As the new government has launched, the season of National Assembly hearings for Cabinet members has come again. As expected, controversial issues such as plagiarism, aggressive real estate investment and income sources are at the forefront of the discussion. The most contentious issue is what Koreans call “parent chance,” which refers to advantages that children receive from parents in influential positions in society. In many other countries, it is only natural for parents to hel

For more than two decades, American presidents have invested high hopes in a deepening US relationship with India. And at first glance, India looks like a natural US ally, not only an electoral democracy but a rapidly growing economy that fears the expanding power of China. Last year, President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Washington and declared a “global strategic partnership” -- not quite a formal alliance, but the next best thing. Then Russia invade

A macabre political thriller recently unfolded in the Philippine province of Palawan, an island known mostly for its rich biodiversity and pristine beaches. On May 9, Joel T. Reyes, the alleged mastermind of the 2011 murder of well-known radio broadcaster Gerry Ortega, ran again for governor. Had Reyes won, the possibilities for Ortega’s family to obtain justice for the killing would have dwindled. Fortunately for them, he lost. Although episodes like the Ortega murder might seem extreme,

There is something that has been sorely missing in the United States in the last decade -- soaring rhetoric. We are lacking leaders who, like Abraham Lincoln, appeal to our better angels through their ability to craft rhetoric that resonates in people’s hearts and minds. Rhetoric appeals to people’s emotions and logic to persuade, motivate, or inform. In the fourth century B.C., Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote “The Art of Rhetoric,” in which he defined rhetoric as the

Americans are used to picturing US Army combat soldiers as incredibly tough individuals, able to run faster and do more pushups than most people. In today’s Army, though, that notion is officially passe. At a recent Senate hearing, we learned that Army physical fitness has been sacrificed on the altar of gender equity, a move that former infantryman Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, noted, will “get soldiers killed.” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth admitted to Cotton that the serv

President Yoon Suk-yeol began his five-year term last Tuesday with an optimistic inauguration speech. In it, the new president focused on raising the nation’s competitiveness in science and technology and maintaining a strong security posture, but it was his repeated use of the word freedom that caught people’s attention. The president used the word 35 times in the 17-minute speech. The speech immediately set President Yoon apart from today’s intellectual currents moving away

Yoon Suk-yeol is the 13th president of the Republic of Korea since its founding in 1948. Yet, he is officially called the 20th president as they count the number of four-year constitutional terms, including two short transitional tenures. Syngman Rhee, the first president of the republic, held the office for 12 years in three consecutive terms until he resigned in 1960 following a student uprising. Yoon Po-sun succeeded him as the titular head of state in a parliamentary system, but he was soo

Within a few days, US President Joseph Biden is coming to Seoul to have a bilateral meeting with South Korea’s new leader, President Yoon Suk-yeol. It will be a great opportunity for the two presidents to strengthen the ties between the two countries. Indeed, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki announced, “This trip will advance the Biden-Harris administration’s rock-solid commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and to US treaty alliances with the Republic of Korea and Japan.

There’s a Twitter game that routinely starts whenever a new, frightening revelation about the Trump administration becomes public: Clips of Hillary Clinton predicting that specific horror are resurrected. It’s really quite remarkable. From President Donald Trump’s affinity for Russia’s Vladimir Putin to his refusal to accept the election results. (“Every time Donald thinks things are not going in his direction, he claims whatever it is is rigged against him,”

Over the last two decades, Mike Madrid has battled Democrats, Republicans, Donald Trump and a pesky family of squirrels that assumed residence in the eave of his Midtown Sacramento home. His latest mission is taking on Vladimir Putin and the substructure of lies and misinformation the Russian leader built to support the invasion and attempted takeover of Ukraine. “This is a war of the digital age, of the information age,” Madrid said via encrypted cellphone, before a meeting in the

As of May 6, the bond market expected US consumer price inflation to average 2.5 percent between five and 10 years from now. That is the rate of inflation needed to equalize returns on inflation-indexed and nonindexed US Treasury securities. And given that CPI inflation has been running higher than the rate associated with the implicit price deflator for personal consumption expenditures, I count that 2.5 percent five-year, five-year-forward rate as hitting the US Federal Reserve’s 2 perce

When Vladimir Putin stood on a Red Square podium Monday, at the annual celebration of the Soviet victory in World War II over Nazi Germany, he looked weak and defensive. Putin didn’t use his speech to formally declare war on Ukraine. He didn’t call for a mass mobilization, or repeat threats to use nuclear weapons. Nor did he talk of Russian “victories” in Ukraine. In a telling indication of how badly things are going for Putin, the Russian military chief, Gen. Valery Ge

"When the Qing army is surrounding the fortress, how come you are trying to kill one another within?” The king scolds in exasperation as his courtiers call for punishing opponents in their argument over whether to make peace with the enemy and save their country and people from demise or fight to the end and die gloriously. At a moment when their fate is hung by a thread, the court is severely divided between pacifists and militants. However, isolated in a snow-covered mountain fort

The ship called the Republic of Korea has a new captain in charge who just launched his maiden voyage. While congratulating his inauguration wholeheartedly, we hope that the new captain is a reliable one who can skillfully navigate through dangerous reefs on the rough seas. Indeed, it is quite likely he will sail in uncharted territory during a perfect storm. Of course, he cannot sail the ship alone; he must have a competent crew including the first, second, and third mates, in addition to exper