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Articles by 최남현

[David Ignatius] Plotting a post-Assad road map

ViewpointsJul 22, 2011

WASHINGTON ― As the Obama administration steps up its support for regime change in Syria, the Arab Spring is moving into what could be its hottest phase. The puzzle is how to help the Syrian opposition gain power without foreign military intervention ― and without triggering sectarian massacres inside the country. For months, as protests mounted in Syria, President Obama waited to see if Bashar al
[Editorial] Burmese army’s licence to rape is region’s shame

ViewpointsJul 22, 2011

In 1989, following the collapse of the Communist Party of Burma, a number of armed ethnic armies entered into a series of ceasefire agreements with Rangoon. The fighting stopped, to a degree, but deep down nobody believed it would last. It was just a matter of time before the various groups resumed fighting.For more than two decades, the so-called peace deals rested on shaky ground with little eff
[Editorial] Again, justice for victims of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge rule

ViewpointsJul 22, 2011

The wheels of justice turn slowly in Cambodia, but they grind nevertheless. Last month, a United Nations-backed tribunal began the second war crimes trials that attempt to hold accountable the former leaders of the Khmer Rouge. This trial is proving more contentious than its predecessor ― in which the defendant accepted both the legitimacy of the tribunal and the need for an accounting. This time,
[Andrew Sheng] Globalization with constraints

ViewpointsJul 22, 2011

The globalization issue is the most misunderstood and confusing topic today. In the last 20 years, there was a dominant view that globalization was good for everyone. But the Asian and global financial crises, caused in part by volatile global capital flows, have proved that there is what I called “global gain, local pain.” It does not mean that we reject globalization, but that there are risks th
[Editorial] Japan’s electricity crisis will continue to deteriorate

ViewpointsJul 22, 2011

Kansai Electric Power Co. manually shut down the No. 1 reactor at its Oi nuclear power plant in Oicho, Fukui Prefecture, on Saturday (July 16) to investigate what caused the pressure to drop inside a tank in the reactor’s emergency cooling system.The Oi nuclear plant is a major source of power, with an output capacity of nearly 1.2 million kilowatts. Kansai Electric, which depends on nuclear power
[Editorial] Forced finale is fitting end for Murdoch’s Frankenstein

ViewpointsJul 22, 2011

On July 7, News Corp, one of the world’s most powerful media organizations, announced that it was closing News of the World, Britain’s largest-selling newspaper. This decision was taken in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal that first emerged in 2007, but which has deepened significantly over the past few weeks. Although Rupert Murdoch has claimed that News of the World was closed on moral grou
[Editorial] New renegotiations?

EditorialJul 21, 2011

It was assumed that the ratification of the free trade agreement with the United States would be the focal point of contention when the National Assembly opens its August extraordinary session. The ruling Grand National Party had selected the motion for ratification as one of the main bills to act on in the face of fierce resistance from the opposition Democratic Party.The ruling party had apparen
[Editorial] Quixotic war on prices

EditorialJul 21, 2011

Shortly after he was inaugurated in February 2008, President Lee Myung-bak selected 52 daily necessities and put their prices under tight control. Still, items whose prices gained continued to outnumber those whose prices fell.Since inflationary pressure started to build appreciatively during the second half of last year, the Lee administration has been monitoring changes in their prices around th
[Kim Jong-han] A national leader should have vision

ViewpointsJul 20, 2011

Although the presidential election in South Korea is more than a year away and a field of politicians vying to succeed current President Lee Myung-bak includes more than a dozen candidates, one name surfaces repeatedly as the likely winner. Rarely in modern Korean presidential politics has one unannounced candidate become so dominant over the rest of the competition more than a year before the ele
[Glyn Ford] EU’s food aid for North Koreans

ViewpointsJul 19, 2011

The European Union announced on the July 4 that it was to provide 10 million euros ($14.3 million) of emergency food aid to North Korea to be distributed through the World Food Program over the next three months ― until the end of September, just prior to the arrival of this year’s harvest. This aid represents a much delayed response to an initial request for humanitarian assistance sent by Foreig
[Editorial] Rival’s assessment

EditorialJul 19, 2011

It may be pleasing for our manufacturing giants to hear a major Japanese business newspaper admit Korea’s overtaking or close chase of Japanese rivals in the global market with such top-line products as cars, ships and appliances. But what is important is paying attention to how they assess the factors of success and failure in the intense rivalry between the two neighbors.In an article titled “So
[Editorial] Free lunch poll

EditorialJul 19, 2011

“Are you in favor of providing free school lunch ― by stages until 2014 ― for students from families in the lower 50 percent income level?”“Are you in favor of providing free school lunch for all students regardless of their families’ income level ― from this year at elementary schools and from next year at middle schools?”The above are the two questions that will be asked to Seoul citizens when a
[Kim Seong-kon] Unstoppable heart, soft generation

ViewpointsJul 19, 2011

The other day while walking on the campus of Seoul National University, I saw a big poster put up by the College of Humanities Student Association. The poster harshly criticized the incorporation plan of the university scheduled to be effective as of 2012, asserting that students do not want any radical change on campus.Then I found an amusingly contradictory signature at the bottom of the poster:
[Fidel V. Ramos] Building Pax Asia-Pacifica

ViewpointsJul 18, 2011

MANILA ― One of the main sources of tension in Asia nowadays are the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, where the Philippines, Vietnam, China, and others have conflicting claims. In Chinese media reports, the heightened “unfriendliness” in the region has allegedly arisen from “bad rumors and speculations” on the part of Filipino commentators. But the reality is starker: the intrusions by Chin
Debt-ceiling denial would worsen fiscal problems

ViewpointsJul 18, 2011

Even if the White House and congressional leaders reach a deal to raise the debt limit, they face at least two hurdles to persuading rank-and-file Republicans to go along. Some cling to a disturbing belief that the Treasury Department doesn’t need to borrow more money to keep America’s creditors happy. And many more insist that the deal must include a constitutional amendment to require a balanced