The Korea Herald

안녕하세요 Yu Kun-ha 기자입니다.

Articles by Yu Kun-ha

[William Pesek] Foregone election in Japan

ViewpointsJul 16, 2013

With elections to the upper house of parliament on July 21, Japanese voters seem ready to hand Prime Minister Shinzo Abe one of the bigger blank checks in memory. No one has forgotten there’s an election. It’s impossible to escape the cacophony of campaign sound trucks, blaring slogans out of tinny loudspeakers. What’s most noticeable, though, is the silence of the citizenry. Try finding the slightest hint that voters are fired up. If recent contests have been notable at all, it’s for setting lo
The case against retrying George Zimmerman

ViewpointsJul 16, 2013

When in 1992 a California jury acquitted the four officers who beat Rodney King, the result was a race riot of a kind not seen since the late 1960s ― followed by a federal civil-rights prosecution that convicted two of the officers. The acquittal of George Zimmerman for killing Trayvon Martin hasn’t produced rioting, but it has spawned a growing demand, led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, for a federal trial to recharge Zimmerman with violating Martin’s civil r
What hasn’t changed in post-racial America

ViewpointsJul 16, 2013

In January 2009 much of the nation watched with a kind of stunned jubilation as the first black president was sworn into office. In the intoxication of that moment, some suggested the U.S. had finally moved beyond the racial quagmire that has defined its history and circumscribed its democracy. In a country where violent disfranchisement was still within living memory, the fact that 69 million voters ― of all racial backgrounds ― voted for a presidential candidate of African descent validated fa
[Kim Seong-kon] Don’t leave home without respect for others

ViewpointsJul 16, 2013

Those who lived in the States during the 1970s probably remember the highly successful American Express card television ad, featuring Academy Award-winner Karl Malden. On the TV screen, Malden would flash American Express travelers’ checks and say the trademark phrase: “Don’t leave home without them.” When the slogan was used to advertise American Express cards later on, it was simply changed to “Don’t leave home without it.” The catchy ad has been parodied a number of times. For example, I reme
[Editorial] Tax shortfall

EditorialJul 15, 2013

The tax authorities are switching to emergency mode as this year’s tax revenue is increasingly likely to miss the target by an unexpectedly large margin.According to data presented by the National Tax Service, tax revenue during the first five months of the year totaled 82.13 trillion won, a shocking fall of as much as 9 trillion won from the same period a year ago.If the trend continues, the shortfall is expected to expand to 10 trillion won by the end of the first half and 20 trillion won by t
[Editorial] Flip-flopping auditor

EditorialJul 15, 2013

The Board of Audit and Inspection has made itself a target of audit and inspection by flip-flopping on the controversial four-rivers restoration project.The state auditor has thus far inspected the signature public works project of former President Lee Myung-bak three times. But each time it offered a different assessment, confusing the public and undermining its own credibility.The board announced the outcome of its first inspection in January 2011, more than two years before Lee’s five-year te
[James Phillips] U.S. behind the curve on Syria

ViewpointsJul 15, 2013

White House officials recently made a low-key announcement that President Obama has authorized the transfer of arms to Syria’s rebels. This 180-degree shift in the administration’s policy, after two years of hand-wringing and diplomatic posturing, was announced by an obscure National Security Council official rather than the president.President Obama has distanced himself from the Syrian crisis for several reasons. The bloodbath in Syria, which has claimed more than 90,000 lives, contradicts his
To restart nukes, Japan must raze ‘nuclear village’

ViewpointsJul 15, 2013

The governing coalition led by Japan’s pro-nuclear Liberal Democratic Party is predicted to win a majority in the July 21 Upper House elections. That prospect might alarm the almost half of all Japanese citizens who say they don’t want to restart the 48 nuclear reactors that remain offline for safety checks after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered a catastrophic meltdown. Even now, engineers are struggling to contain the radioactive water seeping into the groundwater under the
Protection of individual privacy and FISA court

ViewpointsJul 15, 2013

When Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was asked about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court during his confirmation hearings, he replied: “It’s not what we usually think of when we think of a court.” And he was absolutely right.As Roberts noted, most Americans think of a court as open to the public, where “lawyers argue, and it’s subject to the glare of publicity. And the judges explain their decision to the public and they can examine them.” But the federal FISA court ― created by Congre
Road to White House may start with Virginia contest

ViewpointsJul 15, 2013

In 1991, Zell Miller, then governor of Georgia and a Democrat, advised his colleague Bill Clinton of Arkansas that there were two guys he needed to run his likely presidential campaign: James Carville and Paul Begala. “Who are they?” asked Clinton, a man well-versed in Democratic politics. Even though they had had successes, including Miller’s election, Carville and Begala didn’t become a big deal until they ran Harris Wofford’s campaign in a special Pennsylvania senate election in 1991. It was
[Virginia Postrel] Serendipity and samples can save Barnes & Noble

ViewpointsJul 15, 2013

Turmoil at Barnes & Noble Inc., where Chief Executive Officer William Lynch resigned last week after the company posted an unexpectedly large loss in the quarter ended April 30, has people in the publishing industry worried. “We’re all forced to ask: What would the book discovery environment look like without Barnes & Noble?” writes Rich Fahle, a former Borders executive who runs a marketing agency for authors. The question zeroes in on a growing problem for the U.S. book industry. Although read
Radical Buddhism threatens Myanmar’s democratization

ViewpointsJul 14, 2013

Two years into its transition from dictatorship to democracy, Myanmar is finding out how dangerous freedom can be. Since June 2012, when fighting broke out between Buddhists and Muslims in western Arakan state, attacks against Myanmar’s tiny Muslim minority have spread throughout the country. More than 200 people have been killed in Buddhist-Muslim riots, and more than 150,000 rendered homeless ― most of them Muslims. Many Burmese think that former regime figures are stoking the attacks, hoping
[David Ignatius] A yearning for lost greatness

ViewpointsJul 14, 2013

WASHINGTON ― Hisham Melhem, a prominent Lebanese journalist, recalls an emotional visit to the Great Mosque of Cordoba in southern Spain last May. With tears in his eyes, he found himself wondering how the Arab Muslim genius of a thousand years ago had veered in modern times toward such chaos and repression. Melhem later wrote a column for the Beirut daily An Nahar describing his visit to the Andalusia region, “roaming as if ... in a dream,” touching the pillars of the mosque in Cordoba and othe
This Ramadan, what has happened to Islam?

ViewpointsJul 14, 2013

This Ramadan I’m praying for a miracle. Islam’s holy month begins this week, and millions of Muslims everywhere are fasting, reflecting and asking God to answer prayers. Like millions of American Muslims, I will be thinking about the cycle of violence that appears to have taken on a life of its own, and I worry that cycle is unstoppable.The so-called Arab Spring was thought to mean a new beginning; but the wave of change did not bring freedom and prosperity to the region. Instead two years into
Thailand needs to invest in people, not rice

ViewpointsJul 14, 2013

The search for lessons from lost economic decades has led from Japan to the U.S. to Europe. Now the spotlight turns to Thailand. This may strike some as odd, considering Thailand’s 5.3 percent growth, its young and expanding population, and the surprising level of political stability in Bangkok. In her two years leading Thailand’s 68 million people, Yingluck Shinawatra has somehow managed to tamp down the virtual civil war that led to the ouster of her prime minister brother in 2006. Look closer