[THE INVESTOR] The Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has come up with a new set of measures to promote Korea’s slumping game industry.Dubbed “A Five-Year Plan to Enhance the Gaming Culture,” the new measures focus more on creating a healthy gaming culture than supporting game developers. The policy shift is based on the realization that the game industry cannot prosper unless people’s negative perceptions toward online games change.The government’s policy toward the game industry ha

Last year was a tough one for President Park Geun-hye. The top priority for the nation’s first female president in her first year in office was to revitalize the sagging economy to improve people’s lives. But her performance on these fronts was less than impressive.Economic growth in 2013 is estimated at 2.8 percent, higher than 2 percent in 2012 but still much lower than the nation’s potential growth rate of around 4 percent. The government managed to prevent the economy from getting stuck in a

China and Japan, Asia’s two most powerful nations, are increasingly jousting in the skies and in the seas near a set of disputed islands. Although their economies remain deeply intertwined, relations between the two governments seem locked in an irreversible, dangerous downward spiral.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe further embittered feelings last week by visiting the controversial Yasukuni shrine, which honors the souls of Japan’s war dead, including 14 World War II leaders convicted as Cla

It’s official: The Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate agreed on so few issues this year, Congress is on pace to pass the fewest bills in a two-year term since World War II. Pundits have compared the current occupants of Capitol Hill unfavorably to the infamous “Do-Nothing Congress” of 1947-48, which was a dynamo in comparison. Lawmakers passed 1,729 bills in that two-year term, compared to 58 in the first year of this one. Unless something changes dramatically in the

BANGKOK ― Thailand is once again being convulsed by extreme partisan politics, with the country’s polarization playing out on Bangkok’s streets. Several people have been killed, and many more have been injured. The sense that Thailand has been through all of this before would be mildly reassuring were it not for a nagging fear that this decent and prosperous society may be set to destroy its democracy.Much of the violence has been led by Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy prime minister. He has

NEW YORK ― A half-century ago, John F. Kennedy observed that, “man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.” Those words speak to us today with special urgency.Our generation can indeed end the ancient scourge of extreme poverty. Yet it can also destroy the earth’s life-support system through human-induced environmental devastation.By necessity, then, we have entered The Age of Sustainable Development. So I am enormously excited to be

Americans are a generous people, contributing about $300 billion to charity each year. But when we make out a check to a charity, how do we know that the recipients are actually getting help? How do we know that our dollars are doing what we want them to do?Remarkably, we often lack good answers. Fortunately, we are starting to get them. Before long, the answers are likely to make our contributions a lot more effective. They might well end up revolutionizing the charitable sector.In “Moneyball,”

CAMBRIDGE ― Now that Janet Yellen is to be chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, attention has turned to the candidate to succeed her as vice chair. Stanley Fischer would be the perfect choice, given his unique combination of skills, qualities, and experience.During his academic career, Fischer was one of the most accomplished scholars of monetary economics. He then served as chief economist of the World Bank, first deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund, and, most recent

South Korea’s monthly exports crossed the $50 billion mark for the first time in October. Solid demand from the developed world was what drove the country’s performance. Korea has also run a current account surplus for 19 straight months. The country’s foreign-exchange reserves increased to $343.2 billion in October, pushing it into seventh place globally. The recovery in Korea’s economy is looking more stable, and Korea should be commended for this. Such a brilliant achievement, however, may no

It’s that time of year when journalists let their creativity run rampant to produce 10-Best and 10-Worst lists, revisit the year’s biggest whoppers (look no further than the Oval Office), and offer prognostications for the coming year. With that in mind, I’ve gleaned the five most important lessons from 2013, which are all but guaranteed to be forgotten next year.No. 1. Beware political pronouncements posing as economic forecasts.Before, during and after the federal government shutdown in Octobe

