North Korea’s firing of a sea-based ballistic missile during the weekend represents another step forward in the rogue regime’s relentless efforts to make its nuclear threats more tangible. The submarine-launched ballistic missile flew only some 30 kilometers, far short of the 300 km range needed to qualify as an SLBM. But the test launch cannot be seen as a complete failure, given the progress made in undersea ejection capability. In 2015, the North conducted two ejection tests for a sea-based b

The fate of Korea’s shipping industry hangs in the balance as its two flagship companies are fighting a daunting uphill battle for survival. Policymakers and creditors pushing for corporate restructuring are strongly advised to focus on revitalizing the key industry.On Monday, Hanjin Shipping, Korea’s largest shipping company, applied for a “voluntary agreement” with its creditors, seeking to obtain fresh financial support and restructure its mounting debt.The company’s move was unexpected, as H

Recently I have all but incarcerated myself in my apartment in order to avoid fine dust in Seoul. According to a news report, the pollution rate in Seoul in the morning of March 29 was 150 micrometers (exceeding 100 micrometers per cubic meter on average for the day), while in Beijing the very next day it was 55 micrometers per cubic meter. The Environmental Agency of South Korea says that 30-50 percent of fine dust in South Korea originates from China and one of the main culprits is diesel cars

Europe’s latest fight against Google will surely be long, messy and kind to lawyers. But it seems unlikely to do much for competition, innovation or the consumers who benefit from both.　In an antitrust case brought on Wednesday, the European Commission alleges that Google uses its Android operating system to unfairly privilege its own products on mobile phones. The new suit, which could result in a fine of more than $7 billion, joins a pending case filed almost six years ago about Google’s domin

Who dominates the phone dominates the Internet. The whole world of information is now available in your hand, replacing your own mind as a memory base for instant decision-making. The reason why traditional bank shares are dropping like a stone is that mobile phone companies and financial technology (fintech) platforms “get it.” Banks and conventional financial institutions are stuck with so much legacy hardware (branches and outdated mainframes) and complex regulation that their CEOs feel besie

Five years ago, I stood before several thousand mostly native Japanese speakers and addressed them in English. From now on, I told them, Rakuten -- Japan’s largest online marketplace, of which I am CEO -- would conduct all of its business, from official meetings to internal emails, in English. I still remember the shocked expressions on listeners’ faces.Their reaction was certainly understandable. No major Japanese company had ever changed its official language. But the simple fact is that adopt

Every economy faces the challenge of realigning its industries in order to nurture new growth engines and weed out nonviable or underperforming sectors. No economy faces the challenge as urgently and acutely as the Korean economy does now.It is welcome that the government has decided to push what it calls “industrial reform” to foster the competitiveness of the Korean economy.Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho said last week the reform will have two tracks -- one to develop new industries and the o

The growing allegations of suspicious ties between a right-wing civic group and the nation’s largest business lobby is raising the specter of a major political scandal as they have already spread to President Park Geun-hye’s Blue House.At the heart of the case are allegations that the Federation of Korean Industries provided funds to the Korea Parent Federation -- a group of ultraconservative senior citizens -- and that the FKI and the Blue House used the KPF to orchestrate pro-government, pro-b

If Volkswagen was hoping its $10 billion buyback settlement with U.S. officials would bring some closure to months of hand-wringing over diesel emissions, its timing couldn’t have been worse. A flood of news over the past week showed that what was once a single company‘s scandal has grown into a global regulatory crisis. As world leaders gathered in New York to sign the Paris climate accord on Friday, a cloud of doubt settled over one of the most hotly debated areas of environmental regulation.　

