The Supreme Court has ruled against President Joe Biden’s federal student loan forgiveness plan, delivering a significant setback to borrowers who were promised loan forgiveness. The 6-3 majority decision stated that at least one of the six GOP-led states challenging the program had legal standing to do so. The court concluded that the President did not have the authority to instruct the Education Secretary to cancel a large amount of consumer debt without Congress’s authorization. The ruling denies millions of Americans the opportunity to have up to $20,000 of their student debt erased. The amount of federal student debt has more than tripled in the last 15 years, increasing from approximately $500 billion in 2007 to $1.6 trillion as of current. Chief Justice John Roberts, in the majority opinion for Biden v. Nebraska, expressed skepticism about the President’s plan and its potential harm to the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA).

Roberts argued that the plan would have reduced profits for MOHELA and negatively impacted Missouri’s economy. However, legal experts and advocates criticized this reasoning, pointing out that MOHELA’s revenue was expected to rise due to recent departures of other student loan servicers in the industry. President Biden called the Supreme Court’s decision wrong and accused Republicans of hypocrisy, highlighting their support for pandemic-related loans to businesses while opposing relief for hard-working Americans. “Today’s decision has closed one path. Now we’re going to start another,” he said from the White House. Advocates for student loan borrowers expressed disappointment and called the ruling a betrayal, emphasizing the need for an impartial court to decide on borrowers’ financial futures. The Supreme Court’s decision is seen as a major win for plaintiffs who sought to block the forgiveness program, as they were concerned about government interference in the lending sector. Critics of Biden’s plan, which was estimated to cost $400 billion, argued that it was expensive, inflationary, and poorly targeted.

They believe the ruling puts an end to costly cancellation schemes and encourages finding alternative solutions to improve the affordability of higher education. The lack of a Supreme Court ruling until now has caused anxiety among borrowers eagerly awaiting a decision. Legal experts attribute the delay to the complexity and significance of the case, as there is no precedent for such a sweeping debt forgiveness plan. The court had to consider issues surrounding Biden’s authority, legal standing of the plaintiffs, and potential harm caused by the relief program. While borrowers hoped for a ruling before the end of the term, it is likely that the decision will be announced by early July. The justices tend to write detailed opinions in high-profile cases, aiming to demonstrate legal reasoning rather than partisan bias. However, there is a slight possibility of the court seeking further oral arguments, which would delay the final decision until the next session starting in October or later.

JULIE KIM

US ASIA JOURNAL

The US and South Korea have agreed on terms for further engagement with North Korea, first by Seoul and then possibly leading to talks with Washington, Pence said in an interview with the Washington Post aboard Air Force Two on his way home from the Olympics in South Korea on Sunday.

“The point is, no pressure comes off until they are actually doing something that the alliance believes represents a meaningful step toward denuclearization,” the Post quoted Pence as saying. “So the maximum pressure campaign is going to continue and intensify. But if you want to talk, we’ll talk.”

US Vice President Mike Pence (center) between Kim Yong-nam, North Korea’s ceremonial head of state, and Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister. (Yonhap)

Seoul declined to comment on the report, with a Cheong Wa Dae press official saying that related matters must be handled “prudently.”

Pence’s remarks come after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong invited South Korean President Moon Jae-in to Pyongyang during their meeting at the Blue House on Saturday.

Moon neither accepted nor rejected the invitation, saying the Koreas should create an environment for such a summit to take place, apparently mindful of the US. He also encouraged the North to be more proactive in seeking dialogue with the US, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

The invitation left Moon with the pressing task of convincing North Korea to engage in dialogue over its nuclear and missile programs without alienating its biggest ally, the US.

Concerns surfaced over the possible discord between South Korea and the US in its approach to dealing with North Korea as Pence, who was in South Korea for the opening of the PyeongChang Olympics, increased US pressure on Pyongyang by highlighting the brutality of the regime during his time here.

Pence was seen ignoring or avoiding high-profile North Korean delegates, including Kim Yo-jung, when he was in close proximity to them during the reception hosted by President Moon and during the opening ceremony of the Winter Games.

But Pence’s comments aboard Air Force Two may signal Trump administration’s policy shift to engagement with Pyongyang and an easing of conditions for talks with it. Previously, the US had ruled out any possibility of talks with the North unless it agreed to discuss giving up its nuclear weapons.

During Pence’s visit, Moon assured Pence he would tell the North Koreans clearly that they would not get economic or diplomatic concessions for just talking, only for taking concrete steps toward denuclearization, according to the Post. Based on this assurance, Pence was cited as saying, he felt confident he could endorse post-Olympic engagement with Pyongyang.

