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Suggestions to the President

Fri, October 20, 2017 | 19:46

Opinion > Guest Column >

Trade balance _ not best way to evaluate FTAs

The U.S. administration has announced it wants to renegotiate the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) as the trade deficit with Korea is at an unacceptable level. This somehow comes as deja vu as we had the same discussion with the Korea-European Union free trade agreement (KOR-EU FTA) when a Korean surplus turned into a deficit after the deal was implemented in 2011.

Guest Column | 2017-09-29 11:21

Foreign investors say it's business as usual

Korea's bilateral FTAs put to test

Korea’s first bilateral FTA (Free Trade Agreements) was made with Chile. Korea’s National Assembly ratified the Korea-Chile FTA in April 2004. Since then Korea has established FTAs with 52 nations including China and the U.S. Fortunately most of our FTAs have been assessed as moderately successful. Korea and partner countries have been beneficiaries of their FTA. No strong complaints have been voiced about the agreements from any side until recently. However, Korea is now experiencing unprecedented trade and investment disputes with China and the U.S.

Guest Column | 2017-09-29 11:19

Foreign investors say it's business as usual

Foreign investors say it's business as usual

The U.S.- North Korea standoff is sending military tensions high on the Korean Peninsula. Although Korea is often portrayed to be ground for an imminent battle, foreign investors here say this is not the case. They say they are not alarmed and the situation is close to business as usual. So The Korea Times invited them to speak about what they are up to nowadays.

Guest Column | 2017-09-29 11:18

Chancellor Angela Merkel's Pyrrhic victory

German Chancellor Angela Merkel won an overwhelming victory and is destined to serve a fourth term as Germany’s head of government. However, her victory looks Pyrrhic, as the two traditional ruling parties continue to hemorrhage voters.

Guest Column | 2017-09-28 18:19

US Medal of Honor

Two combat veterans of the Vietnam War are now receiving the Medal of Honor, which they fully deserve. Army Green Beret Gary Michael Rose was the lone medic on Operation Tailwind, a 1970 secret special mission deep into Laos by South Vietnamese and United States troops. Though badly wounded, Rose nevertheless helped to ensure all the soldiers on the mission came back alive.

Guest Column | 2017-09-28 17:43

Moon's 2 UN Speeches

President Moon Jae-in’s speech last week to the United Nations General Assembly in New York contained some of the most important points that can be made by South Korea to the world community today. As a middle power in the rich and growing region of Northeast Asia, his full-throated endorsement of U.N. goals, and of U.N. indispensability, were welcome. Describing the new gove...

Guest Column | 2017-09-27 16:44

Trump's travel order, Take 3

Donald Trump has done a lot to raise suspicions of bad motives in formulating his policy for preventing terrorists from coming into the United States. But the new travel policy unveiled by his Department of Homeland Security suggests the administration may have finally figured out how to address the matter in a serious and legally defensible way. Everything the president does here is shadowed by his irresponsible campaign promise to impose "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on."

Guest Column | 2017-09-27 16:40

Hard times for free speech

These are dark days for free speech in the United States. Lectures by notable academics have been disrupted by students who claim that the ideas they are presenting are harmful and injurious to members of racial and sexual minority groups, while other events have been canceled outright under pressure from student activists. Most of the speakers who have drawn the ire of campu...

Guest Column | 2017-09-26 16:48

Why we should celebrate Trump's UN speech

While other people worried about what President Donald Trump meant when he discussed "sovereignty," and while other people wrung their hands and mopped their brows because he wasn't being polite to North Korea, seated in the front row at his inaugural speech to the United Nations, I heard this: "It is a massive source of embarrassment to the United Nations that some governments with egregious human rights records sit on the U.N. Human Rights Council."

Guest Column | 2017-09-26 16:44

Should South Korea go for nukes? Big no

Should South Korea go nuclear? Calls for South Korea to go nuclear go up each year with each new North Korean nuclear test. Polls indicate the idea enjoys wide popular support. Unfortunately, it’s a case of putting the cart before the horse.

Guest Column | 2017-09-25 16:46

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Lunch with Navy sailors