last week to secure materials on two major controversial events during the Moon Jae-in administration. With recent bad memories of political reprisals under the pretext of righting past wrongs, there are concerns that this could mean the beginning of a new round of retaliation after a change of power. They seized presidential documents related to the premature closedown of a nucle

Donald Trump and his Republican Party minions have presented a dog’s breakfast of explanations, evasions, accusations, and lies about the classified documents -- including top-secret files -- that federal agents reclaimed from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago basement this month. But ultimately, Trump’s best defense, if he is criminally charged, will be blackmail. Authorized by Attorney General Merrick Garland, the unprecedented search of a former president’s home was based on a warr

Foreigners today are well aware of South Korea’s reputation as an economically successful and culturally influential country. Most especially, many young people across the world are huge fans of K-pop or Korean films and TV dramas such as “Parasite,” “Kingdom,” or “Squid Game.” Aside from the cultural domain, Korean technology, too, is widely known to the world, thanks to Samsung, LG and Hyundai. As a result, today’s Korea has become an internation

Last week Secretary of State Anthony Blinken released the Biden administration’s long-awaited Africa strategy during his visit to South Africa. Perhaps the most notable shift in tone during Blinken’s five-day, three-country tour of the continent was his reference to African states as geostrategic players -- a clear response to the fact that America’s staunchest rivals on the continent (China, and increasingly Russia) have gained traction precisely by approaching their African

Last week the Biden administration announced what would be included in the 18th package of security aid from the US to Ukraine. Worth $1 billion, it represents “the largest single drawdown of the US arms and equipment to date,” according to Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of Defense for policy. That brings the total to $8.5 billion since Russia invaded in February, which means even as inflation in the US was hitting a 40-year high, there was enough money for war. That’s not a

In this broiling summer, when we are shaken by threats that could shatter our most globally revered national monument -- America’s cherished democracy -- a menacing development suddenly occurred half-a-world away. We glanced at it. Then we forgot about it amid the nonstop news gush about our domestic disarray. But attention must be paid. Because this could be how the next world war starts, on the other side of the planet, while we are calling each other names here at home. The slow, but

As the United States sends stockpiles of weapons to Ukraine, another transatlantic mobilization is underway. Freed from two years of COVID restrictions, Americans are once again traveling in large numbers. Market observers have predicted a sixfold increase in American tourism to Europe. If you’re wondering what shipments of weapons and planeloads of tourists have in common, the answer is: Quite a bit. Tourism has long had a way of getting mixed up in international politics. Tourism is ea

“It was wondrous in a word,” said Kang Ye-jin, a senior at a Seoul art high school. “I found Dokdo so beautiful. It came to me vividly that we must keep the island at all costs.” Like any Korean student her age, Ye-jin has learned about Japan’s contentious claim over the East Sea islets of Dokdo, Korea’s easternmost outpost, also known as Liancourt Rocks. And, of course, she has seen TV footage of the islets. “Honestly,” she said, “I was li

In Korea, many students with academic excellence want to go into law or medicine. Naturally, prosecutors, judges and medical doctors are the super elite of Korean society, and it is not uncommon for them to occasionally occupy important positions in government. However, the problem is that due to the nature of their occupation, they tend to stay in their home countries and, aside from the odd vacation, may not know the world very well. Of course, it all depends on the person, but it is generally

Kabul’s fall was a debacle, but long-term impact hasn’t been as catastrophic as feared

In March 1964, the New York Times reported that 38 witnesses saw or heard a brutal, drawn-out, and ultimately fatal attack on a woman called Kitty Genovese, but none did anything to help her, or even summoned the police. The report was later shown to be erroneous, but the “bystander effect” is real. As many psychology experiments have shown, an individual is less likely to come to the aid of another if they can see that other people who could help are not doing so. Last month, in th

The population of South Korea declined for this first in history in 2021, according to recently released official statistics. The decline marked the beginning of a downward trend that will accelerate in the middle of the century. The news prompted another spate of editorials calling on the government to enact measures to arrest the decline. The drop in population affects regions and cities in the country differently. The population of Seoul, for example, peaked at nearly 11 million in 1992 and

China’s live-fire military exercises in the waters near Taiwan, which began Thursday, are a worrisome escalation from Beijing. The People’s Liberation Army has gradually ramped up its warplane incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, airspace around the island over which Beijing claims authority, but China hasn’t performed live-fire drills so close to Taiwanese shores in nearly three decades. Comparisons to the last such incident, the Taiwan Strait Crisi

A week after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Seoul via Taiwan, political ripples continue here over President Yoon Suk-yeol skipping a face-to-face meeting with the third most powerful person from the closest ally of South Korea. Was he just acting in serious consideration of national interest amid the deepening power contest between the US and China, or was it a diplomatic blunder by an inexperienced president who needs more time to master his job, people wonder, mostly with regret. Fri

US Senate Democrats’ compromise bill, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, addresses not just inflation, but also several key longstanding problems facing our economy and society. There is a simmering debate about the causes of today’s inflation; but regardless of what side one takes, this bill represents a step forward. For those worried about excessive demand, there is more than $300 billion in deficit reduction. And on the supply side, the bill would mobilize $369 billion of inv