South Korea’s global competitiveness ranking stayed at 10th out of 14 Asia-Pacific countries in a report released this week by the Swiss researcher International Institute for Management Development.  Out of the surveyed 61 countries across the world, Korea ranked 29th. Asia’s fourth-largest economy was behind Malaysia (19th), China (25th) and Thailand (28th).Besides these rankings, the nation’s corporate sector ranking was also somewhat shocking.Korea was 48th in overall business efficiency. It

The Thai junta has tilted too much toward China and Russia over conflicts with the U.S. and Western democracies.The National Council for Peace and Order has misjudged changing geopolitical realities in its tilting of Thai foreign policy toward China and Russia in a bid to counter political pressure from the United States and other Western countries over rights violations and democracy suppression.U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Vietnam, along with his Secretary of State John Kerry’s trip

Instead of urging the U.S. to apologize, Japan owes Hong Kong an apology for the terrible atrocities it committed during World War II.It has been interesting to note that just before President Barack Obama recently visited Hiroshima, pundits speculated on whether he would apologize on behalf of the U.S. for dropping two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945; or whether, instead, the Japanese leadership would at last make a forthright apology for starting the Far Eastern part of World War II, and for the

MANILA -- Have the authority and charisma of Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte weakened the critical capacities of his supporters? 　After admitting in a recent press conference that he is no longer a Catholic, Rodrigo Duterte remarked that he had a new religion: “Iglesia ni Duterte (Church of Duterte).”　He invited people to join it, presumably after leaving the Catholic Church, which he has called “the most hypocritical institution.”　Many will dismiss the invitation as just another joke

The Afghanistan debate will drive most decisions.“Interesting” times are upon Pakistan-U.S. ties again. A U.S. drone strike killed Mullah Mansour in Balochistan; the proposed U.S. F-16 sale to Pakistan formally expired. The Obama administration failed to convince lawmakers on Capitol Hill to allow the use of U.S. public funds to complete the transaction and Pakistan refused to pay for them in toto; and the U.S. Congress is moving to put further Haqqani network-related conditions on assistance to

With the Democratic primaries grinding to a bitter end, I have suggestions for both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders supporters that neither will like.First, my advice to Clinton supporters: Don’t try to drum Sanders out of the race before Clinton officially gets the nomination (if she in fact does get it).Some of you say Sanders should bow out because he has no chance of getting the nomination, and his continuing candidacy is harming Clinton’s chances.It’s true that Sanders’ chances are slim,

The differences between China and the U.S. over the South China Sea issue have become a matter of concern and even anxiety. But some of the perceptions in the U.S. and elsewhere about China’s policy and intentions in the area are misplaced. A pressing task is to understand the facts and China’s intentions correctly so as to avoid real danger and consequences as a result of misinterpretation and miscalculation.　The issues in the South China Sea revolve around territorial and maritime jurisdiction

The outlook for the Korean economy is getting increasingly murky as uncertainty is growing over U.S. monetary policy, the referendum in Britain on European Union membership, and the ongoing restructuring of ailing companies.A strong headwind is blowing for Korea, as the U.S. central bank is likely to raise its key interest rate in the coming months. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Friday that an interest rate hike in the coming months would “probably” be appropriate. She did not specific

Although President Park Geun-hye called for “drastic” measures to improve the worsening air quality three weeks ago, the administration has not come up with any solutions yet.The delay is attributable to the inability of the related ministries to iron out their differences.The Environment Ministry is seeking to raise diesel prices to curb the demand for diesel vehicles. In its view, no significant improvement in air quality can be expected from measures such as installing emissions reduction equ

Hong Kong television commentator Wu Jun observed recently that despite Donald Trump‘s anti-Beijing rhetoric, he “could in fact be the best president for China.” The Chinese analyst is right: A Trump presidency could open the way for China’s strategic dominance in Asia and elsewhere.  Wu‘s comment was focused on Trump’s mercantilist style, evoking a world in which Trump and President Xi Jinping, two “big guys,” might sit around a table at Mar-a-Lago and cut deals without worrying about human righ

The U.S. Federal Reserve is increasingly at risk of losing credibility — and for good reason. As Narayana Kocherlakota, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, recently argued, Fed officials seem to be balancing their stated aim of keeping inflation near 2 percent over the long term with a host of other, inexplicit, considerations.In public statements, officials have given some hints as to what these other considerations may be. They seem to include the risk of distortion in

If voters in the United Kingdom decide in the country’s referendum on June 23 to leave the European Union, it will not be for economic reasons. They may choose “Brexit” because they want full sovereignty, because they hate Brussels, or because they want migrants to return home, but not because they expect great economic benefits.The pro-Brexit camp initially appeared to be holding two strong economic cards. The first was U.K. citizens’ overwhelming rejection of their country’s net fiscal transfe

Japan would like to stabilize its rapidly aging population, and there are really only two ways to do that.It can let in tons of immigrants, or it can find some way to raise fertility. Otherwise, it had better resign itself to decades of sluggish economic growth, as hard-working young people are required to carry a larger and larger pyramid of retired old people on their backs. Its social security system will go bankrupt, the health care system will struggle, and interest rates might stay at zero

During a typical week in late May, Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the U.S. presidency, grabbed headlines yet again. He declared a popular former president to be a “rapist,” flipped his position on one policy after another, bragged that his running mate could be “anyone” who supported him, and told the National Rifle Association that Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, would “release violent criminals from jail.”Perhaps most worrisome from a global perspective

A tug-of-war is persisting over key parliamentary positions in the 20th National Assembly, with rival parties jockeying for the post of the National Assembly speaker.The main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea insists that the seat should go to one of its members now that it is the No.1 parliamentary party with 123 seats in the 300-member Assembly. The Saenuri Party counters that the ruling party should hold the position.  The debate is likely to delay the lawmakers’ efforts to wrap up assigni

The accounting industry has faced criticism over its allegedly negligent audits on some corporate clients. Its responsibility has come under the spotlight in line with the recent woes in the shipbuilding and shipping sectors.A notable example is Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering’s financial statements, which were audited by Deloitte Anjin, a local member of British firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.Deloitte Anjin earlier issued an auditor opinion of “optimum” about DSME’s financial statem

STX Offshore & Shipbuilding has filed for court receivership after three years of futile turnaround efforts led by its creditors. Applying for court protection last Friday, the company asserted that its value as a going concern would be higher than that coming from sales of its assets.The bankruptcy court is expected to decide in a couple of months whether to allow the shipbuilder to start rehabilitation efforts or to liquidate it.The downfall of STX Shipbuilding highlights the flaws in creditor

Whether through signals from the Group of Seven meeting this week or in the outcome of the latest round of European negotiations on Greece, officials of advanced countries are increasingly acknowledging that the problems facing their economies require a new response to take over from the overlong use of narrow short-term tools.　This recognition has been too long in coming and, judging from the regrettable lack of credible and detailed action plans, still needs time to be translated into progress

I have often thought that foreigners living in Korea would be baffled by many things happening in contemporary Korean society. These days, foreigners would be puzzled at hearing young Koreans complain that they now live in hell. We cannot blame these frustrated young people because they had to go through the inferno of the “college entrance exam hell” but still cannot find decent, stable jobs. We should have found a cure for the chronic disease of exams and created enough jobs for unemployed you

Democrats pride themselves on their commitment to science. Citing climate change, they contend that they are the party of truth, while Republicans are “denialists.” But with respect to genetically modified organisms, many Democrats seem indifferent to science, and to be practicing a denialism of their own -- perhaps more so than Republicans. What’s going on here?The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine just issued a book-length report, strongly reaffirming what American and