[Jack Spencer] Meta's commercial nuclear energy

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk,” as Mark Zuckerberg famously put it. Judging from the announcement by Meta Platforms, Inc., parent company of Facebook, that it’s investing in new nuclear energy -- supporting up to 6.6 gigawatts -- he wasn’t kidding. The plan includes two plant life extensions, three power expansions and two advanced reactor designs. That’s enough electricity to power nearly 5 million homes. Much of this will be used to power Meta’s operations, but the benefits to every

Jan. 26, 2026

[Lee Kyong-hee] Restarting the Kaesong industrial park

On Feb. 10, 2016 — the last day of the Lunar New Year holidays — owners of South Korean companies operating at the Kaesong industrial park received an unexpected phone call from the Ministry of Unification. They were instructed to gather at 2 p.m. for an emergency briefing. At 5 p.m. the same day, then-Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo announced that the complex would be shut down the following day. The decision was abrupt and unilateral, underscoring the vulnerability of the first joint inter-

Jan. 26, 2026

[Editorial] The Atlas impasse

Machines rarely announce themselves as labor disputes. Atlas did. Hyundai Motor unveiled its humanoid robot at CES 2026 in Las Vegas on Jan. 6, a Boston Dynamics-built humanoid positioned as the company’s flagship entry into “physical AI.” Investors saw a breakthrough, but the rank and file saw a threat. By Jan. 22, the automaker’s Korean union had issued a blunt ultimatum: No robot enters the production line without a labor-management agreement. The declaration was blunt, preemptive and reveali

Jan. 26, 2026

[Robert J. Fouser] Reuniting Korea’s cities and provinces

On Jan. 16 Prime Minister Kim Min-seok announced a plan to merge Daejeon with South Chungcheong Province and Gwangju with South Jeolla Province. The government would provide up to 40 trillion won ($27.3 billion) in financial incentives over the next four years to these newly formed “integrated special cities.” The cities would be given greater administrative autonomy and priority in the relocation of public institutions in the hope of revitalizing local economies. The plan is a key part of Presi

Jan. 23, 2026

[Editorial] Reform or retreat

Recent wars have elevated the smallest machines into strategic actors. In Ukraine and the Middle East, inexpensive drones now stalk armor, spot artillery and decide battles before generals react. Speed, not scale, has become decisive. Against that backdrop, South Korea is considering a counterintuitive move: dismantling its Drone Operations Command scarcely two years after creating it. The proposal comes from the Special Advisory Committee on Future Strategy, convened after former President Yoon

Jan. 23, 2026

[Editorial] Labor overprotection

Starting in a few months, freelancers, motorcycle couriers and other so-called “special-type workers” or independent contractors could be able to take legal action against their client businesses, including claims for severance pay, and challenge what they consider unfair contract terminations. Businesses would lose such lawsuits unless they can prove that independent contractors are not their employees. If an independent contractor takes legal action against a business, they would initially be

Jan. 22, 2026

[Francoise Nicolas] The end of an era, whither the global trading system?

2025, a watershed moment From an economist’s perspective, 2025 will likely be remembered as the year when the global rules-based trade order as we had known it since the end of the Second World War came to an end. To be fair the system had been under strain for some time, and gradually sliding into irrelevance, primarily because of its inability to adapt and respond to changing circumstances. What made this time different, however, is the fact that the attacks on the existing order came from the

Jan. 22, 2026

[Wang Son-taek] Disruption is not collapse

US President Donald Trump’s recent rhetoric and conduct on the international stage have increasingly unsettled observers across the world. From Venezuela to Greenland and Iran, he has repeatedly conveyed a troubling message: that international norms are negotiable, and that pressure, threats, and coercion can be mobilized as routine instruments of statecraft. Naturally, reactions vary. Unease is reasonable. Alarm is understandable. But some reactions move too quickly from anxiety to surrender: “

Jan. 22, 2026

[Kim Seong-kon] How to be strong: Case of Dartmouth and Hanover

Koreans are strongly attached to their hometowns. Even after living in another place for a long time, Korean people never forget their hometowns and have a profound nostalgia toward them. The hometown is a point of reference, a place to which a person returns repeatedly, whether physically or spiritually. However, medieval theologian Hugh of St. Victor wrote, "The tender soul has fixed his love on one spot in the world; the strong has extended his love to all places; the perfect man has extingui

Jan. 21, 2026

[Paola Subacchi] Is there life after the dollar?

US President Donald Trump’s relentless attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, together with his destabilizing foreign policy — notably the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and subsequent threats to bomb Iran and invade Greenland — have called into question the entire postwar international order, including the dominance of the dollar. There has never been a more appropriate moment to reflect on the dynamics that have kept the international monetary system relatively stable

Jan. 21, 2026

[Editorial] The cost of being first

Speed is usually a virtue in technology; however, it is often a liability in regulation. On Thursday, South Korea will become the first country to enforce a comprehensive law governing artificial intelligence. But it may also expose an uncomfortable truth about regulatory first movers, who absorb the uncertainty others learn to avoid. The Framework Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and the Creation of a Foundation for Trust is ambitious by design. It seeks to institutionalize tru

Jan. 21, 2026

[Grace Kao] Polyrhythmic diplomacy of K-pop in Korea-Japan ties

A week ago, South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi drummed to “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” and BTS’ 2020 smash single “Dynamite.” It’s not the first time that K-pop has been so prominently displayed in the flexing of Korea’s soft power. However, this particular event was especially memorable and full of symbolism of the past and future of Korea-Japan relations. It also highlighted the leaders’ deft diplomatic skills. I am reminded that when Japanese

Jan. 20, 2026

[Stefanie Stantcheva] The economics and politics of welfare support

Recently in the United States, a partial government shutdown meant millions of low-income families missed their food assistance payments. The disruption reignited an old question that every developed nation grapples with: How much should societies help their poorest members, and in what form? This question matters everywhere, including in Korea, where debates about welfare expansion, working-age poverty, and the sustainability of social programs have intensified in recent years. Over the past fo

Jan. 20, 2026

[Editorial] Tariff leverage

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly warned Friday that major memory chipmakers that are not investing in the US could face tariffs of up to 100 percent. A day earlier, Taiwan concluded negotiations with the United States over semiconductor tariffs. As a result, the potential tariff he mentioned would apparently target South Korea’s two chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. South Korea finalized a trade deal last year to reduce US tariffs in return for large investments in str

Jan. 20, 2026

[Man-Ki Kim] Korea’s strategic UN positioning

Why did the United States decide to withdraw from or disengage with dozens of United Nations agencies, despite being the country that designed the Bretton Woods system in 1944 and helped shape the modern multilateral order after World War II? While domestic political considerations may have played a role, the decision reflects a deeper reassessment of whether multilateral institutions continue to serve national interests as effectively as intended. The move raises a question that other major con

Jan. 19, 2026