Opinion: The ecommerce challenge: should we protect consumers or producers? 

SEOUL, August 12 (AJU PRESS) - The negative reaction to the recent entry of Chinese companies into the e-commerce market raises a big question seldom asked in Korea that goes to the heart of an economic system based on choice and freedom. What comes first in a capitalist country – protecting competitors or the rights of consumers? Put another way, should a government protect competition or competitors? Chinese players entered the market last year just as the long-time Korean

August 12, 2024

Opinion: Have Paris Olympics cracked code of circular economy?

SEOUL, August 12 (AJU PRESS) - As the planet faces ever more pressing environmental challenges including fast dwindling natural resources, the idea of a circular economy is often put forward as a promising alternative. Sport organizations are no strangers to this trend. In France, a number of them are working hard to slash their events' carbon footprints. Ecotrail, for example, which organizes annual running contests in the suburbs of Paris, gifts public transport tickets to the

August 12, 2024

Opinion: Cancellation of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour shows is the latest incident in long history of concert terrorism

SEOUL, August 9 (AJU PRESS) - Taylor Swift's Eras' Tour concerts in Vienna, scheduled for August 8–10, have been cancelled due to a foiled terrorist plot. The events were expected to draw around 65,000 attendees each night. Two suspects have been arrested. The main suspect is a 19-year-old Austrian citizen who is believed to have pledged allegiance to Islamic State last month. Authorities found chemical substances in his possession and noted that he had been radicalize

August 9, 2024

Opinion: Russia's Relentless Suppression of Free Expression

KENOSHA, August 08 (AJU PRESS) - The release of targeted journalist Evan Gershkovich of "The Wall Street Journal" and 15 others politically imprisoned in Russia is cause for relief and rejoicing. Eight prisoners held in the West, including a murderer, were also released in the largest such exchange since the Cold War. Gershkovich represents a highly respected, influential-news organization. He also personifies Russia dictator’s Vladimir Putin’s long-term repr

August 8, 2024

Opinion: Imane Khelif controversy at Paris Olympics shows how sex testing in women's sports puts regulators in impossible bind

SEOUL, August 8 (AJU PRESS) - In their preliminary 2024 Olympic women's boxing match, Algeria's Imane Khelif delivered a painful blow to the face of Italy's Angela Carini, who abandoned the fight after 46 seconds. "I've never been hit with such a powerful punch," Carini told reporters after the match. The incident might have been relatively uncontroversial were it not for what had happened during the 2023 International Boxing Association (IBA) Women's W

August 8, 2024

Opinion: By picking Tim Walz as her running mate, Harris shows she's running her own race, by her own rules

SEOUL, August 7 (AJU PRESS) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to ask him to be her running mate in her campaign for the presidency on Tuesday. After telling Harris he "would be honored," the first thing Walz observed was "the joy that you're bringing back to the country, the enthusiasm that's out there." Harris' choice of Walz confirms and leans into this extraordinary vibe shift in American politics. In only a

August 7, 2024

Opinion: N. Korea's weapons industry is going global, thanks to help from Russia and China

SEOUL, August 6 (AJU PRESS) - It may not have attracted much attention in recent months with global attention focused elsewhere. But the international sanctions monitoring regime on North Korea has been disbanded, raising concerns about the unimpeded flow of North Korean weapons to global hotspots from Ukraine to Gaza. Enforcement of United Nations sanctions against North Korea has actually been eroding for years. The final coup de grace came in March when Russia vetoed the renewal

August 6, 2024

Opinion: China needs to pick a side, and it just might pick the west

SEOUL, August 5 (AJU PRESS) - For the Kremlin, its "partner of no limits," China, isn't doing enough to aid Russia's war against Ukraine. So, Russia has signed a peace treaty with North Korea, hoping to pressure China into backing Moscow's war effort further. Meanwhile, the west sees China as far too helpful to Russia. The sentiment in the west was best captured on July 10, 2024, during a summit in Washington D.C. Heads of state and government of NATO countries

August 5, 2024

Opinion: Is shallow pool in Paris really slowing Olympic swimmers down?

SEOUL, August 2 (AJU PRESS) - There has been plenty of rain, sweat and tears shed at the Paris Olympics this week. But the pool at the heart of La Defénce Arena has suffered a drought of world records that has athletes and officials scratching their heads. After five days, Paris 2024 has seen only a single world record fall in a swimming event. That compares with six new swimming world records set at Tokyo in 2021 and eight at Rio in 2018. Even the much-hyped women's 400

August 2, 2024

Opinion: Can Olympics survive climate crisis?

SEOUL, August 1 (AJU PRESS) - The 2024 Olympic Games opened on the same week Earth recorded its hottest day ever. A different kind of record-breaking will be animating competitors in Paris, but the climate crisis is making it hard for organizers to keep the tournament on track. A deluge that dumped a month's worth of rain on the opening ceremony and its aftermath strained the city's 200-year old combined sewer system. The resulting discharge of untreated sewage delayed the t

August 1, 2024