The Korea Times

Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn
Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn

Sun, January 17, 2021 | 09:55

Establishing laws not panacea for solving social issues

The basic duty of a lawmaker as a representative of the public is to propose bills to help solve, or at least ease, social problems. Many lawmakers seem to believe wrongly that the number of bills they propose will be seen as a measure of their legislative activities, or that a proposal on its own is enough to solve any problem raised by constituents. But according to political watchers, while active proposals of bills could be an indicator of performance, many are actually passed by the National Assembly without being properly discussed or cross-checked by lawmakers and thus often have flaws, despite being established as laws. Such problems arise more often when it comes to social issues that are receiving a lot of public attention, as many lawmakers, wanting to promote their legislative activities, try to appeal to the public by competitively - and rapidly - proposing related bills.

Deepfake technology in music welcomed, with caution

In her early days in the 1990s, Choi Eun-soon did not know much about the song...

Korea extends current social distancing level for 2 weeks, eases restrictions on cafes, gyms

The government extended its current social distancing level for two more weeks...

New virus cases in 500s for 5th day as gov't announces eased restrictions

Tenbagger companies' resurgence in stock markets

Nowadays it is more frequent to see tenbagger stocks - which pay off more than 10 times the initial purchase price - both in Korean stock ...

Uniqlo makes rebound after closing unprofitable stores

Japanese casual wear brand Uniqlo, wholly owned by Fast Retailing, managed to make a rebound here thanks to shutting down unprofitable sto...

Bangladeshi embassy opens 2021 with series of events

The Embassy of Bangladesh in Korea opened this year with three events, starting with a language course for Bangladeshi children here follo...

Trump to leave Washington on morning of Biden's inauguration

President Donald Trump will leave Washington next Wednesday morning, just before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, to begin his post-presidential life in Florida.

Bear Grylls goes on safari in trailer for Netflix interactive special

Bear Grylls is teaming up with Netflix on a new interactive special. The streaming service shared a trailer Friday for Animals on the Loose: A You vs. Wild Interactive Movie.

The power of giving

As someone who was born in North Korea, it is so unexpected for me to be speaking about the Giving Tuesday movement that started in the United States.

Military parade pressures Biden to take North Korea seriously

North Korea used a Thursday evening military parade marking its latest party congress as a fully calibrated warning to the incoming Joe Biden administration in an attempt to keep...

Bank of Korea warns against steep rise in leveraged lending

The Bank of Korea (BOK) warned Friday against a steep rise in leveraged lending to households for stock investments.

Book review: Authors explore unconventional superpowers

If there were heroes in our time who remain unseen and marginalized instead of being under the constant spotlight, in what way and form could they come to us? In Beom Yoo-jin's s...

'Parasite' director Bong Joon-ho to head Venice film festival jury

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, whose "Parasite" movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture last year, was named Friday as jury president of the 2021 Venice Film Festival.

Doosan Group's successful restructuring is now up to Hyundai Heavy

Doosan Group's efforts to sell its construction equipment unit Doosan Infracore and finish its restructuring program now hinge on Infracore's preferred bidder Hyundai Heavy Indus...

Biden picks familiar faces for top roles at FEMA, CIA

President-elect Joe Biden is nominating New York emergency department commissioner Deanne Criswell to serve as the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator and has tappe...

LVMH to raise prices of its luxury brands

Only a week after LVMH raised prices of Louis Vuitton products, the French multinational corporation decided to increase the product prices of other affiliated luxury brands such...

'Pandemic worsened gender inequality,' says Korea Image Awards winner Delphine O

Delphine O, left, the secretary general of the United Nations Generation Equality Forum, received the Korea Image Stepping Stone Bridge Award at the 2021 Korea Image Awards held ...

iKON's Bobby to make solo comeback

K-pop boy group iKON member Kim Ji-won, better known by his stage name Bobby, will make his return as a solo artist, the singer's agency YG Entertainment said Friday. The detaile...

Kia removes 'Motors' from its corporate name

Kia has removed “Motors” from its corporate name as the firm attempts to break away from its traditional manufacturing-driven business model, the company announced, Friday.

'Anything can happen' with Tokyo Olympics: Japan minister

A Japanese Cabinet minister admitted Friday that "anything can happen" with the coronavirus-postponed Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first senior official to concede uncertainty ab...

Pompeo pushes new claim of China covering up COVID origin

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleged Friday there were Covid-like illnesses among staff at a Chinese virology institute in autumn 2019, casting further blame on Beijing as h...

End of Merkel era begins as German CDU picks new party leader

Germany's Christian Democrats elect a new chairman Saturday, aiming to unite their conservative party behind a new leader who they hope can succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor wh...

Korea, Japan urged to take next steps after court ruling

After a Korean local court's recent ruling ordered the Japanese government to compensate 12 surviving South Korean victims of wartime sex slavery by paying 100 million won ($91,0...

Unnecessary random testing causes burden for quarantine work

As the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, more and more local governments, institutions and companies are urging residents and employees to get tested.

New virus cases in 500s for 4th day

Debate intensifies over pardons of 2 ex-presidents

The possibility of presidential pardons for two jailed former presidents has become a hot issue in Korean politics after the sentence for former leader Park Geun-hye was confirme...

Film 'Minari' to hit local theaters in March

Director Lee Isaac Chung's award-winning film “Minari” is set to open in local theaters in March. Pancinema, the distributor of the film, confirmed its release Friday and also in...

Asian shares follow Wall St lower as traders mull Biden plan

Asian shares fell Friday after a worse-than-expected U.S. jobs report and a late slide in several Big Tech stocks left major indexes lower on Wall Street.

