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East Asia
Strangers in their homeland
Many ethnic Koreans with foreign citizenship live here and their number is growing steadily. Do these “gyopo,” who were raised abroad feel comfortable in their homeland? Does Korean society embrace them heartily? A once homogenous country, Korea is gradually opening up to foreigners but it’s still not as friendly to…
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East Asia
SK Chairman Chey steps down from top post
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has stepped down from the top post of Korea’s third largest conglomerate’s decision-making body to serve as a strategic stakeholder, the group said Tuesday. Kim Chang-geun, vice chairman of SK Chemical, was appointed to chair the group starting January, it said. “Chey, who has served…
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East Asia
Protecting all members of our human family
I am a great champion of the power of youth to change the world but I am celebrating a 64-year-old responsible for ushering in momentous progress. Not a person but a document that was born on December 1948 and forever altered the view of how we treat members of our…
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East Asia
Winner’s bucket list
Here are five suggestions for what our new President has to do during his or her five-year term. 1) Don’t be ambitious but be ambitious The late former President Roh Moo-hyun once observed, “The fact that I became president,” when asked what he thought was his biggest presidential achievement. Roh didn’t…
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East Asia
Pop starts urged to shun alcohol ads
Seoul City government is poised to set guidelines on alcohol advertisements that may be harmful to teenagers. The municipal authorities said Tuesday that it sent an official document to alcohol manufacturers, entertainment companies and advertisers requesting that they refrain from contracting young idol stars. A recent soju advertisement showing female…
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East Asia
‘More senior NK leaders to fall’
One year after the announcement of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Dec. 19, 2011, his son and successor Kim Jong-un appears to have overseen a relatively smooth transition of power. But analysts say tricky moves such as replacing more senior figures and smoothing relations with regional…
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East Asia
President-elect to set new records
Whoever wins Wednesday’s election, he or she will rewrite Korean history as the two major candidates’ unique political and personal backgrounds will make them set new records in many ways. If ruling Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye is elected, the 60-year-old will be the first female president in Korean history, which…
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East Asia
‘Abenomics’ unnerves Korean exporters
Korean companies are expected to experience another hurdle in their exports as Shinzo Abe’s expected return to power in Japan is highly likely to appreciate the Korean won against the Japanese yen. Conservative ex-premier Abe has pledged to ease credit in an unlimited manner to boost the Japanese economy, which…
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Fear of Japan’s regression
LDP’s return to power must not undermine peace Dark clouds are gathering in Northeast Asia as Japan’s conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) returned to power Sunday. The party’s hawkish former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will get a second chance to lead Japan after his one-year stint from 2006 to 2007.…
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East Asia
Japanese election and Korea
The results of the general election in Japan on Dec. 16th have left Koreans uneasy. The establishment Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) that ruled Japan almost unbroken from 1955 to 2009 returned to power in a landslide victory. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which took power in a landslide win…
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