Latest news with #SungkyunkwanUniversity
Korea Herald
29-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
South Korea must brace for slow growth, invest in AI to survive, experts warn
A financial risk strategist and an AI scholar on Thursday warned that South Korea must brace for a prolonged low-growth era, urging businesses and individuals to prepare for structural changes in the economy — from the fragmentation of global trade to the explosive rise of artificial intelligence. Speaking at the Global Business Forum hosted by The Korea Herald in Seoul, Cho Bong-hyun, executive vice president of IBK Insurance, said Korea is entering a structural downturn that may resemble Japan's lost decades and warned that the country can no longer rely on past growth formulas to stay competitive. 'We are not just facing a cyclical slowdown,' he said. 'We are entering a new normal of low growth, and it will be long-term.' Cho pointed to persistent inflation in the US, the likelihood of extended high interest rates and a slowing Chinese economy as external risks. But he emphasized Korea's internal vulnerabilities as even more urgent. 'Domestic demand is weak, household debt remains high and the housing market is unlikely to rebound even with monetary easing,' he said. 'Asset prices are entering a correction phase.' On the structural front, Cho highlighted the looming demographic crisis. "Starting in 2025, Korea will see a steep decline in its working-age population. This will shake the foundations of our pension, labor and financial systems,' he said. 'It may sound pessimistic,' Cho added, 'but preparing for the worst-case scenario is wiser than clinging to outdated assumptions.' To respond to these complex transitions, Cho urged Korean businesses to embrace what he called 'dynamic balancing,' the ability to alternate between outward expansion and internal consolidation depending on global and domestic conditions. 'Now is not the time for blind expansion or excessive risk aversion,' he said. 'We need companies to be nimble, and capable of both advancing outward and consolidating inward, depending on shifting conditions.' Yet flexibility alone, he said, is not enough. 'In a time of low growth, innovation isn't just a choice. It's the only way forward.' Meanwhile, Choi Jae-boong, a mechanical engineering professor at Sungkyunkwan University, said the next three years would be decisive for Korea's future in AI. 'AI development is accelerating like a revolution,' Choi said. 'After three years, the pace will slow. You must act now.' He cited the explosive growth of US-based AI firms, noting that the combined market capitalization of the top seven US AI companies surged from $13 trillion in 2024 to over $17 trillion in 2025. 'In contrast, Korea's largest company is worth only $400 billion,' he said. 'We must ask ourselves — are we part of the future or not?' Still, Choi said Korea has a unique strength: its world-class hardware and manufacturing capabilities. He pointed to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix as key suppliers of high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI training, including models such as ChatGPT. 'These firms are already powering the AI engines of today,' he said. 'No AI runs without hardware, and that hardware often starts in Korea.' He added that while countries like China may have scale, they lack the geopolitical trust necessary to be a reliable partner in global supply chains. 'The US needs partners who are both technologically capable and politically aligned. Korea fits both criteria,' Choi said. To seize that opportunity, Choi emphasized, Korea must escape its bureaucratic mindset. 'Too often, innovation is paralyzed by questions like: 'Who will take responsibility if it fails?'' he said. 'But while we hesitate, others are already building.'
![[팟캐스트] (686) 다양한 스타일로 변하고 있는 어버이날 선물](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimg.heraldcorp.com%2Fnews%2Fcms%2F2025%2F05%2F11%2Fnews-p.v1.20250508.f971feccdb0d45c089279f1a5294743e_T1.jpeg&w=3840&q=100)
Korea Herald
15-05-2025
- General
- Korea Herald
[팟캐스트] (686) 다양한 스타일로 변하고 있는 어버이날 선물
진행자: 박준희, Chelsea Proctor South Koreans get creative with Parents' Day gifts 기사 요약: 전통적인 카네이션과 손 편지에서 건강식품, 현금 등으로 어버이날 선물 아이템이 다양하게 변화하고 있다. [1] May is known as 'Family Month' in South Korea, as it has several days to celebrate and show love for those held closest to people's hearts. One such commemorative day is Parents' Day on May 8. A time-honored tradition in South Korea has children give carnations to their parents to express gratitude for their love and care. * celebrate: 기념하다 * commemorative: (중요 인물, 사건을) 기념하는 * time-honored: 오랜 시간 동안 이어져 온, 전통적인 * gratitude: 고마움 [2] However, some Koreans have recently shown a shift in preferences for Parents' Day, as they search for gifts that are more meaningful and worthwhile. Kwon Young-june, a 53-year-old office worker, is one person who a few years ago made the switch from giving carnations. * shift: 변화 * preference: 선호(도) * search: 살펴보다 * worthwhile: ~할 가치가 있는 [3] Adding that his parents also seemed to enjoy his change in gifts, Kwon added that he plans to do the same this year by treating them to a nice family meal and a short weekend trip to the outskirts of Seoul. * enjoy: 즐기다 * change: 변화 * outskirts: 변두리 [4] 'In Korean culture, there's a deep-rooted expectation for children to support their parents financially, especially in old age. In this sense, giving cash is seen not just as a gift but as a form of ongoing responsibility and respect,' sociology professor Koo Jeong-woo from Sungkyunkwan University told The Korea Herald. * deep-rooted: 뿌리 깊은 * expectation: 기대 * old age: 노년
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Who is Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea's impeached president?