But Pence said that the pressure campaign would continue at the same time. Washington has sought to isolate Pyongyang through sanctions and diplomacy to convince it to sit down for talks on its denuclearization.

Earlier in Japan, Pence said that Washington will soon unveil its “toughest and most aggressive sanctions” ever against North Korea after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Wednesday.

China and Japan showed mixed reactions to Pyongyang’s overture.

China, North Korea’s largest trading partner, welcomed North Korea’s move.

“The two Koreans strive to break the nuclear deadlock through the Olympics,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported, adding the opening of dialogue on the Korean Peninsula was up to the two Koreas’ will and neighboring countries’ support.

A high-ranking Chinese official met with Kim Yong-nam, North Korea’s ceremonial head of state, when they were in South Korea to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics on Friday, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.

They had “exchanges,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a press briefing without elaborating what they discussed during the meeting.

In Washington, China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi said that China hopes the thaw in inter-Korean ties over the Olympics can be translated over into regular talks between North Korea and the US during his meeting with the US President Donald Trump on Friday, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.

Japan, on the other hand, expressed skepticism over the communist regime’s peace overture, warning against its “smile diplomacy.”

“Japan and South Korea joined the path for dialogue with North Korea, but it continued to develop its nuclear and missile programs. Talks for the sake of talks are meaningless,” Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters on Saturday.

Japanese Prime Minister’s Shinzo Abe told Moon during their meeting at Cheong Wa Dae that he favors the swift resumption of joint US-South Korean military exercises, which had been delayed until after the Olympics to ensure calm and security during the Olympics.

In response, Moon said that it was an internal affair and that it was inappropriate for Abe to bring it up, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

Tokyo has accused the North of using the Olympics to loosen the international sanctions regime, “buying time” to perfect its nuclear and missile technology and water down the Korea-US alliance.

Hyun-ju Ock

(Korea Herald)

“There are no specific plans for a US concert yet. But the recording for the single has been completed,” said a representative from Dee Company, adding that they have yet to decide whether to also release the song in Korea.

The single is part of YB’s ongoing attempts to crack the US market. Yoon Do-hyun, the band’s leader and vocalist, said earlier this year that YB plans to release its first English EP this year.

(Dee Company)

YB held a concert on Jeju Island, wrapping up its three-month nationwide tour of 14 cities. The concert showed off YB hits as well as hits from Yoon’s solo career, along with “Sparks Fly,” released in January, and “Dreamer,” which was included in the US-released soundtrack for the documentary film “Landfill Harmonic.”

The five-piece band, consisting of Yoon, guitarists Heo Jun and Scott Hellowell, bassist Park Tae-hee and drummer Kim Jin-won, is one of the best-known rock bands in Korea.

It originally debuted in 1996 as Yoon Do-hyun Band, before changing its name to YB in 2003.

Samsung SDI announced Wednesday it has provided the world’s largest energy storage system, known as ESS, to California, contributing to easing power shortage problems in the region.

The company said it has supplied a total of 240 megawatt-hours or 400,000 units of Lithium-ion batteries and associated battery management systems to an ESS facility run by the AES Energy Storage in Escondido, a city in San Diego.

With the supply of Samsung SDI batteries, AES is expected to store more renewable energy and release the energy when demand peaks during summer and winter. It is also part of a project that finds substitutes for natural gas-run power plants in the country.

The 240MWh ESS portfolio marks the world’s largest, according to both companies, and is comprised of about 700,000 94-ampere-hour cells manufactured by the Korean firm. The volume is equivalent to the energy amount necessary to power 40,000 household for four hours.

Samsung SDI has been eying the growing ESS market in the US. The US market grew from 167MWh in 2015 to 590MWh as of last year. It is forecast to reach 4.2 gigawatt-hour by 2020, driven by rising demand for the modernization of electric transmission and distribution systems as well as continuous renewable energy expansion.

The latest supply gives Samsung SDI about 40 percent in market share.

Globally, the ESS market is expected to expand from 2.3 GWh in 2016 to 14.8 GWh in 2020, with over 60 percent of annual average growth.

“A key element of successfully delivering the largest ESS project in the world has been having trusted relationships with our suppliers to ensure a steady supply of quality components for our Advancion platform,” said AES Energy Storage President John Zahurancik. “We’re pleased to have had Samsung SDI, a certified Advancion supplier for several years, provide batteries to power this record-breaking project.”

According to a report by Japanese battery research firm B3, Samsung SDI stood as the No. 1 ESS battery provider with a global market share of 18 percent in 2015.