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The Korea Times

Entertainment & Arts

SCMP
Asia

The Korea Times

Opinion

Columnists

Troy Stangarone

Artificial intelligence and the future of the Korean economy

Manufacturing has historically been one of the keys to Korea's economic success. Korean firms have moved up the value chain to become world-class manufacturers in high-value sectors such as semiconductors, automobiles, consumer electronics and shipbuilding.

2023-03-12 16:50

Can Korea become a green energy powerhouse?

Late last year, Korea released its first Indo-Pacific strategy. The initial commentary on the strategy often focused on issues of the great power competition or whether the document had mentioned China enough. While the development of Indo-Pacific strategies by countries in Asia, North America, and Europe is being driven by the emergence of a new great power rivalry, the most interesting part of Korea's strategy may be the section on climate change and energy security and what that means for its emerging clean tech industry.

2023-02-09 17:00

Prospects for fixing the Inflation Reduction Act

Since its passage in August, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has been a significant source of tension between the United States and Korea. While designed to reduce U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases by nearly 40 percent by 2030, the tools the Act uses to promote the domestic sale of electric vehicles (EVs) to achieve those objectives have caused concern in Korea and among other U.S. trading partners

2023-01-11 16:50

Managing relations with China

I'm often asked how South Korea should manage relations with China. It's a complex question. One that often requires deeper answers than can come in an interview or on the sidelines of a conference. Given that complexity, it is perhaps better to think about what are the key issues that should be considered when thinking about managing relations with China rather than what is the best specific policy approach.

2022-12-08 17:03

Going nuclear wouldn't be without costs

Should South Korea acquire its own nuclear weapons? This question tends to arise periodically whenever Pyongyang significantly ups the pace of its nuclear and ballistic missile tests. With North Korea growing increasingly provocative with its ballistic missile tests and adopting a policy that allows for preemptive nuclear strikes, it is not surprising that the issue has surfaced again. However, any debate should include a robust discussion of the cost of going nuclear.

2022-11-10 13:34

Potential for US-Korea-EU trilateral cooperation

Earlier this month, the Korea Economic Institute, along with partners in South Korea and the European Union held a conference at George Washing University to discuss the potential for trilateral trade cooperation between the United States, South Korea and the European Union. While there are obstacles to deeper U.S.-Korea-EU cooperation, the general consensus was that there are real opportunities.

2022-10-19 14:02

Complexity of Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has complicated U.S.-Korea relations and spurred accusations by one senior Korean official that the new electric vehicle requirements are a “betrayal.” However, the IRA is also a complex piece of legislation designed significantly to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and reshape supply chains for critical minerals.

2022-09-15 15:54

A more complicated Korea-China relationship

Later this month, South Korea and China will mark the 30th anniversary of formal relations. Normally this would be a time for diplomatic pleasantries, but the anniversary comes at a complex time for the relationship.

2022-08-18 17:00

Economic security and resiliency

Earlier this month, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the electricity for most of the state of Texas, requested customers voluntarily reduce power consumption to avoid rolling blackouts due to an extreme heat wave.

2022-07-21 16:31

What to do about Russian fossil fuel imports?

In recent weeks, Gazprom has cut the flow of gas into Europe along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline by 60 percent, while also cutting off some of the countries that refused Russia's demand to pay in rubles.

2022-06-21 16:24

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Top 10 Stories

1	Korean firms balk at donating to fund compensating victims of Japan's forced labor

2	Sexual assaults by Korean diplomats continue despite zero-tolerance policy

3	Main opposition leader indicted, faces calls to resign

4	Consumers choose to travel abroad over purchasing luxury goods

5	World water day

6	Outback Steakhouse sees sales soar as it opens stores in large shopping malls

7	Samsung, SK avoid worst-case scenario as US 'guardrails' are less stringent than feared

8	Korean pension fund hit by overseas banking crisis

9	INTERVIEWRetired FSC chief finds inspiration exploring Koreans' ancestral roots

10	Campaign launched to promote equal treatment for multicultural families

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