Siding with big tobacco
Korea’s first tobacco litigation ended up in smokers’ defeat Thursday, running counter to the global trends of punishing the rogue industry. Wrapping up the 15-year-long damage suit, the Supreme Court ruled ― quite regrettably ― the link between tobacco and “non-specific cancers” was difficult to prove. It also said the evidence showed neither defects in […]
New Global Coalition on Surveillance sought
The following article is quoted from the Human Rights Watch Homepage -Editor’s note- Governments Urged to Keep Invasive Technologies in Check (Brussels, April 4, 2014) – World leaders should make a commitment to keep invasive surveillance systems and technologies out of the hands of dictators and oppressive regimes, a new global coalition of human rights […]
Silence is not necessarily golden: a message to Korean reporters
U.S. President Barack Obama offered a chance for Korean reporters to comment or to ask questions at the G20 Seoul conference in 2010. The Seoul conference was an opportunity to boost the morale of the Korean people and burnish the image of Korea to the world. I don’t know the exact timing of Obama’s offer […]
Korea must legislate plain language act
Last week, spokespersons of government agencies agreed to use plain language in their documents and statements, with the help of the National Institute of the Korean Language. On Hangeul Day (Korean Alphabet Day) on Oct. 9, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) will award government agencies that use plain language consistently and effectively. […]
Stop the brain drain
When an unprecedented currency crisis hit Asia and Korea in 1997, domestic businesses first trimmed their R&D manpower, as they were of little use in making quick profits. Kim Jong-hoon, a Korean-American IT expert nominated by President Park as her first minister of future planning and science, gave up the opportunity to serve his country […]
Hatred among NE Asians
Mutual hatred between Korean, Japanese and Chinese people has risen to a worrisome level recently. This is no doubt a cause for concern, not only for those who strive for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia, but for anyone who wants this world to be free from additional troubles. According to an opinion poll conducted […]
Save the whales, 2014
It was widely known for many years that Japan’s “scientific whaling” program was a sham, designed to get around the international moratorium on hunting whales. Almost no research on the animals came from Japanese scientists; instead, whale meat kept showing up in restaurants and school lunches. Finally, Australia, a whaling country until 1978 and now […]
Disrupted by drones
It’s time to calm down, check defense preparedness Three small, crashed drones presumably sent by North Korea have touched off a noisy but inconclusive controversy in the South. Tracing back the course of debate over recently found unmanned aerial vehicles, however, reveals big holes in the nation’s defense posture and in the mentality of people […]
Human rights body’s fall
Seoul must take swift steps to avoid further disgrace Korea’s human rights organization, once the object of envoy among new democracies, has become a disgrace to the nation. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRC), which barely limped along during the past seven years under successive conservative governments, is now in danger of losing […]
Two-faced neighbor
New Japanese textbooks ruin their children’s future Japan’s historical whitewashing reached a new low Friday when Tokyo expanded their targets of distorted education to include elementary schoolchildren. According to a revision added to their history books, Dokdo is Japanese sovereign territory unlawfully occupied by Korea. This is a glaring aggravation from previous books, which merely […]
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