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Wed, July 26, 2017 | 05:43

Opinion > Columnists > Semoon Chang >

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

Let us dance away all our troubles!

I am a dancer. To me, a dancer is someone who enjoys dancing, regardless of how good a dancer one may be. In skills, I am about average, good enough to mix in the dancing crowd but nothing to brag about. What I am not sure is whether I am a ballroom dancer or a social dancer. Perhaps, the best way of making the distinction is to divide ballroom dancing into two groups: social ballroom dancing or social dancing in brief, and competitive ballroom dancing. I need to introduce two more confusing terminologies: American dancing which allows free movement, and European dancing which usually mainta...

Semoon Chang | 2017-07-09 17:08

Pre-summit perceptions of Americans

In the turbulent history of the two Koreas, I think now is a very dangerous time for everyone in the two countries. The importance of the coming summit between President Moon Jae-in of Korea and President Donald Trump of the U.S. may well determine the fate of the two Koreas. Please note that I do support President Moon. If you have any doubt, you can listen to my live interview on “tbse FM This Morning” radio program in Seoul on June 1 (local time). I did explicitly state that we should support President Moon. My suggestion in this article is prepared not as a critic, but as a supporter. I ...

Semoon Chang | 2017-06-25 17:18

Palbong Literary Award

If you have never heard of this award, you are not alone. When I was invited by my friend, Lee Young-mook, to attend the award ceremony, I said yes, not because I knew anything about the award, but because of my loyalty to friendship with Young-mook. I had no idea of what the award was about.

Semoon Chang | 2017-06-11 16:48

Marking products with 'Made in USA'

As U.S. President Trump’s new foreign trade policy begins to unfold, many exporters to the U.S. market, including those in Korea, are increasingly nervous of what might happen to their exports. For U.S. companies that contemplate relocating their production facilities overseas, they may get a call from President Trump and reverse their decisions. These U.S. companies, including Ford Motor and Carrier, usually receive financial incentives to keep their production facilities in the U.S. instead of moving to overseas locations. For foreign exporters to the U.S. market, which may be forced to re...

Semoon Chang | 2017-05-28 18:04

Political prisoners in North Korea

Let us be honest. When Trump ran for the presidency of the United States last year, one of his key campaign promises was to re-negotiate the U.S. trade deal with China because the annual trade deficit of the U.S. against China has been exceeding $300 billion, which is clearly unsustainable.

Semoon Chang | 2017-05-14 16:40

Doomsday clock for Kim Jong-un

If Kim Jong-un had not developed a long-range ICBM, it is unlikely that President Trump would be so deeply involved in solving the North Korea nuclear issue. Since North Korea has now become a threat to global society, not just South Korea, the end of Kim’s dictatorship and possibly his own life appears to be getting closer to reality. Hopefully, the end comes at a minimal cost to South Korea as well as the rest of the world. This is where today’s article comes in.

Semoon Chang | 2017-04-30 16:16

Too much debt may kill you

The East Asia Foundation publishes EAF Policy Debates. EAF PD No. 64 deals with household debt in South Korea, written by professor Wonseok Park at Daegu University. Citing data from the Bank of Korea, Professor Park shows that the outstanding household debt in Korea during the third quarter of 2016 was 1,295 trillion won (around $1.08 trillion). During the third quarter alone, the debt increased by 38 trillion won (around $31.65 billion), representing the highest quarterly increase in household debt since the Bank of Korea began tracking it. Professor Park calls it “a time bomb with an unkn...

Semoon Chang | 2017-04-16 18:07

Is it East Sea or Sea of Japan?

I am not sure whether I have all the accurate information. Because of the importance of the subject that may be discussed during the coming April 24 to 28 meetings of theInternational Hydrographic Organization (IHO) in Monaco, however, I decided to write this article today. I would appreciate it if anyone can supply me with more information that can help me in case I decide to write a follow-up on the subject. The question is whether the sea located between Korea and Japan should be called the East Sea, clearly meaning East Sea of Korea since the sea is located to the east of Korea, or the S...

Semoon Chang | 2017-04-02 17:43

US President, VP ignorant of Korea's sensibilities?

THAAD, China, and Korea in a nutshell

The sad part of the impeachment of President Park is that she was not able to suspend, if not end, her pre-election personal life, when she was elected as President. Now, life has to go on.

Semoon Chang | 2017-03-19 17:52

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Park's impeachment