[Yoo Choon-sik] Stock market’s boom should not be destination

South Korea’s stock markets are on a record-breaking rally, grabbing headlines in most major news media outlets and helping improve sentiment not only among stock investors but also among the general public toward the future. Higher stock prices are always welcome for various reasons, including the most direct and obvious positive effect on the cash flows of many households. The local stock market’s benchmark Kospi jumped 1.73 percent to 3,610.6 on Friday, marking its second straight all-time hi

Oct. 13, 2025

[Lee Byung-jong] A Korea–Japan economic tie-up

The notion of a South Korea–Japan Economic Community may sound utopian — an idea fit only for idealists. Given the deep scars of Japan’s colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula and unresolved territorial disputes, most observers would dismiss the concept as naive or politically impossible. Yet one of Korea’s most influential business leaders, SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won, has long argued that deeper integration between the two economies is not only desirable, but necessary to survive the growing

Oct. 10, 2025

[Robert J. Fouser] Hangeul Day thoughts

October 9th is one of my favorite holidays: Hangeul Day. The holiday is the only public holiday in the world to honor a writing system and one of the few to honor language. North Korea honors Hangeul on January 15th as a national, not a public, holiday. Over the years, I have been honored to share my thoughts on Hangeul, particularly from a linguistic perspective. As a writing system, it is a wonder of simplicity and linguistic engineering that remains perhaps Korea’s greatest contribution to hu

Oct. 3, 2025

[Wang Son-taek] Trump is not an enemy

In recent weeks, South Korea has witnessed a surge of anti-Trump sentiment. The controversy over tariff negotiations with Washington, along with the shocking detention of Korean workers in Georgia, has triggered waves of anger. Protesters have shouted anti-American slogans, and some public figures have openly insulted US President Donald Trump. Such reactions may feel cathartic, but they are not solutions. Shouting slogans is an outlet for frustration, not a strategy for change. There is no deny

Oct. 2, 2025

[Shang-Jin Wei] Can India withstand US trade war?

India has long benefited from geopolitical arbitrage, maintaining working relationships with Russia, the United States and Europe. But this delicate balancing act is now being tested by a series of policy shocks delivered by US President Donald Trump’s administration. These disruptions, unlikely to ease anytime soon, raise a critical question: Can India retain its status as the world’s fastest-growing major economy? The most urgent challenge facing Indian policymakers is weathering the escalatin

Oct. 2, 2025

[Kim Seong-kon] When Korea became a country of doctors

Imagine that, by 2050, Korea becomes a country of medical doctors. Even in a small town, you could find so many doctors’ clinics and sometimes even a hospital, as well. It all looks so convenient, but something is not quite right. Since well before the early 2020s, many Korean parents have wanted their children to become medical doctors, as the job market is unstable and highly constricted. In their eyes, doctors enjoy both a stable, high-income career and social prestige. There is also no retir

Oct. 1, 2025

[Christopher Ketcham] AI promises to make us stupider

Floating along on my bicycle on a daydream of a country road, up behind me came a man on a hissing e-bike, going fast, headed somewhere important. I thought at that speed — 25 miles an hour, I estimated. I saw him later at the crest of the hill that I’d climbed. He whizzed in circles and headed back down while I rested. The hill had been a tough one for me. As you weaken with dependence on the machine, I muttered to myself, I grow stronger. There is one certainty in the cycling world: Trad biker

Oct. 1, 2025

[Vitit Muntarbhorn] Introducing the new cybercrime treaty

In October, a key ASEAN country will host a raft of countries for the signing ceremony of the new Cybercrime treaty. Its full (and rather wordy) title is: the “United Nations Convention against Cybercrime; Strengthening International Cooperation for Combating Certain Crimes Committed by Means of Information and Communications Technology Systems and for the Sharing of Evidence in Electronic Form of Serious Crimes.” Will this “Cybercrime Convention” be an epiphany for those who seek effective lega

Sept. 30, 2025

[Andrew Sheng] Shifts in complex financial systems

Are we in a cyclical or structural point of inflection in what is happening in financial markets? The cyclical view is that in the short term we are going up or down a stock market bubble. The structural view is that there are deep structural issues that are changing contextually the whole environment of financial markets, driven by real factors such as globalization (or de-globalization), technology, demographics, climate change and confusing local and geo-politics. The simple answer is that we

Sept. 30, 2025

[Matthew Mitchell, Peter Boettke] Make America capitalist again

With the federal government now the largest shareholder of Intel, an ostensibly private company, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wants you to know that “This is not socialism.” But if public ownership of the means of production isn’t socialism, what is? With feverish speed and characteristic blunderbuss, President Donald Trump has given the federal government -- and himself -- unprecedented control over private economic decisions. Call it socialism, economic nationalism or any “-ism” you want.

Sept. 29, 2025

[Yoo Choon-sik] Key conditions for winning AI talent worldwide

The Lee Jae Myung government has declared that the nation’s future hinges heavily on maximizing artificial intelligence innovation. It aims to transform an already wired, tech-savvy nation into one where AI is not just a tool but the backbone of its economy and society. While hardware, models and technologies are vital to the AI-driven transformation of the entire society, they are insufficient without the right people to build, manage and innovate with them. Talent is just as critical — if not

Sept. 29, 2025

[Lee Byung-jong] Trump’s doppelganger in Seoul

US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung are separated by thousands of kilometers, yet they share striking similarities. Both wield considerable executive authority, face weakened opposition forces and enjoy the backing of fervent supporters. Both have faced legal challenges, with criminal charges pending, though trials were largely suspended after they were elected. Each battled prosecutors during their campaigns and now seek to curb judicial power to advance their age

Sept. 26, 2025

[Wang Son-taek] What Kim Jong-un wants

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s address to the Supreme People’s Assembly on Sunday was an unusually significant foreign-policy speech, with nearly half devoted to external relations. Unlike many routine domestic policy reports, this speech clearly laid out Pyongyang’s position on the United States, South Korea and the future of the Korean Peninsula. For analysts and policymakers, it offers a rare opportunity to gauge Kim’s strategic thinking. The most striking part of Kim’s address was his imp

Sept. 25, 2025

[Reed Galen] Budget impasse, broken democracy

It’s September in Washington, and everyone knows what that means: the United States Congress is scrambling to agree on a budget before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, in order to avoid a government shutdown. This was not always the case. Historically, Congress spent this month tying up loose ends, after spending the year reviewing White House budget requests, listening to lobbyists and inserting whatever pork-barrel projects were needed to ensure the national budget legislation’s timely passag

Sept. 25, 2025

[Kim Seong-kon] Korea needs wisdom, strength and courage

To survive and thrive in the vortex of international crises, it is imperative that we are wise, strong and courageous. We tend to think that wise men are not strong or courageous, and strong and courageous men are not wise. That is not so. Wisdom, strength and courage are closely interrelated and intertwined. Indeed, wisdom without strength and courage is problematic, and so is strength and courage without wisdom. It is appropriate that, in Greek myth, Athena is the goddess not only of wisdom bu

Sept. 24, 2025