The steady economic growth of the Asia-Pacific has transformed lives and the future of millions of people. The Philippines and the Republic of Korea are part of this evolving story.  Yet this region is witnessing profound shifts in its strategic landscape. There are challenges and disputes, which, if not managed wisely, could bring uncertainties to the economic and security environment. One of the most pressing challenges is keeping a predictable and peaceful maritime order, particularly in the

Among the many weighty questions that Russia’s government has struggled with in recent months -- of war and peace, budget cuts and sanctions -- is this one: Is poker a game of skill or chance?The answer is far from trivial. It will go a long way to determining whether Russia can legalize online poker, and so bring the craze for the game which has swept the nation in recent years within reach of the nation‘s tax collectors. It’s a debate that‘s closely bound up with the fate of Russia’s proud tra

In 1974, physicist Richard Feynman derided education research as a form of pseudoscience.He wrote: “I found (pseudoscientific) things that even more people believe, such as that we have some knowledge of how to educate. There are big schools of reading methods and mathematics methods, and so forth, but if you notice, you’ll see the reading scores keep going down. … There’s a witch doctor remedy that doesn’t work. It ought to be looked into: How do they know that their method should work?”Four de

Dozens of Thais have seemingly attempted illegal residency in South Korea after allegedly disguising themselves as supporters of a professional soccer team from Thailand, which held a match with a Korean team last Wednesday.According to the Thai team, about 40 of more than 100 supporters that accompanied the players vanished after passing through immigration at Incheon International Airport. Considering the immigration office rejected the entry of 13 of the 100-plus supporters, the 40 runaways a

Korea’s financial authorities are seeking to extend the daily trading session of the stock market by 30 minutes in the coming months. The closing time of the main and secondary bourses would be changed from the present 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.The Finance Ministry is fine-tuning details with the Financial Services Commission and the Korea Exchange before unveiling the plan and implementation date. It seems the government is set to notify the public of a trading hours extension based on a road map to r

It has become a truism to say the American political system is suffering from dysfunction. But weirdly, even the insurgent candidates, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, don‘t talk much about how they would fix it. This is a populist insurgency without a clear manifesto.So it’s refreshing to hear Rep. John Sarbanes present a detailed action plan to repair what‘s broken. This proposal isn’t a cure-all. It wouldn‘t fix the immigration problem or fund Social Security or fight terrorism. But by changi

Why is there so little discussion about one of Bernie Sanders’ most important proposals -- to tax financial speculation?Buying and selling stocks and bonds in order to beat others who are buying and selling stocks and bonds is a giant zero-sum game that wastes countless resources, uses up the talents of some of the nation‘s best and brightest, and subjects financial market to unnecessary risk.High-speed traders who employ advanced technologies in order to get information a millisecond before oth

While South Korea is pushing for expansion of trade with Iran, the latest government data shows that uncertainty continues to loom large. Despite the lifting of international sanctions in January, Korean exports to the Islamic republic have dropped.According to Korea Customs Service, exports to Iran were down 44.7 percent on-year in the first quarter, at $660 million.While it is premature to be disappointed with the lackluster export performance, given the huge expectations, there is a need to r

Law schools are likely to create controversy in society again amid allegations that irregular screening processes were used to select students at some universities.Social conflict could arise from a series of litigations from people who failed the bar exam, as the Ministry of Education is deciding whether to unveil the result of its full-fledged scrutiny of 25 law schools nationwide over possible admissions irregularities.One allegation is that some children of legal professionals entered law sc

More than 500 earthquakes have occurred since last Thursday, with focuses in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures. Due to fear of aftershocks, over 90,000 people have vacated their homes and are huddled together in evacuation centers.It is important to provide relief and assistance needed by those affected swiftly and surely.Evacuation centers are packed with a greater number of residents than expected by local municipalities, and we see so many cases where it is impossible to accommodate all of them.

“I think my successor as central governor will have to have an engineering or computer science degree to cope with this new global trend.”The suggestion was that an economics degree is probably no longer enough for financial and monetary regulators to cope with the coming disruption caused by the onrush of fintech, which threatens to sideswipe the unprepared.Thai central and commercial bankers alike are caught in a new dilemma over how (not whether) to embrace this new technological innovation t