The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation has been in effect for less than a week. It was always clear that a vast number of companies would comply in only the most perfunctory way, at least while the law was being tested. But the big tech companies, sure to face scrutiny, were expected to show a little more rigor. Instead, they appear to be hoping that they won’t get caught or that their lawyers will take care of any complaints.　Most consumers don’t have the time or expertise to c

The 13-day official campaign for the June 13 local elections is in full swing. Candidates and campaigners in colorful uniforms and banners and posters are now seen everywhere in the streets. But fewer voters seem interested in the upcoming elections than in the past. There are some reasons for the relatively high voter indifference. The first one is that – for now -- the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is expected to score a resounding victory. The quadrennial local elections and the 12 parliam

In Korea, there is a saying, “good things are good.” This means that if two sides are in good faith in negotiation, it is better to set aside bothersome details in order to move on. The problems of this phrase are if a “good thing” is also understood as a good one by others and that the impact of untouched details can transpire someday. While President Moon was trying to find the intention behind Trump’s cancellation of the meeting with Kim Jong-un, it is also necessary for him to assess factors

It does not make anyone comfortable to acknowledge the realities of an unstable, volatile, and attack-prone American president, but it is important to recognize those realities. He could not let go of North Korea’s uncertainties about a summit and had to cancel -- but then scheduled it back just as impulsively. His pattern of revoking invitations before he can be rejected, or to assault before what he perceives as an assault on him (or his image) has a chance to realize, is well-known.Yet, a his

A court administration team recently announced the results of its third probe into allegations of judges having been blacklisted by the previous court administration.　The probe came to the same conclusion as its first and second ones that there were no explicit blacklists made under former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae, who served the disgraced President Park Geun-hye.　But incidentally the team found documents showing that Yang considered using several court rulings to persuade Cheon

We’re about two months away from elections in Pakistan -- elections that are almost certain to be shrouded in controversy. And, worryingly for Pakistan, it appears that the economy is weakening, just in time for the instability that might follow from the country’s turbulent politics.　Under the outgoing government -- led till last July by Nawaz Sharif, three times prime minister -- the economy had appeared to be doing well. In fact, a new energy seemed to have infused Pakistan’s entrepreneurs and

May 6 was a special day for my family. We held a family month festival at our weekend farmhouse in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province. To commemorate the event, we erected a banner which read, “Celebrating the 1st Tree Peony Literary Festival in Honor of Peonggang Kim Jeong-kil.” Amid the festivities, the fragrant scent of tree peonies sprang from our garden.Our son declared the opening of the festival, and then told me to explain to the participants how I had come up with this idea. Here’s wha

Betty was lying on a gurney in a hospital corridor. She was elderly, frail and shivering with cold. More than that, she was frightened and completely alone.　I took her temperature -- a low temperature being a sign of sepsis in the elderly -- but it wasn’t extreme. She’d been admitted with chest pain and she clutched her chest, starfishing her hand. Betty’s heart wasn’t diseased but it was broken nonetheless: Her husband had died a few weeks earlier of a heart attack. I suspect she hadn’t been ea

Just look at that list of investors in Foxconn Industrial Internet’s IPO.　It was obvious that Baidu, Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings would take minor stakes in the Foxconn Technology Group affiliate’s blockbuster Shanghai listing. Those three are in the bottom tier of cornerstone buyers anyway.　Leading the lineup is the Shanghai State Development & Investment, which is subscribing for 73 million shares, or 3.7 percent of those expected to be sold. Central Huijin Investment, China Rail