South Korea's beleaguered president Yook Suk Yeol was removed from office on Friday after a panel of judges upheld his impeachment over a short-lived martial law attempt last December. The 64-year-old's shock military takeover on 3 December was reversed after lawmakers defied security forces to vote it down. Parliament voted to impeach him later than month. An election for the country's next leader must now be held within 60 days. The ruling was met with mixed responses - reflecting political divisions within the country - with the anti-Yoon crowd exploding into jubiliant cheers, while his supporters burst into loud boos. Yoon is also facing a separate insurrection charge, making him the country's first sitting president charged with a crime. In South Korea, insurrection is punishable by life in prison or death. However the latter is unlikely, given that the country has not carried out executions in decades. Yoon was arrested in January following a weeks-long stand-off between anti-corruption investigators and his personal security detail. He was released in March after his detention was overturned on technical grounds. Yoon justified his extraordinary martial law order last year by accusing the opposition of "trying to throw overthrow the free democracy". But it soon became clear that he was motivated by his own political troubles. Plagued with personal scandals and mounting pressure from the opposition, Yoon's popularity had been falling since he took office in 2022. The unravelling of Yoon Suk Yeol: South Korea's 'stubborn and hot-tempered' martial law president How one man threw South Korea into a political crisis Why is it so hard to arrest South Korea's impeached president? The president's gamble backfired: What was he thinking? What is martial law and why was it declared? Woman who grabbed South Korean soldier's gun speaks to BBC How two hours of martial law chaos unfolded Yoon was a relative newcomer to politics when he won the presidency. He had risen to national prominence for prosecuting the corruption case against disgraced former President Park Geun-hye in 2016. In 2022, the political novice narrowly beat his liberal opponent Lee Jae-myung by less than 1% of the vote - the closest result the country has seen since direct elections started to be held in 1987. At a time when South Korean society was grappling with widening divisions over gender issues, Yoon appealed to young male voters by running on an anti-feminism platform. People had 'high hopes' for Yoon when he was elected, said Don S Lee, associate professor of public administration at Sungkyunkwan University. 'Those who voted for Yoon believed that a new government under Yoon will pursue such values as principle, transparency and efficiency.' Yoon has also championed a hawkish stance on North Korea. The communist state was cited by Yoon when he tried to impose martial law. He said he needed to protect against North Korean forces and 'eliminate anti-state elements', even though it was apparent from the outset that his announcement was less about the threat from the North and more about his domestic woes. Yoon is known for gaffes, which haven't helped his ratings. During his 2022 campaign he had to walk back a comment that authoritarian president Chun Doo-hwan, who declared martial law and was responsible for massacring protestors in 1980, had been "good at politics". Later that year he was forced to deny insulting the US Congress in remarks made after meeting US President Joe Biden in New York. He was caught on a hot mic and seen on camera seemingly calling US lawmakers a Korean word that can be translated as "idiots" or something much stronger. The footage quickly went viral in South Korea. Still, Yoon has had some success in foreign policy, notably improving ties in his country's historically fraught relationship with Japan. Much of the scandal surrounding Yoon's presidency centred around his wife Kim Keon Hee, who was accused of corruption and influence peddling - most notably allegedly accepting a Dior bag from a pastor. In November, Yoon apologised on behalf of his wife while rejecting calls for an investigation into her activities - a move that did little to help his wobbly approval ratings. Yoon was relegated to a lame duck president after the opposition Democratic Party won the parliamentary election by a landslide last April. The result was widely seen as a vote of no confidence on Yoon's time in office. Thereafter, Yoon was reduced to vetoing bills passed by the opposition. "He used the presidential veto with unprecedented frequency," said Celeste Arrington, director of The George Washington University Institute for Korean Studies. "In terms of his ruling style, his critics called it authoritarian." He also faced increasing pressure from his political opponents. In the lead-up to Yoon's martial law declaration, the opposition slashed the budget proposed by Yoon's ruling party and moved to impeach cabinet members for failing to investigate the first lady. With such political challenges pushing his back against the wall, Yoon went for the nuclear option - a move that few, if any, could have predicted. Dr Arrington said that many had worried about a political crisis "because of the confrontation between the president and the opposition-controlled National Assembly," said Dr Arrington. "Though few predicted such an extreme move as declaring martial law." President Yoon's declaration of martial law