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Democracy in name, democracy in essence

As the summer comes, so too arises the opportunity for the Republic of Korea to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its democratic transformation. While officially the ROK always portrayed itself as a liberal democracy, for all practical intents and purposes it became such only as the culmination of several events reached critical mass in the summer of 1987, an event most often described as a revolution in the minds and imaginations of nearly all Koreans. When the ROK was officially founded in August 1948, it professed an allegiance to the principles of liberal democracy as understood at the t...

Andrei Lankov | 2017-07-23 16:59

Likely changes for US corporate income tax codes

One reform among the many tax reform proposals made by President Donald Trump relates to corporate income tax. Currently, the corporate income tax rate of the U.S. is near the highest in the entire world, prompting U.S. multi-national companies to keep their profits overseas and even relocate their headquarters to other countries. So far, two proposals are on the table. One is the Trump Tax Plans announced on April 26. 2017, and the other is the GOP (Republican Party) 2016 Policy Paper. The Trump plan proposes a cut in the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent and a territo...

Semoon Chang | 2017-07-23 16:54

Elon Musk's AI challenge

So, Elon Musk wants us to start thinking about how to regulate artificial intelligence. Speaking at the National Governors Association Summer Meeting on Rhode Island, Musk suggested that the gubernatorial assembly start thinking about putting in regulations to prevent artificial intelligence from wiping out humanity. Huh. A push for proactive regulation coming from the world’s most famous serial entrepreneur is somewhat disorienting. You would think that an entrepreneur would want the government to get out of the way, rather than get in the way on purpose.

Jason Lim | 2017-07-21 17:21

Moon's war of words

WASHINGTON - The standoff on the Korean peninsula is entering a new phase. While President Moon Jae-in calls for talks with North Koreans, he is also honoring the U.S.-Korean alliance and insisting the North give up its nuclear program. Can Moon have it both ways? He’s besieged by protesters who expect him to abandon totally the policies of his conservative predecessors and support North Korea’s strategy of weakening the South from within. Against leftist demands, for instance, he is holding on to THAAD, the terminal high altitude area defense system that consists of one counter-missile batt...

Donald Kirk | 2017-07-20 17:37

'Shut up and attack'

Park Sung-hyun thrilled not only her fellow Koreans but world golf fans by coming from behind to win the coveted 2017 U.S. Women's Open Championship on Sunday at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Park Moo-jong | 2017-07-20 17:35

Yun Isang and the East Berlin Case of fifty years ago

A deep sadness spread around the world last week with the death of Liu Xiaobo, the longtime Chinese dissident who had been incarcerated since 2008, when he helped draft an online statement calling for basic democratic reforms. He was widely admired for his courage in the face of oppression and in 2009 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which he was not allowed to accept in person.

Korean Historical Sense | 2017-07-19 17:29

By Bernard RowanBusan may be South Korea’s second city, but it includes a monument central to the history of present-day Korea. I’m talking about the Forty Steps Stairway in Jungang neighborhood. Don’t overlook this deceptively simple space and place. I think it’s a symbol of the past and the way forward for Korea. That means a future of peace and eventual reunification. During the Korean War, the new Republic struggled. The Chinese Army and the North pushed the U.S.-ROK forces all the way to Busan. Many Korean people in the So...

Bernard Rowan | 2017-07-18 17:47

Who should apologize to whom?

By Choi Sung-jin Remember Nov. 22, 2011?On that day, Korea’s infamously “vibrant” parliamentary politics opened yet another chapter -- Rep. Kim Sun-dong of the leftist Democratic Labor Party exploded a tear gas canister during a plenary session of the National Assembly.The reason: the then governing Grand National Party (GNP), the predecessor of the conservative Liberty Korea Party (LKP), railroaded a bill on Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) defying vehement opposition from liberal parties in the first closed-door plenary meeting in history.Kim, who lost his...

Choi Sung-jin | 2017-07-18 17:38

Slaughtered dogs and media

On Saturday evening, I attended a film screening at a coffee shop arranged by the Seoul branch of the Asian-American Journalists’ Association. The location was comfortable and the company convivial, but the film was not your typical Saturday night bubble-gum viewing. In fact, it was harrowing. The film was a documentary covering Korea’s dog-meat trade from all angles. Dog farmers - whose demeanors ranged from coolly professional to savagely inhumane - showed their facilities, activities and doomed charges. A pusillanimous National Assembly adviser prattled about the threat to the “national i...

Andrew Salmon | 2017-07-17 17:00

Why foreigners volunteer to help NK refugees

While most researchers who contact me want to learn about North Korean refugees, in recent months I have also been interviewed by researchers curious about the volunteers helping those NK refugees. Last Friday, TNKR National Director Eunkoo Lee and I were interviewed by researchers who insisted that TNKR is a pioneer in the field of volunteering in South Korea. They were intrigued by the amount of choices refugees have in TNKR: choosing their own tutors, choosing as many tutors as they can handle, and choosing their own paths of study rather than following a set curriculum. Many interviewers...

Casey Lartigue, Jr. | 2017-07-17 16:53

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Park's impeachment