NameOn the occasion of the inauguration of George W. Bush as the 43rd president of United States, the IT policy of his administration is being promulgated. In the article below, The Korea IT Times examines President Bush's technology agenda."The role of government is not to create wealth; the role of our government is to create an environment in which the entrepreneur can flourish, in which min

That Korea took a mediocre 45th place out of 161 countries in economic freedom is hardly news by itself. But it becomes a different story if this country is really serious in becoming a regional business hub, as the government has trumpeted.Hong Kong and Singapore, Korea's biggest rivals, were ranked the world's two freest economies for the 11th consecutive year by the Heritage Foundation. Seoul

It is encouraging news that President Roh Moo-hyun told leaders of the ruling Uri Party to handle the four reform bills with patience rather than in haste. His advice reveals his full support of the two top officials of the government party who have been severely attacked by a substantial number of party members for compromising with their counterparts from the main opposition Grand National Party

A four-year-old boy died of hunger and was left in a wardrobe by his parent. A woman in her 80s perished in a fire caused by candles she had lit to save energy. The two incidents recently demonstrate the plight of abject poverty in the dark corners of our society. Coincidentally or not, the boy? parents were mentally retarded and the old lady was supporting two disabled sons. It is difficult to be

US President George W. Bush won relection In spite of the lengthy uncertainty the United States faced in the 2004 presidential elections, the American people have finally decided to give George W. Bush a chance for a second term as president. He made it by a very small margin that amounted to only 51 percent of the total votes. Even here, most of those that voted for him did not approve of his

Having made visits to India and Vietnam early this month, President Roh Moo-hyun is set to make official visits to Brazil, Chile and Argentina from Nov. 12. He visited Russia in September this year and China last year.When President Roh completes his visit to Brazil next month, he will have made official visits to all of the so-called BRICs _ Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the four rapidly emer

Amid high oil prices and sluggish domestic consumption, domestic enterprises are poised to map out their management plans for next year.The upward trend of oil prices and raw materials in the global market is showing no signs of abating. And consumption psychology still remains in the doldrums. To m

Good news is hard to find in the domestic economy these days. So it is doubly welcome to hear Samsung Electronics Co. has developed the world's first 60-nanometer, 8-gigabit NAND flash memory chip and 80-nanometer, 2-gigabit DDR2 DRAM chip. It demonstrated once again Korea's technological prowess as a global IT power. Samsung's latest feat is especially meaningful, as the company not just sharply

The nation's suicide rate is soaring at an alarming pace. Last year, the number of suicides hit a record high of 11,000, with 24 in every 100,000 people taking their own lives. In 2002, Korea was ranked fourth among 30 OECD countries with 18.7 suicides per 100,000 people, following Hungary (23.2), Japan (19.1) and Finland (18.8). If the other countries' figures have remained relatively unchanged o

No Competition Will Lead to Lower Standards In some ways, high school students in Korea may be the most pitiable teenagers in the world. With their one and only goal being entering prestigious universities, these youth have to study 20 hours a day, 365 days a year. Due to the severe competition and its serious side effects, the system of college entrance changes whenever a new administration or

Return the Gold Medal to Yang The incompetent and irresponsible decisions of Olympic judges are fouling up the Games. In particular, unfair and erroneous judgments in favor of global sports powers have become a butt of criticism for degrading the Olympics into a political arena. Coincidentally or not, Korean athletes have ended up as victims of misjudgments in favor of U.S. competitors on more

Could Bill Gates Make it in Korea? Often called the most wired country in the world, Korea is a major power of information technology or so people have thought. The latest criticism of the domestic industry by a famous insider was thus a shocking reminder of why the nation cannot afford to remain complacent with where it stands now. After enumerating problems facing industrialists, consumers an

Policy Success Depends on Will to Implement The government's policy package to support struggling smalland medium-sized enterprises, albeit somewhat belated, deserves a favorable evaluation. Unlike the indiscriminate support measures of the past, the latest is tailored to businesses with diverse characteristics and in different stages of growth. Also noteworthy is that the government will posit

Since its establishment as part of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, the Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA) has been instrumental in making small firms and technology startups a growth engine of the national economy. Our editor interviewed Ryu Chang-moo, the administrator o