Improbable choice Usually, a president-elects chief of staff and spokespeople are not inordinately influential figures, and go about carrying out their bosss errands during the transition of power period. Politically, however, the naming of these closest aides c..
Northeast Asia in turbulence Leadership changes in the three major countries in Northeast Asia wrapped up last week with the election of Park Geun-hye as South Koreas first woman president.
Workers in despair While President-elect Park Geun-hye and the Saenuri Party are celebrating their election victory, despairing workers are falling, literally, one by one.
New diplomatic initiative The Defense Ministry allowed some Christian groups to light a gigantic Christmas tree-shaped tower near the inter-Korean border Sunday. It reflected Seouls displeasure with Pyongyangs launch of a long-range rocket 10 days ago. Every year-end, w..
Clash of generations In the past, regional conflicts have been customarily cited as one of the most serious problems after almost every election. Historically, voters in the eastern Gyeongsang Provinces overwhelmingly supported the conservative wing of politics, curren..
Picking right people So far, so good. With only a few days having elapsed since Park Geun-hye was elected president, the public assessment of her post-election behavior and commitments to impartiality and national integration appears positive.
Price stability The specter of soaring inflation is haunting the nation as prices show signs of spiraling out of control in the wake of the presidential election.
Path of progressives After losing an election in which conditions were deemed advantageous for the liberal opposition, the entire progressive camp is now mired in deep silence and confusion.
New education chief Ancient Korea regarded children as more or less belonging to parents and the state. Filial piety and loyalty to monarchs were the two biggest virtues during Joseon Kingdom. The time-old tradition still persists in some ways, as seen by some over..
Do's and don'ts for Park President-elect Park Geun-hye has finally attained her lifelong goal of winning the nations highest office. Awaiting her is the much harder task of turning her occupancy of Cheong Wa Dae into a legacy future historians will extol. Heres a chec..
Opposition realignment The main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) is in a state of panic after its candidate Moon Jae-in lost to his ruling party rival Park Geun-hye.
First female President Park Geun-hye became Koreas first female president Wednesday. Its time to congratulate the winner and comfort the loser. In a fair, relatively clean contest like this, however, all runners are victors. The biggest winners of all were the voters..
Space technology North Koreas rocket launch last week created a stir across the world. The Stalinist regime says the Unha-3 rocket was intended to put a satellite into orbit but the world sees the act as cover for a test of long-range missile technology.
The Election Day There must be more than a thousand reasons why citizens in a democracy should go to the polls. Jean-Jacque Rousseau summed it up best, if in paradoxical way, when he said people are the masters of their state only during the brief moment of voting,..
Currency woes In the wake of a landslide election victory by Japans Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the specter of the yens rapid devaluation looms large, dealing a blow to the already-moribund global economy.
Fear of Japan's regression Dark clouds are gathering in Northeast Asia as Japans conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) returned to power Sunday. The partys hawkish former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will get a second chance to lead Japan after his one-year stint from..
Sprint to voting day By midnight today, all official campaigns for the 18th presidential election will come to an end, leaving only the popular vote to deliver a verdict. A day is probably too short a time to change voters minds but long enough to improve, or not agg..
