The Korea Herald

안녕하세요 Yu Kun-ha 기자입니다.

Articles by Yu Kun-ha

[Ching Cheong] Dreams of reform remain just that in China

ViewpointsFeb 14, 2013

China’s new leader Xi Jinping has dashed the hopes of those Chinese who long for political reform in his recent warning against a Soviet-style collapse in his country and stressing of the need for the Chinese Communist Party’s grip on the military to avert such a danger.The CCP chief made this tough remark in one of his internal speeches to party cadres during his southern tour to Shenzhen and Guangzhou last December. The content of this speech was disseminated to county-level officials.Extracts
[Editorial] Road to implosion?

EditorialFeb 13, 2013

North Korea angered its neighbors ― South Korea, Japan and its ally China ― and the United States when it conducted another nuclear test Tuesday in defiance of U.N. resolutions. The beleaguered communist state did so apparently in the misguided belief that nuclear armament would provide protection for its regime headed by the young leader Kim Jong-un.Contrary to its wishes, however, North Korea may hasten its implosion by making a costly attempt to arm itself with nuclear bombs and long-range mi
[Editorial] Tax-revenue shortfall

EditorialFeb 13, 2013

The nation sustained a shortfall in its 2012 tax revenue, the first since 2004 when the nation had to control the damage from a credit card crisis. Tax collections fell short of the target by as much as 2.8 trillion won as consumers, among others, tightened their purse strings, imports declined and the property market tanked.Moreover, President Lee Myung-bak’s outgoing administration outspent the total revenue for the first time since the government was established in 1948. The amount, 148.4 bil
Don’t let Kim blow atomic smoke in your eyes

ViewpointsFeb 13, 2013

North Korea would like nothing more than for the U.S. and its allies to hyperventilate over the North’s third test of a nuclear device. Indeed, with two satellite-cum-missile launches and one nuclear test during his first year in power, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has already displayed an appetite for foreign-policy brinksmanship that goes beyond the political need to show his people that he’s large and in charge.That said, there is good reason for the U.S. to remain calm and carry on, build
[David Ignatius] A sea change in Muslim world

ViewpointsFeb 13, 2013

WASHINGTON ― Something startling is happening in the Muslim world ― and no, I don’t mean the Arab Spring or the growth of Islamic fundamentalism. According to a leading demographer, a “sea change” is producing a sharp decline in Muslim fertility rates and a “flight from marriage” among Arab women.Nicholas Eberstadt, a scholar with the American Enterprise Institute, documented these findings in two recent papers. They tell a story that contradicts the usual picture of a continuing population expl
North Korea’s nuclear game enters new phase

ViewpointsFeb 13, 2013

Kim Jong-un has just carried out North Korea’s third nuclear test and the general mood among experts is, “There they go again.”If history is any indicator, the test will make headlines and the international community’s response will crescendo, followed by near silence. Over the last two decades, alarm bells have quieted despite concerns over continued nuclear and missile testing because experts believe the North Korean nuclear threat is still in its infancy.However, this test is a pivot point. I
Honoring black soldiers who helped free Koreans

ViewpointsFeb 13, 2013

The events, during Black History Month, commemorate the 60th anniversary of the truce that ended fighting in the Korean War and the black troops who helped keep South Korea free. It was 65 years ago that Missouri’s own President Harry S. Truman did the unthinkable with an executive order, integrating U.S. armed forces.African-American soldiers had fought in every U.S. war before then ― but in segregated units ― and were never fully recognized or appreciated. It was in the Korean War from 1950 to
[Joseph E. Stiglitz] Complacency in Davos as eurozone crisis eases

ViewpointsFeb 13, 2013

DAVOS ― The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos has lost some of its pre-crisis panache. After all, before the meltdown in 2008, the captains of finance and industry could trumpet the virtues of globalization, technology and financial liberalization, which supposedly heralded a new era of relentless growth. The benefits would be shared by all, if only they would do “the right thing.”Those days are gone. But Davos remains a good place to get a sense of the global zeitgeist.It goes with
[Editorial] Labor reform

EditorialFeb 12, 2013

Under the incoming government, big business groups engaged in unfair labor practices are likely to face mounting pressure to clean up their act. Thus far, some of their old practices have been tolerated, but not anymore.In her Lunar New Year message, President-elect Park Geun-hye renewed her resolve to change the “wrong” practices of the past to usher in a new era. Although she did not mention any specific field where such corrective action was needed, she repeatedly stressed on the campaign tra
[Editorial] Unjust bail decision

EditorialFeb 12, 2013

It’s not just corrupt prosecutors who make a mockery of the nation’s legal system. Corrupt judges do so as well.The latest example is a judge in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, who granted bail to an unscrupulous university founder charged with embezzling 104 billion won from the 10 schools under his control.According to reports, the judge released Lee Hong-ha, chairman of Seonam University in Namwon, North Jeolla Province, and three other people who helped him, on health grounds Friday, saying
Three domestic themes for Obama’s big speech

ViewpointsFeb 12, 2013

In his second inaugural address, U.S. President Barack Obama offered a vague but appealing vision. Now it’s time for the more distinct and contentious translation. In his State of the Union address, scheduled for Feb. 12, the president is widely expected to talk about ways to improve the condition of the middle class and increase job growth. The question, given the slow-growing economy and intransigent congressional opposition, is what exactly he can say and do to advance those goals. From our s
[Daniel Fiedler] Learning how to lead in S. Korea

ViewpointsFeb 12, 2013

Recently the South Korean Ministry of Justice announced that it was considering the adoption of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law. The impetus behind this announcement was a series of recommendations by the United Nations Human Rights Council contained in the 2012 Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of South Korea adopted in October. Since that time the Ministry of Justice has been reviewing the 70 recommendations contained in the second section of that Report and
Pope Benedict’s courage and the church’s challenge

ViewpointsFeb 12, 2013

Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to step down as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church was fittingly unexpected for a man who has long defied easy categorization. It was also a brave step at a time when the Catholic Church is facing an array of global challenges. First, we applaud Benedict’s courage in recognizing that he is simply no longer up to the job. He is 85, and by his own admission in failing strength, mentally and physically. His successor, to be selected by the College of Cardinals, wil
Why man returns to Japan when others want to flee

ViewpointsFeb 12, 2013

My favorite Haruhiko Kuroda moment was on a Tokyo-bound flight on March 13, 2011, two days after a gigantic earthquake struck northeast Japan. I was in the Philippines when the quake precipitated a nuclear crisis. On the first available flight back, the president of the Manila-based Asian Development Bank sat near me on an almost-empty plane. Manila-to-Tokyo flights are rarely made with a single empty seat, but no one likes to fly into a potential Chernobyl, not with tens of thousands in Japan c
[Kim Seong-kon] Don’t look to government for aid

ViewpointsFeb 12, 2013

In his inaugural speech in 1961, John F. Kennedy fascinated the audience with a monumental line: “And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you ― ask what you can do for your country.” Perhaps the Korean people should consider what Kennedy said as well, since Koreans tend to expect their country to do everything for them. When the taxi business is slow, for example, Korean taxi companies expect, and sometimes even demand, that the government help them financially. And the