was a "legal overreach and a political miscalculation", according to Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. "He sounded like a politician under siege," Dr Easley told the BBC. "With extremely low public support and without strong backing within his own party and administration, the president should have known how difficult it would be to implement his late-night decree." Crisis has engulfed Yoon's government in the wake of the martial law order, with top officials - including the ex-defence minister and heads of the police and military - being investigated for their involvement. Divisions have solidified in the ruling PPP, which had teetered between defending the unpopular leader and denouncing him. Yoon's impeachment vote passed in parliament with most PPP lawmakers opposing it. Party leader Han Dong-hoon, who had called for the removal of Yoon as the only way forward, resigned shortly after the vote as internal strife intensified. Meanwhile, a stalemate persists in the opposition-dominated parliament. Opposition lawmakers have already impeached Han Duck-soo, the prime minister who became acting president after Yoon. They accused Han of being Yoon's "puppet" after he vetoed opposition-led bills and refused to appoint three constitutional judges to oversee Yoon's impeachment trial. And though finance minister Choi Sang-mok is in charge for now, the opposition has threatened to impeach him too. Anger has swept the country, as massive crowds continually take to the streets calling for Yoon's impeachment. Yoon's supporters, however, are holding protests of their own. Throughout the chaos, Yoon has projected what his critics see as defiance - or, as his supporters may see it, determination. Following his arrest, Yoon expressed gratitude his supporters. "Although these are dark days... the future of this country is hopeful," he said. "To my fellow citizens, I wish you all the best and stay strong. Thank you."
Arab News
30-03-2025
- Automotive
- Arab News
South Korea, China, Japan to strengthen regional trade as Trump tariffs loom
SEOUL: South Korea, China and Japan agreed to expand trade cooperation on Sunday, ahead of US President Donald Trump's plans to impose reciprocal tariffs. South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun met with Japanese Trade Minister Yoji Muto and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Seoul for the first trilateral meeting among the three countries since 2019. They agreed to speed up negotiations toward a trilateral free trade agreement, which have not progressed since talks first began in 2012. 'We will continue discussions to accelerate trilateral FTA negotiations with the goal of realizing a fair, comprehensive and high-quality FTA that is mutually beneficial,' the ministers said in a joint statement issued after the meeting. Ahn said cooperation among the three countries was necessary amid 'the rapidly changing global economic and trade' environment. 'There is a need for the three countries to cooperate on the basis of mutual respect and trust, in order to create a more stable environment for global trade and investment,' Ahn said during his opening remarks at the meeting. Ahn and his counterparts also agreed to strengthen the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a trade framework among 15 Asia-Pacific countries aimed at lowering trade barriers, and to expand collaboration in rising industries, including renewable energy and digital transformation. Sunday's trilateral meet comes ahead of Trump's expected announcement of 'reciprocal tariffs' on April 2. US officials have previously cited China and South Korea as countries with whom Washington has had 'persistent trade deficits.' On Wednesday, Trump unveiled a 25 percent tariff on all cars and auto parts shipped to the US that is set to take effect on April 3. The move could deal a heavy blow to South Korea and Japan's economies, which rely on auto exports to the North American country. After Mexico, South Korea is the world's largest exporter of vehicles to the US, followed by Japan, according to data from S&P. 'South Korea and Japan in particular are trying to decrease pressures from the US by increasing trade volume with China and Japan,' Park Duck-bae, an economics adjunct professor at Sungkyunkwan University, told Arab News. 'Since they are all facing similar threats from the US, they are getting together to pool their response to the US tariff policies.' By increasing cooperation with South Korea and Japan, Beijing will be able to strengthen its position in the region, said Moon Heung-ho, an expert on China and honorary professor at the Graduate School of International Studies in Hanyang University. 'China is trying to exert its influence in the Middle East and Central Asia, but it is difficult due to the presence of the US and Russia. They are trying to cozy up with their neighbors first … The fact that the statement stresses norms like multilateralism and free trade is part of China's strategy to claim the upper hand in its power struggle with the US,' Moon told Arab News. 'Increasing cooperation and driving a wedge between the US and its traditional allies, like South Korea and Japan, is an important win for China.' China, Japan and South Korea are among Asia's five largest economies, with the first two holding the top positions, as per gross domestic product. The three countries make up about 20 percent of the world's population.
