[Paola Subacchi] Renminbi debt in dollar world

When governments borrow on international markets, they do so overwhelmingly in US dollars. Roughly two-thirds of international debt issuance is denominated in foreign currencies, of which nearly half is in dollars and about 40 percent is in euros. The rest is spread across other currencies, including the Chinese renminbi. While borrowing in hard currency is especially important for developing countries, many advanced economies also benefit from tapping deeper, more liquid markets and a broader p

Sept. 23, 2025

[Editorial] Raise productivity

The government is pushing for legislation of a 4.5-day workweek this year. The Ministry of Government Legislation on Wednesday said that it will submit a new bill to support working hours reduction to the National Assembly this year as one of 123 legislative tasks of the government. The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Thursday said that it had set aside a related budget and that it plans to revise the law on working hours this year. Current statutory working hours are 40 hours per week, and

Sept. 23, 2025

[Editorial] Cybersecurity red flags

Once dismissed as the acts of foreign governments, obscure start-ups or the occasional reckless teenager, cyberattacks have become an immediate domestic threat. South Korea’s largest telecoms, leading card issuers and major insurers have all seen their systems breached, customer data exposed and reputations shredded. The breaches at KT, Lotte Card and SK Telecom are not anomalies but symptoms of a systemic national vulnerability. The numbers tell their own story. More than 7,000 corporate breach

Sept. 22, 2025

[Lee Kyong-hee] Trumpian America’s day of disgrace

Sept. 4, 2025, will be remembered as a day of shame in the seven-decade Korea-US alliance. The image of hundreds of Korean workers, handcuffed and shackled as they were herded onto buses in Georgia, stunned the nation. US authorities boasted it was “the largest single-site raid” ever carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. How did it come to this? For an alliance often hailed as one of history’s most successful, why subject the people of a loyal partner to such humiliation? Why tramp

Sept. 22, 2025

[Contribution] Cooperation, not confrontation, vital for East Asia

The 2025 International Forum on Regional Cooperation and Development of China, Japan and South Korea was co-held by Beijing Foreign Studies University and China Daily in Beijing on Sept 19. Below are excerpts from the speeches delivered by five of the experts who participated in the forum. The views expressed here are the writers' own. — Ed. Governance system needs reform By Liu Tiewa The global governance system faces a complex crisis, exacerbated by multiple overlapping pressures including the

Sept. 21, 2025

[Editorial] Losing traction

A Hyundai sedan that once undercut Toyota’s Corolla by thousands of dollars in the US is now, courtesy of Washington, the pricier option. On Sept. 16, US tariffs on Japanese cars were cut to 15 percent, while Korean vehicles remain saddled with 25 percent. What was once an advantage has turned into a brake on competitiveness. The flagship auto sector, long a pillar of South Korea’s economy, now finds itself boxed in by geopolitics, domestic discord and new competitors. The numbers show how quick

Sept. 19, 2025

[Robert J. Fouser] Korea-US trade beyond Trump

Relations between South Korea and the US have dipped to their lowest point in years. On Sept. 4, US immigration officials detained about 300 Korean workers, mostly engineers, at a multibillion-dollar electric vehicle battery factory being built by LG Energy Solution and Hyundai in Georgia. After eight days in detention, all but one of the workers had returned home, but the fallout from the incident continues. As The Wall Street Journal noted in an editorial on Sept. 12, “Immigration and Customs

Sept. 19, 2025

[Editorial] A spider's web of regulations

Every previous government attempted to abolish or ease regulations. It is true of the current government, too. President Lee Jae Myung presided over the first "strategy meeting to rationalize core regulations" on Monday. He emphasized that his government's goal is to clear away a cobweb of regulations that impede corporate innovation and growth. Lee vowed efforts to ensure this does not become empty rhetoric, saying that it must be very hard to run a business. He also pledged to change unnecessa

Sept. 18, 2025

[Wang Son-taek] Trump can protect the Korea-US alliance

A recent incident in which US authorities arrested and detained about 300 Korean workers using harsh, demeaning procedures left a deep scar on the Korea-US alliance. Koreans, who are acutely sensitive to humiliation, were shocked to watch their only treaty ally treat them like criminals — handcuffed, shackled and herded away. That it happened at a factory in Ellabell, Georgia — widely seen as a symbol of bilateral economic cooperation between the wonderful allies — magnified the embarrassment, d

Sept. 18, 2025

[Lisa Jarvis] This crackdown on drug ads is long overdue

The Trump administration’s crackdown on pharmaceutical ads is a welcome step toward lessening Big Pharma’s influence over conversations between patients and their doctors. Americans are among the few people in the world bombarded with advertisements for medications most of us don’t need — New Zealand is the only other country that allows direct-to-consumer drug advertising. These policies have given pharmaceutical companies significant influence over consumer behavior when it comes to health. Th

Sept. 18, 2025

[Kim Seong-kon] Things foreigners should know about Korea

The late eminent literary and cultural critic Lee O-young once told me an intriguing thing about a popular song that enchanted Koreans in the 1970s called “The Man in A Yellow Shirt.” He pointed out that the title of the song should have been “Somehow, I like him” because the whole point of the song centers on the phrase “somehow, I like him,” not on his “yellow shirt.” According to Lee, “somehow, I like him” reflects a uniquely Korean sentiment. The lyrics of “The Man in A Yellow shirt,” sung b

Sept. 17, 2025

[Editorial] Taiwan tops Korea

Economic rankings rarely change without fanfare. Yet this year, for the first time in 22 years, Taiwan’s per capita income will edge past South Korea’s. The symbolism is rich: A supposed imitator has overtaken its former model. For Koreans, long used to viewing themselves as the exemplar among Asia’s “tiger” economies, the reversal is jarring. The numbers are unambiguous. Taiwan’s per capita GDP is set to reach about $38,000 in 2025, with South Korea nearer $37,400. Taipei should join the $40,00

Sept. 17, 2025

[Editorial] Respect court’s opinion

Regarding some ruling party lawmakers' demand for Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de's resignation, the presidential office said Monday that the reasons for making such a demand should be considered and that elected officials (like the legislature) should be given top priority. This is understood to mean that if the National Assembly demands Jo resign, he should consider the background of that demand. A day earlier, Choo Mi-ae, chair of the National Assembly judiciary committee, said on socia

Sept. 16, 2025

[Grace Kao] Sparks profess their love of J-Hope and G-Dragon

Legendary group Sparks (brothers Ronald and Russell Mael, ages 80 and 77, respectively) may be the most important pop music group you’ve never heard of. In a documentary, Taylor Swift producer Jack Antonoff said, “All pop music is rearranged Sparks.” I also recently learned that Russell Mael, lead singer of the group, has professed a love of K-pop, especially J-Hope and G-Dragon. This group of two brothers may be one of the few who have gotten along for more than the 54 years they’ve played toge

Sept. 16, 2025

[Lee Jae-min] Regulations threaten economic security deal

Foreign direct investment requires not just the cross-border transfer of money. It also requires a move of personnel and equipment to manage and supervise the investment. This is particularly the case for "greenfield" investment where a foreign investor builds manufacturing facilities in another country. When there is discord or disconnect between the flow of investment and that of personnel and equipment, investors find themselves on the horns of a dilemma. That’s probably what went through the

Sept. 16, 2025