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Opinion

Columnists

Fri, July 3, 2020 | 05:16

The recent reshuffle of the Cabinet and Blue House senior staff in the wake of the Sewol tragedy has given President Park Geun-hye the opportunity to make a fresh start in achieving what could be the biggest legacy of her administration: creating "the creative economy." The Sewol disaster has given impetus to this goal since the event once again revealed the extensive web of corrupt ties between government regulators and businessmen that have prevented the changes needed for economic innovation and Korea's future growth.

2014-06-18 16:52

Korea's debt trap

Korean industry may be bemoaning the strengthening of the won because it hurts exports, but the country should see it as a sign of foreign confidence in the economy. Korea has many advantages that are attracting capital from overseas, which is increasing the value of the won against the U.S. dollar and other currencies. These favorable factors include a growing current account surplus, a low government budget deficit, a stable yield curve and moderate bank lending. All of these suggest that Korea is maintaining a healthy financial system, unlike many countries in the West.

2014-06-04 17:04

The Russians are coming

One unexpected and perhaps ironic consequence of Russia's stand-off with the West over the Ukraine is Moscow's renewed role in playing peacemaker on the Korean Peninsula in hopes of increasing natural gas sales to Northeast Asia. The Ukraine crisis has forced European countries to reconsider their heavy dependence on Russia for gas supplies. The threat that Russia could lose future gas sales in Europe has accelerated existing plans by Moscow to boost gas shipments to China, Korea and Japan, where demand is growing faster than in Europe and where gas prices are higher.

2014-05-21 17:01

Korea's Google challenge

Many American university graduates regard Google in the same way as their Korean counterparts view Samsung Electronics: it is their top choice for a job. But there is one important difference. Among the new hires at Google are those with little or no college university - and I’m not talking about the kitchen staff. Such a state of affairs at Samsung or any other leading Korean company is unimaginable. Paper credentials are the key to success. As Korea grapples with the Sewol tragedy, one of the clear lessons is the failure of Korean management to respond to a sudden crisis. Anyone familiar w...

2014-05-07 17:03

Sampoong at sea

As I read accounts of the capsizing of the ferry Sewol, it brings to mind disturbing parallels with Korea’s biggest peacetime disaster: the collapse of the Sampoong Department Store in southern Seoul in 1995, which killed 502 people. One of the distinguishing features of both disasters was the dereliction of duty by those at the top.

2014-04-23 16:59

President Obama's forthcoming trip to Korea and Japan in late April is partly meant to narrow the growing differences between Washington's two important allies in Northeast Asia.

2014-04-09 17:11

Korea's Finnish lesson

Many years ago when I was working as a foreign correspondent in Sweden, I covered the rise of Nokia in next-door Finland. Nokia then was what could be described as a Finnish chaebol. It made everything from rubber boots and paper products to electricity cables and TVs. But in the early 1990s, the struggling conglomerate decided to focus on only one sector - mobile phones and telecommunications equipment.

2014-03-26 16:55

Japan's Korean envy

Koreans are angry about the growing nationalism of the Japanese government when it comes to issues from Dokdo to comfort women. But they also can take perverse pride in it as well, since Japan's posturing reveals the gnawing sense of inferiority that Japan now feels toward Korea.

2014-03-12 16:55

Horrible histories

There are a series of books published in the U.K. called Horrible Histories that detail gruesome events from the past, with such titles as Angry Aztecs and Vicious Vikings, to amuse schoolboys. It's proof of the old adage that tragedy plus time equals comedy.

2014-02-26 17:08

Where Korea is weak

I first came to live in Korea in 1992 and during these past 20 or so years I have watched the country complete its transition from a developing to a developed economy.

2014-02-12 17:01

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