China puts 20,000 villagers in central quarantine over virus risk

China has sent over 20,000 rural residents living in the epicentre of the country's latest virus outbreak to state-run quarantine facilities, as Beijing on Friday reported the wo...

Head of commerce chamber asks court for leniency in Samsung heir's bribery case

The head of South Korea's leading business lobby group on Friday sent a letter to a Seoul court asking for leniency in the upcoming sentencing of the Samsung Group heir in a brib...

Hana Bank pushes for English-language documentation

Hana Bank will introduce documents written in both English and Korean in the latter half of 2021, as part of a group-wide globalization vision, the lender said Friday.

Koo Kwang-mo's 'New LG' initiative pays off

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo's “New LG” initiative has found great synergy and success across the diverse businesses of the conglomerate. Since Koo took the helm of the corpora...

Why treatments unlikely to be 'game changer' in COVID-19 battle

Celltrion has revealed positive Phase 2 clinical trial results for its COVID-19 treatment Regkirona, also known as CT-P59, raising expectations that the firm will get conditional...

Video

What did she do wrong?: Korea outraged over fatal child abuse case

[CEO INTERVIEW] Will we have enough va...

Tesla under investigation in Korea ove...

Must-watch K-drama scenes for winter h...

Korea preparing for post COVID-19 worl...

Auto

Korea to invest heavily in autonomous driving projects

Hyundai Motor will stop developing new diesel engines

Hyundai Avante wins 2021 North American Car of the Year Award

GM launches 'Everybody In' campaign aimed at zero carbon

Why Hyundai is contemplating over partnership with Apple

Hyundai Motor aims to co-develop electric car with Apple

Twitter CEO admits banning Trump sets dangerous precedent

AI developer to discard data used in controversial 'female' chatbot

Xiaomi, CNOOC, Skyrizon blacklisted in US

Samsung rolls out new 108-megapixel image sensor

Samsung unveils Galaxy S21

KT's presence at hotels grows with AI

Finance

'Stock investment rational choice amid low-interest rate'

'Rapid increase in household debt may trigger gov't fiscal crisis'

Mirae Asset founder shares long-term investment insights on YouTube

Bank of Korea keeps key rate at record low as pandemic persists

Gov't seeks redevelopment projects to supply more public houses in Seoul

President's fund pick draws investor attention

Entertainment

Film director says theme of universal humanity in 'Minari' resonates with American audience

Ex-BIGBANG member Seungri indicted for mobilizing gang members to threaten people

K-pop star IU to drop new single 'Celebrity' this month

BLACKPINK's Jennie gets 600 million YouTube views with debut single 'Solo'

Chinese money flows into Korean culture industry amid streaming war

'The Penthouse: War in Life' season 2 set to air Feb. 19

580

71821

Editorial

Precondition of special pardons

Seoul's top court Thursday confirmed a 20-year prison term for former Presiden...

Unemployment shock

South Korea saw nearly 220,000 jobs last year disappear from 2019, the largest...

Columns

Freedom to inspire or incite?

For the U.S., the worst is yet to come, and that's not just over the few days befor...

Shameful political legacy

The Republic of Korea has a shameful political legacy: All 11 former presidents liv...

Thoughts of the Times

Guilty in Korea

Around one year ago, I published a few articles here about the absurd criminal tria...

North Korea seen staging military parade: source

Military parade pressures Biden to take North Korea seriously

North Korea to hold marathon 'virtually'

Concerns arising over Biden's national security team

Time to shift focus on arms control with North Korea: experts

Possibility of 2021 Moon-Kim summit drawing attention

Vice FM calls for Qatar's support for release of seized Korean ship,...

New virus cases in 500s for 5th day as gov't announces eased restric...

Korea extends current social distancing level for 2 weeks, eases res...

Bangladeshi embassy opens 2021 with series of events

Establishing laws not panacea for solving social issues

Korea, Japan urged to take next steps after court ruling

Korea to invest heavily in autonomous driving projects

Uniqlo makes rebound after closing unprofitable stores

Head of commerce chamber asks court for leniency in Samsung heir's b...

Koo Kwang-mo's 'New LG' initiative pays off

LVMH to raise prices of its luxury brands

Doosan Group's successful restructuring is now up to Hyundai Heavy

The Marianas offers nature-friendly activities from sea to sky

Deepfake technology in music welcomed, with caution

'Pandemic worsened gender inequality,' says Korea Image Awards winne...

Book review: Authors explore unconventional superpowers

Chang Uc-chin's love for family, nature revisited

VANK points out cultural, historical distortions in overseas travel ...

Traditional New Year gifts in Joseon

The power of giving

The nightmare born when technology took the place of science

Toddler's death: Apologies and then what?

Exploring a Seoul winter in the 1880s

Bulls, butchers and death: Plenty to beef about in Joseon Korea

Second impeachment

Precondition of special pardons

Guilty in Korea

Unemployment shock

Debate over short selling

Capitol Hill and 'production' of crowd

A legend returns to the K-League

'Anything can happen' with Tokyo Olympics: Japan minister

Tommy Fleetwood tapped to be TAG Heuer ambassador

IOC, Japan press ahead with Tokyo Games

Reigning South Korean football MVP joins Chinese club

'Not acceptable': Australia's long battle with racism in sports

China's Xi pens letter to Starbucks tycoon to promote trade

Pompeo pushes new claim of China covering up COVID origin

Trump to leave Washington on morning of Biden's inauguration

End of Merkel era begins as German CDU picks new party leader

China puts 20,000 villagers in central quarantine over virus risk

Biden picks familiar faces for top roles at FEMA, CIA

Code of Ethics