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[Arvind Subramanian] The threat of enfeebled great powers

ViewpointsMay 11, 2020

The COVID-19 crisis augurs three watersheds: the end of Europe’s integration project, the end of a united, functional America, and the end of the implicit social compact between the Chinese state and its citizens. As a result, all three powers will emerge from the pandemic internally weakened, undermining their ability to provide global leadership. Start with Europe. As with the 2010-12 eurozone crisis, the bloc’s fault line today runs through Italy. Drained over decades of dynamism
[Editorial] Successful presidency

EditorialMay 11, 2020

President Moon Jae-in entered the fourth year of his five-year tenure Sunday with ample political capital, something his predecessors never enjoyed at the same point in their presidencies. A survey of about 1,000 adult South Koreans last week showed that his approval rating stood at 71 percent, exceeding the figure for all former presidents as they finished a third year in office. His popularity helped the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea and its sister party secure a combined 180 seat
[Photo News] Russia celebrates VE Day

World NewsMay 10, 2020

Russian servicemen marched across the Red Square on Saturday during a parade for the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. Moscow’s city square was later filled with people celebrating the day that marked Nazi Germany’s surrender and the end of World War II in Europe. At the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin watched the marching parade and the flypast. VE Day ended with fireworks instead of gunfire. (Photos: Reuters-Yonhap) (khnews@heraldcorp.com)
N. Korean leader sends message to Putin: news report

North KoreaMay 9, 2020

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, the North's state news agency reported. Kim expressed the belief that friendly relations between the two countries would steadily develop and wished that Putin can achieve victory in preventing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. In Russia, the virus has killed more than 1,7
[Monitor] Online shopping jumps 11.8% amid staying home trend

IndustryMay 8, 2020

The total volume of online and mobile shopping transactions jumped 11.8 percent in March compared to a year earlier amid the staying home trend, data by Statistics Korea showed. The total online shopping transactions stood at 12.58 trillion won ($10.2 billion), and it accounted for 28.2 percent of the entire retail sales including offline sales. Mobile shopping accounted for 67.3 percent of the total non-face-to-face shopping transactions, recording 8.47 trillion won in March. The figure is
[Robert J. Fouser] Learning from Korea’s response to COVID-19

ViewpointsMay 8, 2020

The first week of May in South Korea saw the nation come to life as fears of COVID-19 subsided. People took advantage of a series of holidays to go out and enjoy the spring weather. On May 6th, the government’s new guidelines called “everyday distancing” went into effect. The guidelines focus on allowing normal activities with continued social distancing, hand washing, and wearing of face masks. South Korea is not yet free of the pandemic, but it is getting close. Much of Eu
[Editorial] Lee’s apology and promise

EditorialMay 8, 2020

Samsung Electronics heir and Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong apologized Wednesday in connection with his controversial succession of management and Samsung’s labor issues. It is not a pleasing sight for the top manager of South Korea’s flagship business to bow low for an apology while being tried for more than three years now. His apology signals drastic changes for Samsung. Lee vowed not to hand over management control of the tech giant to his children. It is rare for owners of Korea
[Monitor] NK's exports shrivel while imports rise

IndustryMay 7, 2020

North Korea’s trade dependency on China continues to escalate while its exports have shrunk drastically from the 2017 sanctions, data from the Korea International Trade Association showed. The total trade volume for last year came at $2.945 billion, with exports worth $261 million and imports worth $2.684 billion. While exports declined 20.9 percent on-year, imports increased 15.6 percent. The reclusive state’s exports have plunged 94.3 percent compared to $4.562 billion in 2015,
[Editorial] Unexpected opportunity

EditorialMay 7, 2020

The world’s major economies are stepping up efforts to bring home manufacturers operating abroad amid the novel coronavirus-caused disruption to global supply chains. Such efforts are focused particularly on reducing excessive reliance on parts and components production in China, where the COVID-19 pandemic originated in December. Factory shutdowns imposed by Chinese authorities disrupted global supply chains, doing damage to manufacturing in many other countries. With the global trade
[Monitor] DRAM prices surge in April upon ‘untact’ boom

TechnologyMay 6, 2020

With increase in server demand following the normalization of Chinese PC makers and wider non-face-to-face activities since the COVID-19 outbreak, DRAM contract prices surged in April, according to market researcher DRAMeXchange. The average contract prices of DDR4 8-gigabit DRAM, used for personal computers, came to $3.29 as of the end of April. It was up 11.9 percent from $2.94 in March. It is the first double-digit monthly rise for DRAM prices since April 2017. The price of NAND flash, wh
[Editorial] Safety net for all

EditorialMay 6, 2020

The presidential office has brought up a topic of expanding unemployment insurance to all of the economically active population, including the self-employed. Kang Gi-jung, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, said Friday that “it is a post-COVID 19 task to insure everyone against unemployment like the national health insurance that covers all of the people.” On the same day, Lee In-young, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, said that the party woul
[Jean Pisani-Ferry] Building a post-pandemic world

ViewpointsMay 5, 2020

Die-hard green militants regard it as obvious: The COVID-19 crisis only strengthens the urgent need for climate action. But die-hard industrialists are equally convinced: There should be no higher priority than to repair a ravaged economy, postponing stricter environmental regulations if necessary. The battle has started. Its outcome will define the post-pandemic world. Both the public health crisis and the climate crisis highlight the limits of humanity’s power over nature. Both remind u
[Monitor] Asia’s travel industry to take hardest hit from COVID-19

IndustryMay 5, 2020

A total of 100.8 million jobs dedicated to travel and tourism are forecast to be slashed due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data from the World Travel & Tourism Council. Asia’s travel industry is projected to be hit hardest, with an estimated 63.4 million job losses, the data showed. The job cuts are expected to shave about $1.04 trillion off the region’s aggregate gross domestic product. That would account for nearly half of the world’s tot
[Editorial] Ominous signal

EditorialMay 5, 2020

It hardly seems coincidental that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s first public appearance since April 11 was followed by gunshots fired by the North at a South Korean guard post inside the Demilitarized Zone on Sunday. Upon finding four bullet marks on the guard post’s wall, the South’s military fired back and issued broadcast warnings in accordance with the response manual. It marked the first exchange of gunfire between the two Koreas across the border since November 2017
Investigation launched after 55 quakes at barley field

Social affairsMay 5, 2020

A barley field on reclaimed land in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, has seen 55 seismic tremors in the span of nine days, prompting an investigation by government seismologists. The Korea Meteorological Administration said Monday that its special team began work to find out what’s behind the sudden increase in seismic activities there. Four makeshift seismographic measuring stations have been installed at the site for their research. Haenam has never reported any seismic activity since