Boston Globe
18-02-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Gil Won-ok, memory keeper of wartime sex slavery by Japan, dies at 96
Advertisement Japan and South Korea signed an agreement in 2015 that included an apology by Japan and restitution for the sexual enslavement of Korean women, but the historical trauma remains a lingering wound for many South Koreans and a sensitive diplomatic point of tension between the two nations. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Ms. Gil and other survivors believed that Japan had not done enough to take full responsibility for the abuses against civilian women. She joined weekly protests outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, where a bronze statue of a seated young women next to an empty chair represents the ordeal faced by Ms. Gil and others. 'We were born human but haven't been able to live like humans,' Ms. Gil said during a 2010 demonstration in Tokyo, filmed as part of the documentary 'The Apology' (2016) by filmmaker Tiffany Hsiung. 'I will keep on talking until the day I die.' Nearby, a group of Japanese protesters jeered Ms. Gil and others, calling them 'prostitutes.' The collective memory of the 'comfort women' stayed mostly buried until the early 1990s, when the first survivors came forward with their stories of being trapped in brothels for Japanese soldiers in areas such as China's northern Manchuria, where Japanese forces invaded in 1931. Ms. Gil first spoke publicly in 1998 about her experiences after seeing television coverage of the Seoul protests outside the Japanese Embassy, which began six years earlier. 'I had never even heard of the term 'comfort woman' before,' she said in an oral history in 2004 recorded by history students at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. 'I only described my experiences as subhuman treatment.' Advertisement Her account began in 1940 when she was 12 in Pyongyang, now the capital of North Korea. Her father, who owned a scrap yard, was arrested on charges of selling stolen items, she said. Ms. Gil left school and briefly attended classes in the Korean tradition of gisaeng, women trained in singing and arts who entertained at upper-crust events. A friend, Ms. Gil recalled, suggested they try to find jobs in Manchuria. 'I was too immature to realize what the repercussions would be,' she said in the oral history. 'I just wanted to earn the [money] to release my father from jail.' Ms. Gil thought she might find work as a singer or bar hostess. She was almost immediately coerced into a brothel, where she said she was raped by Japanese soldiers hour after hour. Months later, she was diagnosed with syphilis. Japanese doctors, she said, tied her fallopian tubes, leaving her unable to get pregnant. 'I was crippled by the age of 14,' she said. She was sent back to Korea to recover, she recalled. Jobs were scarce, and she said her family lived on small amounts of millet and scrounged firewood to keep warm. In desperation, Ms. Gil decided in 1942 to try again in Japanese-occupied China, hoping this time to avoid the brothel operators. Her mother, she said, gave her a traditional Korea outfit with a long green skirt to impress prospective bosses. 'I was a fool,' Ms. Gil recalled. Like before, she was soon forced into a brothel and given a Japanese name. Advertisement 'There was no freedom,' he recalled in the oral history. 'No one was allowed to go anywhere. There was nothing I could do when the men came in.' When she resisted, she said, she was beaten. One soldier slashed the top of her head with a knife, she said. After Japan's surrender to end World War II, Ms. Gil boarded a ship that docked in Incheon, near what is now South Korea's capital, Seoul. When communist North Korea invaded the South in 1950, touching off the Korean War, Ms. Gil was still in the Seoul area and became cut off from her family on the other side of the border. Ms. Gil's activism included co-founding the Butterfly Fund with another survivor of the WWII brothels, Kim Bok-dong, to aid victims of sexual abuse during wars around the world. 'How could I not hold a grudge against those people who did this to me?' Ms. Gil said. Gil Won-ok was born in Huichon, now part of North Pyongan Province in late 1928, with some South Korean groups noting her birth date as Nov. 30. The family moved to Pyongyang when she was a child. Her mother had a street stall selling fish. After the war, Ms. Gil worked as a hostess and singer in bars in South Korea. She married a man and learned from her mother-in-law how to make homemade rice wine to sell. She said she left the man and underwent a hysterectomy to remove ovarian cysts she blamed on the operation done by the Japanese doctor when she was a teenager. Advertisement When Ms. Gil was nearly 30, she adopted a son and opened a food stand. 'I would just spin in circles around my room and say, 'Thank you, God, for giving a son to a wretch like me,'' she said. In 2017, Ms. Gil released a recording of songs, 'Gil Won-ok's Peace,' and her life story was adapted into a book, 'Have You Ever Wished for a Soldier to Become an Angel?' (2018), by South Korean author Kim Sum. Complete information on survivors was not immediately available. Ms. Gil often thanked other survivors of the Japanese military abuses for giving her to courage to share her story. 'I couldn't have survived for all these years,' she said, 'by carrying all those memories with me.'
