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Hapless Leviathan: a critical look at investor-state dispute settlement

As the month of August drew to a close, it seemed that the long-running epic saga between Lone Star, a private equity fund from Texas, and the government of Korea was finally coming to an end. The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID, the World Bank arbitration center based in Washington, ordered the Korean government to pay Lone Star Funds $216.5 million in damages plus interest in a decade-old dispute that arose out of Lone Star's one-time ownership of a controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank or KEB.

2022-09-13 15:13

Role of messenger and criminal defamation

Korea is one of the few countries among the developed democracies where defamation is still prosecuted as a crime. Most member states of the OECD long ago decriminalized defamation and treat it only as a civil wrong to be resolved between two private parties. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights ruled in 2012 that criminal defamation is a violation of freedom of expression and is inconsistent with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

2022-08-09 15:49

Finally, pedestrian-centric road traffic rules

A few years ago, my friend's young daughter was hit by a car as she was crossing a road near her primary school. Her right femur was shattered and several of her ribs were fractured. She had to be hospitalized for three months and had to endure multiple operations.

2022-07-13 16:32

Harsh consequences of hubris before nemesis

In ancient Greek mythology, Nemesis was a goddess who meted out retribution to those who succumb to hubris, before the gods. Classic traits of hubris are identified as arrogance and contempt for others' opinions, often resulting from a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence, accomplishments or capabilities. The outcome of the local elections held nationwide earlier this month seems to be an almost perfect illustration.

2022-06-13 16:12

Let it not be a hundred years

One of my favorite TV dramas used to be a crime series called Law & Order. Following a now well-worn formula of a police procedural, the show began with the following narration: “In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups: The police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.”

2022-05-10 16:55

Suffering from 'buyer's remorse'

Just a month has passed since the narrowest presidential election in Korean history, while a month is left until the inauguration. But it looks like voters are already experiencing buyer's remorse about President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol. The incoming president is being hoisted by his own petards and his closest aides seem to be making matters worse not better. Unless he learns to listen to the people and respect others more, Yoon's presidency faces a bumpy road.

2022-04-12 16:23

How we deceive ourselves

We humans like to believe ourselves to be rational and logical beings. The cerebral cortex, comprising over 80 percent of our brain mass and containing 100 billion neurons, gives us the singular ability to reason, to engage in a complex higher level of thinking, to regulate emotions and to use language far beyond the capabilities of any other species in the animal kingdom.

2022-03-08 16:20

Toward a Lagrange point

As I write this article, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is hurtling through space toward a Lagrange point between the sun and the earth, at a speed of 498.24 meters per second. A Lagrange point is a point of equilibrium for small-mass objects under the influence of two massive orbiting bodies.

2022-01-11 16:38

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