It’s the season to show concern for the less fortunate among us. We should also be concerned about the widening gap between the most fortunate and everyone else.Although it’s still possible to win the lottery (your chance of winning $648 million in the recent Mega Millions sweepstakes was one in 259 million), the biggest lottery of all is what family we’re born into. Our chances in life are now determined to an unprecedented degree by the wealth of our parents.That’s not always been the case. Th

By the looks of it, U.S. President Barack Obama may be close to joining the French in taking on the Chinese ― in Africa.According to my sources in the French government, Obama made it clear to both British and French leadership at the onset of his presidency that he was going to leave it to them to protect unstable African countries while he focused on Sino-American relations. Perhaps Obama realizes that Africa is just an extension of China’s backyard.In a letter to Congress, Obama wrote, “I may

MUNICH ― The European Union has earned its place as an instrument for peace in Europe. Free trade has brought prosperity to its peoples, and the freedom to choose a place of residence guards against the resurgence of totalitarian regimes. The Acquis Communautaire protects all member states’ citizens under the rule of law. Anyone who doubts the existence of these benefits need only look to Kiev’s “Euromaidan,” where hundreds of thousands of people have been gathered for weeks to demonstrate their

The execution of Jang Song-thaek, the No. 2 man in North Korea, took Beijing by surprise and will adversely affect bilateral relations.Beijing’s displeasure is expressed through the publication of a detailed account of Jang’s brutal execution in Wen Wei Po, its official mouthpiece, in Hong Kong, on Dec. 12.According to the report, unlike previous executions of political prisoners which were carried out by firing squads with machine guns, Jang was stripped naked and thrown into a cage, along with

As India prepares for national elections in May, what is being called the “Modi wave” seems almost unstoppable. Since naming Narendra Modi ― the controversial chief minister of the state of Gujarat ― as its prime ministerial candidate, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has consistently topped opinion polls. Modi’s BJP decimated the ruling Congress Party in recent state elections ― a harbinger, many now believe, of the national outcome.Before they start measuring drapes in Delhi ministries, h

NEW DELHI ― The news that the Mars orbiter spacecraft Mangalyaan, launched by India on Nov. 5, has left the Earth’s orbit, traversed the moon, and is on course for its ultimate destination, 400 million kilometers away, brought early holiday cheer to Indians. Space missions have become a matter of pride for India, which is already one of the top countries in terms of rocket and satellite technology.Mangalyaan, India’s first inter-planetary satellite, was purpose-built for the Mars mission ― and i

A bill banning chaebol companies from making fresh circular equity investments in sister firms is likely to be passed in the National Assembly within this year. If enacted, the bill is expected to improve corporate governance. The current law bans cross-shareholding between two units of a business group. To work around this ban, chaebol groups use circular shareholding structures. An ownership loop is created when Company A makes an equity investment in Company B, which buys a stake in Company C

Controversy has arisen after Korean peacekeepers in South Sudan received 10,000 rounds of ammunition from Japan’s Peacekeeping Operations troops in the war-torn African country.The 280-member Korean contingent, Hanbit, has been stationed since March in the town of Bor, some 170 kilometers north of Juba, the capital. Last week, the town was seized by rebels, prompting the Korean troops to step up a defense posture.The Hanbit troops’ mission is to assist in the country’s reconstruction efforts. As

The European Union’s preliminary designation of Korea as a country failing to meet its international obligation to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is an embarrassing development. Although at this time this is meant to be a warning signal only from the EU to push Korea to take remedial action as quickly as possible, it is also probable that the warning turns into an official designation in the future, which may lead to the import ban by the EU of the fisheries products fro

It’s only when the tide goes out, as Warren Buffett famously said, that you learn who’s been swimming naked. Well, 2013 has been a banner year for skinny-dipping among Asian leaders, central banks and business people.In Japan and South Korea, talk of epochal change from two newish leaders was shown to be empty. China’s supposedly peaceful rise was laid bare by aggressive actions. Hopes that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would rediscover his reformist roots proved barren. Supposedly omnipo